The Michigan Municipal League and the communities we represent have spent more than a decade investing in placemaking strategies throughout the state, showing that “we love where you live” by lifting up what residents themselves love. We have fought to give local leaders the flexibility and resources they need to serve their communities by advocating for local revenues and local empowerment. We have convened our members and partners to dive into the challenges posed by accelerating changes in our communities to tackle solutions to new needs and opportunities. Our placemaking work has had positive impacts across the state and nation. We are building upon this success to help create places where communities thrive, requiring us all to look through a broader lens. Our expanded platform – Community Wealth Building – is rooted in a belief that to create adaptable, equitable, resilient, and sustainable communities, systemic changes are required. This session will discuss our broadened lens in the six key areas of Community Wealth Building, which are focused on the human experience in Michigan communities, and are interconnected with the vital elements of trust and belonging. We will describe the need for safeguarding our communities against the whims of the national and global forces, as well as our work identifying evolving solutions to address the systemic failures we’ve begun to see. Housing access vulnerabilities are included in this framework, as well as the need for appropriately-resourced local government action in fostering solutions for market failures where demand for decent and fair housing far outstrips supply. Within this discussion, we will introduce concepts focused on increasing community and individual assets, creating resilient and adaptable systems, and addressing social and economic needs. We will connect this work to the continued importance of Municipal Finance Reform and our vocal presence in Housing Michigan.

This session offers NASW credits