Anchoring Equitable Development: Anchor Institute-Led Models of Housing and Community Development to Strengthen Institutions and Communities

In April 2014, a convening of national housing equity experts was hosted in Jacksonville, Florida by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. The convening's purpose was to gain insight from national stakeholders on affordable housing and equitable development challenges and opportunities in Jacksonville. From this two-day engagement, a number of major challenges and opportunities facing Jacksonville's housing development were clearly identified. Two of these findings directly inform this research effort.First, to meet the needs of Jacksonville's marginalized communities, an intentional focus on equity must stay at the forefront of community housing and development strategies. Second, if equity-focused development efforts are better aligned with health and/or educational stakeholders, affordable housing and equitable development could blossom in Jacksonville.Stable and affordable housing is essential to educational success and positive health outcomes for families and for communities. While the linkage between housing and educational and health outcomes is clear, educational and health stakeholders have not traditionally been deeply engaged in meeting housing need. Emerging initiatives across the country are countering this disengagement, demonstrating the important role that anchor institutions can play in supporting local housing needs. Community anchor institutions, such as educational entities (particularly higher education) and health care organizations can be powerful institutional resources to support equitable housing and community development. Throughout the nation, successful anchor institute-led housing interventions have been transformational in addressing community housing needs and community revitalization. These efforts have been most effective when equity goals are integrated into the design and implementation of anchor institute-led housing efforts.The following report provides select case studies with a strong social equity focus and comparability to Jacksonville. We identify lessons learned and summarize models which can be equally transformative in Jacksonville from these case studies. We also draw upon recent research and scholarship, and our own interviews with experts and practitioners. The goal of providing these lessons learned and model practices is to help inform, and potentially engage, various anchor institutes in Jacksonville -- organizations with resources that could help meet community housing needs and support equitable community development. This could help strengthen social, educational, economic and health outcomes for all of Jacksonville, including its most vulnerable residents

Community Food Security Strategies: An Exploratory Study of Their Potential for Food Insecure Households with Children

This research sought to explore nutrition and related health issues of 151 households with children who participated in a survey addressing food access, food security, nutrition, health, food provisioning strategies, and barriers to optimal food consumption. This study explored the potential use of community food security strategies as a tool to address public health concerns through increasing fruit and vegetable intake by improving access to affordable healthy foods. Poor diet, stress, and food insecurity impacts adults and children in terms of cognitive development, mental health, and risk for costly chronic diseases. This research contextualized consumer responses within a contemporary policy and programmatic framework to explore the potential usefulness of federal, state, and local programs in the public and private sector

A Conceptualization of the Urban Food-Energy-Water Nexus Sustainability Paradigm: Modeling From Theory to Practice

Food is the essential foundation for sustainable and healthy communities. Increasing population and urbanization, limited resources, and complexities of interactions necessitate a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the global trend of urbanization. The key objective of this paper is to generate new environmental, social and economic perspectives and practices that are responsive to the rapidly urbanizing agricultural food system. We used the sustainability paradigm in the context of environmental, social, and economic sustainability to outline the three transitioning states and perspectives (unconnected/silos; interconnected/linkages; and interdependent/nested/systems) for urban agricultural food systems. We sought to ferret out the key driver/response variables and their cross-scale interactions in the urbanizing food-energy-water nexus. We used a five-step qualitative analytical method to develop a conceptual model to capture the interacting variables and their responses. The complexity in the driver/response variables and their cross-scale interactions were identified. Then three hypothetical scenarios were used to represent complexity modeling: least, medium and most complex. These variables were combined with outside dimensions (e.g., innovation, stakeholders, urbanization) for selected scenarios and deconstructed using spider web and causal loop models. The urbanizing socio-ecological systems, across various spatial (local to global) and temporal scales (days to millennium) as well as smaller temporal scales (days to decades) are described. The iterative multidimensionality of the model makes clear new ways of seeing social issues and opens opportunities for policy solutions, resources and stakeholders to be brought to bear on the issues

