In October 2025, professors Aditi Mehta and David Roberts travelled to Mumbai, India with 12 undergraduate students from University of Toronto and Ashoka University as part of the Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project (MUCP) course. MUCP is a partnership between the Urban Studies Program and the School of Cities, open to all U of T undergraduate students in their final year of study. Over the course of the academic year, interdisciplinary teams work to research and design an urban intervention to meet the needs of their community partner. This year, with support from the U of T India Foundation, MUCP partnered with two organizations in Mumbai, India including Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) and Raah Foundation to offer two community-engaged student projects. Each project team consisted of three U of T students and three Ashoka students.
Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) is a non-profit working with the marginalized to empower them and help them access their rights. YUVA’s on-ground interventions are complemented with advocacy efforts and policy recommendations on a range of issues. YUVA’s work on Climate Justice centres the experiences of the urban poor to understand climate change impacts, losses, and resilience, shaping local adaptations and inclusive policy frameworks. Focusing on the community of Ambojwadi, students will explore how global climate advocacy frameworks and just urban transition policy can apply to underserved neighbourhoods in Mumbai.
The Raah Foundation is a grassroots organization working to improve the lives of marginalized indigenous communities through integrated development initiatives, with a strong focus on sustainable livelihoods, nutrition, and gender equity across India. This project will operate primarily in the Palghar district of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, an area marked by sharp contrasts between urban affluence and rural scarcity. Students will critically examine nutrition access through a gendered lens, focusing on the lived realities of indigenous women in Palghar.
Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action
The International Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project (IMUCP) is a year-long collaboration between the University of Toronto and Ashoka University, designed to foster cross-cultural research and community-driven urban development. Each year, IMUCP brings together students from both universities to work in remote, interdisciplinary teams on real-world challenges faced by non-profit organizations based in Mumbai, India.
This year, our team is collaborating with YUVA (Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action), a community-based organization primarily focusing on advancing the rights of marginalized urban populations in informal settlements to create more inclusive and sustainable cities. Our project explores how global frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can be translated to grassroots level climate action advocacy led by Civil Society Organizations.
Our team consists of Ahana, Anushka, and Sushmita, from Ashoko University, and Tyler, Shihan, and Diego, from the University of Toronto.
At the outset of our project, we found ourselves navigating the uncertainty of where to begin—balancing time zones, logistical hurdles, and our diverse academic perspectives while also trying to understand YUVA’s work on urban housing and community resilience.
On October 26th, our field work began with a site briefing of Ambojwadi, an informal settlement in Mumbai, led by Shahenshah, Dulari, and Mrunmayi, who are community saathis (friends).
In the session, we learned about the settlement’s history, demographic composition, and YUVA’s engagement over the decades. We were informed that Ambojwadi is home to approximately 60,000 residents and is geographically bounded by surrounding creeks. The community’s origins trace back to 1997, when a displaced population from Kandivli was resettled on the marshy lands of New Bhavrikar Colony. Alongside this resettled population resides the Pardi tribal community, which has inhabited the area since 1988. This information made us more cognizant of certain disparities in access to basic amenities. Despite geographical proximity, residents in Ambojwadi, as opposed to New Bhavrikar Colony, gained electricity only in 2014 and water access during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The residents of the settlement may differ in their religious affiliations, be it Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, or Muslim but they find commonality in their lack of access. For instance, the nearest civic primary school is located roughly 1.2 km away. YUVA’s advocacy has primarily focused on securing land titles and access to essential services. Out of the 15,000 houses promised by the government, only 750 were constructed, forcing residents and community groups to collectivize to undertake infrastructure development.
During the site briefing, we were also introduced to a history of state-endorsed violence and criminalization in Ambojwadi. Residents were labelled as “criminals” (तडीपार) leading to the unjust imprisonment of many local youth. Community leaders explained how this narrative served to delegitimize the settlement and justify its exclusion from public services. Over the years, however, Ambojwadi’s residents have organized through unions and community forums to reclaim their identity and resist these stigmas to varying success.
The geography of the settlement itself is divided into seven lanes. Of which only two (comprising approximately 750 households) are officially notified, while the remaining lanes remain non-notified. This administrative distinction produces significant intra-settlement disparities. Notified households gain access to essential public services such as water supply, electricity, and sanitation, alongside the legal assurance of land tenure, which fosters a sense of stability and security. Having encountered this differentiation, we were able to explore the long-term and everyday socio-economic consequences of land rights. The residents of notified areas have been able to accumulate better resources and improve their overall living conditions. In contrast, non-notified sections remain vulnerable to eviction and systemic exclusion. This situation underscores the pivotal role that formal land rights play in shaping urban access and security.
