Daily Archives: March 12, 2020

This essay is the second in a series on having conversations about the legacy of oppression, confessing complicity, reducing the harm we cause others, assimilation racism, building emotional resilience, and the practice of knowing and telling the larger experiences of our lives. The authors founded a consulting group focused on identity in 2014.

We are going to split up.

During an anti-racism training some years ago, we learned a lesson that deeply informed our work as educators, creators, passionate critical thinkers and specialists in the field of interracial relationship studies. Wed come to the point of the training where the conversation turned to an in-depth examination of how white people and Black people have internalized racial superiority and inferiority, respectively, and would split into racial affinity groups to safely have this conversation. White-identified people were instructed to go in one room, breaking down the lyrics of the Macklemore song White Privilege. People of color were instructed to break down the lyrics of All Falls Down by Kanye West.

This activity is an example of a training practice that attempts to demonstrate what it looks like when white people admit to and reform their racism (Macklemore) and Black people see the error of their self-deprecating ways (Kanye). This activity creates only two sets of experiences of racism rather than all the ways racism has fractured our identities. These practices assign a permanent and simplistic experience of racism without addressing ways to transform racial trauma or hold people accountable; they merely breed shame. We become complacent in the comfort of knowing the right answers.

Liana Maneese, a founder of The Good Peoples Group + Center on Interracial Relationships. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)

What does a safe conversation about race mean? What if your race is less clear to you or to others? What if you identify as one race and your partner, mother, spouse, child, grandparent, identifies as another? And what message does that send about the responsibility to break down and identify the way racism shows up in our lives?

Some of our social justice spaces have perverted the idea of safety, one that was born out of the physical and emotional protection necessary for the survival of marginalized groups. It has led to faux spaces of inclusion that are inherently unsafe. Racial affinity groups are often a safe place to navigate identity. They are places where deep healing from racial trauma can occur. These kinds of private healing groups are necessary for survival and are not what we experienced in this antiracism training outlined in the article introduction. Ruth King, international teacher in Insight Meditation and emotional wisdom coach, states that Racial Affinity Groups should tune into your own experience, maintain compassion, allow the other person speaking to share their experience free from judgment, and reflect on your emotions in reaction to what is being shared. Not so in this antiracism training. People were afraid to take risks, ask questions or have the self-awareness, humility and flexibility to make mistakes and hold themselves accountable in their process of growth.

In other words, affinity groups done wrong have the potential to create spaces where we subconsciously, and sometimes consciously, see the group as monolithic an unspoken expectation of sameness. On the other hand, when done right, we begin to see the vastness of experience and dynamic intersections of self that those we are akin to hold. This, in turn, allows us to hold our own complexity and contradictions.

The reality is that race is always with us, in all our spaces, racially homogenous or otherwise. The work of addressing racism is missing the conversation around interracial relationships as tools for our growth. Race also intersects with the rest of our identity and to deny that is to continue to fracture ourselves. We are all racialized and we all must reckon with the ways this alters the reality of what we have the capacity to become. Even the struggle of writing this article as an interracial author duo forces us to face uncomfortable questions. What can we say together, what can we say separately? When should we use we in this article text? The truth is, we, as a society, have not been taught how to be in interracial relationships.

Sydney Olberg, a founder of The Good Peoples Group + Center on Interracial Relationships. (Photo by Jay Manning/PublicSource)

The challenge of conversations about racism is that when we fracture our identities into what parts of ourselves hold power and which do not, it makes it hard to express that we all have the power to break cycles of oppression. In attempting to address, or not address, race and racism, we have vacillated between these two extremes: separating the races or embracing the melting pot. We either believe in this idea that we can separate by race and safely have the conversation about the effects of racism or that we should adopt the colorblind belief that allows us to pretend we live in a post-racial society. We hope in our work to challenge ourselves and others to get in touch with the antiracist changes they can control in their lives such as examining internalized messages, understanding history and policy all while building emotional resilience and informed loving relationships.

We all struggle to be in interracial spaces doing this work because we are still obsessed with binaries a good and bad dichotomy of personhood. In this country, we are taught to see racist as a pejorative rather than descriptive term. What we are left with are rooms full of people disconnected from the pieces of their identities most necessary to create the internal shifts and policy changes we must embrace to move forward out of denial and the belief that change is too big for us to play a part.

