Leaders from all sectors should work with the Administration to identify how national initiatives on sustainable development can complement national and regional initiatives on building multicultural relationships. The Administration should, for example, continue to promote dialogue on cultural ethics and values through initiatives such as One America. The One America initiative has identified promising practices for racial reconciliation across the country in several areas: the arts, business, community and economic development, community building, education, government, health, religion, and youth. Leaders from all sectors and the Administration should determine which of these practices also address economic prosperity, ecological, and social equity objectives so that best practices for building multicultural relationships in the context of building sustainable communities can be identified. Based on this review, the Administration, working in partnership with federal agencies; businesses; state, local and tribal governments; and community-based organizations should convene a series of regional meetings addressing how sustainable community initiatives can leverage community racial, cultural, and religious diversity as important assets. The workshops should specifically address collaborative, inclusive participation of diverse racial, cultural, and religious groups and communities in regional initiatives.

Foundations, the private sector, and community-based groups . working with federal, state, local, and tribal offices addressing environmental justice, community revitalization, and health and human services . should develop a series of workshops on how sustainability initiatives can provide opportunities for poor and minority individuals, persons with disabilities, and communities. Discussions on race, class, and the environment have traditionally focused on redressing inequities in disparate impacts of environmental problems on low-income or minority groups. Sustainable development can both deepen and broaden the context of environmental equity by identifying how low-income or minority groups can build on their economic, ecological, and social assets to strengthen and revitalize communities. A series of workshops should be convened that identify investment opportunities in sustainable community development that can directly benefit minority and low-income communities. The workshops should address how policies and procedures can better recognize and build on indigenous knowledge; they should also provide best practices as well as investment and policy guidance for public and private sector agencies. Special attention should be dedicated to involving poor and low-income people in the design and implementation of these workshops.