MIG’s Post

Over the past four months, I have had the privilege of participating in the WEPOWER Design Fellows program, where I collaborated with a talented group to co-facilitate community dialogues on the design process. Together, we led solution-oriented teams through a series of activations that culminated in the development of the Community Wealth Building Playbook. This experience has been an enriching journey of collective brainstorming, community engagement, and creating pathways for sustainable community development. Building community power means finding solutions within the community by the community. It’s a call to action for local stewardship—working together to create healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities. Community stewardship involves people and organizations stepping up to take responsibility for forming partnerships that drive transformative change at the local and regional levels. A key aspect of community stewardship is supporting local businesses. Successful businesses contribute more in taxes, which in turn provides resources to fund local social amenities and schools. By backing local entrepreneurs and businesses, communities strengthen their economic base and improve their overall quality of life. Community power is most effective when individuals take charge of the issues within their control to address problems in their neighborhoods. Rather than waiting for outsiders to come and solve internal issues, community members actively work together to make their environment better. The basic things might include: 1. Promoting Safety and Responsibility: Ensuring neighborhood safety by looking out for each other, raising responsible and respectful kids, and holding community leaders accountable. 2. Fostering Respect and Dignity: Treating others with kindness and respect, promoting inclusivity, and standing against discrimination. 3. Civic Engagement and Participation: Voting, engaging in community dialogues, and participating in local governance to ensure that community voices are heard. 4. Addressing Social Issues: Organizing discussions on healthy living, tackling substance abuse, empowering youth, and reducing the presence of liquor stores and fast food outlets in the neighborhood. 5. Maintaining Public Spaces: Picking up trash, cutting grass, and addressing home repairs to keep neighborhoods looking clean and safe. By taking these actions, community members build a stronger sense of unity and responsibility. They demonstrate that real change starts from within, and by holding each other accountable, they create a more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient community. It's about empowering people to be the change they want to see, fostering a culture of cooperation, and building a foundation for a better future. Design Fellows https://lnkd.in/gZu4Mw4C

Neighborhood Development ++ [developer tactics] Some key strategies for developing a great city neighborhood and fostering a sense of community through public places include create inviting and well-designed public spaces, encourage mixed-use development, support local businesses and community initiatives, prioritize pedestrian and bike-friendly infrastructure, and plan for sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Overall, by prioritizing placemaking and focusing on creating vibrant and inclusive public spaces, city neighborhoods can strengthen social connections, build resilience, and foster a strong sense of community identity and belonging.

🤔 What is community visioning, and why should you start? 🎯 Community visioning means collaboratively building a shared roadmap with your community members. 🤝 It is a great way to plan, and a fantastic way to build trust. But anything worth doing, is worth doing right! This post lays out some of the best practices of a community visioning process, drawn from real life examples. Read more about community visioning here! 👇 Mentioned in this post: City of Bloomington, MN, City of Tempe #CommunityVisioning #CommunityDevelopment #LocalGovernment

"What are your aspirations from your #CommunityBuilding works? 😶🌫️" It's a beautiful idea but a challenging intent to realise. 'Community building', an action word, only fulfils the actionable intent, but doesn't frame the vision or objective of the action. *Reality Check In* 🤔 Why do we need to build and develop a community? 🤔 How much resources (time, money) do you have to make a responsible commitment? 🤔 How do we know that our current intent is what the community would like to have? 🤔 Who are the community? Is it 50% of the voices who have participate in your workshop? We all have different aspirations from wanting to build a community and also from the community that you are working with. It is very important to start any community building, an alignment of the aspirations and expectations. Anyway, the photo below is from the polytechnic 2nd year architecture students on their 1st day of school, their aspirations from their upcoming prototype project with HDB and Resident Network. WeCreate Studio #CommunityEngagement #SocialImpact #Collaboration #ngeeannpoly

🏘️ Transforming Communities Through Equity in Real Estate 🏘️ Equity in real estate is more than just fair access to housing—it's a powerful force for community transformation. This article, "Revolutionizing Communities: How Equity in Real Estate Transforms Neighborhoods," explores how equitable development is not only reshaping our neighborhoods but also bolstering economic stability, enhancing social cohesion, and ensuring environmental sustainability. From the economic revival in the South Bronx to social integration in Detroit’s historic Packard Plant, discover the significant impact of investing in equity-focused real estate projects. 👉 Ready to see how real estate can drive community change? Click now to read more about the projects making a real difference and learn how equity is key to sustainable development: [Link to full article] #RealEstateInvestment #CommunityDevelopment #UrbanRevival #SocialEquity #EconomicEmpowerment #SustainableCities #EquityInRealEstate #EquityReport

If people value deeper connections, why not use architecture to raise awareness of our social responsibility, fostering a sense of belonging and supporting real-life interactions? In every building, there are opportunities to enhance the collective feeling. Both on the ground floor and upper levels, it's possible to address urban segregation, accommodate diverse family structures, and create inclusive spaces that foster community cohesion and social well-being. Image: HERE S.r.l.

Putting on our design cap can be a helpful way to approach addressing inequity. It's a product of human creation and design, and so we can rework it and come up with better solutions and systems that support the success and wellbeing of all of us. Here are a few resources to learn more about equity and how we can design for it in our work: Intro to equityXdesign by Equity Meets Design: https://lnkd.in/gBwKnUPJ Designing for Equity Starter Guide by MITRE | Social Justice Platform: https://lnkd.in/g93a9cdR Equity-Centered Community Design Framework by Creative Reaction Lab: https://lnkd.in/gRNXiE9X Design Justice Network Principles by Design Justice Network: https://lnkd.in/gMRuTYXn Liberatory Design Framework by National Equity Project: https://lnkd.in/gV-NNgYw

Sense of place: the core concept you've never heard about. 📍🏘️ When we look for indicators of neighborhood connectivity, one of the aspects the FCS team measures is "sense of place." Broadly, it's a concept that describes the relationship between people and their setting, in this case their neighborhood. It is made up of the conscious thoughts that people have about a space like, "Wow, this has such a quirky and artsy vibe," but also unconscious experiences like input from your five senses, relational attachments to others, and an overall sense of rootedness. How do we cultivate this sense in our places? Read more on the #LuptonCenter blog: https://lnkd.in/eTSdfzxB ********************** The Lupton Center is the Training & Consulting arm of FCS - Focused Community Strategies. Learn more about FCS at fcsministries.org #PlaceMaking #CommunityDevelopment #NeighborhoodsMatter #PlaceMatters #UrbanPlanning #Neighborhood

Solutions for people cannot be airdropped, they must arise from the context of the communities they are meant for in order to create tangible value. Initiatives aimed at improving lives often fail because they are disconnected from communities, the context, and the reality. Human-centered design puts the human—the community, the context, and the reality—at the center.

Last semester, my project was born out of the question: what if neighborhood spaces were designed for connection? This topic has been on my mind recently because so many people say “your college years will be your best.” Yet I wondered how much of this was actually due to the college stage vs the livability of a campus where everything you need is a short walk away. With communities dominated by cars and the rise of urban sprawl, the average American is much more isolated than before. They have little-to-no community in the immediate vicinity and must drive everywhere to maintain social connection and community. I decided to tackle this isolation by reimagining a space many neighborhoods already have: the community center. Nbrhd Block is a product brand that reimagines community centers by providing adaptable alternatives tailored to the needs of the community. Neighbors can collaboratively build spaces by adding and customizing modules, ensuring the community center is a meaningful space to the entire neighborhood. By adding local public spaces, neighbors are essentially creating their own 15-minute city and establishing more community nearby (proven to have improvements for health and well-being).