What we need is the radical acceptance that we will be undoing these messages for the rest of our lives and that at any moment we can participate in or reject white supremacy culture.

The best place, the toughest place, and the most accountable place to do this work is in our most personal and most intimate relationships, especially when those relationships cross racial identities.

Interracial relationships ask us to understand our own identities and how they are shaped by history. They ask us to navigate the way systemic inequity shows up in our interactions.

For these relationships to thrive, we have to form intentional communities that support our interracial relationships, friendships and workplaces. Our communities should ask us to have a healthy understanding of our racial identity instead of pretending differences dont exist. They also should require us to go beyond reducing our relationships to the difference which results in tokenism, exoticism, and fetishism.

To avoid resentment, we have to vocalize our truth when we experience oppression in the relationship. To avoid violence, we have to hear it and atone for it when we are the ones who commit the oppression.

Liana Maneese and Sydney Olberg founded The Good Peoples Group + Center on Interracial Relationships. They can be reached through their website at thecenteroninterracialrelationships.com, Instagram, or Facebook.

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Changing toxic societal narratives with accountable interracial relationships - PublicSource

CATA to exhibit Earth People at Hudson Hall

Editors note: As of Thursday, March 12, this event has been cancelled.

Hudson, N.Y. Community Access to the Arts will present Earth People, an exhibit of paintings by artists with disabilities at Hudson Hall. An opening reception will be held Thursday, March 12, from noon to 2 p.m. with many of the artists in attendance.

The exhibit features work by 11 artists from Columbia County Arc who create their work through Community Access to the Arts programs using the adaptive Artistic Realization Technologies painting technique. The A.R.T. adaptive technique, developed by artist Tim Lefens, gives full artistic control to people with profound physical disabilities who do not have the dexterity to apply paintbrush to canvas.

Says CATA executive director Margaret Keller: Artists at Coarc began participating in CATAs adaptive painting workshops several years ago. Working one-on-one with Stefanie Weber, a CATA faculty artist and trained A.R.T. tracker, each artist has created profoundly expressive work. The energy and vibrancy of this work speaks for itself. Were thrilled to share it with our community.

Earth People runs through Sunday, April 5. All works in the exhibit are professionally matted, framed and available for sale, with proceeds supporting commissions for individual artists. For more information, contact Community Access to the Arts at (413) 528-5485 or info@CATAarts.org.

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In Our Hands film poster. Image courtesy Black Bark Films

Editors note: As of Thursday, March 12, this event has been postponed to a later date yet to be determined.

Chatham, N.Y. The Crandell Theatre will host Farm Film Fest 12 Sunday, March 15, from noon to 4 p.m. The festival will screen films that educate and entertain about farms, farming, farmers, and farming issues both local and national. The theme this year is Farming for the Future: Sustainability in a Time of Change.

The first film, Conservation Generation by the National Young Farmers Coalition, offers a look into the lives of four young farmers and ranchers in the arid Southwest. The River That Flows Both Ways uses a visit to the Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent and a trip to the Inwood Greenmarket in Manhattan to illuminate the link between rural and urban Hudson Valley life. Shot in Dutchess and Columbia counties, Keeping Carbon focuses on the importance of carbon: when balanced, in its right place, its critical to the biosphere; when out of balance and in the wrong place, it has dire consequences. Two films address the edible end of farming: Edible Uprising looks at the biointensive farm by the same name operating in Troy; Brooklyn Bugs: Evolving Our Taste for Edible Insects introduces Joseph Yoon, chef and executive director behind Brooklyn Bugs, an organization that promotes and advocates edible insects as the future of food.

The festivals feature film, In Our Hands, reflects a growing movement to create vibrant farms, living soils, thriving food markets and a fairer food system for all. The film tells the story behind the the British farmers who are outgrowing the industrial food system in the wake of Brexit. The film was made in association with the Landworkers Alliance, a union of farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers with a mission to improve the livelihoods of its members and create a better food and land-use system for everyone.

