Longfellow Rising

IN LATE SEPTEMBER 2020 LR ISSUED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR FACILITATION SUPPORT TO AID THE DEVELOPMENT AND RE-BUILDING PROCESS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING THE SITE OF THE FORMER THIRD PRECINCT HEADQUARTERS ON LAKE STREET AND MINNEHAHA. IN LATE NOVEMBER, LR SELECTED WALSER CONSULTING LLC, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INSPIRE TO CHANGE (I2C) AND URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATED (UDA) AS THE TEAM THEY WOULD WORK WITH. SINCE DECEMBER 2020, WE HAVE BEEN CONNECTING BUSINESS OWNERS, RESIDENTS, ARTISTS, AND THE BROADER COMMUNITY. THIS HAS INCLUDED CONVENING ONE-ON-ONE AND SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD CAN LOOK, AND INFORMING PARTICIPANTS HOW OUR WORK IS GOING. THROUGH THESE LISTENING SESSIONS, WE ARE SOLICITING AND COMPILING FEEDBACK ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD REGARDING WHAT IS NEEDED, HOW TO PROCEED, AND MORE. THESE SESSIONS ARE CONDUCTED IN A VERY OPEN WAY, WHERE ALL STAKEHOLDERS ARE WELCOME, AND EVERYONE'S VOICE IS HEARD. THROUGH VIDEO AND WRITING, WE DOCUMENT EVERY STEP OF THIS PROCESS AS PART OF OUR ARRIVAL AT CONSENSUS. THIS IS PART OF OUR COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATICALLY DEVELOPING THIS AREA, AND IT ALIGNS WITH MCKNIGHT'S STRATEGY OF STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION; LR PROVIDES RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS A CHANNEL TO CREATE A SHARED VISION OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. IN LR'S LISTENING SESSIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY, IT HAS ALSO EMERGED THAT PRIOR TO THE DESTRUCTION, OTHER CHALLENGES ENDEMIC TO THE AREA HAVE BEEN SAFETY, CITY NEGLIGENCE, AND AN UNRESPONSIVE POLICE FORCE. WE ARE COMMITTED TO HEALING THE RUPTURES THAT HAVE CAUSED THE UPRISING, AND FORGE HEALTHY, CROSS-CULTURAL AND CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATIONS. THIS COULD PROVIDE A MODEL FOR REBUILDING THE COMMUNITY ALONG LAKE STREET AND BEYOND.