CAPITAL CITY FARM
On Escher St. next to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Part 1 UNDERSTANDING THE NEIGHBORHOOD
WE PREPARED BY designing the WE IN COLLABORATION WITH The Watson Institute for Public Policy and D&R Greenway
THE FARM CONCEPT
Capital City Farm is the new vision for the two-acre lot next to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. In 2011, TASK volunteers looked at this weed-filled lot and wondered what could happen there that would offer something positive to this neighborhood. In 2014, the land was purchased by the City and in 2015 the site was remediated to control toxins and prepared to become an urban farm. Urban farms offer green space in the city, affordable and fresh food, and engagement and employment opportunities for youth, adults, and elders. Lots can happen at Capital City Farm! In every city, urban farms are different based on the needs and wishes of city residents. That’s why we are inviting community input and involvement. We need to discover how the farm will be valuable to our neighborhood and the people in it. We need to connect the farm to other organizations, churches, businesses, projects and residents. We need to create a farm model that encourages everyone to co-generate value. This is about more than a farm, it’s about using the farm to build a strong community.
--Engage with a wider community. --Connect with organizations, churches, schools and more. --Co-design a model that is valuable to the neighborhood.
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HISTORY OF DEVALUING Capital City Farm will live over a site once used for rail tracks of the Millham Branch Rail Road. The farm sits in the industrial core of Trenton’s Redlined neighborhoods. Redlining prevented investment in these areas for decades on the basis of the racial make-up of the people living there. In many ways this 1930s map is a “Rosetta Stone” for how Trenton became Trenton. Since that time, layers of disinvestment, uneven public services, mass incarceration, predatory lending and other policies and practices have led to chronic issues in the area that the farm seeks to participate in addressing. This will mean creating an ‘ecosystem’ in and around the project that will blur the stark (red) lines of division that prevent us from cogenerating value in our communities.
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AREA DEMOGRAPHICS
AGE
The immediate neighborhood of the farm struggles with many challenges that face historically devalued diverse and urban communities. The area is home to many young people and young families who suffer from high unemployment. Decent jobs have been difficult to obtain, as well as higher education and a high school diploma. The immediate neighborhood has slightly higher poverty rates than the surrounding area.
RACE
largest range: 5-17yrs about half below 30 diverse neighborhood largest percentage: black 45%
LANGUAGE
speaks language other than english: 50%
INCOME
Almost half earn less than $15,000 12% over $50,000 Census Tract 19
CC Farm
Census Tract 20
POVERTY
at or near poverty: 52% surrounding area: 41%
EMPLOYED
large gap at 20-24yrs: 27% are employed
HOUSING
unaffordable rents: 61%
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ESRI TAPESTRY SEGMENTATION
ESRI’s Tapestry Segmentation is based on “big” consumer data. It provides a snapshot description of different types of people living in a place that can supplement demographic information and other area research. It does not stand in for on-the-ground exploration of the neighborhood, and does not replace the relationships needed to truly understand a community. However, these snapshots give more depth to demographic information and because of “big data” look deeper into the lives of people living in and around Capital City Farm. The four Tapestry types below (and following page) are indicative of some of the people who live near the farm. Being consumer-based, these types do not tell us every way people relate to the surrounding community, what they value, or their potential engagement with the farm, however they provide some fascinating insights.
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ESRI DATA
“Cluster analysis techniques are essentially heuristic methods that rely on exploratory procedures to arrive at stable and optimal solutions. The key to developing an effective market segmentation system lies in the selection of the variables used to classify consumers. US consumer markets are multidimensional and diverse. Using a large, wellselected array of attributes captures this diversity with the most powerful data available. Data sources include Census 2010; the American Community Survey; Esri’s demographic updates; Experian’s ConsumerView database; and consumer surveys, such as the Survey of the American Consumer from GfK MRI, to capture the subtlety and vibrancy of the US marketplace.”
