After 50 years of disinvestment in the the North Hartford Promise Zone, Community Solutions has broken ground on the Swift Factory, a brownfield site in the heart of the neighborhood. The historic factory was once the neighborhood’s largest employer, but has been vacant since 2005. Soon it will resume its role as the neighborhood’s economic engine becoming a multi-tenant, food business hub.
Having been approached by local leaders in 2010, Community Solutions has been engaging the community, through a social equity lens to understand the needs, wants, and vision for the factory, and the neighborhood. The Swift Factory’s transformation is a key building block in creating greater stability and prosperity for residents of North Hartford. Outside the walls of the factory, community engagement continues in the development of resident leaders, building block clubs; and identifying and impacting systems that created the current landscape of blight, evictions and transiency.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss equitable community development in ethnically and economically diverse communities.
- Define processes and procedures that public and private partners can partake in for successful equitable community development.
- Advocate for tools and resources that support equitable development in community.
- Illustrate community engagement methods that support civic dialogue from a diverse audience.
AIA Continuing Education Credit: 2 LU
Living Future Accreditation Credits: 1.5 HRS
