Portland's Albina neighborhood was once the center of Black life in Oregon. Over the decades, large public projects, including the construction of Interstate 5 and the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, displaced residents and reshaped the neighborhood.
Today, the Albina Vision Trust is working on a long-term effort to reconnect and redevelop parts of the neighborhood through housing, economic development and community-focused planning.
Michael Alexander, chair of the organization's board, described the effort as a long-term investment intended to address both past displacement and future opportunities.
"We follow this continuum that says restorative justice has to follow a path of restorative economics and restorative development," Alexander said, noting that the goal is to create an environment designed to support families for decades to come.
For J.T. Flowers, the organization's director of government relations and communications, the work also carries personal significance. Flowers grew up in Northeast Portland, attended Yale and Oxford and later returned to work in the community.
He envisions a community where residents are no longer sidelined by urban planning.
"What we are trying to do at scale is not just rebuild the neighborhood that used to exist here 60 or 70 years ago," Flowers said. "But to build a world-class neighborhood that repositions community in the driver’s seat and dictating their own future."
The project has drawn attention from outside Portland as communities look for ways to address issues such as housing and healthcare.
Hillary Larson, a leader of the Ashland-based group All Together Now, recently organized a tour of the Albina neighborhoods for southern Oregonians.
"When I heard what I call radical dreaming, something that could take an intractable problem and change it through surprising collaborations and really forward thinking, I thought this applies to everything," Larson said.
On May 29 at 3 p.m., the Albina Vision Trust leaders will join Larson in facilitating a free community gathering at Southern Oregon University titled "Choosing Imagination." The gathering aims to prove that "collective envisioning" can happen anywhere, sparking the same "contagious" inspiration that is currently redeveloping a community in the heart of Portland.
Guests
- Michael Alexander, chair, board of directors, Albina Vision Trust
- J.T. Flowers, director of government relations and communications, Albina Vision Trust
- Hillary Larson, co-founder, All Together Now
Event
- On May 29, Michael Alexander and J.T. Flowers of the Albina Vision Trust will join Hillary Larson for Choosing Imagination, a free community gathering at SOU's Meese Auditorium, 555 Indiana St. in Ashland. The event runs from 3 to 5 p.m. Registration is free. More information and registration details are available through All Together Now.
