Discussion

Livable Providence 2000

An Urban Environmental Conference

DISCUSSION

Three main themes are evident in the actions proposed by conference participants. The themes are:

Create new and enhance existing public information and outreach efforts.
Strengthen enforcement of existing regulations.
City and state governments need to provide more support - both technical and financial - to community-based organizations.

Variations and exceptions to that triad of activities emerged throughout the individual sessions, but specific proposals that fit within these themes were put forth in every conference session.

Another theme that emerged in several conference sessions is a perceived lack of effort to incorporate the various racial and ethnic groups living in Providence. This belief was put forth by participants as not only true of this conference, but of broader efforts to address urban environmental issues in Providence. Conference participants who raised this point stressed that extra effort is required to reach out to populations that are easily marginalized - be it through language or class-related issues. Solutions put forth were to provide interpreters and utilize a broader range of communication media (e.g., Latino radio stations and newspapers) to promote involvement and disseminate information.

The success of this conference is self-evident in the large amount of information and suggested actions the conference participants proposed.