I originally planed to re-post my entire series on Black History Month. However, as the month progressed, I’ve been inspired to take things a step further.

When I started this project in October 2010, I was looking to give a voice to African-Americans who have technical and professional backgrounds in urban planning. I also wanted to marry that voice with that of the members of the community who have been tireless fighters for environmental justice and equity.

I never imagined that I would meet and interact with so many leaders all stripes and colors, committed to making the world a better place. We have a long way to go to make sure all neighborhoods are safe, multi-modal and complete. However, I have no doubts that the people I have met and will meet are committed to making this happen in our planning departments, architecture firms, civil engineering firms, universities and out in the streets, homes, places of worship, schools, and shopping centers where it needs to happen the most.

With that thought in mind, I couldn’t just re-post my limited scope of what’s next and who’s making waves this year. While this may not name people by name, the goal is to continue to honor the work of people on a daily basis. I like many scholars and commentators believe that Black History Month is limiting. We should call it Black Heritage Month and use it to charge up our communities to enact change.

So how am I moving forward in my practice? First of all, I am embracing the fact that the only label I have on it is what sits on top of this page. Even then, that label only states the obvious. I count as part of my circle those who see form-based, economic, political, faith and educational solutions to community problems. I believe that we fail when only look at our communities through one lens. While I’ll continue to talk about technical issues such as transit oriented development, I will also be highlighting here and on Facebook and Twitter more “inferiority complex” beaters such as communities who turn their schools around and suburban neighbors who turn their front yards into community gardens.

Secondly, I’ll also be answering questions you have. Be on the lookout for my first ever reader survey. I want to know who my community really is. I have some idea from Google Analytics and from the likes and re-tweets, but I know that we are so much stronger. I’ll be releasing my Spring 2012 event schedule as well, so we can meet in person if we haven’t already.

Lastly, I am working on a vision I have of creating my own third space and creating third spaces for others. For those unfamiliar with the term, a third space is a place outside of home and work where people can gather for social opportunities. Coffee shops, churches and community centers serve this purpose in many communities. However, with the loss of Borders and smaller bookstores continuing to close, we are losing a good deal of these spaces. I want to help create another and replicate the model in a sustainable and just manner.

I want to end with the principle of Sankofa, which states that it is not taboo to go back and reach for what you have in order to move forward. I just finished reaching back and  I am ready to go forward.

This is a post of the Black Urbanist, a project of grassroots planner and writer Kristen Jeffers to create real community. If you enjoyed what you read, please follow The Black Urbanist on Facebook(www.facebook.com/theblackurbanist) or Twitter(www.twitter.com/blackurbanist) and share with your friends, family and colleagues.

For Black History Month, I am reposting my series on the Black Experience in Community Development, as well as my motivation for writing this blog. Also, I am celebrating leaders in community development on my Facebook page This is post one, a brief history.

As planning and architecture in their modern notions did not come into being into well into the late 19th and early 20th century, many of the modern terminology for neighborhoods, architecture and neighborhoods did not exist. Therefore, I’m going to use a few major historical periods to describe how black families interacted in their built environment.

Slavery

Before slavery, those who would become African-Americans lived in close-knit villages, where they farmed,hunted, educated themselves, worshiped and built community. Everyone knew everyone and everyone helped each other as much as possible,pending no ethnic or tribal conflict. Slavery uprooted this institution, but only temporarily.  Although plantations in themselves are an example of self-sustain enterprise, Blacks were forced to maintain this structure, for no pay and substandard housing and accommodations. However, they recreated their own family structures on the plantations and eventually helped themselves escape and be freed.

Segregation

During the Jim Crow years, African-Americans had limited opportunities to patronize mainstream (read: white-owned) businesses. If the business served them at all, it was at the back door or on one side, but not the other. For this purpose a whole network of black owned service businesses existed. These businesses were often nearby residences, churches and schools, such that a walkable community was formed. This dense community also provided a return to the village concept of African villages.  In addition, blacks, along with huge chunks of the general population at this time rode buses in high numbers. Because of the reliance on public transportation, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major economic, as well as social and political statement.

