The North Memphis Volunteers, Organizing, Inspiring, Cultivating, and Education (V.O.I.C.E.) Coalition, supported by SPARCC, is a community-driven initiative that addresses disparities and empowers residents. This case study explores the journey of The North Memphis V.O.I.C.E. Coalition, a collaborative table focused on 20+ neighborhoods in North Memphis. Comprised of residents, community-based organizations, and institutional partners, The […]

This case study digs into how SPARCC LA directed SPARCC resources towards the advancement of transit, housing, and economic justice. Through strategies like community land trusts, tenant protections, and small business preservation, SPARCC LA furthered its collective vision of ensuring low-income Los Angeles residents of color benefit from new investments in their communities. SPARCC LA […]

By Sasha Forbes and Nick Collins At SPARCC’s inception, we knew policy—local, regional, and national—would be a critical component for long-term systems change. But that was met with the hard reality of the 2016 election, which put many policy advocates on the defense. Where we had high hopes for an administration to work with us […]

The “Second City” has always been a place of change and renewal. Chicago, a city that was devastated by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, has proved its resiliency time and time again by continuing to reinvent itself.  Chicago is home to 77 community areas including Bronzeville and La Villita (Little Village), Chinatown and Uptown, […]

By Marissa Ramirez (NRDC), Dr. Erica Holloman-Hill (WAWA), Mona Wang (LIIF), and Darryl Haddock (WAWA) We thrive through our connection to land, to community, and to each other. Parks and public lands offer these important connections between people, communities, and nature, as spaces for community stability, health, and well-being – something that this pandemic has […]

It is impossible to ignore the concurring injustices of our time– undeniably thrust into the nation’s consciousness through the events of 2020 and now. We stand at the intersection of grave racial, economic, health, and environmental injustices. Like any crossroad, there are different pathways forward. We know that there is no single pathway that will […]

Dr. Hanaa Hamdi, Director of Health Impact Investment Strategies and Partnerships for New Jersey Community Capital, sat down with NRDC’s Stephanie Gidigbi of the SPARCC national team to expand on a SPARCC Virtual Learning Conversation event highlighting the vital importance of parks in the health and well-being of communities. “Every community has a right to have access […]

By Sasha Forbes There is a frustrating truth in the world of community development: new large-scale development, no matter how much it is designed to support the existing neighborhood, often displaces or alienates some longtime residents. Whether it’s a transit project, housing project or large-scale park project, the outcomes are typically the same. Assets in […]