We hosted a Public Newsroom where Blocks Together explained how to leverage the collective power of the community to resist unwanted development projects from breaking ground in public spaces.
By Lee Edwards
Photo by community member Luz Chavez Bazaldua
As part of our month-long education series “Who Gets to Build in Chicago,” we hosted a Public Newsroom where Blocks Together explained how to leverage the collective power of the community to resist unwanted development projects from breaking ground in public spaces.
Blocks Together (BT), a nonprofit neighborhood organization in West Humboldt Park, has been featured in our two most recent weekly newsletters because we highlighted the organization’s education initiatives on development/procurement and how it successfully resisted a developer from breaking ground on a vacant lot the organization uses for communal activities.
Three BT representatives shared their resistance methods and explained why their efforts are important to their community and beyond:
Caroline “Caro” Gaete, Executive Director
Lolanda Mills, Village Keeper Coordinator
Antonio “Tony” Ward, Community Organizer
The panel was moderated by City Bureau Events and Outreach Coordinator Marilyn Carteno and City Bureau Director of Community Engagement W.D. Floyd.
Here are a few notable takeaways from the nearly 90-minute panel discussion:
Build your organization with and for the community first and foremost
As you are developing your strategic plan of action, make certain that your efforts are both defined and informed by the members of your organization and the community at large. Gaete said although BT is not a large organization with a massive budget, its impact can be felt by anyone within their neighborhood’s footprint.
“Our symbol is an ant because we believe in collective work and we’re small,” Gaete said.
Teach yourself about the system and then share the knowledge
It is imperative for community leaders to not only educate themselves on political systems and economic policies that impact the lives of the people they are serving but to also strategically share that information with residents. Gaete said she and other members of BT learned about the city’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund and building permits during the city school closures in 2013.
"Our main concern is that our base, our community, our people are well versed, so we don't get bamboozled," Gaete said. “We were able to move so far with the TIF because we learned the TIF law. We knew that it was governed by the state and learned how the county had its play and the city had its play.”
The work is worth the effort, and you can enjoy it
“I think for us the most important thing is how we come together,” Gaete said. “People who came to the lot were people we sparked. We didn’t manipulate them or agitate them; it was a spark like, ‘Oh, no, we want to defend, there’s a fight, we want to be part of this fight to defend.’”
Although defending your community can be taxing at times, it should not be a joyless process.
“You have to love what you’re doing to get people excited,” Gaete said. “You can’t look for people to join you and you ain’t even feeling it.”
About the author
Lee is a multimedia/digital journalist who has covered a wide spectrum of news beats across the Chicagoland region as a former reporter with Block Club Chicago, The Chicago Defender, Austin Weekly News and Times Republic. Currently, he’s a contributing reporter to The TRiiBE and The Chicago Defender.
About the Public Newsroom
The Public Newsroom is a workshop series hosted by City Bureau where we discuss, deconstruct and debate issues in the news. Each month we bring in co-hosts to examine the city’s big-picture challenges, sharing actionable resources with community members to meet their immediate needs while sparking conversation about long-term solutions.
Backstory: The Public Newsroom was launched in 2016, along with an expanded Chicago Documenters program, after a successful Kickstarter where we asked everyone to donate no more than $10 each. Since its launch the Public Newsroom concept has spread to other communities including Clarksdale, Miss., and Sao Paulo, Brazil. On June 29, 2023, we hosted our 150th Public Newsroom.