Projects and Partnerships
Racial Equity, Black America, and Public Transportation
Funded by the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) by way of the Federal Transit Administration and the National Academy of Sciences, Thrivance Group is the primary consultant, in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin and Transform, conducting research to understand and document the extent of the damage that has been done to Black communities as a result of transportation decisions and actions.
The work product deriving from this effort will demonstrate a methodology to estimate how much it would cost to redress those damages, and provide tools for elected officials and other stakeholder groups to engage effectively in the arena of transportation policy, planning, and funding at all levels of government.
West Fresno California Avenue Choice Neighborhood
The Housing Authority of the City of Fresno (Fresno Housing) was recently awarded a $500,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant to support a 24-month planning process in the South West Fresno neighborhood.
Thrivance Group is the lead community engagement consultant, designing and implementing a dignity-infused approach to ensuring current residents are centered in the planning process and access to housing during and after project implementation.
Here to Stay: A Blueprint for Anti-Displacement
To satisfy the requirements of the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) grant, which funded research to identify implementable anti-displacement policies, Thrivance Group was tasked with identifying three policies the City of Fresno would pursue to meet the specific objectives of the City’s displacement avoidance plan.
Thrivance Group conducted a series of community engagement activities that resulted in 46 anti-displacement preliminary policy recommendations which were shared widely for public comments and feedback to determine a consensus-based prioritization and ranking of the 46 proposed policies.
Dignity Institute
In recent years the Dignity Institute provided a baseline set of strategies, interventions and learnings that help practitioners incorporate Dignity-Infused Planning and Community Engagement (DICE) methods into their work.
The 2022 Dignity Institute, on-site in Puerto Rico, will be a focused iteration of past institutes, intently centering reparative planning through a service learning environment. This in-person institute will include opportunities for healing, strategy development, coalition-building, and professional development.
SF Planning Racial and Social Equity Plan
Thrivance Group is the lead consultant working with the San Francisco Planning Department to advance its Racial & Social Equity Initiative. The Initiative aims to achieve a diverse, equitable and inclusive city and its goals include, but are not limited to: more inclusive community engagement processes; better-informed policy development; more accessible and relevant programs; and, more diverse and equipped staff to meet the needs of San Francisco’s diverse population.
The Department’s Planning Commission adopted Phase I of the Racial & Social Equity Action Plan in November of 2019 and is underway planning Phase II. The Planning and Historic Preservation Commissions recently adopted resolutions outlining their vision and next steps for addressing racial and social equity in the Department’s work.
Unurbanist Assembly
On June 17, 2022, Thrivance Group will host its 3rd annual Unurbanist Assembly. In the past we’ve welcomed nearly 8,000 attendees from 53 countries to the virtual community-building space.
The Unurbanist Assembly belongs to no one but impacts many, it’s a transformative experience that affirms the ‘others’ among us and demands the field opens itself to them.
Unurbanist Assembly has over 17,000 people in the past. In 2022 we will center all Unurbuanist Assembly activities around the theme: Spatial Reparations.
Fresno Impact Economy
The Fresno Impact Economy Initiative of Fresno DRIVE aims to increase the number of locally operating companies that are enhancing the level of inclusive economic development in the Fresno metropolitan area.
Thrivance Group, in partnership with Harvard Business School, is leading community engagement to support the development of an inclusive Community Scorecard with indicators that measure the extent of positive impact companies have on Fresno communities.