HERSTORIC DEVELOPMENT & MILKWEED COMMONS, with CHARITY STOWE-SOUTH BEND, IN
Sometimes unexpected paths lead us to stay–and grow–in a place we thought we were leaving.
This week on Cultivating Place host Ben Futa is in conversation with Charity Stowe, founder of Herstoric Development in South Bend, Indiana.
Although South Bend was her place of origin, Charity never thought she would end up there. However, after leaving as a young adult, Charity returned to South Bend on what she thought was a temporary basis with a plan to renovate a house and sell.
But as she became more connected to the neighborhood and the people around her, that original plan grew into something much bigger.
Through Herstoric Development, Charity has helped bring historic buildings back to life while creating spaces for people to gather and build community.
In their conversation Ben and Charity talk about what it means to invest in a place, and how a project that begins with a single house can grow into a commitment to an entire neighborhood.
They explore Herstoric Development's signature projects to date: the Monarch Building, Nectar Coffee House, and Milkweed Commons, as well as the ways that gathering spaces and open public gardens can help bring people together. They explore getting started, finding opportunities in the places we call home, and discovering joy in the process.
Enjoy!
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All photos courtesy of Charity Stowe. All rights reserved.
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JOIN US again next week: David George Haskell is a cultivator of place through deep observation and research. His love of the world’s intricacies is a delight, and he joins Cultivating Place host Jennifer Jewell in generous conversation this week to explore his book Sounds Wild & Broken, even while his most recent book, How Flowers Made Our World, enjoys its moment in the spotlight.
That's right here, next week. Listen in!
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Thinking out loud this week...
Hey It's Ben - Thinking out loud again,
I’m still reflecting on the incredible Power of Gardeners symposium hosted here in South Bend back in September. Among our many tours and talks, guests were also invited to explore and discover Milkweed Commons and all of the work Charity and her incredible community have made possible.
What I think I love most about South Bend, and the work folks like Charity - and Botany - are doing, is how hyper-local it really is. Often, the focus is on just a few city lots, grouped together or nearby, an approach known as “incremental development” - something which turns the tables on traditional, large-scale developers who prefer a clean slate and rapid, cheap construction to maximize return on investment. Incremental development relies on the power of community, neighbors, and connection as a means to make seemingly impossible projects come to life.
In the process, this approach preserves both the character of neighborhoods while also rebuilding in a way that allows long-term neighbors to stay put and enjoy the improvements. The term “environmental gentrification” first entered my personal lexicon around major public greenspace developments like The High Line in New York City, whereby these significant new greenspaces actually end up displacing people and businesses, which is a less than ideal outcome.
In response, I’ve spoken or heard from designers over the last decade who have sought other ways to bring nature back into our cities, for everyone, through a new approach called “just green enough”. This approach seeks to re-introduce the best qualities of nature and ecology without a giant price tag or major capital improvements which - frankly, in a city like South Bend - might almost forever be out of reach, even if it were the best approach.
Just green enough is a perfect fit for the incremental developer’s mindset, and it’s something we’ve deployed around Botany & Co., too. Slowly and surely, season by season, year after year, we’ve gradually added new plantings, trees, and simple amenities - just like Charity and so many others like us, in so many other places.
Sometimes, putting the first plant in the ground is all it takes…
P.S : as a reminder...
We kicked off our annual #100daysinplace adventure this past week, we will leave registration open through November 15th for anyone that might want to join in a little late – we’d love to have you!
For more information – head on over to this week’s show notes under the Listen tab at Cultivatingplace.org! How and how well we know our places is how well we grow them – and grow ourselves. Good stuff…
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The CP team includes producer and engineer Matt Fidler, with weekly tech and web support from Angel Huracha, weekly communications support by Sheila Stern and Carley Bruckner, and regular hosting by Founder, Jennifer Jewell, as well as Abra Lee in Atlanta, Georgia, and Ben Futa in South Bend, Indiana. We’re based on the traditional and present homelands of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. Original theme music is by Ma Muse..
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