It’s been an amazing year! Our small staff, volunteer base, and scores of community partners incorporated new and creative ways of engagement and problem solving that increase access to design resources and advance equity in the built environment.
In FY 2022, Storefront for Community Design collaborated on 26 projects that have the power to serve over 92,000 Richmond area residents. We provided volunteer services in our design education and low-cost design and planning assistance programs valuing over $132,000. Check out our FY 2022 Program Impact Report and project impact stories.
Impact Story 1 | City Builders Design
A Health Empowerment Project
When the Richmond Henrico Health District’s data revealed low adoption of COVID mitigation and prevention practices among youth and black communities, SFCD endeavored to use the built environment to empower these groups to take advantage of resources available and make informed decisions. Battling against COVID fatigue and set against the backdrop of racism’s formal declaration as a public health crisis, both City Builders and VCUarts mOb studio worked to design a visual health awareness campaign with a unique design style, messaging, and strategic placement.
SFCD convened students, an artist mentor, and a poster design collective to develop and install visual works, creating space for intentional conversations about health, wellness, race, and safety that culminated in a public poster show event in the Northside, increasing community awareness.
“Teaching with City Builders reminded me that not only should we include our children in the process of designing better things for our cities but also to become better designers we need to awaken the child in ourselves.”
Impact Story 2 | Design Session
A Community Circus in Southside
Determined to preserve a fabric of community arts in the changing landscape of the Manchester neighborhood, Host of Sparrows Aerial Circus, a professional aerial dance and circus arts company, struck out to renovate a new space. The owner, Heather, needed an advocate who could begin to translate a vision into reality. After reaching out to SFCD, Heather was connected with Jessie, a local volunteer architect.
Possibly even more valuable than the design assistance was Jessie's ability to demystify the language of construction: “there is such a need just for translating between community members and developers, landlords, and architects so they can better advocate for themselves." Once Design Session concluded, Heather and Jessie continued collaborating and in fall 2022 Host of Sparrows held their grand opening welcoming students and non-profits for community classes in circus arts to fulfill their mission.
Impact Story 3 | Community Visioning
A Guidebook for Highland Grove
When the Better Housing Coalition (BHC) was named as the developer to manage the initial plan to final buildout of Highland Grove, a 33-acre mixed income neighborhood, they knew that collaboration was critical to create lasting change for the better. The first step was to ensure that community voice continued to shape the project. BHC collaborated with SFCD to lead a community visioning process to guide the design of outdoor and architectural elements in the plan.
Alongside BHC, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the City of Richmond, Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, project:HOMES, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity, and resident ambassadors, SFCD convened meetings, created a community survey, and hosted open house events that brought affordable housing non-profits under one roof for resource sharing. Over 150 residents participated throughout the process building a strong foundation to help guide BHC’s work moving forward.