SMaPl - Development without Displacement
A Housing and Land Use Plan for Frogtown & Rondo
The Frogtown Neighborhood and Summit U Planning Council will be collaborating throughout the summer and beyond on a anti-displacement vision for the future of our two communities.
We see the avalanche of development unfolding around us—cranes in the sky, new businesses, buildings, and apartment complexes emerging, the overall value of our community increasing, and as a result, friends, family, and establishments that have called our community home for decades, disappearing.
Things are changing and changing quickly.
Development—the improvement and updating of infrastructure is necessary. Existing community members and residents deserve resources that have been denied to the neighborhood for generations.
With development comes opportunity: access to jobs, resources, safety, and increased vitality. However, this newfound opportunity is seldom meant for the community of people who currently occupy these spaces—largely culturally diverse, eclectic, vibrant, under-resourced and cost-burdened communities.
Communities like Frogtown, Rondo, Midway, and North End.
We’ve seen neighborhoods like ours decimated across that nation for not having a concrete plan of action in place or a seat at the decision making table.
With your help, we won’t be yet another community dismantled, white-washed, and reimagined by people who know little to nothing about the legacy of Frogtown and Rondo or the sacredness of the ground they’re digging into.
For this reason, we’re developing a Housing and Land Use Plan for our two communities filled with policy recommendations, concrete site plans developed and informed by community members, and research and statistics to affirm the necessity of our effort. All of our work will be backed and bookended by the story’s of people who live and work within our community. Without these stories — YOUR stories — are work is without foundation to stand on. It’s your voice that will energize and frame this effort.
We have and always will be the heart and soul of St. Paul.
This is Home.
Our Platform
1
Residents have a right to safe, healthy and sustainable homes. Homes free from mold and lead paint, that are in good repair, structurally sound, and adequately weatherized using methods that help reduce energy costs and are good for the environment.
2
Residents deserve to build generational wealth through their homes and have access to jobs, education, and resources; our communities have lacked access to resources for years, and should be able take advantage of them as they’re brought in.
3
Residents have a right to transparency i.e. knowing and understanding what’s happening within and around their community.
4
Fostering community stakeholders and partnerships will ensure our work isn’t done in vain and that there are hands to carry the torch long after the initial seeds are planted.
Our Partners
The Frogtown Neighborhood Association is well aware that a project of this scale can’t be completed alone. We need an abundance of community partners at the table to ensure we’re able to attack this problem effectively, and luckily, we’ve already gotten a couple:
District Council: Summit University Planning Council
Planning, Urban design, and Landscape Architecture Firm: Asakura Robinson
Research & Technical Assistance: Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
Creative Consulting Firm: Discover Dope LLC
& The City of St. Paul via Tony Johnson our City Planner
What Does Our Effort Look Like in Action?
When working on a project as complex and multi-layered as a Housing and Land Use Plan for two similar, but very different communities, it can be hard for one to wrap their head around it’s nuts and bolts. What does it look like? How can I, as a community member get involved? How long will it take? Ect. And honestly, these are questions we, and our partners are still in the process of answering for ourselves. However, we are aware of some of the initial steps we’d like to take, and we’re gaining further clarity about our approach with each week that passes.
Our initial steps are listed below:
Get Involved
Our project will fall on deaf ear if we don’t have community members at the table energizing our work. We value your input, your story, and your time. If you’re interested in learning more about how to contribute to our project, click the button below, and we’ll get ya filled in at our earliest convenience!