Post on 30-Jul-2016
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By Brent Brewer
“Where We Want To Live”, Ryan
Gravel’s story of the Atlanta BeltLine, is
not the blueprint for a successful
BeltLine neighborhood that you might
have hoped for. Rather, it is a detailed
tale of how Gravel’s vision became the
Atlanta Beltline.
To summarize the book, his vision
suggests that “transportation
infrastructure does more than move
people. It builds communities, and it
constructs our way of life.”
He calls his vision catalystic infrastructure.
To Gravel, spontaneous interactions
along infrastructure is just the kind of
Atlanta he wants to live in.
As West End neighbors forgo the car
and bike/walk the West End trail to the
park or grocery stores, and meet
neighbors in passing, these neighbors
create Gravel’s vision on the Westside.
Their experiences breath life into his
vision, making it our Atlanta BeltLine.
Our infrastructure has always linked our
neighborhoods. Shared vehicular
boulevards, bus routes traversing from
West End to Ashby MARTA stations,
and newly repaired sidewalks provide
safe passage to our common parks and
green spaces, Washington School cluster
public schools, and shared
supermarkets.
With the completion of the Westside
BeltLine Trail, historic barriers will
transform into a new public common
ground. Westside neighborhoods with
their own history, culture and politics
will be connected.
We don’t have to wait for the Trail’s
completion to celebrate the diversity of
the Westside neighborhoods while
showing our common ground.
We can do this by sharing our stories
with each other.!
May 2016 “Linking Neighbors and Celebrating Diversity” Issue One
Where We Want to Live: Westside
Historic Westside News
Calling Local Reporters,
Photographers and Artists.
The Historic Westside News is back!
Bigger and better than ever, this
newspaper covers Atlanta University
Center (AUC), Ashview Heights,
Castleberry Hill, English Avenue, Vine
City, Washington Park and West End.
Our mission– Linking Neighbors and
Celebrating Diversity– says it all. New
school, old school or your school we are
looking for stories about your/our
communities. Submit stories and graphics
to info@historicwestsidenews.com. See
your story ideas in print and distributed
throughout the community. Deadline is
Third Monday of each month.
Inside This Issue….
Brent Brewer , a West
End resident, is the
publisher of the Our
West End Newsletter.
Westside Future
Fund Needs Community
Input
PAGE 2,3
Urban Ag
From Public Spaces to Homes
PAGE 4, 5
Historic Washington Park
Conservancy
Legacy of Mr. Perry and Mrs. Dove
PAGE 6
2 Historic Westside News May 2016
Community Input Needed on Land Use Plan
Input Schedule
A calendar with times and locations is at http://planwestside.com/events.
Mondays and Tuesdays: Face-to-face fact-finding sessions at the Westside Future Fund office. The Land-Use Action Team is holding a series of Stakeholder Meetings specific to each target area to get input on what’s happening in the community, what stakeholders would like to see happen and what are their concerns. These sessions are with stakeholders grouped into similar categories such as Community Leadership, Residents, Faith-Based Organizations, Developers & Property Owners, Public Safety, Environmental Organizations, and Infrastructure Implementation. If you would like to be included in one of these groups, or have a suggestion for a Stakeholder category that should be included – please contact the Westside Future Fund Director of Programs Nasim Fluker – Email: nfluker@westsidefuturefund.org or Phone: 404-793-2676.
Tuesday evenings: Presentations for public input in each neighborhood. This is a series of neighborhood fact-finding sessions in the six target areas. Residents, businesses, churches, landowners and those organizations providing services in the target community are invited to take part in a series of breakout sessions following an informational presentation on the Westside’s Land-Use Action Plan.
Wednesdays and Thursdays: The Land-Use Action Team will spend two days at the Westside Future Fund’s offices intensively taking all the input from the previous two days to create a draft design and implementation strategy.
Fridays: A draft of recommendations for each target area will be presented at the first Friday of the month at Transform Westside Summit with Q&A after. The draft will be posted online at planwestside.com later that day for review and additional feedback.
