Community Engagement & Partnerships Community Partners are an essential part of the Neighborhood Activation team. They are the real experts on their neighborhood and have the most at stake. The City and consultants’ role is to build a process that aligns with community partner values and enables them to participate as leaders and stewards of the work. Some of a community’s greatest assets are the people, groups, and associations who are already doing great work in the neighborhood. To build upon the contributions and talents of different people, Neighborhood Activation relies on an ever-widening circle of activated neighbors. Rather than making or owning decisions, the team aimed to faciliate this growing network in directing design, investment, and implementation in West Garfield Park. The Neighborhood Activation team relied on direct community engagement as part of every stage of the design process. This included presenting at town halls, attending community events, doing neighborhood walkabouts, co-hosting design sessions, analyzing surveys, organizing focus groups, and conducting community-based oral testimony through one-on-one interviews with residents, leaders, and potential partners. The Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative (GPRWC), a consortium of community and institutional organizations working in Garfield Park, became a key community partner for the Neighborhood Activation team. Beginning in early 2021, the GPWC met weekly with the Mayor’s Office, Studio Gang, the Goldin Institute, and others to contribute ideas for shaping investments and design strategies, raise awareness through town halls and other community forums, co-host design sessions, and more. Through this partnership, the team sought to promote and build upon the GPWC core values and support their vision for Black Culture Wellness.
What is Black Culture Wellness?
The practice of Black Culture Wellness involves the promotion and practice of life affirming values, principles, images, and messages that celebrate the best of the Black community via institutions, edifices, interactions, entertainment and expressions.
Tenets • • • • • • • •
Self Efficacy Shared (Community) Values Cultural Expression Health and Wellness Practice Healthy Foods Clean Environment Fair Policing and Law Enforcement Equitable Community and Corporate Investment
See Appendix for a summary of the team’s community engagement findings. 38
Strategies & Guides
