ReConnectRondo
Report date
March 2019
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
RCR Board decided to ramp-up our efforts with the HIA, because although we were reaching some Rondo residents through our work, the lion share of our residents did not participate in the process. So, RCR’s HIA Goals:
- RCR can be a strategic intermediary and repository for regional discussions and research around health impacts; but not just for the Rondo Land Bridge (RLB) Project. The HIA is our strategic opportunity to plug-in for the long term, into the work of MDH’s Health Impact Assessment and SPRCPH’s Health Equity Data Analysis and the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership.
- RCR can leverage the HIA to bridge-build with multiple neighborhood organizations, by intentionally connecting with the various ethnic communities and population-centers with the built-in points of access that will actually help to simplify the agencies public engagement outreach, moving forward. And, there is also opportunity for us to plug in to the statewide work of DHS and the federal work of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion around the Social Determinants of Health.
- RCR can be a strategic intermediary and repository for regional discussions and research around health impacts; but not just for the Rondo Land Bridge (RLB) Project. The HIA is our strategic opportunity to plug-in for the long term, into the work of MDH’s Health Impact Assessment and SPRCPH’s Health Equity Data Analysis and the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership.
- RCR can leverage the HIA to bridge-build with multiple neighborhood organizations, by intentionally connecting with the various ethnic communities and population-centers with the built-in points of access that will actually help to simplify the agencies public engagement outreach, moving forward. And, there is also opportunity for us to plug in to the statewide work of DHS and the federal work of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion around the Social Determinants of Health.
RCR’s commitment to pursue the Public Spaces Study was a critically important tool for what a land bridge can do to generally improve public space, especially thinking about how the existence of the freeway affects streets, sidewalks, parks, and other quasi-public places in a neighborhood like Rondo. So the study provided:
i. an introduction to public space and why it's important
ii. how freeways affect public space, e.g. danger/speed, noise, pollution, etc., mostly historically
iii. an 'inventory' of public spaces in the Rondo study area (e.g. parks, streets and sidewalks, semi-formal public spaces like yards), comparing 1960 to the present some data about noise and pollution metrics in public spaces
iv. a conclusion pointing to how a land bridge might change public spaces in Rondo for the better
The Public Spaces Study also helped RCR to prioritize what the required — research, resiliency and restoration community development efforts of the Rondo community “first”, before pursuing the Rondo Land Bridge Project. This approach guarantees that a thorough SWOTT analysis will be conducted, and fosters the participation of all the key local and regional neighborhood partners.
i. an introduction to public space and why it's important
ii. how freeways affect public space, e.g. danger/speed, noise, pollution, etc., mostly historically
iii. an 'inventory' of public spaces in the Rondo study area (e.g. parks, streets and sidewalks, semi-formal public spaces like yards), comparing 1960 to the present some data about noise and pollution metrics in public spaces
iv. a conclusion pointing to how a land bridge might change public spaces in Rondo for the better
The Public Spaces Study also helped RCR to prioritize what the required — research, resiliency and restoration community development efforts of the Rondo community “first”, before pursuing the Rondo Land Bridge Project. This approach guarantees that a thorough SWOTT analysis will be conducted, and fosters the participation of all the key local and regional neighborhood partners.
Besides the critical interagency and corporate partnerships, RCR has developed neighborhood partnerships to ensure that a regional “lens” and approach is taken to carrying out our very important community engagement work. And, more specifically, RCR’s approach has shifted our work by coordinating the outreach and the surveying through known “players” in the community ecosystems that can further advance our goals of reaching a critical mass of residents, etc. Prior to choosing this regional networking approach and methodology, some of the neighborhood partners and residents proximate to the Rondo community, thought that RCR’s work was without thought for their unique work and contribution to the potential of the Rondo Land Bridge Project; giving a negative picture of the work before it officially got off the ground. To date, RCR’s most notable accomplishment is being able to harness the message and story of Rondo in a restorative way, to bring public, private and nonprofit agencies to the table for the benefit of everyone in the Rondo community and surrounding area. Now, as we’re near the completion of the Feasibility Study, “Community Engagement 2.0” is set to begin.