Saturdays: For English Avenue and Vine City, the Land-Use Action Plan team is presenting to the local neighborhood associations for feedback on the draft plan. These meetings are open to homeowners, landowners and renters in the specific target area.
Since 2002, over 18 land-use plans have been conceived for the Westside. Understandably some community members say they have “planning fatigue” and have been through this before. The biggest weakness of these previous plans was the lack of a robust implementation strategy – an Action Plan! The Westside Future Fund is therefore building on the good work and extensive community feedback put into previous plans by city agencies, city council members, partners and residents to create a comprehensive, up to date Land-Use Action Plan. You can find links to the previous plans as well as an analysis of each one at http://planwestside.com/previous_westside_studies
Community input is critical to creating a Land-Use Action Plan for the Westside. As Atlanta’s Commissioner of Planning and Community Development, Tim Keane said at the April 1 Transform Westside Summit, “To be successful,
this has to be something that the people who live here - and are invested in here - support and are a part of.” The Westside Future Fund has partnered with the city’s Planning and Community Development to create the Land-Use Action Plan that’s headed up by Dhiru Thadani, an internationally recognized architect/urbanist and author of The Language of Towns and Cities: A Visual Dictionary and co-editor of Leon Krier: The Architecture of Community.
Thadani and his team of local and national experts are holding multiple stakeholder meetings that are followed by a Tuesday night neighborhood informational and input meeting . Other opportunities for public input include the first Friday of each month, when the Land-Use Action Plan team presents its draft recommendations to the Transform Westside Summit and a Saturday morning neighborhood presentation for additional public critique and comment . Throughout the process, all the information collected and the draft plans will be posted at
planwestside.com for review and additional feedback.
Preserving The Identity
A consistent concern in the stakeholder and public meetings on Boone Corridor was losing the area’s culture and history. The Land-Use Action Team took these concerns into account for its first round of recommendations with special mention of Sunset Avenue and its historical significance, as well as identifying existing viable homes and buildings. It is precisely this history and sense of place that researcher Lauri Volk of Zimmerman/Volk Associates said will make the area attractive to the biggest demographic in the country right now - the millennials. What many of them want is to live in a walkable neighborhood that’s mixed use and authentic. “Authenticity is one of the most important aspects that young people are looking for today,” said Volk. “And I must say that authenticity can certainly be found throughout the Westside.”
Focusing on market potential instead of demand, Volk said a housing program can better respond to housing preferences for the people in different life stages who are moving from one place to another - and be very successful without displacing existing residents. “There’s a fear that people who live there will be driven out by the new housing,” she said. “That's why our methodology has been developed to encompass everyone, not just people who can afford market rate - but the people who require public housing and affordable housing because it's really important that neighborhoods be mixed income and diverse. Those are the strongest neighborhoods that will last over time.” Her analysis will look at markets by income and housing preferences - which she said is a long process. “We break them out by income so we can understand how much housing needs to be set aside for affordable housing, and how much housing needs to be set aside for households who don't need assistance.”
…continued from Page 2
Preventing Displacement
Volk said once the study is finished, she will create a housing program that goes beyond the status quo to strategically expand the housing types in each neighborhood. This increases housing choices for people already living there and for people who want to live there. “It attracts new households,” she said. “And that's what you need to restore the vitality of the neighborhood - support existing residents, retain existing residents and attract new people.” Support for the existing community is a top priority for the Westside Future Fund’s Executive Director John Ahmann. “I want to be very clear that we're first going to focus on existing homeowners, businesses and institutions,” he said. “Our first focus is on what is already here, and how to support it and lift it up.”
End Results
The community has multiple ways to provide its input through the series of stakeholder and public meetings - as well as online. Your input matters and is being heard (and incorporated into the plans). With the public’s participation, the Westside Future Fund will be able to deliver an actionable Land-Use Map with development strategies that impact its target neighborhoods. The primary focus of the Action Plan is to identify better ways to support current residents (renters and owners) by developing measures to protect against displacement, identifying prime areas for affordable housing, and attracting commerce. A development phasing strategy and a toolkit for developers and neighborhood entrepreneurs will be included. The Action Plan will also identify responsible parties, set timelines and create budgets. Please join the conversation and stay up on ways you can participate at planwestside.com.
