What is the Equity Roundtable?
The Equity Roundtable started as a pilot project in the spring of 2023. Staff from the Community and Urban Development and Public Works departments partnered with community leaders to form the roundtable.
Participants on the roundtable represented a variety of community organizations, including the the Oregon Marshallese Community Association, Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, Enlace Cross-Cultural Community Development Project, United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley, Micronesian Islander Community, Latinos Unidos Siempre, CARECorps, Salem for Refugees, Salem-Keizer NAACP, Northwest Human Services, Salem-Keizer Community Transition Program, Salem Capital Pride, Isaac's Room, and Latino Business Alliance.
The roundtable focused on housing and anti-displacement issues that stemmed from the State’s Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities rules and advanced policies in the updated Salem Area Comprehensive Plan. You can view previous meeting summaries on the Salem in Motion project page under the "Land Use" menu. The summaries are also provided below.
The roundtable is expected to provide guidance on an ongoing basis, including at key milestones on projects such as the upcoming Housing Production Strategy, Salem Transportation System Plan update, Parks System Master Plan update, Climate Action Plan implementation, and Federal Programs Consolidated Plan. Additional topics will be developed with input from the roundtable.
What is Equity?
Equity means all residents have the opportunity to participate and thrive in an inclusive society. This requires rectifying unequal access to resources and opportunities caused by historic and current systems of oppression and exclusion related to race, income, ability, gender, sexual identity, and other factors.
An equitable community overcomes disparities by providing increased levels of support to community members based on their needs. In Salem, it is a priority to advance equity in decision-making processes and the outcomes of those processes, including policies, investments, practices, and procedures.
The Salem Area Comprehensive Plan, which was updated through the Our Salem project, includes many goals and policies that aim to advance equity in Salem. For example, Policy CE 1.3 Inclusion and equity states that the "City shall expand opportunities for Salem's communities of color, low-income residents, renters, sovereign tribes, and other underserved and underrepresented groups to participate in planning and investment decisions, particularly those that may be impacted by the results."
Other goals and policies aim to promote equity in workforce training, park development, transportation planning, and other City projects and decisions.
