RWJF is committed to improving health and health equity in the United States. In partnership with others, we are working to develop a Culture of Health rooted in equity that provides every individual with a fair and just opportunity to thrive, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have. One way the Foundation advances this mission is through targeted investments in community development policy, practice, and systems. By directing resources to communities that historically have experienced a lack of investment, RWJF can support improvements in health equity and increase attention to conditions of place. 

ThirdSpace Action Lab was created to disrupt the vicious cycle of disinvestment + displacement that negatively impacts the vitality of communities of color with low incomes. ThirdSpace is a grassroots solutions studio dedicated to prototyping creative, place-based solutions to complex socio-economic problems. The organization works as institutional + community organizers, turning multidisciplinary research into evidence-based strategies and activating “third places” to co-create more liberated spaces for people of color.

Developed and led by ThirdSpace Action Lab, The People’s Practice is a multi-year, multi-strategy initiative that raises the visibility of anti-racist community development (ARCD), propagates promising practices, and builds a network among its supporters. Community development plays a critical role in advancing opportunities for community self-determination, particularly (but not exclusively) at a neighborhood level. It does so through multi-sector approaches, financial investment, programs and services, and development of longer-term capacities and structures to create the conditions that enable communities to thrive.