Building a more connected and inclusive Charlotte through digital engagement

On June 29, 2021, Knight announced $1.2 million in new investments to foster a more digitally connected, vibrant and equitable Charlotte. Knight’s Charles Thomas and Lilian Coral share more below.

During COVID-19 and the pandemic-driven recession, Charlotte’s population and economy continued to grow, allowing us to pass San Francisco as the 15th largest city in the U.S. This is a statistic to be proud of during a time when cities across the country are experiencing deficits and decline.

However, the prosperity of our city was not equitable in 2020. Black and Brown residents living in historic neighborhoods were ravaged by COVID-19, and students and parents without access to the internet found themselves cut off from education and economic opportunity.

Since 2015, Knight Foundation’s strategy in Charlotte has been focused on ensuring residents are participating and benefiting from the development of their neighborhoods. We support community engagement, building the capacity of resident-led organizations and strengthening civic and public spaces that are equitable, inclusive and allow residents to get fresh air and get to know each other. Additionally, Knight Foundation has been investing in a Smart Cities strategy to harness digital technology to improve how communities respond, connect to and engage with residents.

The pandemic forced cities and organizations across the world, including Charlotte, to recognize the need for digital infrastructure and engagement initiatives that are designed with and for residents.

To help ensure residents and resident-led organizations continue to play a key role in the development of their neighborhoods, we’re announcing $1.2 million in new investments to support eight digital-engagement initiatives that will help to advance economic mobility and build a more equitable and inclusive Charlotte. Our investments support closing the digital divide, engaging residents to plan the future of the city, and reminding residents of our shared past in Black communities.

Our latest commitments highlight our belief that resident-centered digital engagement is crucial to the advancing more informed and engaged communities. It also recognizes Charlotte as a national leader in developing resident centered technology and engagement strategies and practices.

For example, Charlotte is pushing the bounds of digital engagement using augmented reality to inform and engage residents in the future design and development of the city. Johnson C. Smith University and the Levine Museum of the New South are creating virtual history tours of Brooklyn and West End neighborhoods that bring stories of Black resiliency and prosperity to life and remind us of how previous development policies destroyed Black communities and displaced residents. While at the same time, Knight grantees — North End Community Coalition, Digital Charlotte and Charlotte Mecklenburg Library — are leading efforts to ensure all residents have access to the internet and the technology.

As our city reopens, we hope our investments will reinforce Charlotte as a Smart City leader that puts residents at the center of shaping the design and use of digital technologies and advances economic opportunity and prosperity for all residents.

Charles Thomas is Knight’s program director in Charlotte; and Lilian Coral is Knight’s director of national strategy and technology innovation. Follow Charles on Twitter at @cthomasclt and Lilian at @lcoral.

Image (top) by Grant Baldwin Photography

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A $1.2 million investment in several digital engagement initiatives is helping connect the people of Charlotte and build a more inclusive community.

In an increasingly connected world, technology can serve as an effective tool to strengthen civic engagement. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has committed more than $1.2 million in digital inclusion, immersive technology and smart city projects in Charlotte that put people at the center of the decision-making process for community development.

Knight Foundation’s latest investments in the space of technology innovation in Charlotte Includes support for a Smart City Fellow who will lead local smart city strategies, efforts to bridge Charlotte’s digital divide, a digital platform to help residents visualize growth opportunities for the city and several projects that use immersive technology to recreate Charlotte’s rich history.

“Immersive technologies and smart city strategies directly play a role in building a more informed and equitable Charlotte,” said Charles Thomas, director for Knight’s Charlotte program. “By using tech to experience and learn about our city’s history, for example, individuals can become more engaged and more committed to Charlotte’s future. Likewise, smart city strategies ensure that city services effectively serve Charlotte’s residents, and ensuring that everyone is connected is a key part of our work.”

Here are more details about the grantees and their initiatives:

Foundation for the Carolinas ($458,000): To support digital literacy efforts for students and parents in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County’s Central District 1. After the grant was disbursed, the Foundation for the Carolinas directed the funds to support Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools’ Project L.I.F.T, a public-private program aimed at boosting academic success in the Charlotte Mecklenburg County School District. Project L.I.F.T. provided 1,600 laptops to students and several digital literacy training programs for parents across the district as a response to the pandemic and to meet the needs of online learning.