A post-film discussion will be moderated by botanist Daniel Franck, Ph.D., science curriculum director at the Core Knowledge Foundation. Participants will include Columbia Land Conservancy farm program coordinator Terence Duvall; Jon Bowermaster of Oceans 8 Films; Henry Corsun of Dog Wood Farm and Rock City Mushrooms; and a representative of the National Young Farmers Coalition. The festival will be followed by a Meet Your Maker reception at the Peoples Pub with complimentary snacks featuring local foods, as well as a cash bar.

Farm Film Fest is free and open to the public. Cash donations are welcome, as are donations of nonperishable food items for the Chatham Area Silent Food Pantry. For more information, contact the Crandell Theatre at (518) 392-3331 or mail@crandelltheatre.org.

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From left: Derrick Keane, Damon Leibert, Derek Richards and Mike McCarthy of the Irish Comedy Tour. Photo courtesy Berkshire Theatre Group

Pittsfield Berkshire Theatre Group will welcome the Irish Comedy Tour to the Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

The Irish Comedy Tour is a high-energy show that takes the party atmosphere of a Dublin pub and combines it with a boisterous band of hooligans. The comedians, whose ancestors hail from the Emerald Isle, include Detroit native Derek Richards; Boston-born Mike McCarthy; Nova Scotias Damon Leibert; and Derrick Keane from Dublin suburb Inchicore. The group recently released the comedy special The Irish Comedy Tour through major streaming outlets. Pre-show entertainment in the Garage by Brian Benlien will begin at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $25. Attendees must be at least 16 years old. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Berkshire Theatre Group at (413) 997-4444.

E.E.

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Image courtesy Berkshire Community Land Trust

Great Barrington On Wednesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. at the Berkshire Community College South County Center, the Berkshire Community Land Trust will screen the short documentary film The Best of Both Worlds: Cohousings Promise.

Written and directed by John de Graaf in 2019, the film explores the concept of cohousing, an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. The story profiles four cohousing communities in Northern California, including the first one in the United States and a senior community. The film features architect Charles Durrett, who brought the concept of cohousing to the United States from Denmark. Following the film, BCLT will facilitate a conversation about regional opportunities for housing thats affordable for young families and retiring seniors.

The screening is free and open to the public with a suggested donation of $10 or 10 BerkShares. To RSVP or for more information, contact Berkshire Community Land Trust at (413) 528-4472 or office@berkshirecommunitylandtrust.org.

E.E.

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Bits & Bytes: 'Earth People'; Farm Film Fest; the Irish Comedy Tour at the Colonial; cohousing documentary | - theberkshireedge.com

PITTSBURGH, March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services celebrating 80 Years of Making a Difference, has been selected by Port Authority of Allegheny County to assist the agency in developing a 25-year vision plan. The long-range transportation plan will provide a customer-focused, action-oriented strategy for major transit investments and sustainable funding through 2045.The project aims to create a plan for an improved transit system, which will attract more riders, enhance mobility for the County's residents and support community development and redevelopment initiatives throughout Allegheny County while promoting regional equity and sustainability.

"As a firm established and headquartered in Western Pennsylvania, Michael Baker has fostered a commitment to the region's economic growth and residents' quality of life for eight decades," said Beth Larkin, P.E., Senior Vice President and Moon Township Office Executive at Michael Baker International. "We have deep roots in this region and are committed to helping the Port Authority create a successful plan that puts people and communities first."

"The plan will set a high bar for a reliable, seamless and efficient transportation network, informed by diverse public input. We're excited to be working with great partners like E. Holdings, Campos, Drive Engineering and Infrastrategies, who bring energy and expertise into this project. Michael Baker is proud to share the Port Authority's goal of supporting diverse local businesses," added Justin Miller, AICP, Project Manager Planning, at Michael Baker International.

The 25-year vision plan will have a strong and intentional approach to reaching those in local communities who are under-resourced and under-served. A major component of the plan development is public outreach and stakeholder coordination and Michael Baker has proposed a creative approach to public and stakeholder outreach that is a balance between understanding the community's needs and interactively educating stakeholders on the benefits of transit-oriented communities. Additional tasks will include conducting a thorough review of existing systems and plans; completing a market/travel analysis; identifying and prioritizing new investment opportunities; recommending a financial plan and producing the final report and action plan. Once complete, the plan will recommend actions that will ultimately improve the rider experience for those who make up the more than 63 million rides annually in the region.

