3rd Quarter 2007 Newsletter
Conference Overview and Synopses of Keynote Speeches
Call for Case Studies for a Theme Issue of Landscape Journal
Call for Registration of Interest in the Design Center of Louisiana
New Village Press announces Doing Time in the Garden
Green Building Grants Deadline August 31
Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference September 24-5
Editorial: Grassroots Good, Communities of Change
ACSA Initiative to Support Housing Design Education
Progressive Cities and Neighborhood Planning, 1969-2005
Housing’s Contributions to Health and Education Objectives
The Temporary Museum of Permanent Change
The Importance of School-Centered Communities
State of the Nation’s Housing Report Available Can We End Homelessness in Ten Years?
Funding: Ben and Jerry’s Foundation
Funding: Gifts in Kind
Project Manager Charlottesville Community Design Center
Director of Housing Development, Portland Oregon
Conference Overview and Keynote Speeches
The Association for Community Design held its annual conference this year in partnership with Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility – it was an encouraging and full several days. It was particularly enriching for those who were able to attend the Planners Network conference with which it dovetailed. The tour options gave everyone a chance to understand the extent of the damage to the city and the various recovery efforts. Some of the most
important aspects of the tours were the chances they offered to engage the continuing tradition of a richness of life unique to New Orleans. It was this visible liveliness which many of us found to be the most encouraging aspect of our time on the Gulf Coast. Not only were we encouraged about the future of Gulf Coast communities which were damaged by Katrina and the bureaucratic neglect which followed, but we were encouraged about the possibilities latent in the places where we live and work.
The most important part of the conference was the information sharing that happened between people and the making of new connections. This was facilitated by a series of café sessions on everything from video as a methodology of urban design to discussions of water management techniques to the role of community partnerships in disaster preparedness. Of course, many of the café sessions and much of the conference focused on the
aftermath of Katrina in physical, social and political terms. Some of what we saw was encouraging, and some of what we saw was not. In the end, though, we all came away with a better understanding of not only the challenges faced by the Gulf Coast and some of the strategies which can be used to meet them but also the challenges faced in national and global contexts and how we might meet those.
There were five keynote speakers during the conference, and their talks are summarized below. We hope that if you joined us this year, this reminds you of some of the great ideas that were shared at the conference – and that if you were not able to join us this year, that you will be inspired to join us in the summer of 2008. We are already planning another rich and stimulating conference.
Lolis Elie
Lolis Elie, renowned writer for the Times-Picayune, began our conference keynote presentations with a look at cultural impacts on design, planning and social structure. He spoke of vision, food, the laboratory of New Orleans post-Katrina, and New Orleans in the context of policies that impact cities in the United States.
On food Lolis reminded the audience that, "Food tells us about people; food tells us as much as sociology and, along with music, is crucial is to understanding the culture of our region." He offered a historical perspective of food, "which goes back to the Louisiana Purchase…it a kind of pride," in the shaping of our region. He noted that, "The world has come to recognize the aesthetic pleasures of food," something which is clearly associated with conviviality and the social constructs of New Orleans. Connecting his observations to the design community he noted, "Any vision for the future must respond to local conditions; that's more important than the vision itself."
His warm and engaging remarks included observations of how the nation's collective, "absence of will," to adequately address the depth of problems in post-Katrina New Orleans is clear. With 40% of the country's coastal wetlands located in Louisiana, there is no serious commitment to rebuild them. But his remarks always turned back to the resiliency of New Orleaneans and how some neighborhoods, "are coming together in unprecedented ways." He has observed a cooperative process in some neighborhoods to proceed with rebuilding efforts despite terrible obstacles and that "If you work with your neighbors to rebuild your neighborhood, you get a beautiful neighborhood."
Carole Bebelle
Carole Bebelle’s powerful address challenged us to help create a great progressive city that both improves what needs to be improved and preserves the best of New Orleans. She told us that we could only do this by planning with people and being respectful of New Orleanians’ culture.
She reminded the audience that planning must always include people who call New Orleans home. The preservation of home has a powerful tug to many who want to remain, to return and to rebuild and we must engage the people who have roots in their neighborhood if we are going to help build a great city.
Not only should we in our professional roles work to educate people and broaden their options so that they have more and not fewer choices, but we must let people speak for themselves. We must also be sensitive enough to merge what we, architects and planners, know with the wants and desires of the people.
Planning is important, but we must not fall into the trap of perpetual planning which is easy to do in a distress mode. We plan because it feels like we are doing something but too often plans go unimplemented. Implementation takes stamina, patience and hard work over the long term. Bebelle fears that in these past two years, we spent too much time planning and wasted precious resources- the energy and commitment of people near and far who came to help.
