Neighbors Developing Divisadero (aka NDDivis) is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation founded in 2012.
The mission of NDDivis is to support inclusive, enriching, and sustainable development with a focus on the Divisadero Corridor and surrounding neighborhoods. We engage the community through programming that supports critical thinking, collaboration, and creative action.
NDDivis is taking action to protect, support, and strengthen what we love about the Divisadero Neighborhood District because we have grown weary of profit-driven investors and developers shaping the future of our neighborhood. Although as individuals we aren’t rich, we have the ability to tap into the creativity, skills, resources, and collective wealth of our community in order to do great things. In the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
There are two things that people complain about a lot in this town, but rarely cop to being a part of: Gentrification and Hipsters. Instead of trying to distance ourselves from these terms, let’s dig a little deeper and figure out what they mean. It’s a-okay to move into a neighborhood because it is affordable and then work towards building community safety and resiliency (the beginning stages of gentrification). It’s also okay to place a high value on compelling design, creativity, style, and performance (the characteristics of hipsters). What’s not okay is profit-driven development at the expense of individual and collective well-being, exploitation of positive neighborhood development by property owners who raise rents sky-high, a neighborhood district that lacks affordable and inclusive goods and services, a focus on surface-level style rather than substance, and a prevailing attitude of judgement rather than curiosity.
We can move beyond complaining about gentrification and hipsters and offer a better alternative. We invite you to share your strengths, passion, and resources towards developing the Divisadero%20Street neighborhood in ways that support creativity, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, collaboration, and sustainability. This isn’t a sprint or an individual marathon, it’s a relay race. Get involved and help us carry the baton of San Francisco culture and community forward.