About Michael Baker InternationalMichael Baker International, celebrating 80 Years of Making a Difference, is a leading provider of engineering and consulting services, including design, planning, architectural, environmental, construction and program management.The company provides its comprehensive range of services and solutions to support U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments, foreign allied governments, and a wide range of commercial clients. Michael Baker's more than 3,000 employees across nearly 100 locations are committed to a culture of innovation, collaboration and technological advancement to help solve challenges for clients and communities throughout the country. To learn more, visitwww.mbakerintl.com.

Contact:Julia Covelli julia.covelli@mbakerintl.com (866) 293-4609

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Michael Baker International Selected by Port Authority of Allegheny County to Develop 25-Year Vision Plan - Benzinga

By David Burton, University of Missouri Extension

SPRINGFIELD Neighboring and community leadership are topics that can positively change our communities in a way that is meaningful and lasting according to David Burton, county engagement and community development specialist, University of Missouri Extension.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to talk about neighboring to a group of young children, said Burton. I realized then that involving our children in random acts of kindness is a great family activity that teaches gratitude. It also sets an example in considering the needs of others.

Neighboring with your children can also show them the power of their actions in their neighborhood.

This is especially the case in a time when our busy lives can make these important relationships feel rushed and fragmented, said Burton. Even teaching your children about random acts of kindness can positively impact your community.

A random act of kindness is an unexpected but intentional action by someone with the purpose of spreading kindness and joy to someone else. A random act of kindness can be shared with someone you know or a complete stranger.

If we do neighboring with our children we need to focus on ideas that encourage children to start close to home, with simple acts of kindness to those in their own neighborhood, said Burton.

Burton offers a list of 15 items that he describes as his Child-proof Ways to Be a Good Neighbor for children.

Burton says the basic rule is this: be kind and treat people the way you would want to be treated.

None of this happens on its own. You have to make the time and take the initiative. It is all part of being a truly good neighbor to those living around you, said Burton.

Details on neighboring can be found on the MU Extension website at http://extension.missouri.edu(opens in new window) by searching for neighboring.

For more information, contact any of these MU Extension community development specialists working in southwest Missouri: Pam Duitsman in Christian County, (417) 581-3558; David Burton in Greene County, (417) 881-8909 or Maria E. Rodriguez-Alcal in Jasper County at (417) 358-2158.

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Teaching Our Children to Be Good Neighbors - Douglas County Herald

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Rising consumer demand for wellness lifestyle real estate and communitiesin the recent past has aided the global wellness real estate software market in the recent past and is expected to continue the same trend over the forecast period. People are getting gradually aware about the impact of lifestyle and social factors on their well-being. Wellness real estate services are developing to enable healthier lives for individuals and communities. It comprises of various components, of which the primary types are wellness lifestyle estate and wellness communities. This industry is an evolving industry which identifies the potential to meet immense health challenges. Many activities like green and sustainable building movement, urbanism and intentional communities among others are being modified and executed in different ways into a novel and forthcoming wellness-focused real estate projects. Global wellness real-estate mainly includes investments, buildings, transactions, single family and multi-family housing. It also includes houses that are constructed beside destination spas, wellness retreats and hospitality projects.

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In terms of revenue, global wellness real estate software market was valued at US$ 458.6 million in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 835.5 million by 2027, growing at an estimated CAGR of 7% over the forecast period (2019 2027). The detailed research study provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of wellness real estate software market. The market has been analyzed from demand as well as supply side. The demand side analysis covers market revenue across regions and further across all the major countries. The supply side analysis covers the major market players and their regional and global presence and strategies. The geographical analysis done emphasizes majorly on the different geographical regions world wide

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Astonishing growth in Wellness real estate software market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7% over the forecast period (2019 2027) - Galus...

Phillip Shin. Photo courtesy of APACE.

The U.S. Census was first introduced after the American Revolutionary War in 1790, in order to count the population within the newly established United States. Conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau every 10 years, the census has an enormous impact on a number of different decisions made by the federal government, for example, how federal resources are distributed to each state is based off of the population counts from the census. Not only do the results of the census determine how much federal funding is distributed, it also determines how many representatives each state sends to the U.S. House of Representatives. Along with the number of U.S. House Representatives, all federal, state, and local district lines are also redrawn based off of the population counts by the census. The importance of making sure that every person, not only citizens, is counted cannot be said enough.

