Resource

For the past several years, the Equity Summit has hosted meaningful conversations on strategies to advance racial equity through the built environment. We know many of you look forward to it each year, and we’re grateful for the energy, insight, and commitment you’ve brought to the summit and the broader smart growth movement.

This year, Smart Growth America will not be hosting the Equity Summit. After careful consideration, we determined that 2026 is the right moment to pause the summit. Rather than convening a large national event in DC this year, we’re investing our time and resources in a set of smaller, high-impact “vanguard” conversations focused on the intersections between health equity, land use, and housing, where some of the most urgent and consequential debates are happening right now. We’ll host these events in partnership with community-based organizations we have worked with, at locations across the country.

These conversations will bring together practitioners and local leaders with the goal of producing tangible tools that can be used, identifying tools and replicable strategies that can be implemented across the country to advance more housing in the right places at the right price. If you would like to express interest in or provide ideas for one of these events, see this form.

We hope to bring the Equity Summit back in the future. This pause is intentional, not a step away from our equity work. Helping to create communities where everyone can thrive remains central to Smart Growth America’s mission.

As our plans for these conversations move forward, we’ll share updates and opportunities for you to get involved. Thank you for your continued engagement and your commitment to building communities that are more healthy, prosperous, and resilient.

Finally, we are actively exploring ways to bring the Equity Summit back in the future, and doing so will require strong partners and sponsors. If your organization is interested in supporting, sponsoring, or helping shape the next Equity Summit, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss. Please get in touch to learn more.