Institute For Local Innovations Inc

ILI contributed its expertise in strategic facilitation and community-centered planning to support visioning and engagement efforts in Africatown Mobile AL in collaboration with the Eastern Research Group ERG. Through a series of stakeholder sessions listening tours and capacity-building dialogues ILI helped elevate resident voices and align community priorities with environmental justice and redevelopment goals. This work included designing and leading culturally competent engagement strategies identifying local assets and barriers and co-developing actionable pathways to support environmental restoration and economic revitalization. By fostering trust and transparency between residents public agencies and technical partners ILI helped advance a shared vision for Africatowns future that honors its history centers its people and builds a foundation for long-term resilience.

ILI utilized its Mi Rialiti platform to capture and preserve the lived experiences of senior residents-primarily those aged 70 and older-in Atlantas historic Pittsburgh neighborhood in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation Civic Site. This initiative focused on documenting the stories of long-time community members who have lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years using place-based and media-enhanced storytelling tools to archive their memories insights and reflections. By serving as a digital container of the neighborhoods history while it remains in living memory Mi Rialiti allowed residents to share their voices in their own words and images fostering intergenerational dialogue and cultural continuity. The project not only honored the elders contributions but also informed future planning and development efforts by grounding them in authentic community-rooted narratives.