Reports on this co-created process center the community’s voice
Co-creating Kensington
Over the past few years, a growing number of residents, organizations, and civic groups have been joining forces to develop comprehensive, community-driven, and trauma-informed strategies for Kensington because we know that sustained improvements to health and wellbeing happen when communities come together to co-create their own future.
As an ongoing, flexible, and participatory planning process, Co-Creating Kensington is yielding greater engagement from the community, proper strengths-based roles, and more resources for community-defined priorities.
What is Co-Creating Kensington?
Building on historical and existing organizing and plans of the past as well as years of efforts by deeply invested community groups, Co-Creating Kensington pushes forward trauma-informed, participatory, and comprehensive strategies for community revitalization. This process acknowledges the neighborhood’s strengths and honors the leadership of its community members.
Co-Creating Kensington also recognizes that community participation doesn’t stop with planning - our goal is to continue bolstering engagement and aligning strategies for Kensington so that residents retain power and ownership of processes, resources, and outcomes.
Why are we planning?
For too long, decisions about Kensington have been made without community input. A history of strategic disinvestment combined with a series of failed imposed strategies over the past several years have furthered the challenges that residents face - poverty, homelessness, addiction, violence, and poor health to name just a few.
But Kensington is also a neighborhood of assets: affordable real estate, solid housing stock, easy access to transportation, dedicated neighbors and civic groups, and three times more small businesses than the city average.
Finding a way forward in Kensington will mean shifting from a scarcity mindset to abundance-based strategies.
Sometimes community planning in Kensington feels like a poorly coordinated potluck, where visitors show up with nothing except their own appetites.
“
Who we are
Kensington is a neighborhood of strengths: affordable real estate, solid housing stock, easy access to transportation, dedicated neighbors and civic groups, and three times more small businesses than the city average.
How we plan
Instead of piecemeal solutions, Kensington needs a comprehensive plan that acknowledges its strengths and honors the leadership of its community members.
Next steps
This winter, we will spend time aligning what is outlined in Kensington Planning Process: History, Context, Voices with community members and other plans for Kensington. We will also continue implementation of Opioid Settlement Funds.