Key lessons learned
Though RCR has engaged in various conceptual design activities (e.g. - Nobel Peace Prize Forum, MN Design Center, community survey results, HIA study, etc) we realized that the critical mass of the Rondo community hadn’t been effectively reached through our community engagement work. In October of 2018, RCR participated in another design exercise through the EcoDistricts Conference Studio Session for Rondo; while simultaneously initiating the launch of the Rondo Land Bridge Advisory Group (RLBPAG). The RLBPAG ten committee areas, includes: housing, Rondo alumni, mobility, community design, cultural heritage, etc. RCR’s been approached by HGA, Perkins & Will, the Civic Ecological Institute, SERA Design Firm, etc. A negative perception from the community towards RCR existed due to some thinking that the project was already in the master planning and design phase. This was further exacerbated by RCR’s partnerships with some of the pro-bono firms that expressed interest in the project; and they were not “from the community”. Now, by inviting community residents to “lead” the various committees of the RLBPAG, the community’s leadership, voice and views remain front and center.
While RCR has overwhelming support from the Rondo community (over 90% are favorable towards the proposed Rondo Land Bridge Project) the thoughts that any/all redevelopment and revitalization work will accelerate gentrification, which is already occurring in Rondo. So, RCR must answer the hard questions and put them out on “front street”, to ensure that the residents “know” thorough due diligence is being conducted to mitigate the issues. Examples:
Q. THE LAND BRIDGE WILL CHANGE RONDO FROM WHAT IT WAS?
A. In 2018, Rondo is changing rapidly, whether the Land Bridge is built or not. The real question to ask is who will benefit from the change, is the change in our control, and will it be authentic to our values.
Q. WON’T THE LAND BRIDGE GENTRIFY THE NEIGHBORHOOD?
A. Rondo has become a home for many new Americans as well as “urban pioneers.” We see it all around us. The American return to central city living, the construction of the Green Line light rail, and resurgence of St. Paul as a livable city have all placed pressure and opportunities on Rondo.
Q. THE LAND BRIDGE WILL CHANGE RONDO FROM WHAT IT WAS?
A. In 2018, Rondo is changing rapidly, whether the Land Bridge is built or not. The real question to ask is who will benefit from the change, is the change in our control, and will it be authentic to our values.
Q. WON’T THE LAND BRIDGE GENTRIFY THE NEIGHBORHOOD?
A. Rondo has become a home for many new Americans as well as “urban pioneers.” We see it all around us. The American return to central city living, the construction of the Green Line light rail, and resurgence of St. Paul as a livable city have all placed pressure and opportunities on Rondo.
Reflections on inclusive, collaborative or resourceful problem-solving
In RCR’s work, “Collaborative” has been the strongest element of the community innovation process that’s most impacted our work. Knowing that operating in a vacuum would provide no true benefit to the Rondo community, through RCR’s P4 Approach, we’re now developing a “neighborhood regeneration model” and civic ecological framework established to facilitate:
1. Equitable Development (Eliminating Education, Income and Housing Gaps)
2. Triple Bottom Line (Developing Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits)
3. Strategic Placemaking (Leveraging Cultural, Historical and Local Resources)
P4 Approach = Public + Private + Philanthropic Partnerships for Community Benefit that harnesses Rondo’s Civic Ecology, which is a democracy-driven, whole-systems framework for creating sustainable communities. The framework focuses on empowering citizens of all ages, cultures, and abilities to envision, create, and manage their community’s unique “software” – the integrated energy, nutrient, water, waste, material, and food systems, as well as economic flows and cultural interactions, that animate their place.
1. Equitable Development (Eliminating Education, Income and Housing Gaps)
2. Triple Bottom Line (Developing Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits)
3. Strategic Placemaking (Leveraging Cultural, Historical and Local Resources)
P4 Approach = Public + Private + Philanthropic Partnerships for Community Benefit that harnesses Rondo’s Civic Ecology, which is a democracy-driven, whole-systems framework for creating sustainable communities. The framework focuses on empowering citizens of all ages, cultures, and abilities to envision, create, and manage their community’s unique “software” – the integrated energy, nutrient, water, waste, material, and food systems, as well as economic flows and cultural interactions, that animate their place.
