This case study highlights work from those who participated in our Healing our Highways program, an initiative that aims to inspire creative ideas and activities to build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Tampa Heights, one of Tampa’s oldest neighborhoods, has deep generational roots, including a strong Black community. However, gentrification and development threaten its cultural identity. The consulting firm Conscious Community Connectors—a group dedicated to facilitating connections within and between communities—focused on working with residents to preserve a historic Black church at risk of demolition.
Background
Home to approximately 16,000 people, Tampa Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods located in the west-central city of Tampa, Florida. Its roots go back to the 1880s when it was established as Tampa’s first suburb. Over the years, strong generational roots took hold, including those of Black families in Tampa Heights. However, gentrification efforts carried out without the involvement of community voices have pushed out many who had established Tampa Heights, and continue to threaten pillars of the community’s strong cultural identity.
The residents of the historic Tampa Heights neighborhood have been advocating for decades for their right to a healthy and connected community. The Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association sought to leverage the Healing Our Highways program to support the resident-driven community preservation effort already in progress. Specifically, the Tampa Heights used the funds and support of the Healing Our Highways program for their efforts to preserve a historic Black church that is in danger of being demolished when its ownership transfers to the Florida Department of Transportation in fewer than 10 years. They have made significant progress by hosting community events at the church in order to demonstrate the importance of the space and generate community support for the placekeeping effort.
Taking Action
For the Tampa Heights team, Healing Our Highways funding was especially critical to their ability to have a meaningful impact in their community. In addition to paying for supplies, spaces, and photography to document their accomplishments, funding allowed them to establish a powerful precedent of paying local creatives to contribute to the events and projects. Investing in local talent proved to be an extremely valuable part of the project as it strengthened relationships, uplifted the community’s culture, and created a sense of ownership for community members participating in the projects. Their participation in the Healing Our Highways also allowed the Tampa Heights team to have a successful project to refer to when applying for similar programs and funding in the future to show what their team can accomplish when given these types of opportunities and resources.
“The core goal of our project was community. And it sounds so simple. But it really is the act of bringing people together to share their stories, to bond, to heal, and just creating those spaces for people to to come together. And it’s also about claiming spaces. I think it’s especially important with Tampa Heights changing so much, and experiencing a lot of development. We’ve had a lot of families that have had to move out of the neighborhood. So, having a place where you can always come back to that’s like home, that’s a safe space. Claiming that space, the history and the legacies that are within that space, we want to build upon that.” -Naya Young, Co-Founder, Conscious Community Connectors