Co-Visioning with Our Neighbors
On a Thursday night in Denver’s Cole Neighborhood, residents pack a small room at Inner City Health Center. All are welcomed by, and also offer welcome to, staff members of Mile High Ministries and our architects—the design team for Clara Brown Commons. Families with kids, seniors, some in t-shirts, and others in ties.
“We share a dream for one of Denver’s most blighted blocks to be redeemed,” we explain. “By all of us—together. We envision a beloved affordable housing community to redeem this neglected and dangerous block, to offer amenities for the whole neighborhood, and to build something that will make us all proud. But first and foremost, we’re here to listen.”
So, we listen. Everyone listens, to each other. Around tables, each neighbor shares his or her interests and priorities. Together, table-mates draw out their emerging visions with Legos and site maps.
Some participants are caught off guard by a process that earnestly seeks their voices. The City of Denver requires developers spend one meeting addressing local concerns before rezoning property. Longtime residents – wary of bigshots who bulldoze blocks for big profit – show up to these meetings ready to fight what is typically a losing battle for the soul of the place to be heard. In such a climate, developers typically enlist lawyers to navigate their projects around neighborhood opposition, meeting minimum requirements for engagement.
But this night, as participants explore ideas aloud, enthusiasm grows. Danny dreams of bees and birds and bicycles. Tahlia wants local, affordable, high-quality childcare for her son. Ellie, a new neighbor, envisions economic opportunity and retail in a mixed-use model. Sandy, who can remember a time when the block was flourishing, speaks of loving homes full of neighborly interaction. Mother Loretta nods.
Our project team itself is spurred by neighborly aspiration. Two generations of our executive director Jeff Johnsen’s family have lived in their homes nearby, concerned and prayerful about the violence and crime this distressed property attracts. Our architectural team at Studio Completiva has had neighborhood ties.
Far from seeing the Cole neighbors’ participation as an obstacle, we see them as the cornerstone of Clara Brown Commons. They have know-how, wisdom and dreams that will drive the project. Their ownership is the lifeforce of the vision. They embody the social fabric that we as community developers seek to support. Chantel, Lawrence, Don, and their families are rightfully the dreamers of their own destiny and leaders in our placemaking process.
Our Cole neighborhood engagement is ongoing. Thanks to many generous friends, architectural plans for Clara Brown Commons are now in the final stages this spring!
—Adapted from Rebecca Mendoza Nunziato’s piece in our beautifully illustrated book Beyond Our Efforts: A Celebration of Denver Peacemaking, pp. 78-79.