Other key elements of Community Innovation
All three elements of the community innovation process (inclusivity, collaboration and resourcefulness) are all critical components of RCR’s community engagement work. Other than that, the shared commitment of RCR and its agency and neighborhood partners to ensure that equitable development occurs, is key. RCR’s Equitable Development Approach draws on both the principles of environmental justice and smart growth, and generally refers to a range of approaches for creating a regional community strategy where residents of all incomes, races, and ethnicities participate in and benefit from decisions that shape the places where we live.
• Equitable development emphasizes that all residents should be protected from environmental hazards and enjoy access to environmental, health, economic, and social necessities such as clean air and water, adequate infrastructure, and job opportunities.
• To achieve this, RCR’s equitable development approach integrates people-focused strategies (efforts that support community residents) with place-focused strategies (efforts that stabilize and improve the neighborhood environment). This is the “how to” of strengthening local governance for Rondo.
• Equitable development emphasizes that all residents should be protected from environmental hazards and enjoy access to environmental, health, economic, and social necessities such as clean air and water, adequate infrastructure, and job opportunities.
• To achieve this, RCR’s equitable development approach integrates people-focused strategies (efforts that support community residents) with place-focused strategies (efforts that stabilize and improve the neighborhood environment). This is the “how to” of strengthening local governance for Rondo.
Understanding the problem
The Rondo Land Bridge Project is elevating the consistency of strategic conversations and exchanges of committed community and neighborhood partners, to pursue “collective action” that will thoughtfully mitigate the duplication of efforts and unhealthy competing; that multiplies the impacts of the allocation and deployment of human and financial resources; and that both magnifies and amplifies the good work being done. While RCR’s work was originally communicated as specific to planning and research of the land bridge by seeking the collective wisdom of “the crowd” through “listening, learning, leveraging and leaning-in”, the Rondo, Frogtown and Summit-University communities, which are now being activated in a greater way from the normally compartmentalized and isolated efforts, to encourage additional support for the known best practices and programs that are leading to the greatest outcomes possible for the Rondo community and surrounding areas. By RCR prioritizing community development efforts as the first logical step in fostering a healthy local economy pre the land bridge, clarity about pursuing the viable path and the viable project places innovation as a priority #1.
If you could do it all over again...
If RCR could give ourselves advice prior to the start of the grant, we would suggest leading with a more robust communications and engagement outreach, to cut down on the early rumor mills and backlash that initially dominated our meetings with the community. Due to the lack of available fact sheets, collateral materials, or administrative and organizational infrastructure (office space, phone line, etc) that should have closely followed the receipt of the organizational development grant from the Knight Foundation around RCR’s formation, RCR’s work was often distrusted and misunderstood. The challenge primarily existed because the flat leadership approach of our initial community engagement work, could not also account for the necessary organizational development planning that was needed to strategically develop our work in Rondo. As RCR was awarded the Bush CIG, we also received national attention from ULI, by being chosen amongst hundreds of other communities for a fully sponsored Advisory Services Panel of industry experts that looked at the viability of the Rondo Land Bridge Project; but it further polarized RCR in the Rondo community eyes, w/o proper structure in place.
One last thought
The RCR Board and Staff agree that the level of community engagement and community relations work that’s required to effectively reach the most residents possible, must be coupled with a technlogy solution through a simple and easily navigational community dashboard on a parallel track, to ensure that resident - work hours, scheduling conflicts, or life challenges, don’t forbid their active participation and voice in the decision making process. By providing an alternate solution for monitoring, tracking and documenting the process and results of the community’s collective decision making, RCR can streamline and synthesize our work for the benefit of Rondo residents throughout the ongoing development process. As a first step towards innovating our technology outreach to the community, RCR implemented Community Engagement 2.0, which entails launching www.ImaginingRondo.org, to capture the Rondo residents specific views and ideas around the Rondo Land Bridge Project. During our public engagement outreach funded through METC/MNDOT’s ReThinking I-94 Corridor Study in September of 2018, RCR used an innovative 8-ft model, mobile app, with QR Codes/3D printed objects to demonstrate.