Seward Redesign Inc
Report date
August 2020
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
2. To wrap up the Reconnecting Neighborhoods community planning process, Redesign refined the Reconnecting Neighborhoods 2020 Plan. The final document is a reflection of the three-year engagement, planning and design process for the five crossings connecting Seward and The West Bank. It includes:
● Photographic documentation of current conditions and engagement strategies,
● a description of engagement strategies used throughout the process,
● summaries of current deficiencies and opportunities identified by the community,
● visual near-term and long-term concept designs for each crossing, and
● an implementation table that identifies timelines and agencies responsible for specific improvements.
A final document that reflects the community goals and vision identified in this process is essential for informing the public agencies and for unifying community voices in political advocacy for federal and state bonding to fund improvements.
● Photographic documentation of current conditions and engagement strategies,
● a description of engagement strategies used throughout the process,
● summaries of current deficiencies and opportunities identified by the community,
● visual near-term and long-term concept designs for each crossing, and
● an implementation table that identifies timelines and agencies responsible for specific improvements.
A final document that reflects the community goals and vision identified in this process is essential for informing the public agencies and for unifying community voices in political advocacy for federal and state bonding to fund improvements.
Key lessons learned
Through building stronger community relationships on the West Bank, we learned that many residents, particularly immigrant groups, have been asked repeatedly to participate in providing input. Our outreach initially encountered skepticism and engagement fatigue. Some community members expressed doubt that government agencies would either listen or act. At one event in 2019, a group of Somali girls were eager to know “when [they] will actually see improvements”, frustrated by recurring experiences of being asked to contribute their opinions and ideas at engagement events- without noticeable results. Redesign was able to have a productive and in-depth conversation with the group about what urban planning is, when The City’s transportation action plan will go into effect, and how they can continue to be involved. Redesign focused on these relationships and on introducing young women and BIPOC to long-range planning, public policy, and decision making processes and their role in achieving equitable results.
Despite Seward Redesign’s 50-year presence in the Seward neighborhood, many new immigrant residents and residents of the West Bank were unfamiliar with our work. We learned to better exercise flexibility and trust by encouraging our partners like Ayan Isaq, to lead the charge in organizing events and gatherings that were interesting and comfortable for East African community members. By working to give space for new leadership, and to have patience as relationships grow organically over time, the Reconnecting Neighborhoods process engaged a larger and more representative group of community members than Seward Redesign has in past planning projects.
Despite Seward Redesign’s 50-year presence in the Seward neighborhood, many new immigrant residents and residents just across the highway in the West Bank were unfamiliar with our work. We learned to build relationships via community organizing strategies. Asking - and paying - residents to design and develop events that were interesting and comfortable for them and their community allowed us to reach more people. By working to give space for new leadership, and to have allow time for relationships to grow organically, the Reconnecting Neighborhoods process engaged a larger and more representative group of community members than Seward Redesign has in past planning projects.
Reflections on the community innovation process
Inclusivity was an essential goal of the community innovation process for furthering Reconnecting Neighborhoods progress. The Seward and West Bank neighborhoods are home to many folks who have consistently been excluded – and even actively ignored by historical urban planning processes. Both neighborhoods have high populations of BIPOC, low-income renters, new immigrants, and people with disabilities when compared to Minneapolis at large. Designing engagement that is accessible and relevant to these groups has been critical in representing the communities’ diversity of experiences and perspectives. From hosting events at convenient locations, to hiring organizers with strong community connections, to translating materials: Seward Redesign has prioritized inclusivity throughout this process.
Prioritizing deep relationship building through inclusive and accessible engagement elevated the credibility of the process with governmental partners and led to the adoption of the Reconnecting Neighborhoods 2020 Plan as a tool to guide public decision-making. It has also created credibility for the process as funding is sought for design and implementation of infrastructure improvements.
Prioritizing deep relationship building through inclusive and accessible engagement elevated the credibility of the process with governmental partners and led to the adoption of the Reconnecting Neighborhoods 2020 Plan as a tool to guide public decision-making. It has also created credibility for the process as funding is sought for design and implementation of infrastructure improvements.
Progress toward an innovation
The Reconnecting Neighborhoods community planning process established a clear and explicit road map for the future of the five crossings that connect the Seward and West Bank neighborhoods over I-94. It incorporated a broad range of perspectives and experiences to identify community priorities and develop technical solutions that will be implemented by the City, County, and State over the coming years to improve the connections between neighborhoods. Additionally, it established and nurtured a variety of relationships between the community, Redesign, and the public sector to allow for clear communication and accountability moving forward. The Reconnecting Neighborhoods Plan and implementation table document these achievements.
If you could do it all over again...
Developing processes that are inclusive of marginalized community members is crucial not only to Reconnecting Neighborhoods as an individual project, but to challenging inequalities across the urban planning landscape. Because of existing disparities in the urban planning sector, the Reconnecting Neighborhoods process relied on part-time consultants to provide language and cultural competency to reach more people. This resulted in a loss of continuity as consultants left to pursue other opportunities, and new Community Outreach Specialists were identified to fill their place. In hindsight, it would have been better if we had resources to fund a more stable organizing position for somebody with the cultural competencies, language skills, and relationships required to incorporate the East African community in the process. In an even more ideal world, Redesign would have been able to find a staff person with the planning background needed for the project AND the cultural background and language skill. All the more reason to continue to work to increase awareness of the field in underrepresented groups.