The U.S. Census has been seen as a nonpartisan issue, but our current administration has created an environment full of fear and hostility through an intentional underfunding of the Census Bureaus budget, along with an executive order that directed the Census Bureau to collect citizenship data. In addition to the fearmongering tactics that are currently present in the White House, the initial inclusion of a citizenship question (the Supreme Court has ruled the question as unconstitutional) has already led organizations to conclude that there will be an inevitable undercount of millions, mostly within undocumented and noncitizen populations. Without a full and accurate count, there will not be equitable governmental representation and distribution of resources, further widening the gap that exists between those with access to opportunity and those without.

Despite these setbacks, the efforts of some state and local governments have shown encouraging signs of progress, with a $15 million allocation recently approved by the Washington State Legislature to assist with an accurate count in the 2020 Census. The need for an accurate count was brought to the forefront by the Washington Census Alliance, a coalition of local and community-based organizations, that worked to advocate for funding to hard-to-count communities who would be overlooked by the 2020 Census. With the current funding that has been received so far from Washington State, thousands of households in hard-to-count communities will now join us in filling out the Census. The progress that has been made by our community leaders and activists from so many different communities has led to the beginning of a movement to make sure that every person in our communities is counted.

The 2020 U.S Census is used to determine how federal funds are distributed to our communities; how we are represented in government; how nonprofits serve our communities, and we need everybody to get involved. For the first time ever in the history of the U.S. Census, the government will be requesting that households respond to the Census online. In March 2020, every household will be receiving a notice card from the U.S. Census Bureau that contains instructions for completing the survey.

If you have questions about how to complete the 2020 Census, members of the APACE staff will be happy to help you through phone or email us at [emailprotected]. Our communities need to know why its important for all people to be counted, and it is our civic duty to make sure that our communities are all accounted for.

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It is our civic duty to make sure that our communities are all accounted for: Can we count you in for the 2020 Census? - The International Examiner

Brookhill Village is a developers dream.

The 36-acre parcel off South Tryon Street near Charlottes urban core is part of South End, a hot housing market with upscale retail, a booming housing market and on the light rail line. It also has low-income residents, run-down and shuttered homes and a complicated ownership structure that frustrated developers.

The latter, Brookhill Village advocates agree, saved the neighborhood built in 1950 from becoming another high-end enclave that displaces working-class neighbors. Developer Tom Hendrickson and neighborhood activist the Rev. Ray McKinnon are two of them.

In December, Hendrickson bought Brookhill Villages land lease for $792,000 with the intent of building New Brookhill, a mixed-income neighborhood. Hendrickson, who lives in Zebulon, closed on the leasehold rights in collaboration with community stakeholders that include South Tryon Community Development Corporation, which McKinnon leads.

The plan is considered daring for Charlotte: a near 50-50 split between below-market and market appropriate rents. Lookout Ventures Inc., owned by Hendrickson, will develop the property and a sister company, Brookhill Land Lease Ventures, is the leasehold tenant through 2049. Theres little time for a developer to recoup any investment before the land reverts to its owner, the family of original builder C.D. Spangler, which makes the project a gamble.

I think one of the saving graces, if you will, [is] the complicated nature of Brookhill, said McKinnon, senior pastor at South Tryon Community United Methodist Church and president of its community development corporation. It seems plausible that Brookhill Village would have been razed a long time ago, and those acres would look similar to what we have now, but for the complicated mixture. It was important and vital to get something done because currently the status quo is untenable either way, so those units are far past their life cycle. Capitalism has come into play here. Youve got units that are affordable because they were built to be affordable, but also theyve aged and so you can have rents that are averaging $475 because you don't bring them up to modern standards.

Affordability is what makes Brookhill Village attractive to its residents. Although crime plagued the community to the point where intervention by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and the federal prosecutors, the vast majority of its residents are law-abiding, hard-working people. About 150 units are occupied, nearly a third of the sites peak occupancy of 418 units when it was built.

