​City Spokes believes that the solutions to livability and equity in low-income communities in Harrisburg must be locally generated and as diverse as the populations living in these communities. Planning and design have largely been led by privileged groups of people who don’t necessarily represent the basic needs of working class people of color. The city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, particularly the neighborhood of South Allison Hill, is experiencing much post-industrial poverty and blight. Youth are particularly vulnerable population as they form sense of place of place around high crime, food insecurity, lack of public space, and other problems in the community. City Spokes envisions a just and livable Harrisburg: a city designed for social equity, environmental quality, and economic vitality. Residents, no matter their socioeconomic level, have a right to live in such a place and to have a greater voice in how their neighborhood is designed.

City Spokes seeks to empower this community by recruiting and training youth through a free 10 week, full day summer biking and city exploration program called “Neighborhood Coasts,” while educating them about opportunities for careers in urban planning and design. The summer program will engage youth between ages 15-19 in intervention on issues plaguing their city and the built environment through hands-on tools such as community mapping, photography, music and arts. The first half of the program will focus on exploring the city, meeting local leaders and organizations, and learning planning and design tools. The second half will give the youth an opportunity to work in teams and propose a real plan or project for the Community Action Commission or the City Council of Harrisburg.

City Spokes requests $32,000 from the Baird Foundation for the months of January –September 2012 to fund a pilot “Neighborhood Coasts” summer program.