At the NFD MLK Freedom Now Mural Paint Day, Dr. Matthew Kenyatta secured support through the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and actively contributed by painting a panel of the newly replaced mural at 40th and Lancaster. The event, hosted at 3952 Lancaster Ave, featured a community cleanup, mural painting, and a lively happy hour celebration. Organized by Nova Commons and supported by partners like Mural Arts Philadelphia, Penn Community Bank, and Mosaic Commercial, the dedication celebrated both the mural and the community’s collective spirit.

Toni L. Griffin of Harvard delivers the inaugural Abele Lecture in Design & Policy. Named for the trailblazing 20th-century architect Julian Francis Abele, the first Black graduate of what is today the Weitzman School of Design, the Abele Lecture is moderated by Matthew Kenyatta and organized by the Black Planners Society. Griffin will discuss connecting design with spatial and social (in)justices across American legacy cities. A reception will follow.

The "Build Baby Build" event, part of The Philadelphia Citizen's Development for Good series, focused on solving Philadelphia’s affordable housing crisis through inclusive real estate development. Experts discussed sustainable solutions to uplift underserved communities while increasing housing availability.

This was both the last time the Promise Zone would meet and the first time all three original collaborators - myself (University of Penn), Dante Leonard (commercial corridor), Naim Mitchell (Mosaic Development Partners), and Mr. Abdul-Rahim Muhammad (New Africa Center) - presented our work together.

This live series explores the relationship between developers and public sector managers, the role the public sector plays in promoting equitable development, and how the public sector can attract and successfully collaborate with developers.

A design charrette and planning discussion featuring food and prototypes, organized by PennPraxis and Dr. Matt. While students came with six or seven different prototypes, this was the first time they would meet the community members I invited and solicit written feedback. They also would give suggestions on alternative locations to do streetscape interventions. This meeting is how the Lex Street block was lifted up as a prime opportunity for making a "gateway" design intervention.

Whose history are preserving and why? I ask this question in a seminar examining how to preserve Pan-African heritage when crafting cities of the future amidst urban gentrification. Sponsored by Spectrum at the University of Chicago.

In recognition of public grants from the City of Philadelphia's Department of Commerce and State Senator Vincent Hughes, I was invited as the University of Pennsylvania partner to actively participate in the $2.5 million check presentation to the New Africa Center. This funding supports the effort to rebrand West Philadelphia as the New Freedom District, with the center serving as the hub of this transformative initiative.

On behalf of the Urban Institute and the Sheffield Institute for International Development-Cities, I was invited to participate in a consultative forum on Black Urbanism to be held on March 24th 2021 at 16:00 GMT. the Sheffield research centers that are initiating this--Urban Institute, and the Sheffield Institute for International Development. But the aim is for Victoria to convene, Dr. Patricia Noxolo, Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis, and Dr. Paul Goodwin to steer the discussion. The initiative seeks to further the discussion for urban studies in general, and to continue to work against the lack of inclusion at the UK's top urban research institutions.

Join us for a discussion with activists, city planners and policymakers who each play a role in generating more economic opportunities and infrastructure within the Black community.  In this talk we will discuss the importance of Black spaces and communities when generating wealth in Los Angeles and the United States. We will also discuss why Black-owned businesses have important implications in city and equity planning.

A conversation between poet Solmaz Sharif and architectural historian Charles Davis. Sharif will present a reading of poems titled “’I can’t do what I want / to do with my own body’: A Reading in Conversation with June Jordan” and Davis will present his new visual and scholarly work “Building Black Utopias: The Architectural Modernisms of African American Writers, 1960-1975.” Introductions by Maya Alam and Sophie Hochhäusl. Moderated by Matt Miller, Fatemeh Shams and Ali AlYousefi

As one of the three winners of the POCIG Student Travel Award, I share some of my initial findings on the geographical clustering of race, cultural entrepreneurship, and economic performance.