by Phyllis Furdell

NLC is exploring innovative approaches that municipal governments can take to promote equity ? social, economic, racial and political. This story summarizes one of 10 city case studies and specific promising practices underway in that city.

The City of Burien, Wash., with a population of about 31,000, is using its equity agenda to address a classic American challenge: how to meld disparate groups into a cohesive community. Burien?s vision statement, written when the city was first incorporated in 1993, describes a culturally diverse, people-oriented community with an open, responsive local government and active, informed citizens.

Burien?s vision has been put to the test by a dramatic influx of immigrants and minority groups. As part of the fast-growing Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area, the community has seen its population swell and diversify over recent decades. Between 1980 and 2000, the area now known as Burien grew by more than a third, and the total white population decreased from more than 90 percent to 71.5 percent. More than 58 languages were spoken in Burien?s Highline School District, making it the most diverse district in the state.

This development spurred city leaders to commission a demographic study to deepen their understanding of these changes and involve the community and the council in an open discussion to determine action steps in response. The local government brought together community-based groups and other local stakeholders to partner with the city to take action to better serve the increasingly diverse population.

As Council Member and former Mayor Sally Nelson puts it, ?We became the convener, not the provider, except to provide the seed money that was critical to creating outreach to the community and to the school district.?

Helping Burien residents get engaged in the public process is at the core of the city?s equity agenda. One important action has been to translate City Hall materials into Spanish to facilitate greater participation in civic life by the city?s Hispanic population.

City agencies have embraced the agenda as well. Burien?s Parks and Recreation Department, for example, has worked with the Highline School District and other partners to create a top-notch summer program for Latino youth. Burien leaders used this summer program as a way to reach out to the Latino community and encourage parents to get involved in a project to redevelop Burien?s Town Square.

Richard Loman, manager of the city?s Economic Development Department, views the rebuilding of downtown as an opportunity to create a richer civic culture that celebrates Burien?s growing diversity while further incorporating its newest citizens into the life of the community.

?We see it as our obligation to create the infrastructure and opportunity for Hispanics and other minority groups to join the team,? Loman said. ?You can?t do that without recognizing that those groups are part of the economic development here. They come here looking for a better life, and that generally means a better economic life.?

Burien leaders place a high value on collaborative partnerships with other organizations and institutions in the city, creating a civic infrastructure that eases the work of nonprofit organizations.

?I think Burien is exceptional as a city in their commitment to an equity agenda, their creativity and willingness to incorporate it into every element of their work, and their commitment to deeply engaging community in all that they do,? said Ruth Dickey, executive director of New Futures, which provides a variety of family support services to residents in high-crime, low-income apartment complexes.

Dickey attributes the success of New Futures to the resources and support she has received from the city. ?We?re not working in isolation in our own little silo.?

Burien?s leaders believe that their equity agenda is both consistent with the founding principles of the city and the best way to ensure its future viability. Burien is one of a growing number of cities across the nation that has recently joined NLC?s Partnership for Working toward Inclusive Communities and Nelson serves as vice-chair of NLC?s CityFutures Panel on Equity and Opportunity.

?The equity agenda is a part of who we are, who we?ve become,? said Nelson. ?It?s written into the culture of Burien.?

Details: The work of NLC?s Municipal Action to Reduce Poverty Project is made possible through support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. For more details and links to NLC?s complete Burien city study, go to www.nlc.org and click on Programs & Services under Resources for Cities; click on Municipal Action to Reduce Poverty Project and scroll down to Burien.

Promising Practices: Burien, Wash.

Burien?s Demographics Project
Triggered by 2000 Census data that indicated significant increases in poverty and minority and immigrant populations, in 2002 the City Council of Burien, Wash., undertook a major project to help it better understand the community and craft appropriate policies and programs.

The Demographics Project was designed to produce both a tool and a process that would assist city leaders in human service, economic development and comprehensive planning and would be carried out in three phases: issue identification; community input and involvement; and creation and implementation of specific policy outcomes.  

During the first phase, a community profile was created with data from many sources, including the 1990 and 2000 Census, the Highline School District, King County Housing Authority and more, and analyzed the data in several categories ? population, household and age characteristics, race/ethnicity and language, economic issues, income, poverty, children, educational attainment, employment, housing and transportation.

In the second project phase, the Community Outreach Task Force and the Latino Outreach Task Force were convened to provide input to city staff on ways the city could improve services to residents. Throughout the third phase, the City Council and working groups developed policies and action plans based on the community profile data and input from task forces.

The Demographic Project has led to partnerships between the city and the School District, King County Housing Authority, the New Futures program, and the Northwest Area Foundation, among others. In 2005, Burien received the Diversity Champion Award from the Association of Washington Cities for the Demographics Project.

Burien?s New Futures Program
The New Futures program is a community collaboration that provides services to children and families and promotes community development in low-income, high-crime apartment complexes in South King County, Wash., including the City of Burien. Housed and staffed within the apartment complexes, New Futures Centers include classrooms, computer labs and family meeting areas.

In 1993, New Futures was formed by a partnership of a local school district, a public health agency, the sheriff?s department and the University of Washington to help unsuccessful elementary students from a particular low-income housing complex succeed in school through an after-school tutoring program. New Futures soon expanded its services to address other factors that impeded the success of low-income children in school.

Funded by municipal, county and state governments as well as foundations, corporations and individuals, the New Futures centers offer:

? Pre-school, after-school, and tutoring programs for children and English classes for adults.

? Food, clothing and other basic needs for families, as well as access to community resources and education planning. 

? Community development through forums that bring residents together such as family nights, field trips and support groups.

Today, New Futures directly serves about 2,000 individuals a year. The programs have resulted in lower crime rates, improvements in children?s reading ability, improved school attendance and behavior, and increased engagement of parents in their children?s education. New Futures has received a host of national, state and local awards for its work.