Those rebuilding New Orleans have a responsibility to plan neighborhoods that are sensitive to its culture. Neighborhoods are much more than a place; it is home with roots spanning generations, it is family and relationships and social structures. What makes New Orleans unique? Its character and personality is shaped in large part by the Mississippi River. New Orleans is a place where a stranger can immediately join in and feel welcomed. New Orleans culture is its rituals, the value of family and traditions, the food and music, and the creativity that lifts our spirits.
We need to take the best of New Orleans by respecting the culture, while changing what needs to be improved (poverty and poor public schools top amongst them) and addressing practical needs (jobs, sustainable affordable housing). If we come together- people, artists, public leaders and community architects and planners- we have a chance to build a truly great progressive city.
Bill Stallworth
Bill Stallworth, a councilman in East Biloxi who is leading disaster relief efforts, gave a heartfelt presentation that moved many of us to tears. He wanted us to understand the extent of the disaster in East Biloxi (80% of the homes were either destroyed or severely damaged). People’s lives were devastated and many people are still traumatized. He wanted us to understand that many couldn’t leave as the storm approached because the storm landed on August 29th when many people had run out of money. He also wanted us to understand why those who were fortunate enough to leave want to return home.
Beyond the facts and figures, his stories provided us a brief window into what people went through, how they responded, how they have helped themselves and what sustains them now. Bill Stallworth spoke movingly of his own response to the devastation and how he has dedicated his time, service, and energy to rebuilding East Biloxi.
In conclusion, he explained that if we are going to help, we must understand the people. He was critical of plans which had been created without citizen input. He told us that such plan were destined to fail because they did not address how to get people back into their homes. The people of East Biloxi have created their own plan, and their top priorities are building affordable housing and retaining their neighborhood’s sense of community; the things that they treasure about the places they call home.
Marsha Cuddeback
Marsha Cuddeback of LSU’s School of Architecture began the practioner’s forum with a presentation on LSU’s demonstration project that resulted in the first newly built affordable housing in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. The project was a partnership with ACORN and other community partners including Youth Build as well as architecture students.
The LSU project built two model disaster-resistant affordable houses. The project created a model with important lessons about how far solutions to housing issues go beyond mere housing. The most successful elements include: construction job training for residents, and partnering with homeowners and providing counseling on their rebuilding options and mortgage financing.
The LSU case study generated a lively discussion on general challenges to rebuilding in the Gulf Coast. Among other observations, several individuals posited that there is a need to compile and disseminate safe construction engineering solutions which are appropriate for specific locations. All agreed that a huge obstacle is the lack of funding for subsidies to keep homes affordable. In conclusion, the pressing challenge which has been on everyone’s mind since people started focusing on rebuilding was raised by many, namely how we as a society can increase the pace of rebuilding and at the same time engage residents to preserve the best characteristics of a neighborhood that make it a beloved community.
Clifton James
The founder and director of the Urban Design Research Center in New Orleans, Clifton James, speaking on the Louisiana State University campus for the first time since he was the first African American graduate of the architecture program, closed the conference with thoughts on how the audience could help with the rebuilding. After an incredible two and a half days of learning about the challenges of rebuilding the Gulf Coast and being inspired by successes small and large, this was on everyone’s mind.
Our speaker left us with frank challenge to counter the “Gold Rush”-like atmosphere for architects and planners in New Orleans after Katrina. He observed that there are too many people with good intentions working in isolation and are not considering how individual projects will impact each other and that planners need to connect more with the community.
He welcomed people to engage the redevelopment of the Bienville Corridor in New Orleans. This corridor was selected by the Urban Design Research Center because of its strategic location and because it is a microcosm of New Orleans which could provide a model for rebuilding the rest of the city.
The Bienville Corridor is a part of New Orleans’ historic Mid-City neighborhood. Located just north of the famed French Quarter (Vieux Carré), this culturally rich neighborhood has played an important role socially and economically throughout the city’s colorful history. From its inception, the Corridor developed as a mixed neighborhood with blacks, Creoles, working class whites and immigrants residing along Bienville Avenue and the surrounding streets. Over the years, as racial segregation became the norm, white residents began to move out, leaving a primarily black community. Over time, the black community developed a culture of unique rituals and activities that endure today.
Today, the Bienville Corridor is an area in transition, and many believe that it is poised to reemerge as one of New Orleans’ most interesting and dynamic neighborhoods. An assortment of institutions, agencies and community groups concerned about the future direction of the neighborhood has formed the Bienville Corridor Development Collaborative to develop an area-wide plan. Their goals include: the stimulation of business and economic development, the reduction of neighborhood blight, the increase of affordable housing opportunities, the development of a coherent open space network, and the mitigation of negative environmental and physical influences, including the I-10 and on-site brownfields.