City of Charlotte, Smart City Fellow ($245,000): To support a Smart City Fellow for the City of Charlotte who will help increase local smart city strategies that boost equity and engagement. The Fellow will help create a strategic framework to guide Charlotte’s smart city strategies for the next three to five years. The strategic framework will allow smart city work to continue beyond the tenure of the Smart City Fellow and ensure a structured approach to accelerate the work.

University of North Carolina Charlotte, Immersive Visual Data ($239,871): To develop a digital platform that uses visual data to put residents at the center of the decision-making process in the Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan guides how the City of Charlotte will grow and invest over the next 20 years. By using an extended reality platform, residents will be able to visually explore growth options and impacts in the City through visuals, including 3D visualizations, augmented reality and virtual reality. The data project allows residents, including under-represented groups, to play an active role in the development of the Comprehensive Plan.

Johnson C. Smith University ($75,000): To help the university’s library create a proof of concept for “A Virtual Sense of Place,” a web-based augmented reality exhibit that tells the story of development in the Historic West End. The project merges historic artifacts and cutting-edge technology to recreate historical African-American urban spaces in Charlotte, including those that were razed through urban renewal in the 1960s. The result will bring to life stories of displacement but also of rebuilding and resilience, while engaging residents to learn about and participate in the Historic West End’s current development process.

City of Charlotte, North End Smart District ($60,000): To create a phone application that will improve data collection to enhance the visitor experience at the Urban Arboretum Trail, a collection of parklets and open spaces that preserve Charlotte’s tree canopy. The app will be developed by the City of Charlotte’s Urban Designer Center and Potions and Pixels, a nonprofit that utilizes games to create social impact. The initiative aims to engage youth to solicit ideas for the phone application and will pair coding experts with people interested in career pathways in coding.

North End Community Coalition ($50,000): To support the development of programming and hiring of a community manager at the North End Smart District Tech Center (NEST) to improve digital literacy. Proposed by the North End Community Coalition, the NEST is slated to open in Charlotte’s North End Smart District in 2020 as a central tech hub for residents and to support continuous smart cities initiatives in Charlotte. Knight support will allow for technology programming that will improve digital literacy for residents. It will also assist in identifying community needs and objectives to better design smart city programs that cater to local needs. Furthermore, the NEST’s community manager will help establish the center as a technology hub where locals can learn more about smart city and tech initiatives, network and exchange ideas.

University of North Carolina Charlotte, Virtual Neighborhood Walk ($48,109): To develop virtual walking tours around historic neighborhoods in the City of Charlotte that engage residents with their cities’ history. Knight’s investment supports research by faculty and students at the University of North Carolina Charlotte to develop the online platform, the collection of historical images, video, audio and other media, and collaboration with consultants to ensure the application of cutting-edge virtual reality and digital mapping technology. The project is a collaboration with the Levine Museum of the New South, which will recreate the historic Brooklyn neighborhood; Johnson C. Smith University which will focus on the Historic West End; and Charlotte Planning which will look at the Urban Arboretum Trail. In each case, the tours will be conducted remotely via an online platform that will serve as a one-stop portal that brings Charlotte’s rich history to life through mapping, web visualization and storytelling.

Queens University of Charlotte ($44,550): To help the Knight School of Communication’s Digital Charlotte program with advancing digital inclusion in the North End Smart District providing digital literacy training and laptops to residents. Knight’s investment will allow Digital Charlotte to purchase 21 laptops and 21 hotspots to expand the North End Community Coalition’s Technology Lending Library, which lends laptops and WiFi hotspots to residents. The Digital Charlotte program will work in conjunction with NECC to conduct a series of digital literacy workshops for North End residents.