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NEIGHBORHOOD SITUATIONS The Quiet Street: The surrounding neighborhood has many quiet streets with only occasional activity. Even N. Clinton is often empty. The guys hanging out: We spoke with a friendly group of guys who often chat outside when the weather is right. The empty store front: The barber shop was left empty when the barber got too old and decided to rent a chair elsewhere. The laundry mat shutdown because someone sued for falling, the same man still owns the building. The family dinner: A boisterous family enjoys dinner outside at a picnic table set up in the lot next door. The last days: A man and his daughter decline to take the survey because they are being evicted and won’t be around anymore. They don’t know where they will go next. The neighborhood guy: One man cleans up the abandoned spaces across the street and hosts a pig roast every year. Everyone knows him. James lets us in on the complexities of the neighborhood. He wants a clinic where he’s treated decently. At the moment he lives in a tent.
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NEIGHBORHOOD SITUATIONS The neighborhood church: Many people don’t have a car, so they walk to the church on the corner. Sundays are when everyone meets. The Tabernacle hosts a community day each year.
The curmudgeon: An older gentleman complains that young people are not being taught by their parents to keep the neighborhood clean, be respectful and participate in community. If that doesn’t change, he says, nothing will.
Waiting for new life: abandoned factories are now rubble, at one time they provided steady employment. Abandoned homes dot the area.
The local store: McKitchen brings its produce straight up from the south. The guys who work there are all friends and know their customers.
The local kids: two young girls are very excited about the future farm. They wonder if there will be ponies and are eager for their father to bring them by.
A family of four walked over a half hour to get to the soup kitchen. They say that living without a car is difficult and taking the bus is too expensive.
Knowledge keepers: Two old guys who know the history of everything tell us how the site used to be a cattle hold for the trains, and that things have changed a lot.
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NEIGHBORHOOD OPINIONS
Attractive or Unattractive? Location Community and Neighbors Cost of Living Parks and green space Schools Community Services Appearance of Buildings and Homes Street Design and Maintenance Local Businesses Safety
Is our neighborhood: WE
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t g ck ng n n i u i a r v on St b o i i r t V p si m n I a Tr
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEIGHBORHOOD NEEDS #1 Education and Youth Development 2:Tie
Jobs and Economic Development Affordable Housing
#3 Safety Environment and Green Space
4:Tie
Family and Community Welfare
#5 Health and Good Food #6 Transportation WE
PERCENT OF PEOPLE WHO RESPONDED A consistent response from community members was the need for youth programing. Whether this was an afterschool program, summer activity or educational curriculum, almost everyone we spoke with brought the issue of youth and kids to the forefront.
Jobs Youth
The second most mentioned need was for jobs and economic development. Many of the people we spoke to were unemployed or underemployed. For us, a focus on the youth and community wealth building were clearly the most important issues community members would like to address. In short, opportunities for all ages. Other activities, like a market, adult education and arts and culture could also compliment these core needs.
Youth
Jobs
What would you use if it were in the neighborhood? 35% Childcare 53% Job center 45% Youth activities and employment 27% Elderly care or senior center 45% Adult education 41% Farmers market 6% Community garden 20% Live/Work Spaces What are the three most valuable things to have at the farm? 51% Youth Programs 33% Community Events 31% Arts and Culture 41% Local Market 41% Healthy Food or Cafe 22% Green Space WE 43% Jobs Program
GETTING INVOLVED
Most people in the neighborhood do not know about community organizations or projects happening in the area. Those who did mentioned a community garden on Academy St. and Roberto Clemente Park, Habitat For Humanity, Community Housing and ‘Martin House.’ Few if any mentioned being contacted by these organizations, projects or spaces directly, but they knew about them indirectly. Despite this, an overwhelming majority said they would want to get involved in community projects. We also asked how they wanted to participate in the farm, and many agreed to attend events, volunteer to garden, participate in youth programs and attend a farm market. Many gave their contact information and are eager to stay in touch.
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Do you know about community organizations or projects? NO 79% Would you want to be involved in community spaces or projects? YES 88%
2 days 49 surveys 150 interactions 41 involved
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NEXT STEPS Continue neighborhood engagement Library exhibit and workshop Larger Trenton engagement Farm model visioning
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