The Master Plan provides a framework for future development and should stimulate serious discussions with the financial community, political leaders and potential developers. The planning products range from broad planning and urban design strategies to specific landscape and architectural proposals.
Anyone interested in engaging this project should contact the Urban Design Research Center.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Call for Case Studies for Theme Issue of Landscape Journal
If your participatory/plural design/action research initiative meets the description of “Transdisciplinary Action Research,” email a two page overview of your initiative to guest editor, Sue Thering (UW-Madison Landscape Architecture): sathering@wisc.edu by 1 November 2007. Up to eight authors will be invited to submit full length case studies for a theme journal tentatively scheduled for publication Fall 2009. Only authors willing/able to commit to submitting full case study articles by 30 January 2008 should respond. Additional details below:
The results of blind peer review of an article recently submitted to Landscape Journal suggested that the intentions of the author would be better served if the ideas were offered as two distinct articles: the first a “Theory/Methods Piece”; the second a case study that illustrates the concepts introduced in the first. Subsequent conversations with participatory design/action research practitioner colleagues suggested the possibility of a book or theme journal on “Transdisciplinary Action Research.” We approached the editor of the Landscape Journal with the idea. Her positive response was largely due to the fact that the original article had fared well in the blind review process and could thus offer both the “Theory/Methods Piece” and an illustrative case study. Importantly, the editor and the blind reviewers conveyed their hopes that the rubric offered by “The Science of Transdisciplinary Action Research” would help other participatory/plural design research/practitioners frame their case studies in ways that articulate their important contribution to Theory, Practice, Methods, and Pedagogy. For a copy of the latest revisions to the original article, now in two parts, contact Sue Thering (UW-Madison Landscape Architecture) sathering@wisc.edu.
Design Center of Louisiana
Anyone interested in the Design Center of Louisiana being established at the Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans http://www.nhsnola.org/index.htm should register at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB226JJ2FY53X
Doing Time in the Garden New Village Press is thrilled to announce that the Community Arts Network and API News have chosen to feature James Jiler's book about his successful horticultural training program at Riker's Island Jail -- Doing Time in the Garden.
Green Building Grants Deadline, Aug. 31
Green Communities, and initiative sponsored by Enterprise, will be awarding grants of up to $50,000 per project for developers committed to providing green affordable housing. The deadline for applications is Friday, August 31, and awards are expected to be made by November. On Wednesday, July 25 at 2:00 p.m. ET, Green Communities will hold an online meeting to review the application process. For grant guidelines and an application, click here. Information about the grant can be obtained by telephone (410-715-7433) or email. greencommunities@enterprisecommunity.org
Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, Sept. 24-25
September 24-25, the National Vacant Properties Campaign will sponsor a national conference in Pittsburgh. "Reclaiming Vacant Properties: Strategies for Rebuilding America's Neighborhoods" is the first national conference focusing on helping to realize the potential of vacant properties as community assets. Highlighted strategies will ensure the properties benefit the residents, communities, and cities around them. Practitioners, policymakers, and concerned citizens from throughout the country will come together to share model practices and problem-solve. For more information, click here.
Grassroots Good, Communities of Change
The release of Paul Hawken's new book in May was a watershed moment for grassroots activism in general and my work in particular. Chronicling the spread and scope of the global movement for sustainability, ecology, and social justice, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming (excerpted here in Orion magazine) is a fascinating look at the enormous global groundswell that’s arrayed itself to create positive change in the world.... Read the rest of the review here.
ACSA Initiatives to Support Housing Design Education
ACSA/AIA Housing Design Education Awards for curriculums, a course or activity. Applications are due on September 10th
Make sure your school of architecture is included in the ACSA housing Survey. You can find out about these and more at www.acsa-arch.org/housing.
Progressive Cities & Neighborhood Planning, 1969-2005 In the face of a national retreat from public sector commitments and despite urban policies that tolerated job losses and neighborhood decline, a few cities fought back by opening city hall to wider participation and by redistributing resources to poor neighborhoods. Moreover, neighborhoods in these and other places did their own planning resulting in new city policy directions, new voices, and new services, taking up some of the slack left by public cutbacks.
http://www.crp.cornell.edu/resources/pcnp/
Housing’s Contributions to Health and Education Objectives Advocates of affordable homes have long understood that housing is more than just “bricks and mortar.” A new set of resources from the Center for Housing Policy and Enterprise Community Partners collects and analyzes available research evidence that frames the many ways in which our homes and the neighborhoods where we live may affect health and educational outcomes. Some of these connections have been well-documented through years of rigorous study, while others need further examination. We identify these links and present the related research to increase understanding of the ways in which housing policy can be designed to enrich the lives of children and families.
