By Derek Peebles

As the local economy evolves, the Economics of Compassion Initiative is having conversations in communities around the idea of a local economy that is resilient where the marginalized are given the foundation, relationships and support to take control of their economic lives. The Economics of Compassion Initiative is partnered with Econogy, Catapult, and the Spring Grove Village Community Council with the support of Christ Church Cathedral to co-create and implement a community building initiative called, Neighborhood Grow. This program was designed with the belief that neighborhood business districts, independent business owners and residents who share a neighborly identity are the catalyst to creating vibrant communities.

The challenge for every community is not so much to have a vision or a plan or program of what it wants to become, it is to discover and create the means for bringing that vision, or possibility, into being. Our work is based on the methodology that community residents, neighborhood associations, youth, business owners and faith-based organizations, with the knowledge of their community assets, have the power to affect change in their neighborhoods.  To state more precisely, our community building and development approach is focused on creating vibrant communities that are not predicted by its past. Our neighborhood gatherings and town halls are intentionally focused on moving conversations away from problem-solving to possibilities creating new community narratives that are not deficient-based.

Neighborhood Grow enlists young professionals, experts, and community members to bring positive change to neighborhoods through development projects and place-based activities. These projects typically occur in neighborhoods that would otherwise be unable to access the resources necessary to transform their community. Earlier this year we began engaging the residents and community council in Spring Grove Village. Through engagement we learned that some still see Spring Grove Village as Winton Place, a wonderful place where they grew up. Some see Spring Grove as quiet and safe. Some see it as endangered by drug activity. Through asset-mapping and gifts based conversations we truly learned that Spring Grove Village is a true hidden gem in Cincinnati where residents have skills to contribute to their neighborhood’s development and are passionately seeking to become more neighborly.

We believe that neighborhoods with increased civic participation, knowledge of assets, relationships among residents, signs of neighborliness, place based activities for youth, and local economic opportunities for residents in the informal or formal economy will prevent displacement and welcome the marginalized in from economic exile.

In Spring Grove Village we kicked off our engagement earlier this year with the community council president, Gary Robbins, and Industrial Design Professor, Steve Doehler, from the University of Cincinnati (UC). The community was matched with about half a dozen Industrial Design students from UC’s DAAP program where they canvassed the neighborhood with community council members talking to residents asking questions that were based on concepts of social well-being. At the end of the research the students shared their findings with the community and organized a showcase linking what people said they cared about with assets and economic possibilities in the community. This showcase resulted in a town hall meeting in the Village facilitated by Economics of Compassion and Econogy where over 100 residents including businesses, pastors, the local Fire Department, Village Development Corporation, and Winton Youth Center attended to get clear about who they were and what the neighborhood values – their identity.

Many asset-based community development efforts since the town hall meeting have been underway. This process will lead into next year, in the fall of 2018, when Spring Grove Village formerly starts a process with the City of Cincinnati to develop a neighborhood plan.

 

This article was originally published in StreetVibes newspaper and is reprinted here with permission.

Photo by Nikola Jovanovic on Unsplash