Culture and creativity: a critical part of building healthy neighborhoods

March 2021

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation

45 Stories for 45 Years

Contributor: Annie Ledbury, Senior Manager, Creative Community Development

Moved by the tragic death of a resident of the California Hotel hit by a car as he was crossing the street at a dangerous intersection along San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, a group of California Hotel residents convened as part of SPARC’s Design Dash program to brainstorm creative solutions and call for more investment from the City of Oakland to make their streets safer for residents. The group called their campaign Yield 4 Life, created a logo for t-shirts, a website and stickers, and organized a protest where they captured video interviews with passers-by about the urgent need for safer streets.

Almost exactly one year later, more than 50 people came together in the intersection to paint a colorful new mural that celebrated the musical legacy of the San Pablo Corridor neighborhood and increased pedestrian safety. The mural reclaimed part of this wide street with colorful bump-outs and crosswalks to slow and redirect traffic, featuring a walk of fame of neighborhood musicians. It was created by residents with the support of EBALDC and the newly formed City of Oakland Department of Transportation who were inspired by the video produced by the Yield 4 Life campaign. And just this year, the City of Oakland started construction on more permanent safety measures for the intersection. 

Throughout the years-long process, I worked with members of the San Pablo Area Revitalization Collaborative, a coalition of organizations and institutions convened by EBALDC and focused on working with residents to improve the health and wellbeing of the neighborhood, to support the community leaders calling for change. My role is to connect residents with design and advocacy volunteers, the right people at City Hall, and support creation of a realistic process to safely paint the mural and make progress toward their long-term goal of safer streets.

As EBALDC’s Senior Manager of Creative Community Development, my job is to connect the dots so that residents can build connections and power to make change in the built environment. Art, culture and creativity are critical parts of building healthy neighborhoods, and I am proud of the behind-the-scenes support my team and I provide in helping EBALDC staff and our residents, tenants and community members weave art that reflects their histories, personalities and priorities throughout real estate development, neighborhood services, and more. 

We can learn so much about our communities from the process by which they come together with artists to express the messages that mean the most to them, including those of power, resilience, and health. At EBALDC, we take our work helping to lift up community vision seriously.  

As EBALDC marks our 45th anniversary, we will be gathering more stories like this one from our friends, family, community members, partners and more stakeholders that have made our impact possible. We would be honored for you to join us:

  • Follow us on social media: @EBALDC

 

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