Spotlight on Our Communities

Across Dallas, across Texas, and across the nation, people without means are being left out of the conversations about the design and planning of their communities.  [bc] empowers individuals, fostering opportunities for choice in order to amplify the voices of the most underserved residents. 

Spotlight on Our Communities is a new email series that highlights the ways [bc] is engaging communities to drive the decisions that will affect their lives.  Three episodes below highlight our work in the realm of community-engaged planning, disaster recovery, and resident choice-driven housing design.  These stories demonstrate the true impact of our work, which is only made possible through the support of our donors, partners, volunteers, champions, and friends.

We ask for your support as we continue to bring new voices to the table and bring choice to communities who often have none. 

Please explore the stories below, share them with your friends and family, and consider making your gift today!  And if you aren't subscribed, sign up for our newsletter to ensure you receive future episodes delivered to right to your inbox!

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enduring through change

November 7, 2017

weathering the flood

November 11, 2017

a place to call home

November 14, 2017

Pre-Construction Clean-Up at 1208 E. 10th Street

[bc] received a Safety Grant from Texas Mutual to support our purchase of ergonomic office equipment and safety equipment to keep our staff safe at the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resource Center construction site. 

In the Tenth Street neighborhood—one of the last remaining and perhaps the most intact of Dallas's historic Freedmen's Towns—we’re working with residents to help build local capacity.  We're renovating a historic home at 1208 E. 10th Street to serve as a Neighborhood Resource Center.  When completed, it will become a repository for essential resources, a site for activities that promote technical learning among residents and strengthen community cohesion, and a residence for a [bc] architectural designer who will hold open office hours to assist the community with technical advice.

The Neighborhood Resource Center will support residents in their efforts to address the pressing issues they've identified in their community, such as vacancy, redevelopment pressures, and the disrepair of historic homes in the neighborhood.  

In preparation for construction activities, [bc] and community members visited the property to conduct preliminary site clean-up.  Activities included leaf-raking, trash pick-up, and bamboo and brush clearing.  Check out the photos below!

Staff benefitted from the use of coveralls, safety glasses, gloves, ear protection, and hardhats purchased through Texas Mutual's generous grant.  We're so grateful for this support!

[bc] is grateful to all those who have provided support for the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resource Center: The Real Estate Council Foundation, The Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundation, Inc., the Hillcrest Foundation, the Hoblitzelle Foundation, and Bank of America. 

10th Street: Construction Set To Begin

Learn more about People Organizing Place (POP)!

The 10th Street house is a small-scale rehabilitation project on an existing house in the historic 10th Street District, one of the few remaining freedmen's towns left in Dallas. The rehabilitation efforts to the existing house will be minimal and true to the original structure, honoring the history of the neighborhood, and original aesthetic of the home. Construction is set to begin at the beginning of 2017. Once complete the home will be a community design hub for the neighborhood.