“What we’re seeing in Charlotte is unique in the country,” says Lilian Coral, Knight’s director for national strategy and technology innovation. “Charlotte is modernizing not just the way it approaches city services, but also the way it engages residents. Cutting-edge technology is playing a key role in bringing in people into the development process of community strategies to ensure equitable opportunities, ensuring that their needs are met and that they take a decisive role in the City’s growth”

Knight leverages economic growth in Charlotte to support the evolution of the Historic West End into an inclusive and thriving residential, commercial and university corridor. Since 2008, Knight has committed more than $58 million in Charlotte, including investing in the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s community development strategy to increase economic opportunity across the city and helping Project L.I.F.T. launch the Civic Tech Experience, which provides digital skill-building for Queen City residents. The latest round of investments seeks to strengthen digital inclusion in all Charlotte neighborhoods and to keep Charlotteans in strategic conversations about the city’s present and future.

Image (top) by Grant Baldwin Photography

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(June 28, 2021) — A powerful partnership of industry leaders today announced The Palace Project, a transformational, library-centered platform for digital content and services.

The Palace Project, with a $5 million award from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to LYRASIS, and in strategic partnership with Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), will develop and scale a robust suite of content, services, and tools for the delivery of ebooks, audiobooks, and other digital media to benefit public libraries and patrons.

The Palace Project will support the mission of public libraries by providing equitable access to digital knowledge, bolstering the direct relationship between libraries and patrons, and protecting patron privacy by enabling libraries to serve content to patrons from all the major e-content providers.

“LYRASIS sees Palace as an unprecedented opportunity for libraries to be digital leaders within their communities and make all content accessible to all people,” said Robert Miller, LYRASIS chief executive officer. “LYRASIS deeply appreciates Knight Foundation’s vote of confidence in our collective vision. LYRASIS has had a long-term relationship with public libraries and the Knight funding will accelerate efforts and impact for the communities we serve.”

“Libraries are essential because they provide individuals with knowledge and the tools to build more informed, engaged and inclusive communities,” said George Martinez, chief technology officer for Knight Foundation. “The Palace Project will meet people where they are and significantly boost equitable access to knowledge in communities across the country at a time when it is needed most.”

Michele Kimpton, a globally recognized leader in building community-centered library products, will lead The Palace Project. Formerly Director of Business Development and Senior Strategist at DPLA, Kimpton has played a pivotal role in some of the most significant advances in internet-related digital content development and preservation. Kimpton joins LYRASIS as Global Director of The Palace Project Division.

The Palace Project builds on a collaboration between DPLA and LYRASIS over the last several years and uses the Library Simplified platform, an opensource code base originally designed and developed by the New York Public Library.

“DPLA is excited to take our work providing libraries greater control over digital assets to the next level,” said John Bracken, DPLA’s Executive Director. “In partnership with Knight Foundation and LYRASIS, and through Michele Kimpton’s leadership, we are eager to advance our common goal of ensuring equitable access to knowledge for all.”

The Palace Project will enable libraries to deliver content to patrons from all major e-content providers. Knight Foundation’s funding allows for a one-click, turnkey patron experience accessing content ranging from Amazon Publishing, to major publishers and independents, to local authors and open, accessible content. The Palace Project’s app is slated to launch in early fall.

Today’s announcement was made at Knight Foundation’s 2021 Convening on Libraries, which brings together library, civic and philanthropic leaders.

For more information on The Palace Project visit: thepalaceproject.org.

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About Lyrasis

LYRASIS is a global, non-profit membership organization whose mission is to support enduring access to the world’s shared academic, scientific, and cultural heritage through leadership in open technologies, content services, digital solutions and collaboration with archives, libraries, museums, and knowledge communities worldwide. LYRASIS organizational and staff values are communication, respect, collaboration, impact, and service. For more information visit www.lyrasis.org.

About Digital Public Library of America

DPLA amplifies the value of libraries and cultural organizations as trusted sources of shared knowledge. DPLA fulfills its mission by collaborating with partners to accelerate the adoption of innovative tools and ideas to empower and equip libraries in making public information more accessible. DPLA provides a library-led marketplace and platform to purchase, organize and deliver ebooks and other e-content to patrons. For more information visit www.dp.la.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit www.kf.org.

