The Irsv Blog

The Language of Loss Disguised as Progress Walk through any historically Black or immigrant neighborhood in America right now, and you’ll hear the same tired words. “Revitalization.” “Renewal.” “Renaissance.” Developers, city planners, real estate agents—they all use them. They gesture toward the new coffee shop with the reclaimed wood counters, the freshly striped bike lanes, … Read moreWhen ‘Revitalization’ Means Erasure: The Gentrification Paradox in Our Neighborhoods

I can still smell the bread. Not the sourdough they sell now for eight dollars a loaf, but the real stuff—yeasty, warm, spilling out of Mr. Okonkwo’s bakery on the corner of 14th and Douglas. That smell was our alarm clock. It pulled you out of bed and onto the street, where you’d find half … Read moreWhen ‘Revitalization’ Means Erasure: The Quiet Violence of Gentrification

I’ve lived on this same block in Bulawayo for twenty-three years now. In that time, I’ve watched friendships bloom over shared pots of isitshwala and then crumble over boundary walls. I saw a man stop greeting his neighbour for ten years straight—all because a goat got into his spinach bed. But I also saw that … Read moreTrust on Uneven Ground: A Straight-Talking Guide for Neighbors Who Have Every Reason to Hold Back

How to Build Trust Between Neighbors Who Have Reasons Not to Trust I’ve lived on the same block in a small town for 18 years. I know what it’s like when a street feels split. Some of us nod hello, some look away. And yes, there are reasons for that. A forgotten argument, a loud … Read moreHow to Build Trust Between Neighbors Who Have Reasons Not to Trust

One Saturday morning in late spring, I stood on the edge of a vacant lot two blocks from my house and watched a crew of neighbors break ground. No developers. No city officials. Just parents, a few retirees, and a handful of teenagers who had spent months asking the same question: Why is the closest … Read moreWhy Food Justice Is a Neighborhood Issue

I’ve lived in this neighborhood for over thirty years. I’ve seen potholes swallow car tires, watched our community center lose its roof, and waited for buses that never showed up on time. Through it all, I’ve heard the same refrain from city officials: “We’re doing the best we can with what we have.” But here’s … Read moreThe Case for Community Control Over Local Budgets

Every year, local councils sit in air-conditioned rooms and decide how to spend money that isn’t theirs. That money comes from our rates, our service charges, the taxes we pay buying bread or filling a pothole with gravel out of our own pockets. And yet, the people who live with the consequences of those budget … Read moreWhy Local Budgets Should Belong to the People Who Pay Them

I’ve lived on the same block in Harare for over twenty years. In that time, I’ve watched the potholes on our main road grow from small cracks into craters that swallow tyres whole. I’ve seen the streetlights go dark one by one, and the piles of uncollected refuse become a permanent fixture on the corner. … Read moreTaking the Purse Strings: Why Our Neighbourhoods Should Hold the Budget

The room was hot—not from the weather, but from the sheer heat of frustration. A Tuesday evening in the church basement, folding chairs scraping the linoleum as neighbors shifted, arms crossed. The city council had just signed off on another round of funding for a tech park on the north side, yet our block still … Read moreTaking Back the Ledger: Why We Need a Say in How Our Money Gets Spent

I’ve sat through more community meetings than I care to count where the same three voices take over, nothing gets settled, and everybody walks out more annoyed than when they arrived. A neighbourhood assembly doesn’t have to be that way. Structure it properly, and it turns into a space where actual decisions happen, neighbours get … Read moreHow to Run a Neighborhood Assembly That Actually Works