Graduation Date

Fall 2018

Document Type

Project

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in Social Science, Environment and Community

Committee Chair Name

Nicholas Perdue, Ph.D.

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

John Meyer, Ph.D.

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Third Committee Member Name

Renee Byrd, Ph.D.

Third Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Community, Community-based, Strategies, Art, Mission district, San francisco, Community-built, Rehabilitation, Neighborhood, Race, Activism, Ethnic, Urban, Urban studies, Built environment

Subject Categories

Environment and Community

Abstract

Through the case study of San Francisco, CA’s Mission District, this research project addresses how community-based affordable housing development is operationalized to rehabilitate communities and neighborhoods experiencing effects of gentrification, mass displacement, and cultural dilution. My goals were to identify how the processes of building a sense of community, trust, and cohesion- rehabilitating and critical to affordable housing development efforts in the Mission District? And, how are nonprofit community development organizations engaging with these processes in collaboration with citizen and community partners? The final objective is to provide evidence-based strategies to assist other at-risk minority communities and neighborhoods in the built environment.

I partnered with the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)’s Community Real Estate (CRE) department to implement and test community and trust building, and cultural place-keeping strategies. The strategies were influenced and shaped by the Mission District’s rich history, Latinx and artistic cultures, and activism. Co-facilitated with Precita Eyes Muralists, we conducted ten-week mosaic workshops at three of MEDA’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) properties; I designed survey activities to encourage engagement and create spaces for community participation; and, conducted semi-formal interviews with MEDA’s CRE teams, and the architect’s creative design teams.

Through an affordable housing development lens in gentrifying neighborhoods, it is evident that utilizing creative and cultural place-keeping practices to engage with neighborhood community members is an empowering and rehabilitating strategy; moreover, it prompts community and relationship building, has mental and physical benefits, and addresses specific design needs of low-income, working-class residents.

Citation Style

APA

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