Places Journal has launched a series titled "The Inequality Chronicles." Expect high-quality longform articles.
"The Inequality Chronicles" series by Places Journal began this month with a story titled "Memphis Burning," which sets the stage with a fire on February 26, 1953, when a fire burned down the home at 384 South Lauderdale Street. That kind of historic scope is reflected through the piece—which tells a history of racism as it has manifested in the housing market of Memphis since before even the beginning of World War II. The key theme that emerges from the history told by Preston Lauterbach: "Inequality is enforced in Memphis, and it always has been."
Michael Berryhill pens the second installation of the series, lending the same variety of ambitious scope and journalistic rigor to the story of East Aldine, a 15-square mile area of unincorporated land in the middle of metropolitan Houston. Berryhill details a partnership between East Aldine and Neighborhood Centers Inc., " a nonprofit group that has quietly backed Houston’s poor for more than a hundred years."
After introducing Angela Blanchard, the director of neighborhood Centers, Berryhill describes the fundamental dynamics of the partnership:
It’s tempting to say that East Aldine is Angela Blanchard’s next project, but that would be misleading. She is East Aldine’s next project. Neighborhood Centers preaches a gospel called appreciative inquiry. Instead of barging into a community and telling residents what to fix, Blanchard’s organizers listen. They identify local leaders and ask what they can do to help. While many nonprofits talk about bottom-up organizing, this one takes it to another level. “We are so fanatical about treating people with respect,” Blanchard said. “It is embedded in the culture. We train on it. We teach other people.”
If the Neighborhood Centers name and method sounds familiar, you might have read the chapter about the organization in The Metropolitan Revolution, by Brookings Institution analysts Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley.
Both of the articles in the series so far are highly recommended for planners and anyone else interested in tackling the complex and varied problems of inequality.
FULL STORY: Memphis Burning

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Santa Barbara Could Build Housing on County Land
County supervisors moved forward a proposal to build workforce housing on two county-owned parcels.

San Mateo Formally Opposes Freeway Project
The city council will send a letter to Caltrans urging the agency to reconsider a plan to expand the 101 through the city of San Mateo.

A Bronx Community Fights to Have its Voice Heard
After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped — and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.
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