In this podcast, we interviewed Doria Robinson, a longtime community leader, Richmond City Councilmember (District 3), and Executive Director of Urban Tilth. Read on to learn about how residents can contribute to the responsible upkeep of Richmond’s shoreline, public lands, and other natural resources.
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The Power of Collective Action
Doria is a third-generation Richmond resident, whose family moved to the city from rural Louisiana and Iowa. After settling in, her grandparents and parents quickly became involved in churches and organizations like the NAACP. Doria’s grandfather, a minister at Easter Hill Church, inspired her to adopt the cooperative economic model into her work.
"Seventeen families came up together from Louisiana and Arkansas…When they got here in Richmond, they collectively helped each other buy houses…and built the church together, and ultimately also purchased a 350-acre ranch."
Her family’s rural roots have strongly influenced Doria’s leadership style at Urban Tilth, which she initially joined as a volunteer. Founder Park Guthrie quickly noted her talent and offered her to take the helm.
With over 70 year-round volunteers and employees, Urban Tilth has become a nationally recognized model of land stewardship. It currently operates an urban farm in North Richmond, two community gardens on the Richmond Greenway, and two school gardens at Richmond High and Verde Elementary.
Doria takes pride in Urban Tilth’s holistic approach to neighborhood health. The school garden program is a comprehensive course that covers "the social history of farming in America, and how it's transitioned over the years, and all the different influences on that, and how [it] connects with climate change."
Residents also enjoy a weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) produce box. Doria believes that nutrition is a cornerstone of anyone’s life, "[W]e work with people from Contra Costa County Health, doctors who are prescribing vegetable boxes to help people with chronic illness like diabetes, heart disease, obesity…" The CSA currently serves 500 families weekly. There is also a Veggie RX program that serves another 100 families dealing with chronic illnesses.
What’s Next for Urban Tilth?
The newest projects include the Unity Park Project at 16th Street and Ohio Avenue and an ADA-accessible garden on 18th Street. Doria is focused on advocating for responsible development around those areas, stating that while much progress has been made, the city has made some questionable decisions, like allowing a distribution center to be built near Verde Elementary. "[It] will be built literally across the street from Verde Elementary School. That's going to bring in many, many heavy trucks in and out of that facility all day long, right across from their playground."
Despite neighborhood concerns, the distribution center’s construction is well underway, due to zoning issues. Even sensitive sites like schools with high asthma rates (Richmond has some of the highest in the nation) have a very small 100-200 foot buffer zone. "Unfortunately, air travels, and you know all that pollution is going to further impact an already impacted community."
A Just Transition for Richmond
As Doria’s leadership at Urban Tilth flourished, she began making plans to scale her impact as a councilmember. Her work centers on the need for a just transition — a plan to diversify Richmond’s economy away from polluting industries and responsible investments to create a regenerative economy.
Specifically, she is focusing on enabling all of Richmond to participate in the conversation and decision-making process of a just transition.
What exactly is a just transition?
In Doria’s words, "[T]here is an inordinate — too much — money that our city budget depends on [that] comes from the fossil fuel industry. So if anything happens to that industry, where their proceeds, their activities decline, our city will decline as well, because we're intricately dependent on those sources of funding. And that is dangerous for our city."
Doria believes that the city should prioritize the following to help Richmond develop the infrastructure and nurture the talent needed to sustain a regenerative economy:
- Safe streets — including traffic safety and beautification
- Small business development, workforce empowerment, and hiring
- Identifying new income streams from non-polluting industries like wind and solar
- Safeguarding existing natural resources, like Richmond’s shoreline, parks, and open spaces
Bringing Power Back to The People
Doria prides herself in bringing as many residents as possible to the table, from APEN and Communities for a Better Environment to the Richmond Our Power Coalition. She also advocates for having daily conversations with activists and neighbors on the issues that matter most.
"It's really important to get involved with the local organizations who are carrying this work, like APEN and CBE and the Richmond Our Power Coalition, RPA. Those are all organizations where I think it's important that they are outside of the government and can hold government officials accountable. Because there's a lot of [pressure] on you once you get elected. And it is quite easy to get swayed. So I would encourage people to find an organization that they resonate with or work through their neighborhood council or other kind[s] of bodies to help their voices be louder than just their own single voice."
Upcoming Events
Sea Level Rise Summit and Clean Air Day Celebration
This month, Doria invites all of Richmond to attend the Sea Level Rise Summit on September 28th — a day-long conversation around the need for smart development to gear up for sea level rise and climate change. This free hybrid event will take place at City Hall and Zoom, with Spanish translation available.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their ideas for sea level rise adaptation planning, which will be used to inform the city’s Sea Level Rise Adaptation and Resiliency Plan in 2025.
"[T]here's a number of kinds of domino effects…on shoreline communities. Especially, you know, North North Richmond, Parchester Village. Parchester Village, especially [has] already experienced so much flooding in their neighborhood, and then the south shoreline..."
"So one of the things that the city has done, and thanks to Councilmember McLaughlin, is to move forward with a study to help inform development along the shoreline that will take into consideration these factors and possibly revise zoning, revise building direction in response to what we're what's coming so that we don't create hazardous situations."
There is also a Clean Air Day Celebration planned with Richmond Rides this Sunday, September 29. Activities include a bike ride across the San Rafael Bridge, a Town Hall on asthma in Richmond, and a discussion on the next steps to improve indoor and outdoor air quality to help those suffering most.
Learn more about Doria’s work at www.doriarobinson.com.