Through research, Spatial Justice Studio Community Fellows hope to better impoverished Winston-Salem neighborhoods

The Spatial Justice Studio in Winston-Salem has selected its 2023-2024 community fellows. They will study a host of local issues from health care access to green spaces.

One of the fellowship recipients is a trio of researchers who will study Da Island neighborhood in East Winston, where more than 60% of residents experience poverty. The Fellows will look at collective land ownership through extensive surveys — gathering perspectives from community members.

Team member Dylan Turner says this neighborhood has become an island through a variety of exclusionary practices, and he and his colleagues at Island CultureZ — a local nonprofit — hope to change that island into a thriving, self-sufficient oasis.

"The research that we’re particularly engaged in is trying to understand community perspectives — residents in the neighborhood — their ideas around collective land ownership models," says Turner. "We’ve been exploring this community land trust model as one to understand how people feel about those models."  

Turner adds that the ultimate goal is to provide residents with tangible ownership of the neighborhood, and some control and democratic decision-making over how land development there takes place. 

Each fellowship provides a $4,000 honorarium, meeting and working space, and access to specialized equipment and software.