Image (top) by Kampus Production on Pexels.

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To expand the high-speed internet connectivity along the entirety of the 10-mile linear park under Miami’s Metrorail, The Underline, by leveraging government support 1:4.

Akron’s Summit Lake was once neglected, but members of the community came together to ensure the lake served Akronites as an accessible and popular public space. Summit Lake’s transformation includes the construction of a destination park, and most recently, a Nature Center that will open its doors in July. Knight’s Kyle Kutuchief shares more about the Summit Lake story, and how it helps boost community attachment, below.

In the heart of Akron lies Summit Lake, a beloved lake where residents and visitors come to canoe, bike, fish and enjoy nature. The lake is a local treasure, which became more evident during the pandemic. “People would come down and see grandparents with their grandchildren, and sit under the shelter and play games or cards,” Summit Lake resident and Akron Civic Commons Fellow Grace Hudson said. “People are still having birthday parties and family gatherings. COVID-19 slowed things down, but people were still using the space.”

But Summit Lake, which is Akron’s largest body of water and sits in a racially diverse neighborhood, has been a neglected public space for decades. In fact, it used to be an environmental hazard. Pollution, both from industry and runoff from nearby highways, made the lake an unsightly hazard and discouraged residents from using the shoreline or water. Black residents, especially, felt detached from the lake because of urban renewal policies. Their neighborhood was separated from downtown Akron and residents were subjected to countless promises of renewals that were not delivered.

Making Summit Lake equitable, inclusive and accessible aligns with Knight Foundation’s goal of strengthening communities by investing in spaces where residents of all backgrounds can develop a shared sense of community. That’s why we joined JBP, Kresge and Rockefeller foundations in 2016 to invest $5 million in Akron’s Reimagining the Civic Commons project that includes the Summit Lake neighborhood.

Akron Civic Commons has worked to co-create public space ideas with residents to improve their public spaces. Temporary prototypes such as plastic adirondack chairs and fire pits led to semi-permanent amenities such as a small beach that set the stage for bigger plans for lasting change. Knight recently committed $4 million to the $10 million plan to transform Summit Lake’s historic north shore to create a destination park for area residents and Towpath Trail users, with residents leading the planning.

Last year, Knight commissioned Gehl, a leading urban design firm, to study seven public space projects across the country — including Summit Lake — and identify what made them successful and draw lessons for designing public spaces that make communities more resilient and inclusive.

Summit Lake’s success centered around shifting decision-making power throughout its development lifecycle, from initial design through governance, to include residents as partners. As a result, its new improvement projects reflected residents’ needs and the historical characteristics of the neighborhood.

We are also learning that:

Using a dynamic community engagement process that prioritizes resident input and demonstrates commitment helps improve trust with neighborhood residents.

Transforming Summit Lake’s shoreline into a beloved community asset — through environmental, public space and programmatic improvements — is important to long-time residents.

Early and ongoing resident involvement establishes community pride, which leads to volunteer stewardship to care for the lake over time.

Establishing trust through Summit Lake investments is critical to engaging residents in larger conversations about further improvements in the neighborhood including the new $10 million park coming to the north shore.

A 2018 survey found that 97% of residents said that Summit Lake Park improved their neighborhood, up from 57% at the outset of the project. The Gehl study found such positive sentiments common across public spaces that engaged residents in the design process. “We saw the manifestation of this conversation bloom into actual fruits of the conversation,” Grace Hudson said. “We saw things starting to happen.”

Although there is much more work to be done, Summit Lake’s progress has led to additional community investments, such as a $15.5 million vision plan supported by the City of Akron, that is now underway in the area. And a Knight-supported project led by Summit Metro Parks to transform the lake’s pump house into a nature center will open its doors to the public on July 1 at 11:00 a.m.

With the availability of more federal dollars from stimulus spending to infrastructure, let’s use the lessons learned from Summit Lake and put residents first to continue designing public spaces in Akron that are equitable and inclusive.

Kyle Kutuchief is Knight Foundation’s program director in Akron. Follow him on Twitter @KyleKutuchief.

Image (top) by Tim Fitzwater

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