By Kevin Williams, museum co-curator There are many ways to be a voice of the people. In our community in 2016 lifting your voice is of the utmost importance. I am proud to say Omenala Griot is part of a rich chorus that speaks the narrative of Ashview Heights community. See my amazing mother, the late great Dr. Narvie Puls, taught her boy some very valuable lessons. History is important. Just as important is who is expressing that history. Thus, when she retired from her position as an Atlanta Public School System Principal, Moms’ new mission was to present an accurate and documented account of the activities, thoughts, and achievements of African American Diaspora from Kimet to the present day. So in 1992, with my father, Dr. Richard Puls and myself, she purchased and renovated a house in the Ashview Heights neighborhood. It was challenging. We even had to obtain a special use permit
to operate a museum in the area. Still, besides Moms being iron willed, she had another advantage -- being a educator for over 36 years gave Dr. Puls an insight into developing interesting and, informative educational materials that intrigued children of all ages. Currently, The Omenala Griot Museum and Event Center houses a multiplicity of social, spiritual and cultural events ranging from lectures, H.I.V. testing and counseling, African language classes, and recovery meetings to youth dances and community centered fundraisers. Feel free to utilize our consulting and/or event facilities for rental. Like the community we call home, we have challenges. Right now we have a roof in urgent need of repair, so stay tuned for several fundraising campaigns. I have come to believe that although we have a voice to share that is only part of our mission. In total we collect, house and showcase the communities’ voices. Moms is proud. You should be too.
May 2016 Historic Westside News 3
Museum Houses Community Voices
Help Raise the Roof ...
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The Center for Civic Innovation is
launching the Westside Innovation Lab, a
process to identify and support community
-driven and community-built ideas and
interventions within neighborhoods on the
westside of Atlanta.
Our Westside Innovation Lab is a program
where we will select 6-8 of the most innovate
and promising ideas to tackle neighborhood,
social challenges on the westside of Atlanta.
Then over the course of six months, we will
help take these solutions from idea to action.
Each selected idea will be supported with
business development trainings, mentorship,
testing capital, partnerships, and more. There
will also be plenty of opportunities for the
local community to provide help and feedback.
Community Forums
Saturday, May 21. 1 to 3 PM
English Avenue/ Grove Park
New Life Covenant Church
575 Travis St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
Tuesday, May 24. 1 to 3 PM
Vine City/ Washington Park
Brown Middle School- Kennedy Middle
225 Griffin St NW, Atlanta, GA 30314
By Gill Frank, HWG Board co-founder and chair
Thanks to the efforts of the City of Atlanta and philanthropic organizations, Westside communities are going through a revitalization process with appealing opportunities. Yet municipal plans for sustainability and private investment decisions to “green” formerly depressed urban neighborhoods often carry risks of environmental and food gentrification.
Working in such a context, HWG reviewed its strategy and redefined its direction to seize these opportunities and meet these threats by intensifying community ownership through collaboration seeking to massively broaden the number of residents directly involved in growing food. In order to increase community based control of the process, we have moved from focusing on just Urban Agriculture to Urban Civic Agriculture and seeing Food Sustainability as dependent on a broad community embrace of such a component for just and fair development with self-determination.
For 7 years Historic Westside Gardens ATL, Inc. (HWG) has worked in Vine
City and English Avenue to emPLOWer residents through Urban Ag projects. From inception, HWG decided to be an education and training organization, not a farm. To date ten residents of the two neighborhoods, 5 from each and an equal number of males and females, have successfully completed training. As one of the trainees coined it, “transFARMING lives” one farmer and one garden at a time.
