November 2024 Issue of The Metro

When you think of Scotlandville, you may not think of concerts, open air markets, or resources, but Byron and Janel Washington think you should. The couple, Scotlandville residents and the visionaries behind Scotland Saturdays and most recently the Levitt Amp Baton Rouge Music Series, combine their love of community, entrepreneurship, and arts to galvanize the city around the needs of the historic Scotlandville community. 

Scotland Saturdays uses a monthly market to provide information and opportunity to small business owners and artists. The market not only allows makers and creatives to showcase their talents and products, it’s also a place where service providers can spread the word about the resources available to the community.

In 2023, the group worked to secure national funding from the Levitt Foundation through their AMP Grant Awards whose formal application process includes a community vote. The grant allowed Scotland Saturdays to showcase local, homegrown talent while also drawing in acts from around the country and expand the use of the Scotlandville Plaza.

The goal: to contribute to the overall redevelopment of the Scotlandville area through arts, culture, economics and community.

The Levitt AMP Baton Rouge just wrapped its second season and featured acts from Lafayette, New Orleans, Chicago, Durham, Long Island, and of course, our very own Baton Rouge. Season three is scheduled for 2025.

HOUSING GROUPS LOOK TO VIENNA FOR SOLUTIONS TO HOUSING CHALLENGES

Could a housing movement in Vienna be a model for BR’s housing crisis?

A strategy to build housing justice is emerging across the US and it involves bringing together allies, resources, and power to ensure that low-income, working-class and middle class households have access to quality housing that is also affordable. The strategy, known abroad as Social Housing or de-commodified housing, is based on methods used in Austria to reduce homelessness and increase livability. The approach, which many believe to be the reason that Vienna is named one of the world’s most livable cities, is becoming appealing in the US because it removes the profit incentive from what many believe to be a fundamental right and can come in many forms, many of which what have models already supported in the US. While nonprofit housing groups are at the forefront of this movement, it is apparent that the movement for affordable housing must include a wide variety of actors including homeowners, renters, labor advocates,and policy makers.