CityCrafting
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A Better Way
"We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see the land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect"
- Aldo Leopold
CityCrafting
The CityCrafting Process has been developed specifically for challenged and distressed areas within cities that have not responded to previous revitalization efforts or where these efforts have not been able to positively change the social and economic justice conditions. This is a multi-year process designed to restore the long-term economic, social and environmental health of our cities.
The CityCrafting process is organized in a progressive, stepped fashion to allow the client(s) to dictate the level and pace of involvement:
- Initial Analysis
- Research and Discovery
- Implementation Framework
- Implementation and Long-term Support
We will, in partnership with the client, identify stakeholder organizations, leaders and strategies that are viewed as critical to a successful replication in the context of each particular city. This will include assessing whether the geographical area of consideration is large enough to affect true long-term social, environmental and economic change at the systems scale of the City. We will also meet with local leadership and assess the political will and community support for a large-scale project directed at systemic change and determine if there is a University partner interested in establishing long term research and objective documentation of outcomes and methods. The client will be presented with a report which documents the team’s findings and recommendations for next steps.
The next step in the CityCraft process is the in-depth assessment. We will work with the client to confirm the appropriate scale of the geographic area. During this phase, we will identify and inventory the assets and challenges related to the social, economic and environmental health of the project area; the systems that need to be addressed; the partners required for success; and a key local partner, either non-profit or private-sector community developer who is committed to building sustainable communities and economies for their city. We will outline a plan to create a green economy with a strong focus on human capital who will become part of this new economic future placing the unemployed and underemployed from the target area as key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
CityCraft is committed to producing strategic plans with specific recommendations for implementation. This phase provides the client with a blueprint for healing their city. The result is a framework that lays out the integration and implementation opportunities to address community-specific challenges. Finally, a strategy for moving forward, including the ideal capital structures and enterprises required for implementation will be developed.
If the client desires, CityCraft will remain involved in the implementation phase and provide long-term support for the client’s revitalization effort. Each CityCraft project is different and CityCraft’s involvement in this phase will be customized to maximize value and success.
We welcome discussions with cities and organizations that are looking for comprehensive social, economic and environmental planning and development.
