ETHICAL REDEVELOPMENT

{Scroll through slideshow above}

Theaster Gates

We've been following the work of artist Theaster Gates for a long time now. His Dorchester Projects first caught our eye back in 2010. Since then, we've made multiple trips to the South Side of Chicago to visit the Black Cinema House, Stony Island Arts Bank and Arts Block. And we've learned a lot from his visits to Detroit.

So naturally, our ears perked up when he formed Place Lab Chicago to help turn his earned wisdom on arts-driven, neighborhood-based development into a philosophy for mindful city-building. 

In Spring 2016, Place Lab published their 9 Principles for Ethical Redevelopment. The goal, as they tell it, is to "shift the value system from conventional, profit-driven development practices to conscientious interventions in the urban context."

We're listening...

To help shape and share these ideas, Place Lab invited a group of city builders from across the country to participate in a series of salon sessions. Thanks to support from Knight Foundation, a dozen of our friends & colleagues from Detroit & Philadelphia have been participating.

Eager to hear what they are learning, we invited the Philly fellows to share insights at City Lobby, our monthly parlor for urban exchange. A group of 45 city planners, artists, nonprofit leaders and neighborhood advocates gathered at Le Meridien in Philadelphia on October 6, 2016 to discuss.

The slideshow above offers some key ideas & takeaways from that conversation, as shared by Place Lab salon members Tayyib Smith, Little Giant Creative; Akeem Dixon, New Kensington CDC; Keir Johnston & Ernel Martinez, Amber Art & Design; Lindsey Scannapieco, Scout Ltd; and Jennifer Mahar, Fairmount Park Conservancy. 

We will also post their thoughts on Instagram & Facebook. Look out for them there, and please share.

We look forward to continuing the conversation in Detroit in December. In the meantime, make sure you're dialed into Place Lab's work as it evolves. Check out the video. Download the PDF. Watch Theaster's TED talk. And follow @PlaceLabChicago on Facebook & Twitter.

Urban investment need not always mean gentrification. You, too, can be a voice for more ethical redevelopment in your city.

 

Posted by Claire Nelson, with special thanks to Michelle Freeman, Jermaine Jenkins & Leah McGlone at Witty Gritty for hosting & recording; Carson Poole & Isis Ferguson at Place Lab for collaborating; and Knight Foundation for their support.

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WHAT'S THE PHILLY STORY?

Philadelphia has enjoyed some serious spotlight this last year. From the Pope's visit last fall, to this summer's Democratic National Convention -- and continuing even now, as both presidential candidates vie for Pennsylvania voters -- Philly's all over the news.

Seems a good time to check: Any gaps in the city's media narrative? What do we, as Philadelphians, want our story to be?

On September 1st, we gathered for our monthly City Lobby series to ask this question. 

Not surprisingly, many guests emphasized the city's deeply-rooted spirit of cooperation and camaraderie. “That’s one thing I love about Philadelphia," said guest Katie Monroe, "its openness and accessibility." 

Here are some other things we heard:

“It’s exciting to be in Philly. You come here and want to make things happen, but you can’t do anything alone. So you find people with the same interest. You find someone with a similar problem, and work together, and then both of your businesses succeed. All of the work I’ve done since I’ve gotten here has been surrounding that.”

--Heather Marold Thomason, Primal Meat Supply and EatRetreat

“One of Philadelphia’s greatest jewels and tools is its independent artists and underground arts scene. I think every time we talk about anything that we’re doing in any of these creative outlets -- the strength of Philly, honestly, is building off of effort and stability before we personally came into that space. And we need to keep that energy going. That’s what inspired me, because I’m not originally from here.” 

--Erica Hawthorne-Manson, Small But Mighty Arts

“If you have a good product, whether it be the guys who opened up the bagel shop in Fishtown, or a food cart somewhere, people come. Philadelphians come out and support you. So if you’re an entrepreneur, this is the city to come to.” 

--Avram Hornick, FCM Hospitality

“I think [accessibility and collaboration] has to do with our Quaker roots system. There’s more collaborative action and community here. It’s one of the reasons Philadelphia isn’t a showy city. It’s literally the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection.”