Isabelle Anguelovski, author of Neighborhood as Refuge has validated this approach by demonstrating that projects such as community-based urban farms, green streets, parks, playgrounds, or green housing serve as tools to help create safe havens, foster a renewed sense of place for residents, positively affect their individual and collective identity, and contribute to long-term engagement in community revitalization and political activism. As a result, we
intensified our commitment to Asset-Based Community Development: “Building Community from the Inside Out”. In the Westside, we have two main assets for urban agriculture: land and people. As we know, most urban farmers do not own their land. However, in the Westside, with its strong single-family housing stock, people do own the land. There is an abundance of backyards, front yards, and also, unfortunately, vacant lots. Still, residents’ relationship to urban farming in Westside is more complex. While there is long African American heritage of home cooking and gardening there are also historic barriers to regarding agriculture as a highly desirable career. HWG conducted two surveys that exposed this complexity. The results were clear: People want to eat better, fresh and culturally appropriate food, but they want to get assistance to grow it at home rather than in public spaces.
Based on these results we modified several projects to adapt them to our reality. We believe that networking hundreds of home gardeners with community gardens are a solution to
Continued on next page.
meeting the challenges exposed by food
4 Historic Westside News May 2016
A Community of Food and Gardens:
Historic Westside Gardens ATL, Inc. vision for the Westside communities: A bottom-to bottom strategy ...
gentrification: Build a broad based coalition of gardens and green spaces to promote equitable development through urban agriculture. That is why we see GLEN, an acronym for “Gardens’ Link to Empower Neighborhood,” as our HWG 2.0 version.
This year GLEN is creating two clusters of at least eight (8) family gardens in each neighborhood. Each cluster centers on a community garden where the clusters’ families and other members of the community can grow food and learn as well as initiate social activities. One hub is in Vine City and a second one is in planning for English Avenue.
HWG envisions our neighborhoods as a vibrant community, a “Community of Food and Gardens”: home gardens, community gardens, edible trails and streets, green spaces, playgrounds, green infrastructure, small food production businesses, and housing developments that respect the environment and the character of the community.
We can achieve this vision through a bottom-to-bottom network strategy. “Bottom-to- bottom,” as defined in Anguelovski’s book, refers to tactical installations, flexible coalitions, and resident-initiated collaborative projects. Armed with this concept we applied to one of the Westside revitalization efforts -- the Momentum program. HWG received a grant to bring a
resident, HWG trainee to become our CFO (Community Farming Organizer) thereby practicing an ABCD strategy.
Residents in Vine City have already surpassed our expectations. HWG CFO and board member visits to 100 homes yielded 13 home gardeners. The hub is in construction; a shared meal will offer
a first opportunity to link the gardeners around social goals.
It is one thing to claim the quest for equitable development. It is another one to walk the talk give voice and power to residents to lead the revitalization planning including urban agriculture. Success is succession. Therefore, HWG made three decisions:
Significantly broaden the Board
from five (5) to eleven (11)
members.
Guarantee that the Board
membership will comprise a majority
of community residents at all times.
Secure gender equity and racial/
ethnic representation congruent
demographic make-up of the
community.
Stay tuned.
May 2016 Historic Westside News 5
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: From Urban Agriculture to Civic Agriculture
Continued from Page 4 ...
6 Historic Westside News May 2016
By CJ Jackson, Executive Director of
Historic Washington Park Conservancy
The development of the Historic
Washington Park District is “a critical
chapter in the story of Atlanta.”
Washington Park, Booker T.
Washington High School, and the
neighborhood itself are the product of
the unparalleled influence of Heman
Edward Perry. Mr. Perry arrived in
Atlanta in 1908 and with little more
than a seventh grade education and a
relentless drive, he created an empire of
ten successful businesses. Beginning
with Standard Life Insurance Company,
Citizens Trust Bank, Service Realty,
Service Printing and expanding to many
others, Perry sought to build businesses
that fulfilled the needs of Atlanta’s
Black community.
The Service Company’s purchase of 300
acres of land on the Westside in 1918
was the foundation of Atlanta’s first
Planned Black subdivision. It was
Perry’s intention to provide Black
families with an opportunity to own
quality, affordable homes in a safe area.
And in doing so he broke the housing
development color line for the very first
time. Next, Perry donated land to the
City of Atlanta for the construction of
Booker T. Washington High School.
Opening in 1924, this was the first
public high school for Blacks in the
state of Georgia.