Urban Renewal

After World War II, the FHA funding patterns, Interstate Highway funding and building and other urban renewal policies picked up steam. However, these policies supported growth into the suburbs, where often, due to the policy of redlining, blacks were kept out of certain neighborhoods. In addition to being kept from going to the suburbs, black neighborhoods were often seen as slums, blighted or just inferior due to already evident prejudices. Thousands of neighborhoods were shut off or destroyed thanks to suburban highway projects and mass teardowns, which in some cases remained as vacant fields or empty storefronts.  Money or support moved to the suburbs, which were seen as the future of development. Whites fled inner-city neighborhoods aided by Federal Housing Administration mortgages with low rates and restrictive covenants, preventing Blacks from moving along with the white families. Blacks left behind were ignored and once clean and safe neighborhoods declined. Many Blacks were forced into government housing when displaced by “urban renewal” projects. Over the years, “the projects” became synonymous with drug activity, welfare queens and over-all laziness. When Blacks were allowed to move into suburbs, it was to those that were all Black or in the process of becoming all Black. The flight to the suburbs of professional Blacks was the death knell of many neighborhoods.

However in recent years, glimmers of hope have appeared in traditionally black neighborhoods, as well as a number of significant green-living movements. Stay tuned to find out more about those movements, as well as steps we can take to completely include blacks and other people of color into beneficial sustainable community measures.

Image Credit: Flickr user Luca Penati

Are we still building our retail outlets for a bygone era? One where everyone piles up big at Walmart on a regular basis? Where gas makes going long distances just to shop at regional centers easy as pie? Where houses are unlimited equity lines of credit? Where people have the kinds of jobs that just let them shop at will?

Big boxes lay empty. More homes are  built in downtown areas that encourage a more urban lifestyle. Gas prices are insane. Home foreclosures are at numbers not seen in nearly a century. Yet, I still hear stories of retailers who build for all of these market conditions. Yet, this is not what I would consider neighborhood retail. Neighborhood retail is where our present needs to be and our near future needs to go.

What currently passes as neighborhood retail looks one of three ways. First, is the Wal-Mart on one side of a six lane highway from a Home Depot. Second is the rapidly decaying strip mall that was the first replacement of  a downtown retail spot. Third is the new “lifestyle center” that attempts to look like downtown and provide a walkable experience, but still has miles and miles of parking that only gets used during Christmastime.

There is a smaller version of traditional village style retail, but it’s still few and far between. The areas are either extremely poor or extremely rich and not reaching the middle class, who seem to be disappearing from the retail conversation too.

In addition, despite all their market research, department stores and the supermarkets themselves are getting it wrong. Yes, people are coming to the stores and spending millions. However, it’s not for the factors that you think.

It all boils down to customer service and price. Customer service is the hallmark of true neighborhood retail. It adds experience and loyalty. Price will get people in the store, but customer service will keep them coming back.

I know a number of people who hate going to the malls, the Wal-Marts, even the supermarket because it’s so big. Yes, it’s great to have all those objects, but we as a nation should think long and hard about how our retail can better serve our communities. Developers like the million dollar payoffs of big stores, but more chains are understanding the value of small.

The smaller these chains are, the more small fish that can jump into the pond and that can work together to provide good livelihoods and a more variable shopping experience. These smaller stores also cost less to staff, heat and cool. Even though staffing is reduced, there are more opportunities for more companies, bringing back the argument of the market.

When I began writing this post, I had in mind stores that were doing things right and wrong. However, I felt it best to let everyone else sound off as we speed into 2012. Which stores are getting neighborhood retail right? How can the ones that are getting it wrong get right?

This post is a part of a Blog-Off on Neighborhood Retail Check out more information about it here.