Consulting

African Nova Scotian Housing Needs Assessment and Strategy (2022-2024)

As part of the African Nova Scotian Housing Strategy Initiative, a series of engagement sessions were held in communities across the province. The 18 in-person sessions invited African Nova Scotian (ANS) and Black community members, leaders, and service providers to share their experiences of housing on the ground and discuss a vision for the way forward. The engagement sessions were held in strategic locations across the province and were attended by 164 participants representing numerous historic and present-day ANS communities. Local facilitators and notetakers were onboarded to run engagements in their own communities, with support from the Community Liaison and other members of the project team.

Little Caribbean Cultural Resources Survey (2023-2024)

The grant-funded (Preservation League of NY; NY State Council on the Arts) project consists of the first step in being listed on the U.S. Register of Historic Places: a Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF). The MPDF focuses on the history, development, and significance of the Little Caribbean neighborhood, in Brooklyn, NY. My research team, with the support of students from Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture, research and write a neighborhood context statement, conduct a survey of existing conditions, undertake community outreach, draft thematic categories and evaluation framework, and produce a final report of findings.

African Nova Scotian Housing Needs Assessment and Strategy (2022-2024)

As part of the African Nova Scotian Housing Strategy Initiative, a series of engagement sessions were held in communities across the province. The 18 in-person sessions invited African Nova Scotian (ANS) and Black community members, leaders, and service providers to share their experiences of housing on the ground and discuss a vision for the way forward. The engagement sessions were held in strategic locations across the province and were attended by 164 participants representing numerous historic and present-day ANS communities. Local facilitators and notetakers were onboarded to run engagements in their own communities, with support from the Community Liaison and other members of the project team.

Advancing Black Homeownership Initiative (2023-2024)

The grant-funded (Habitat for Humanity International) project recognizes historic and enduring discriminatory housing policy coupled with inadequate community development has perpetuated significant disparities in Black homeownership. Attempts to decrease the gap in Black homeownership have additionally been hindered by inadequate training regarding cultural nuance by community development experts. The purpose of this applied research is to design effective Black community development and housing training for Habitat for Humanity International (HfHI) affiliate offices that further their goals of increasing the number of Black households serviced by HfHI in the United States by 50% and by 2030, contribute to increasing the number of Black homeowners by 3 million. I have been tasked with assembling a team of architects, graphic designers, and urban planners to assist HfHI in meeting its campaign goals. As the project manager and co-principal investigator, I designed a research plan that includes diversity, equity, and inclusion training; community outreach and engagement, stakeholder identification and recruitment, and the council implementation and governance by-law drafting.

Black Experiences with Planning in Canada (2023-2024)

BEPIC is a partnership dedicated to learning from the lived experiences of Black communities and planners. By expanding our understanding of the relationship between Black people and planning in Canada, our goal is to shape the future of planning by promoting equitable ways of planning in Black communities and beyond. ⁠