Giving Compass' Take:

• Writing for eJewish Philanthropy, Richard Marker uses a metaphor about street crossings to explain how outcomes and equity still don't match up.

• What are we doing to create a more "pedestrian-normal" environment, meaning creating the circumstances where true social equity for disadvantaged people can be reached? Are we willing to collaborate to cross the street?

• Here are ways the nonprofit community can confront our complicity in racial inequity.

Many readers know that some short months ago, we relocated from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Washington, DC. As folks fully committed to not owning a car, we were only willing to live in places where one wouldn’t be needed. And we do.

We live in downtown Bethesda, in an apartment building on a major street, 2 blocks from the Metro, easy walking distance from markets, restaurants, and most other accoutrements of urban living. There are sidewalks, traffic lights, crosswalks… the only thing missing are actual pedestrians.

Coming from New York, of course, we are used to pedestrians. Cars wait for us to cross at intersections, the sidewalks are bustling with us — everywhere. We couldn’t understand why we don’t see them in our new downtown.

It seems we have a case of a pedestrian-friendly area devoid of pedestrians. And since there are so few, cars are not as careful in turning, stopping at crosswalks, and otherwise knowing that intersections need to be shared. And when we called a couple of problematic intersections to the attention of the county, they responded that not enough pedestrians cross there to warrant a marked crosswalk!

Having a “pedestrian-friendly” community is a first step, a veritable indispensable input. But while the intention is to make things “pedestrian friendly,” it is not [yet?] “pedestrian-normal.” In other words, the actual outcome does not fulfill the goal. And thus, pedestrians are still needlessly at risk. Something about the system still needs to be addressed. This is a case where the desired systemic change has not happened. When pedestrians become normal, cars will slow down, or stop, or otherwise exhibit different behaviors. Probably not until.

Read the full article about equity in terms of "pedestrian friendly" vs. "pedestrian normal" by Richard Marker at eJewish Philanthropy.