For each of the two topics–the contribution of affordable housing to health and the contribution of affordable housing to education–we have prepared a Research Summary, Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography.
http://www.nhc.org/housing/intersections
The Temporary Museum of Permanent Change A community based, participatory project that uses the major construction processes in downtown Salt Lake City as catalysts to animate the city. The Museum engages a variety of audiences using a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach that includes performance art and video production, visual art, urban archaeology, anthropology, local history, existing businesses and ongoing deconstruction and construction processes as spectacles for people of all ages. Together these elements provide teachable moments in our efforts to manage and celebrate change. http://www.museumofchange.org/
Paper on the Importance of School-Centered Communities
Reconnecting Schools and Neighborhoods provides an introduction to school-centered community revitalization. It presents the case for integrating school improvement into community development by drawing on the academic research linking school and neighborhood quality as well as early results from school-centered community revitalization projects across the country. The paper also covers the core components of school-centered community revitalization, including both school- and neighborhood-based activities. Finally, it illustrates eight school-centered community revitalization initiatives in five cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Paul.
This paper, developed by Abt Associates, Inc., is made possible with the support of Capital One. Get a free copy.
State of the Nation’s Housing Report Available
Although the U.S. housing market continues to experience sharp drops in housing demand and an oversupply of stock, the nation's largest housing challenge remains affordability, according to this year's State of the Nation's Housing report. The report, from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies, says that housing markets will eventually recover, with increasing demand for new homes due to immigration trends and the aging of the baby-boom and echo-boom generations. But affordability will be a long-term challenge. "Local restrictions on development discourage production of lower-cost housing, forcing up both rents and prices," the report says. Access the report in different formats, a fact sheet and other resources.
Can We End Homelessness in 10 Years?
President Bush has made a commitment to end chronic homelessness in 10 years. Many cities around the country have also taken on this goal. But is it really possible? And what's the best way to do it? This week on Justice Talking we'll look at who the homeless are in America. We'll talk about the effects of homelessness on children, the challenges of providing health care to the homeless and the merits of a program called Housing First that puts chronically homeless people into apartments.
(Tune In) Justice Talking
Ben and Jerry's Foundation
The Ben and Jerry's Foundation has no specific program areas. The Foundation seeks projects that lead to societal change or address the root causes of problems. It awards grants from $1,000 to $15,000 to local, constituent-based grassroots organizations. Applicants can submit a letter of interest at any time. More information.
Gifts In Kind
Gifts In Kind offers such goods as computers, software, office equipment and supplies, recreational equipment, educational and building materials, and supplies to nonprofit agencies. Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status must register with the organization to receive materials. More information.
Project Manager, Charlottesville Community Design Center The Charlottesville Community Design Center (CCDC), a creative nonprofit, is seeking qualified candidates to fill the role of Project Manager. The individual should have solid experience in project management and will be a key part in implementing CCDC’s mission to bring together citizens and design resources to create equitable, sustainable and beautiful communities.
The Project Manager will be the main staff person to manage the projects and programs that fulfill the mission of CCDC. Responsibilities include project/program management, project research, grant writing, volunteer management, general administrative duties, client communications and community outreach.
The position requires a highly organized, detail-oriented individual with strong problem solving, facilitation and interpersonal skills. The individual is expected to participate creatively and cooperatively in advancing the overall mission of the organization. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines, and communicate clearly with a variety of constituencies.
The position is full-time, reports to the Executive Director and has a salary range of $35,000 - $40,000, plus an excellent benefits package.
The complete job description can be found on the CCDC website using this link.
Please submit a resume and cover letter, indicating where you learned of the position, to:
Project Manager Position
Charlottesville Community Design Center
101 E. Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Or by email to jobs@cvilledesign.org
Director of Housing Development, Central City Concern Portland, Oregon
The Director of Housing Development is responsible for the planning and execution of Central City Concern's housing development activities in order to best advance the organization's mission. The job is varied and independent, and includes real estate acquisition, rehabilitation, new construction, and finance, as well as policy work. The job requires a high level of ability to effectively direct a team of professionals - employees and consultants - to meet organizational goals. The Director is also part of the senior management team of a dynamic organization that supports strategic and creative thinking in order to best accomplish the outcomes that will achieve the mission. Central City Concern, established in 1979, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency working to provide pathways to self-sufficiency through active intervention in poverty and homelessness. The agency provides services to single adults and families impacted by homelessness, poverty and addictions. The agency is an innovator and leader in the field, with a nationally recognized continuum of care integrating affordable housing with supportive services including healthcare, recovery and employment. Agency success is reliant upon developing and operating needs-appropriate affordable housing and it has an active housing development program. CCC currently owns/manages 1,267 units of housing and will bring nearly 200 units on-line in 2007. Central City Concern has 450 employees and an operating budget of $27 million. For more information about Central City Concern, a full job description, and instructions for application, please go to http://www.centralcityconcern.org/employment_opportunities.htm
