Dec 04 2014
Earlier this year we launched our first Causeway Challenge–a grant making opportunity asking Chattanoogans what they would do to create a more connected city. We saw ideas that addressed connectivity through transportation, technology, language, food, and relationships. One of our Fellows, Heather Sivley, has been working closely with the winners of the Challenge and we’ve asked her to share some reflections.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Connectivity is a process, a philosophy. At Causeway, we’ve always said, “where there’s a cause, there’s a way” but we’ve been looking more closely at that “way.” We’ve discovered that beyond materials, facilities, funding, and volunteers, a cause leader also needs community. She needs people to hold her accountable, cheerleaders to spread the word, friends to help work through mistakes, and conversations to flesh out ideas. For Causeway, this philosophy meant we needed to become connectors ourselves. Through the Challenge process we’ve offered project leaders community mentors, staff contacts, a Connectivity Showcase to exchange ideas, and weekly check-ins to identify individual needs.
Connectivity is hard work. For project leaders, the connectivity process has required great patience and flexibility. Listening to others and engaging people in projects takes time. Many found their projects would take longer than planned. Some found themselves reevaluating their initial goals or changing the basic steps. After meeting other Challenge Winners at the Connectivity Showcase, Khristy and Alice decided to slow their project down. Before they could improve affordable access to local produce at Highland Park Commons, they needed to better understand what the community wanted. They had to find tools and resources not only to address food insecurity, but to bridge cultural and language differences and get community feedback. As they revised their plans, they pulled in wisdom from research, the experiences of other farmers markets, and from other challenge winners.
The connectivity process adds value. For many of the challenge winners, it is the process that makes the project meaningful. Katie and Cat painted crosswalks with custom designs for their project, Here to There, but their motivation was more than pedestrian safety. They wanted to inspire the neighborhood to engage with its schools. The crosswalks are meaningful because students were involved in the design process, and the community worked together to execute their plan.
Similarly, Tron Wilder’s neighborhood, Ferger Place, is adding a new firepit and sandbox to its park. The value is not in the added materials; it comes with neighbors planning, building, and celebrating alongside each other.
In Avondale, Dr. Everlena Holmes’s efforts to create a neighborhood directory are more involved than handing out phone books. In this door to door work, every resident is invited to be trained as a block leader who will ensure that their neighbors stay connected and informed in the future. Her project isn’t just about knowing how to reach someone, but knowing that your neighbor will welcome your call.
Connectivity doesn’t end with a project. Often, one connection leads to another and the projects continue to grow. Though we try to capture as much as possible, it is difficult to measure the impact of the relationships formed through these projects. Instead, we will tell their stories. In the coming weeks, stay tuned to hear from some of the Causeway Challenge winners about their process of creating a more connected city for us all.
Originally published at www.causeway.org on December 4, 2014.
