ENGLEWOOD — A new “community control school” will train South Side neighbors in how to lead conversations around the development of public spaces and commercial corridors in their communities.
Leaders at Grow Greater Englewood launched the Community Control School on Thursday. The community-led initiative will give neighbors the skills to impact discussions around economic development, land ownership, quality affordable housing, environmental justice and more, organizers said.
Organizers will lead workshops and training sessions in the coming weeks to equip and empower neighbors to advocate for development projects that best reflect their needs.
The hope is that “more informed voices, residents and everyday people are helping to guide decision-making processes,” said Kedar Coleman, senior land trust and engagement steward at Grow Greater Englewood.
The idea for the Community Control School came about after Englewood neighbors repeatedly asked “the who, what, why and how of community planning and development,” Coleman said.
Neighbors wanted to know how to get involved beyond being “tokenized” or invited to last-minute meetings to learn about a neighborhood project that had already been decided upon, he said.
The Community Control School will address that “historical disconnect” by helping neighbors “get actively engaged in shaping the destiny of our streets, parks, public spaces and commercial corridors within our neighborhoods,” Coleman said.
Workshops and trainings at the Community Control School will explore zoning, vacant lot activation, urban farming and what it means to build wealth. Dates and locations for the sessions have yet to be determined.
Neighbors will learn about the history of housing and land commodification and what it means to have equitable development. Teamwork Englewood is at work on an “equitable development scorecard” that will help neighbors determine if and how the community will benefit from a project, Coleman said.
A narrative space workshop will stress the importance of uplifting local stories, celebrating victories and countering narratives that ignore history to “place blame on us for the conditions that many of our communities are in,” Coleman said.
Neighbors can then use their skills as members of community advisory committees and advocacy campaigns, Coleman said.
“Our goal is to help cultivate a network of informed and trained ready-to-go neighborhood stewards who can effectively advocate for equitable and just development … that reflects the needs and aspirations of the neighborhoods where we live,” he said.
The concept behind the Community Control School isn’t new, Coleman said. It’s inspired by the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous communities to change reality and usher in spatial justice.
“Where we live, work and play is political,” Coleman said. “Historically, those places have been designed and structured in ways that intentionally block us from or attempt to limit our access to resources, opportunities and possibilities. That being the case, there has never been a time when we have not fought back.”
But while lessons at the Community Control School will reflect on past harms, they’ll also look toward the future and how collaborative efforts can lead to a more just community, Coleman said.
“When we talk about community control, it’s more than about being in the know or having an opinion,” Coleman said. “It’s about having the skills and confidence to drive the conversation.”
Neighbors can learn more about the Community Control School by emailing Grow Greater Englewood at connect@growgreater.org. The nonprofit is looking for presenters and experts who can speak about social, spatial and land and housing justice.
Support Local News!
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
