Syracuse and Portland: Models for Reconnecting Communities

For the first time in U.S. history, the federal government, via the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program, is making significant investments to address the historical injustices wrought by past transportation policy. Let’s dig into projects underway in Syracuse and Portland that are addressing legacies of inequity and the historic harm of highway building. In Portland, the Albina Vision Trust is pioneering a new model of restorative development. Syracuse is just beginning a transformation of transportation and housing, removing the I-81 viaduct that divided a once-thriving primarily Black community. Learn about different approaches and tools. While fears of further displacement with redevelopment remain, new pathways are being built toward restorative justice and community development, pathways built on community trust and the promise of economic opportunity, housing, and mobility and transit access.

Moderator: Cadence Petros, Project Director, ECONorthwest, Portland, OR
Mike Wilkerson, Policy Fellow, Up for Growth, Portland, OR
Winta Yohannes, Executive Director, Albina Vision Trust, Portland, OR
Joe Driscoll, Interstate 81 City Project Director, City of Syracuse, Syracuse, NY
Sarah Walton, Director of Neighborhood Redevelopment, Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, Syracuse Housing Authority, Syracuse, NY