By 1926, Perry had given the land for
Washington Park as well. Prior to this
time access to greenspace was severely
restricted for Blacks in Atlanta. But
because of Mr. Perry’s efforts and
unbreakable belief in the bright future
of his race, the park—known as an
“extravagant facility”—provided an
outdoor swimming pool, tennis center,
dance hall and pavilions. It was Black
Atlanta’s only choice for outdoor
recreation.
The Washington Park community and
its place on the Westside is a story of
historic firsts. Its founding families
represent the best and brightest of the
American South: Lawyers, educators,
architects, bankers, labor officials and
everyday working people. The
contributions from these citizens are the
wide, strong shoulders we stand on
today.
As we look towards the future and the
opportunities for development around
our transit nodes, the focus of the
Conservancy at Historic Washington
Park as the keeper of the Washington
Park Neighborhood Visioning Plan, is to
provide a bridge that celebrates and
uplifts the achievements of the past
while advocating for positive
opportunities that address the issues of
affordable housing, historic preservation
and education.
Much of our work is dedicated to
supporting the work and legacy of Dr.
Pearlie Craft Dove. Known as the
Historian of Washington Park and the
"Teacher's Teacher," Miss Dove was the
driving force behind the Atlanta
Project's Washington Cluster. A lifelong
Washington Park resident, she readily
acknowledged that her community's
position on the Westside allowed her
physical proximity to a good education.
From grade school at E.R. Carter
Elementary, to Booker T. Washington
High School and on to Clark Atlanta
University, she found the "roots and
wings" that she used as a solid
foundation to become one of this
country's preeminent educators. She was
always proud to say that “her”
Washington Park is a primary example
of a livable, walkable, interconnected
community in Atlanta.
The Conservancy at Historic
Washington Park is committed to
building on the legacies of Heman
Perry and Pearlie Craft Dove. Recent
partnerships with the Atlanta
Preservation Center and the Atlanta
Regional Commission have supported
our historic preservation efforts. It is
our hope that the upcoming walking
tours, oral history interviews, and
lectures will continue to spark
meaningful conversations and actions
that make it clear that Washington
Park's value is worth more than its
proximity to a major league football
stadium. The stories of Washington
Park's architects, builders and
homeowners must never be forgotten.
The community's manifestation of
freedom, education and generational
wealth must have a protected place in
the future of the City of Atlanta.
Atlanta’s First Black Planned Suburb
Historic Washington Park ...
By Makeda Johnson
I will press on no matter the situation, P.R.E.S.S. on knowing that there is a Divine
Spirit that guides my path…. Even through the darkness knowing that this phase is
essential to appreciating the LIGHT
I will press on past the point of weary, knowing that within me flows the blood of
those who pressed on through slavery. I will let their victories be the wind beneath
my wings and the lashes they bore strengthen my back.
I will imagine how with each cry, there was a call for this day, when I would have the
power of voice and freedom of choice.
I will press on past the aloneness, when it is difficult to understand, when no one can
see the possibility that is the essence of we.
I will press on past the knowing, that there are no errors, no mistakes. Just lessons
that we must each learn as we press on…
I will press on past the Knowing that our path has been blessed and our freedom
earned with blood sweat and tears. We are the ones that our ancestors prayed for, we
are the fruit of their travails
It is our choice to be or not be FREE.
Makeda Johnson is a long time Vine City resident.
P.R.E.S.S. On
By Terry Ross, a West End resident
What a day for a walk in West End
Atlanta! Blue skies, sunshine and a
soothing calm breeze . . . I was still
psyched about the Atlanta Streets Alive
event, just the day before here in the
West End, where 80,000+ enthusiasts
had come out to play. Passing Tassili’s
Raw Reality Restaurant, I was stopped
by a young white (or so she appeared
white) woman who asked me for
directions to MARTA. Sharing that I
too, was heading to West End MARTA .
. . I invited her to join me on the walk.
Now get this! Her name was
Punta, here visiting Atlanta for a Yoga
Workshop at the Cobb Galleria, over
the weekend. With long brown hair
falling past her shoulders, Punta had a
youthfully appearance and couldn’t have
been more than 22-26 years old. Punta
had an athletic build, wore very little
makeup, and was dressed in a long
flowing skirt and a smock top that lay
across her shoulders. Yup, Punta was
definitely a hipster.
