Core Values
Here are some key values that guide us in our work and help us build connection and solidarity through our work, planning and actions:
Solidarity: We believe it is vital to understand and act on the connection between your own self-interest and the interest of others while addressing power imbalances based on race, class, gender, and other oppressions.
Housing as a Human Right: We believe one of the basic human rights is the right to affordable housing.
Research Justice: What we mean by research justice is getting everyone involved in understanding how space and resources are divided up in our community. This is not just about researchers doing all the work - we make sure community members have a say in everything from coming up with research questions to making sense of what we find. This way, the research stays focused on what the community needs and can help shape our efforts to bring about change.
Language Justice: Language justice means making sure everyone can get involved, no matter what language they speak. We have translation services available and we make sure to run community activities in different languages. We know East Boston is a diverse place and we want to give everyone a chance to share their concerns about how space and resources are shared in our community.
Temporal Justice: Temporal justice is about making sure everyone has an equal chance to get involved, no matter how busy they are. We know not everyone can make it to meetings at the same time, so we schedule them at different times to give everyone a chance to participate. We know that to reach everyone, we have to be flexible and keep the conversation going.
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Other Things That Matter.
In addition to these core values, the EBSJL also adopts a number of other strategies to promote spatial justice, including:
Community leadership: The EBSJL recognizes the importance of community leadership in achieving spatial justice. They work to empower community leaders through training and resources, so that they can facilitate dialogue, gather community inputs, and communicate these needs to policymakers and urban planners.
Solidarity in design: The EBSJL believes that the process of designing urban spaces should be participatory, inclusive, and reflective of the community's needs and aspirations. They engage community members in the design process through workshops and collaborative projects, fostering a shared sense of ownership and commitment to the community.
Building agency: The EBSJL works to build the agency of community members, so that they can take control of the changes they want to see in their environments. They provide legal and advocacy training, and equip community members with the knowledge and tools to navigate complex bureaucratic processes. This empowers community members to challenge biased housing policies and other practices that contribute to inequitable resource distribution.
Cultural organizing: The EBSJL uses arts and culture as tools for social change. They organize art exhibitions, music events, storytelling sessions, and cultural workshops that offer an accessible medium for community members to express their experiences of spatial injustice. These initiatives foster solidarity and collective identity among diverse groups, and raise awareness of spatial injustice issues.
The EBSJL explores of how research and community organizing can be used to promote spatial justice. By adopting the principles of research justice, language justice, and temporal justice. In our research we are utilizing a number of tactics. Included here are two models of ethnographic research that seem to match the values held by our community members and partners.