That's what makes Brookhill so amazing, photographer Alvin C. Jacobs Jr., whose work in the neighborhood is the subject of an exhibit at the Harvey B. Gantt Center said in a 2019 interview. It's been in existence [since] 1951. Brookhill has been holding it down. It's been a historically black community since the 30s. We've been holding it down in that section of the city. But now, since a particular company owns the land and another particular company also buildings, theyre stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. You've got people who've been doing everything in their power for years to not just exist but live, to take care of their families, to educate themselves, to work.

For a city that has struggled to keep pace with housing for everyone but the well-heeled, New Brookhill is a test case of possibilities. The development is required to adhere to previous agreements with the U.S. Attorneys Office, which in 2016 began the process of seizing property due to alleged drug activity, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. The proposed project will meet the development guidelines of Local Initiatives Support Corporation guidelines, Freddie Macs Forward Permanent Loan Program and settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office.

I hope that over time, not only for Charlotte but across the country, we show how you can take an urban redevelopment project and bring it forward in a way thats sensitive to its history, Hendrickson said. Brookhill is unique, every place is unique, but there should be a way to be intentional about finding a way to redevelop a property without displacing the residents. And if you go about it intentionally, in most cases, I think you can find a way.

Architect and South End booster Terry Shook agrees.

I think it has the potential to be a good model for future affordable housing development, he said. It's unique in that there is a ground lease. You know that there's one owner of the land and one owner of the buildings on the land and that's what has created this unique situation and that's created this opportunity. In 2049, you know that the 99-year lease on the buildings will expire. I think the way in which this could be a model is if they do find a way to get the financing that they need to build it in this way could be an inspiring model for others who currently may believe it is impossible.

It takes creativityMcKinnon, who moved to Charlotte four years ago and works in the neighborhood, sees the recent developments as a major milestone after years false starts. Affordable housing, which is often seen as a government function, he said, can work with public and partnerships. The South Tryon CDC, for instance, works with Brookhill residents to articulate residents concerns as a liaison with the developer.

This is, I think, the third or fourth attempt since Ive been involved, he said. I think the thing that is so complicated [is] one, it's a land lease and not outright ownership. And you had the forfeiture lawsuit that was attached to the U.S. Attorneys Office. It's just hard in any deal to get 30% [average median income] units and to try to get as many as we feel are necessary. It takes creativity, I think, and persistence to try to make that work.

New Brookhill would include 324 multi-family apartments with three-story flats and two-story townhomes on 15.5 acres. Sixty-five units would be available at 30% of median income, 97 at 60%, two at 80%, and the remainder at market rates. The community, which will be built in phases to prevent resident displacement and relocation, would also include a community center, computer space, laundry facility, pool, pool house and recreation center.

We have to make sure that all the amenities are there to compete with those luxury apartment complexes that are right across the street, and we will be competitive, Hendrickson said. And the added benefit of that for the residents [currently] there in New Brookhill, is that they will go from some housing that you would not want to live in to having an apartment with market rate amenities in a community that at a market rate they could never afford. The amenities are there for everybody, so it should be a really significant step forward in their quality of life.

Past and perceptionsHendrickson is aware of Charlottes checkered history of relocating entire communities. Theres Brooklyn, the all-black neighborhood in Second Ward that was wiped away in the 1960s by urban renewal. Promises were made to residents that they could move back to the redeveloped community, but it never came to pass as government buildings, hotels and offices sprang up. Theres also gentrification in modern-day Historic West End, where escalating property values and a history of redlining where banks refused loans to black homeowners and entrepreneurs, pushed some African Americans out of neighborhoods. No one, he pledges, will be displaced from New Brookhill.

Brookhill is not Brooklyn, Hendrickson said. We have a specific plan we have the absolute capabilities of delivering on what we're promising.

Rebuilding the neighborhood will take money. Hendrickson says a $15 million funding gap needs to be filled before construction can start this year, he hopes with help from the public and philanthropic sectors. The goal is for current occupants to move into new homes in 2021. Demolition and construction will start with unoccupied buildings and proceed in phases. Residents in units to be demolished get priority to move into new housing for which they qualify.

