For Alberta Arts District’s Black community that have been historically and systemically displaced, Alberta Alive is a homecoming that offers affordable housing to the once displaced community. Unlike past initiatives, Alberta Alive is culturally specific affordable housing at the historical heart of N/NE Portland’s Black community.
The Problem
In the early 1950s, the Alberta neighborhood became home to a large percentage of Portland's Black population and working-class families. As new developments emerge in the Alberta Arts District in Portland, OR, Black Portlanders are continuing to be displaced. Over time, Black Portlanders have been priced out of this historically Black neighborhood, increasing class and other systemic disparities. To address this issue, Alberta Alive was created to provide affordable housing for the historically displaced, and it needed a strong brand that was culturally responsive to the Black community.
The Team
Kierrah Byrd: Art Direction
HUB Collective: Strategy
Community Development Partners
Self Enhancement, Inc.
Research Methodology
Qualitative data - focus groups, placemaking workshops, market & competitor research, and audience surveys.
Key Insights
Seeking Home
“These are HOMES!
Feeling welcome is imperative.”
Seeking Neighborhood
“Neighborhood is VITAL! ”
Seeking Community
“Community is CULTURE: generational roots & black owned businesses.”
The Solution
Create a culturally responsive brand that champions the heritage of Black Oregonians and the revival and reclamation of the Alberta area — its historic namesake as a Black N/NE neighborhood.
Alberta Alive is a place/space/community where the history, present and future of the Black community is alive!
