Why We Knock on Doors Before We Build Homes: The Power of Community Feedforward
- LaQuida Chancey
- Jul 30
- 3 min read
One of the questions we hear most often is:
"How do you decide what your community needs?"
Our answer is simple.
We don't decide alone.
Before we design programs, launch initiatives, or build housing, we spend time listening.
We walk neighborhoods.
We knock on doors.
We host conversations.
We attend community meetings.
We ask questions.
And then we ask more questions.
At Smalltimore Homes, we believe communities should help shape the decisions that affect them—not simply respond after those decisions have already been made.
From Feedback to Feedforward
Many organizations ask for feedback once a project is finished.
We believe there's another approach.
We call it Community Feedforward.
Feedforward means inviting residents into the conversation while ideas are still taking shape.
Before the website is complete.
Before the program launches.
Before construction begins.
Before funding decisions are finalized.
When communities are involved early, projects become more relevant, more useful, and more sustainable.
People aren't simply participating.
They're co-designing.
What Door Knocking Really Builds
This past week, fellow Bunting Neighborhood Leadership Program Fellow Kadija Hart joined us to walk the neighborhood and invite residents to our upcoming Summer Social.
To some people, it may have looked like we were handing out flyers.
We were doing something much bigger.
Every conversation helped us understand:
What neighbors care about.
What strengths already exist.
What barriers people experience.
What resources are missing.
What hopes residents have for their community.
Every conversation becomes another piece of the larger picture.
Why Relationships Come First
It's tempting to believe that community development begins with construction.
We think it begins with trust.
Trust develops through consistency.
Showing up.
Following through.
Returning after the meeting is over.
Remembering names.
Listening more than speaking.
Being willing to change direction when residents identify a better path forward.
Relationships are the foundation that allows every other investment to succeed.
The Neighborhood Is Already Full of Experts
Too often, professional expertise is valued more than lived experience.
At Smalltimore Homes, we believe both matter.
Residents understand their neighborhoods in ways that no report can fully capture.
They know where children play.
Which intersections feel unsafe.
Where older adults struggle to access services.
Which businesses have become trusted gathering spaces.
What has worked before.
What hasn't.
That knowledge is invaluable.
Community development becomes stronger when technical expertise and lived experience work together.
The Community Hub Is Being Built With You
This philosophy is shaping our newest initiative: the Smalltimore Homes Community Hub.
Rather than creating a platform and hoping people use it, we're inviting residents, volunteers, students, nonprofits, businesses, healthcare professionals, researchers, and community partners to help design it from the very beginning.
We're asking questions like:
What resources should be included?
What opportunities are missing?
How should volunteers connect?
What would make this genuinely useful?
How can we strengthen neighborhood relationships?
Those answers won't come from one organization.
They'll come from the community itself.
Black August and Collective Leadership
Black August reminds us that lasting movements have always been rooted in collective leadership.
Communities grow stronger when everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
Sometimes that contribution is volunteering.
Sometimes it's sharing knowledge.
Sometimes it's offering resources.
Sometimes it's simply responding to a survey that helps shape future work.
Every voice matters.
Help Build the Community Hub
The Smalltimore Homes Community Hub isn't something we're building for Baltimore.
It's something we're building with Baltimore.
Whether you're a resident, student, volunteer, nonprofit, healthcare professional, business owner, researcher, or someone who simply wants to see stronger neighborhoods, we'd love your perspective.
Our Community Hub Interest Form takes about two minutes to complete, but the ideas you share will help shape work that lasts far longer.
Complete the Community Hub Interest Form:
Because the strongest communities aren't built by one organization.
They're built by neighbors who decide to create something together.
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