Community Impact – Institute for Livable & Equitable Communities

Launched in 2020, the Institute for Livable & Equitable Communities is building a coalition of key allies and participants throughout the region to create an equitable, age-friendly and livable community for all.

Here to help.

Barbra Stonerock
Vice President of Community Engagement
(937) 225-9951

The Institute for Livable & Equitable Communities is a partnership between the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, Del Mar Healthcare Fund of The Dayton Foundation, AARP/World Health Organization, Learn to Earn Dayton and other local business, healthcare, nonprofit and higher education institutions.

Together, they are developing a long-term, multi-faceted effort to address nine domains proven to enhance livability and equity in communities. These include the following areas of focus derived from the Livable Communities’ framework outlined by AARP/WHO: education; entrepreneurship, employment and volunteering; community engagement; health and environment; housing; neighborhood; safety and justice; technology and connectivity; and transportation.

Efforts to Date

The Institute has spawned several impactful efforts, including the Regional Equity Calendar that promotes equity training and event opportunities; the Miami Valley Regional Broadband and Digital Equity Forum to address local broadband infrastructure and access issues; and the Environmental Justice Academy, a training program developed in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for community, nonprofit and environmental leaders to identify and address environmental challenges in their communities.

The challenges we face as a community are deeply embedded from literally hundreds of years of inequity. All the members of our community who are impacted by these inequities need a stronger voice and place for action. The Institute is a bright light of hope to provide a persistent, collective and systemic way in which, together, we can work over the coming months and years to address inequity in our region.

Mike Parks, CFRE
President of The Dayton Foundation