Once those are in place and assuming between that and what others community leaders support we can get to get us to the gap funding then well be ready to shortly thereafter close on the transaction, so that we can pull down the construction loan and walk in the permanent financing and be moving very quickly, Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson, 63, sees Brookhill as a legacy project, not because of the money to be made, but to prove that a community of working- and upper-middle class neighbors can be built and maintained. Hes working against the perception of fast-talking developers eyeing a fast buck at the expense of keeping promises.

There's plenty of historical evidence where that stereotype is well founded in a lot of cases [but] in this case its not for several reasons, he said. Number one, I took this project on as a challenge and intellectually I said I think I can figure out something that can be that can generate a lot of good from a legacy project, and something no one else has been able to figure out.

I get a lot of satisfaction with that just in my heart and soul. I was born poor with a good name. I'll take my name with me and I won't be taking any money with me anyway, so I just want to make sure I do some good while I'm here on this earth, and doing the things that we would all want to do.

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New Brookhill measures development risks and reward - Charlotte Post

Westerville, which calls itself a City Within a Park, has been named to the inaugural class of Tree Cities of the World.

The Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations named Westerville to its first class of "Tree Cities of the World" in February.

"Westerville has been a Tree City USA for more than 40 years, which is an endorsement for how well our urban-forestry efforts have been managed," said David Collinsworth, Westerville city manager. "The Tree City of the World designation shows that commitment is recognized globally. This goes hand in hand with where Westerville sits right now as a Top7 Intelligent Community. The city is very intentional about its parks and green spaces, which revolves around maintaining a healthy tree canopy."

Collinsworth said the city is proud of the contribution that makes to the environment and is honored to be in the class of the best 27 cities in the United States that meet standards of excellence.

Based on the Arbor Foundation's Tree City USA designation, which Westerville has received for 44 years, the international recognition is given to communities that meet five core standards.

According to the organization's website. treecitiesof theworld.org, the standards include:

* Establishing responsibility: Have a written statement by city leaders delegating responsibility for the care of trees within the municipal boundary to a staff member, a city department, or a group of citizens.

* Setting the rules: Have an official policy that governs the management of forests and trees.

* Knowing what you have: Maintain an updated inventory or assessment of the local tree resource for long-term planning.

* Allocating the budget: Have a dedicated annual budget for the routine implementation of the tree management plan.

* Celebrating achievements: Hold at least one annual celebration of trees to raise awareness.

Tree City pride

Matthew Ulrey, Westerville's parks and urban-forest manager, said the recognition is a nice feather in the cap for his team.

Ulrey, who started working for the city as a tree trimmer for the Parks and Recreation Department in 2002, heads the Urban Forestry Division that is in charge of more than 20,000 trees, including street and park trees and those at city facilities, such as city hall and fire stations.

He said the city employs two full-time staff members who carry out the division's work.

"I handle the administration," Ulrey said. "We have another three certified arborist on staff in park maintenance."

When Tree City USA started in 1976, Ulrey said, it was something the community and department took pride in.

"When I saw this new level of achievement, I knew there was no way I couldn't submit an application," he said. "We've always been a leader in this field. It's a next step of remaining committed to our tree care and maintenance of tree canopy in Westerville."

He said the Tree City USA program has four criteria, whereas Tree Cities of World added a fifth -- inventory and analysis of data.

"It's another benchmark of professionalism," Ulrey said.

He said Dublin and Springfield are the other two Ohio cities that earned a place in the first class.

City Within a Park

Mike Heyeck, chairman of Westerville City Council, said in the early 2000s, city staff was holding a public session on visioning the South State Street Gateway Project, when he said instinctively, "City Within a Park," when he saw renderings.

"I was council chairman and was in attendance," he said.

He said the slogan caught on with then-parks director Jody Stowers.

"I made sure she knew I did not mean only the parks," Heyeck said. "When we discussed the vision for the words, I stated that Westerville is known for its parks and its Tree City USA status. City Within a Park suggested that we create our streetscapes to look as if we are within a park. If we do that, private businesses and homeowners will instinctively invest."

Heyeck said the South State Street Gateway Project proved that with private investment exceeding more than twice the cost of the project.

"Uses of City Within a Park in time included our connectivity to parks with nearly 50 miles of bikeways and pedestrian walkways that attracted not only our residents to our parks, but also our businesses for their employees and the attraction to healthy lifestyles," he said. "It was an economic development attraction for prospective businesses to see our vision for a City Within a Park."