--Heather Blakeslee, Red Flag Media

“There is an openness and an ability to speak to people on a grassroots level.” 

--Michelle Nelson, Grey Dolphin

“Accessibility is what makes Philly great. Encourage people to show that to others, and lead the way for everybody else to follow, whether that’s in big ways or small ways." 

--Heather Marold Thomason, Primal Meat Supply and EatRetreat

And one of our favorites:

“When I moved to Philly, I lived on 52nd Street and my neighbors told me, ‘Look, we sit on the porch here. We talk to each other.' So I think the personality of Philadelphia is, when coming into spaces, honoring what existed there."

--Erica Hawthorne-Manson, Small But Mighty Arts

Indeed.

Does this reflect your Philadelphia experience? What do you want the world to know about Philly? 

Help us shape and share the story using hashtag #PhillyStory

 

Special thanks to Leah McGlone for reporting.

 

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OUR HOME

Have we shown you our home? This is our Detroit home. So many stories in this building, where to even begin? We know someone who rode his tricycle through the hallways as a child. We know someone who ran a shop in the basement. We know musicians who performed in the parlor. We don't know anyone who was around when it was Leong Hand Laundry, but an old photo at The Bronx Bar reminds us that yes, it was once that, too.

Let's throwback to the 1990s. When it was the legendary Zoots Coffeehouse and Space 19.

In this piece for Model D, Walter Wasacz interviewed Adriel Thornton, Greg Baise and Joel Peterson about those halcyon days:

"Me and Clark (Warner) and Aaron Anderson (later of Zoots management) began doing ambient rooms at parties," says Thornton, who by then was running a shop called Space 19, featuring his clothing line Visual Laundry, in the basement of the Zoot's house at 4470 Second Ave. "We moved those to Monday nights at Zoot's and it just took off. We had Scott Zacharias, Carlos Souffront, Derek Plaslaiko (some of the best young, up-and-coming DJs in the city) playing every week."

"I remember seeing live sets by Ersatz Audio artists that Adam Miller (of Adult.) brought in," Baise says. "I was playing Trivial Pursuit with some people when (glitchcore innovators from Sheffield, UK) Autechre played there. We didn't know it was them and we seriously heckled them, hahaha."

"That was the nature of the night. People could play whatever," says Adriel.

"I was there too, haha, it was March 1996," Baise says. "They were awesome. I just didn't know it was them (at Zoots)."

"It started to become a thing around then," Thornton says. "Not just our friends were coming. We started charging $1 cover. The fury over that has never been matched by anything I've done since. People said I was like the greediest motherfucker on the planet, hahaha." 

Around the same time, a party that Thornton was involved in at 1515 Broadway was raided by Detroit Police, who were accompanied by news reporters. The raid has long been considered a low point in the underground party scene. Trust for media eroded, then largely disappeared. More raids, more media attention, now by television crews, had a stifling, corrosive effect on local rave culture.

"It was on the front page of the Free Press. Channel 7 showed up to talk to us at Zoots," Thornton says. "We had a meeting -- I was with Sam (Fotias of Paxahau) and Richie Hawtin -- we said we weren't going to talk to the media after that."

Zoot's was branded as home to "Detroit's illegal rave scene," which Peterson, Baise and Thornton say was ridiculous.

"No one even danced there, except when the TV cameras showed up, hahaha," Baise says.

"The media said it was the place to get 'secret passwords' to find out where the raves were," says Peterson.

Read the full story here.

And the neighborhood? So much history. On Saturday, April 2 at 1pm we are pleased to offer a special Cass Corridor Walking Tour led by Armando Delicato, co-author of Detroit's Cass Corridor. Take a stroll back in time to learn about the social & architectural history of this storied community. Join us.

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R & D

Hello there! While we're busy in research & development mode to launch The Consulate in 2016, we thought we'd share some of what we've been reading, watching & listening to. In no particular order, like a messy bookshelf, for anyone as obsessed with cities as we are...

BOOKS

ARTICLES & REPORTS

AUDIO

VIDEO/FILM/TELEVISION

TALKS

Just a little primer. More to follow...

Have any suggestions for our list? We'd love to hear. Let us know.