Community-Centered Approaches for Food Systems Transformation

The materials you will find here were produced for the Food Sovereignty Workshop held at the Ohio State University on October 13th and 14th 2022. "Community-Centered Approaches for Food Systems Transformation" focused on university-community partnerships and the importance of learning from communities about their local food systems, both historically and in the present moment while conducting research. Several communities involved in food sovereignty efforts were represented at the workshop in addition to 27 different units at Ohio State University. Speakers also represented Historically Black University, Central State, and Menominee Tribal College. Five government offices and 6 non-profit organizations were also represented. The food sovereignty workshop resulted in new connections between practitioner, government, and university networks. Contacts were made between urban farming and gardening organizations such as Growing and Growth Collective and Southside Family Farms, Bronzeville Growers Market, city and county agencies such as the Center for Public Health and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. A team formed at the food sovereignty workshop that is doing work directly relevant to Goal B-10 of the City's Food System's Plan, "Engaging cultural communities in Columbus". The purpose of Goal B-10 is to engage cultural communities in Columbus and address inequities. The team is creating "A Cultural Heritage Learning Place" focused on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. The workshop opened with an acknowledgment that Ohio State University owes the many tribal communities impacted by its land grant establishment and continued benefits from tribal lands. The workshop served as a call to action to right those historic wrongs and the ongoing harms from disrupted native food systems. We emphasized community-partnered research that puts local communities in the forefront of research and that includes local practitioners. Presentations showed that this approach offers paths forward in various areas of food systems research and university outreach that are both ethical and sustainable. Food sovereignty served as a lens for exploring how these types of research can work and how they can impact our knowledge and mindsets. A full report is included among the items here.Globally, 27% of people faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2019, representing more than 2 billion people. Community-Centered Approaches for Food Systems Transformation discussed the question: "How we might reprioritize research and teaching based on community partnership rather than "expertise?" In other words, how might learning from communities take precedence over learning about them. The workshop began with a call to action as we discussed the cultural contexts of local food systems locally and around the world. In her keynote, Dr. Phipps shed light on research and grassroots projects that address this urgent crisis, highlighting the work currently being done by communities to produce nutrient-dense, culturally relevant cuisine. Dr. Phipps' keynote was followed by examples of community food systems work being done in the U.S., Belize, and Yemen. The conversation was moderated by culturally-relevant food systems expert, Associate Professor Mary Rodriguez, who has done work in the Middle East and with diaspora communities in Columbus. Conversations that followed centered on the types of actions that might be taken, and were continued at Ohio State's STEAM Factory the next day, including representatives of local non-profit organizations such Ohio Food Banks, South Side Family Farms, Bronzeville Growers Market. A special thanks to our sponsors and to the speakers, consultants, hosts, and facilitators who helped us make the workshop a success. Thanks to the participants who came to the workshop and joined us in lively conversations. We are so grateful to all of you for sharing your expertise, experiences, and energy with us.Ohio State University Middle East Studies CenterOhio State University Global Water InstituteOhio State University LibrariesThe Newark Earthworks Center (with support from an Indigenous Arts and Humanities Grant, Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme)The STEAM FactoryThe Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and CulturesCFAES AgroEcosystems Management Program (AMP)The Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological EngineeringThe Growing and Growth CollectiveThe Department of AnthropologyThe Knowlton School of ArchitectureThe Department of Comparative StudiesThe Center for Latin American StudiesThe CFAES Rattan Lal Center for the Study of Carbon Management and Sequestration (C-MASC)Keynote (Audio Recording) / Brandy Phipps -- Keynote Transcript / Brandy Phipps -- Keynote Slides / Brandy Phipps -- Presentation Slides / Brian Kowalkowski -- Presentation Slides / Daniel Varisco -- Thought Piece / Daniel Varisco -- Picture of Opening Remarks / Casey Hoy -- Handout of Keywords / Melinda McClimans -- Handout of Program / Rebecca Gianotti -- Bibliography of Related Sources (Libguide) / Magda El-Sherbini -- Event Page from MESC Website with Speaker Bios, etc. -- Report on the Workshop / Melinda McClimans -- Flyer of Even

Natural Hazard Mitigation Strategies in the Continental Caribbean: The Case of Belize

La petite nation de Belize est nichée au cœur de l’Amérique Centrale, bordée au nord par le Mexique, à l'ouest et au sud par le Guatemala ; la mer Caraïbe constituant sa frontière orientale. Situé sur la trajectoire des cyclones tropicaux atlantiques, le pays est exposé aux catastrophes atmosphériques. Parmi les plus notables dans l’histoire de Bélize : l'ouragan de 1931 et l'ouragan Hattie qui ont fait 275 victimes et causé des dommages évalués à plus de 1 milliard de dollars. En réponse, le pays a mis en place diverses politiques responsables et inédites visant la réduction des risques afin de sauvegarder sa population et de protéger l’essor du tourisme. Malgré ces efforts, la majorité des populations côtières demeure vulnérable aux ouragans et aux inondations<br>The small nation of Belize is nestled on the Central American Continent bounded on its north by Mexico, the west and south by Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea on its eastern border.  Located in the path of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, the country is susceptible to atmospheric disasters.  Most notably are the Hurricane of 1931 and Hurricane Hattie which claimed 275 lives and caused damages in excess of US$1 Billion. Consequently, Belize has implemented several responsible and original mitigation policies to safeguard its population and protect the bourgeoning tourism industry. In spite of those efforts, most of its coastal populations remain vulnerable to hurricanes and floods

Ghana Sustainable Change

IMPACT. 1: 6 Years of Service Learning -- 2. 5 Grants and Awards, including the 2016 Distinguished International Engagement Award.OSU PARTNERS: College of Engineering; Knowlton School; City and Regional Planning; Office of International Affairs; Office of Outreach and Engagement; School of Environment and; Natural Resources; College of Public HealthCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Offinso North District; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; Brong Ahafo Association of Columbus, OhioPRIMARY CONTACT: Kareem M. Usher ([email protected]) and Christine Meadows ([email protected])Ghana Sustainable Change (GSC) is an interdisciplinary studio class and service-learning study abroad opportunity. We work in tandem with the Offinso North District Assembly (ONDA) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to address expressed critical needs of the Offinso North District within the Ashanti Region of Ghana