|
|
|
|
New analysis by the Star Tribune finds that 73% of residential land in the Twin Cities metro area is governed by local zoning ordinances that only allow single-family detached homes, while just 7% of residential land allows apartments to be built without special permission — and Black and Latino residents more likely to live in areas zoned for multifamily. Read more and see the maps.
Since 2013, the Blue Line Coalition has been working together to make sure government leaders recognize the Blue Line extension is a racial justice and regional equity issue and that community inclusion and leadership must be central to all planning and outcomes. Last month, BLC leaders provided a community update on its work, the progress of the project and the implications for our communities. Watch the video.
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is opposing the state adding climate impacts to the environmental review process for large development projects. A report from the Bad for Business coalition, including Alliance member organization Sierra Club North Star Chapter, spotlights the chasm between the Chamber’s positions on climate policy and the views of its many members. Learn more and read the report.
Writing in Dissent, two communications experts explain how Race Class Narrative can be used by community organizers to "fight back against the ways that strategic racism is weaponized by the rich and powerful to protect their interests, scapegoat communities of color, and leave us all fighting for scraps." Read more.
The terms that politicians, media and governments use to describe communities of color are often different from the words people use to describe themselves. In this recording and transcript, MPR explored with a political science professor, a Chicano studies professor and a DEI expert how such terms evolved and who does — and doesn’t — use them. Listen or read more.
Alliance member organization Our Streets Minneapolis is mobilizing residents and partners to ensure Hennepin County takes actionable steps to address three of the 10 most dangerous intersections in Minneapolis and make Lyndale a street that puts people first. Learn about and participate in their weekly actions.
Is the housing crisis really that complicated? In this episode of the Interleaved podcast, Minneapolis organizer Aaron Berc, from Alliance member organization Jewish Community Action, explores how we can cultivate compassion within ourselves for our neighbors experiencing homelessness and displacement. Listen here.
|
|
Photo: Nelima Sitati Munene, ACER Executive Director
Sahan Journal profiles how Alliance member organization African Career, Education and Resource Inc (ACER) has found new ways to deliver social services in the immigrant neighborhoods of Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, and the northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities. Read more.
The recession brought on by COVID-19 was like nothing the state or nation had ever seen, with some of the highest rates of unemployment on record -- and dramatically disparate impacts on communities of color. The Minnesota Reformer visualizes important data around the workforce and unemployment by race. See the charts.
Politico reports that a coalition of 11 housing industry groups are opposing a new eviction ban the CDC announced to protect renters in counties experiencing high levels of community transmission of COVID-19 — and two state chapters of the National Realtors Association have sued in federal court. Read more.
MinnPost reports how this year's legislative session won policy changes related to self-storage units to ensure that those who are behind on their payments have more access to retrieve their belongings before their possessions are auctioned, and avoid eviction records that could impact future housing. Read more.
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor writes in The New Yorker that the public and policymakers across the country are "caught between a recognition that racism is rooted in unfair and unequal conditions, created within public and private sectors, and reproduced over time and place, and a reluctance to take drastic action to cure it." Read more.
NextCity features a collaboration between local groups and municipal government in Baltimore to support 12 neighborhood-based community organizations to act as resiliency hubs in neighborhoods that are vulnerable to disproportionate and inequitable impacts from climate change. Read more.
|
|
|
|
Saturday, August 14, 11am-2pm
Join members of the Blue Line Coalition — including African Career, Education and Resource Inc (ACER), Harrison Neighborhood Association, CAPI and the Alliance — for a community event with free food and rent assistance support, as well as a chance to learn about the Blue Line extension and other resources. Learn more.
Tuesday, August 17, 3pm
Arts & Transportation Rapid Response is an initiative for transportation agencies looking to creatively and quickly address pandemic-related transportation challenges. Smart Growth America in partnership with Forecast Public Art selected three artists to work in tandem with partner transit agencies to design and implement projects that address pandemic-related transit challenges and systemic inequities. Join SGA to hear from participating artists and transit agency staff on these collaborations. Register.
Thursday, August 17, 6-7pm
The phasing out of the Eviction Moratorium began on June 30th, 2021. There are resources to help landlords and renters who are behind on rent and utility payments. Join Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association to learn more about the off-ramp, what it could mean for you, and how to access available resources. ASL and Spanish interpretation available. Learn more.
Saturday, August 21, 3-5pm
Join Alliance member organization Sierra Club North Star Chapter and other partners for the public release and press conference for its new "Extend the Greenway Impact Study" — which outlines the predicted economic and equity benefits and shows the cost of extending the Greenway over the river and through Saint Paul would pay for itself ten times over. Learn more.
Thursday, August 26, 2pm
With films like "In the Heights" and shows like Netflix’s "Gente-fied" bringing issues of neighborhood change and cultural displacement to viewers across the country, what do organizers and housing advocates have to say about how pop culture portrays gentrification? Join Shelterforce for a conversation with Mindy Fullilove, author and professor of urban policy and health at the New School; Leonardo Vilchis, co-founder of Union de Vecinos, an organization building community power in Boyle Heights (East LA); and Kenia Alcocer, co-director of Union de Vecinos. Register.
Thursday, Aug 26, 6-8pm
Working with community, Housing Equity Now St. Paul (HENS) gathered thousands of signatures this spring and summer to put rent stabilization on the ballot in St. Paul. Join the campaign for a launch party and fundraiser to meet like-minded neighbors, show your support and get energized to engage and mobilize voters to vote YES on November 2 to Keep St. Paul Home for everyone, whether they rent or own their housing! RSVP.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last week, Alliance member organization CAPI announced that it had reopened its food shelf to welcome participants back inside to shop. "The food shelf team and volunteers have been working extremely hard to get it ready and stocked with fresh, healthy items," they shared on Twitter!
Send photos of organizers and campaigns in action to carolyn@thealliancetc.org! Add an optional short caption, and let us know how you would like to be credited (name, organization, website, social media handle, etc.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