Heyeck said Westerville has two gems with Uptown Westerville, and the five-time national award-winning park system.

"City Within a Park leverages our strengths to create holistic park-like settings with streetscapes, trees, trails ... connecting our neighborhoods, our commercial areas, and our parks as one fabric for residents and employees who work in Westerville -- a City Within a Park," Heyeck said.

mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekMarla

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Westervilles trees stand tall among Tree Cities of the World - ThisWeek Community News

Walkable Streets. Inviting Public Spaces. Cars, Bikes and Pedestrians Sharing the Road. Trees and Curbside Plantings. Informational Signage. All help create a sense of placeand of a place that is safe and inviting. What can Berks County learn from other communities, many facing the same challenges that we face?

Leaders from the Urban Land Institute will lead a Community Forum exploring how some other communities have attempted to create a safe, inviting and vibrant urban core. Many Berks County Communities are working to create more walkable main streets, building on the assets throughout the county. How can we be even more intentional in these place making efforts.

The Urban Land Institute is an international organization working to advance leadership around place making and creating thriving communities. They have been instrumental in developing strategies for communities as diverse as Philadelphia , Easton, Harrisburg, West Chester, Columbia and Camp Hill.

The Berks Alliance was formed by a group of anchor institutions who are dedicated to using their resources, individually and collectively, to stimulate community development in our region.

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Building Healthy Places: What can we learn from other communities - bctv.org

Seong Kim. Photo courtesy of APACE.

The census is relevant to civic engagement and political data staffers because it makes our work more accurate. As a data staffer, I help civic engagement organizations and their community organizers build people power in their communities, which often have been historically marginalized by our government. I provide access to and training for tools utilizing the voterfile, which is a database of all registered voters. Different Secretary of State offices across the nation have different voterfiles, but any given voterfile typically contains a great deal of data on every registered voter at the most recent time when they registered to vote.

The voterfile is integral to work in political campaigns as well as civic engagement programs because most campaigns and programs aim to drive their own preferred voter turnout as much as possible by hosting door to door canvass, phonebanks, mailers, emails, and peer to peer texting in order to contact voters, and the voterfile typically includes the necessary information (e.g. addresses, post office boxes, phone numbers, etc.) to make such intentional voter outreach possible.

Despite the importance of the voterfile, there are huge gaps to consider. The voterfile that is publicly available from a states Secretary of State office only includes information on registered voters. This gap might be okay for a political campaign given their short-term nature, but not so for community-based organizations such as the Asian and Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Engagement (APACE). These organizations typically have a longer-term vision than winning a particular election that is a few months away. They aim to make room on the table for historically marginalized communities so that the government works in a way that is more inclusive, accessible, and representative.

If organizations like APACE are limited to only reaching out to registered voters, then their programs would be hampered in working toward that longer term vision. One way to break past this limitation might be to simply knock on every door, call every number, and send mail to every box, but they usually dont have staff that number in the double digits, so such a program would be either impossible or prohibitively expensive. That is where census data comes in to address the gaps of the voterfile.

The census is carried out every 10 years, and it is without a doubt the most comprehensive and inclusive survey done in the United States because it aims to survey every resident in the country. The United States Census Bureau carries out the census, and they are probably the entity closest to having the funding and resources necessary to do such a survey. Information from the census is anonymized, so no one finds information on any one particular person, but demographic information on geographies (etc. states, counties, cities, etc.) gained from the census, is posted on publicly available government sources.

The demographic information is very comprehensive; it includes data on race and ethnicity, which is indispensable to groups like APACE that aim to increase the people power of Asian and Pacific Islander communities. I and other data staffers use this data to inform civic engagement groups decision making, thereby helping their programs be more accurate and equitable than they otherwise would be. Using the race and ethnicity data from the census, groups like APACE can precisely know which areas are best their best fit for outreach. This informed approach to outreach minimizes the number of contact attempts to voters who dont identify with a historically marginalized group, so it also makes equitable, precise outreach physically and financially possible.

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The data from the census is invaluable to civic engagement focused nonprofit organizations working toward long term political change - The...