The black suitcase on wheels
Punta trundled behind her, gave away
that she was a tourist. When asked
where she was traveling to, Punta’s
response was, “home, in Toronto
Ontario.” Today while sightseeing at
the Georgia Aquarium, she and her
boyfriend had decided that airport food
would not do. Punta googled vegan
meals, (knew she was a hipster!) and
chose Tassili’s.
Punta then walked from the
Georgia Aquarium to Tassili’s on RDA.
Now this impressed me because I too
enjoy a good walk, but 2.9 miles or 59
minutes (we googled the trip) to grab a
bite? No wonder the boyfriend was
not around, he probably took the train
to the airport, “You go honey; I’ll meet
you at the airport.”
Turns out Punta was Iranian.
Her family relocated to Toronto, when
she was 11. We discussed and agreed
on the challenges and barriers that
women faced in Iran, which also
happened to be one of the many
reasons for her parents’ decision to
relocate. Punta and I also discussed the
beauty and vibrancy of Atlanta. As I
described the Atlanta Streets Alive
event, I had to emphasize what a great
event her and boyfriend had missed the
day before.
Upon arriving at West End
MARTA, I walked Punta through the
whole bus card purchase and fare
loading process. OMG! Can you keep
it simple MARTA? Punta and I bid
adieus and I couldn’t help to think;
#westendbestendatl, interesting folks
everywhere.
Tehran to Toronto to Tassili’s
Pray
Regularly
Expecting
Something
Supernatural
May 2016 Historic Westside News 7
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Poetry Page
ATLANTA (March 30, 2016) — At a
recent reception, the Atlanta Housing
Authority (AHA) announced that
Ashley Thomas, an artist and resident
of Southwest Atlanta, was the winner
of the University Choice Neighborhood
(UCN) Art Mural Competition. Chosen
by the UCN Art Mural Selection
Committee – assembled by AHA/UCN
staff – Thomas was selected from eight
candidates to install her original work,
“The Block Builders,” on the unsightly
wooden structure concealing electrical
units at the current site of the UCN
offices, located at 227 Roach Street in
Southwest Atlanta. During the
celebration, the mural was officially
unveiled and Thomas received a stipend
of $1,000, plus funds for supplies.
The competition, a continuation of
AHA’s UCN community engagement
and outreach, is part of a larger UCN
effort to begin aesthetic improvements
within the UCN boundaries – Vine City,
Ashview Heights, and the Atlanta
University Center neighborhood. Open
to artists who live, work, or attend
school within UCN boundaries, the
competition included established local
artists and a nationally acclaimed artist.
According to Thomas, “The Block
Builders,” completed on March 9th with
the assistance of students from local
public High and Middle schools, is a
concept about sharing individual talents,
gifts and resources as a way to build
community. “Sharing is one of the first
lessons you learn as a child,” says
Thomas, a local school teacher. “So, I
envisioned these blocks [representing]
education, funding, innovation, housing,
opportunities, nutrition, love,
encouragement, etc. Each person in the
community holds at least one block, and
when we open the lines of
communication and put in the work, the
blocks begin to multiply.”
Gwen Weddington, AHA/UCN staff
member, says the mural is but one of
many initiatives of UCN to come, as the
goal of this project was to keep the
community engaged by garnering
positive attention for neighborhood
resources and development plans. “After
attending numerous public and
neighborhood meetings to let residents
know what we are doing in the
community, we wanted to start
beautifying the community and
encouraging them to learn more about
micro grants, case management, health
services, educational opportunities and
workforce development,” says
Weddington.
In September, 2015, the Atlanta
Housing Authority and the City of
Atlanta were awarded a $30M Choice
Neighborhoods Implementation Grant
to revitalize areas of west Atlanta,
including Vine City, Ashview Heights
and the Atlanta University Center
neighborhood – collectively known as
UCN.
AHA Honors UCN Art Mural Competition Winner
8 Historic Westside News May 2016