Despite the absence of formal institutional initiatives to deliver basic services to the colony, we witnessed clear evidence of collective community action aimed at strengthening local infrastructure. Residents have engaged in self-organized efforts such as maintaining trees, improving drainage systems and road surfaces, and preserving shared open spaces that serve as venues for social gatherings and community meetings. Organizations such as YUVA and the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGB – Save Houses, Build Houses) have played a pivotal role in facilitating and coordinating these grassroots initiatives, addressing infrastructural challenges that are uniquely embedded within the context of the basti (settlement).
In the session, we learned about the settlement’s history, demographic composition, and YUVA’s engagement over the decades. We were informed that Ambojwadi is home to approximately 60,000 residents and is geographically bounded by surrounding creeks. The community’s origins trace back to 1997, when a displaced population from Kandivli was resettled on the marshy lands of New Bhavrikar Colony. Alongside this resettled population resides the Pardi tribal community, which has inhabited the area since 1988. This information made us more cognizant of certain disparities in access to basic amenities. Despite geographical proximity, residents in Ambojwadi, as opposed to New Bhavrikar Colony, gained electricity only in 2014 and water access during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The residents of the settlement may differ in their religious affiliations, be it Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, or Muslim but they find commonality in their lack of access. For instance, the nearest civic primary school is located roughly 1.2 km away. YUVA’s advocacy has primarily focused on securing land titles and access to essential services. Out of the 15,000 houses promised by the government, only 750 were constructed, forcing residents and community groups to collectivize to undertake infrastructure development.
During the site briefing, we were also introduced to a history of state-endorsed violence and criminalization in Ambojwadi. Residents were labelled as “criminals” (तडीपार) leading to the unjust imprisonment of many local youth. Community leaders explained how this narrative served to delegitimize the settlement and justify its exclusion from public services. Over the years, however, Ambojwadi’s residents have organized through unions and community forums to reclaim their identity and resist these stigmas to varying success.
The geography of the settlement itself is divided into seven lanes. Of which only two (comprising approximately 750 households) are officially notified, while the remaining lanes remain non-notified. This administrative distinction produces significant intra-settlement disparities. Notified households gain access to essential public services such as water supply, electricity, and sanitation, alongside the legal assurance of land tenure, which fosters a sense of stability and security. Having encountered this differentiation, we were able to explore the long-term and everyday socio-economic consequences of land rights. The residents of notified areas have been able to accumulate better resources and improve their overall living conditions. In contrast, non-notified sections remain vulnerable to eviction and systemic exclusion. This situation underscores the pivotal role that formal land rights play in shaping urban access and security.
Despite the absence of formal institutional initiatives to deliver basic services to the colony, we witnessed clear evidence of collective community action aimed at strengthening local infrastructure. Residents have engaged in self-organized efforts such as maintaining trees, improving drainage systems and road surfaces, and preserving shared open spaces that serve as venues for social gatherings and community meetings. Organizations such as YUVA and the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGB – Save Houses, Build Houses) have played a pivotal role in facilitating and coordinating these grassroots initiatives, addressing infrastructural challenges that are uniquely embedded within the context of the basti (settlement).
On our second day with YUVA, we visited the Lallubhai Compound, a large collection of 17 buildings housing more than 1000 families who used to live in informal settlements previously on the site. At first glance, the project appeared to be a triumph of social justice, a municipal effort to improve the living standards of its citizens. But as we soon learned, the story was far more complex.
Residents told us how the compound’s early years were marked by neglect: no clean drinking water, no street lighting, and no open spaces for children to play. Furthermore, the tall towers were built without elevators, confining the elderly and people with disabilities to their upper-floor homes. The compound was congested, lacking green spaces, sunlight, and ventilation, essentially disregarding basic human rights. The situation became so severe that residents, particularly women and children, would not come down from their floors due to fear of encountering people engaging in drug abuse.
It is within this environment that YUVA began its work. Rather than imposing external solutions, YUVA focused on empowering the compound’s residents, especially its children, to reclaim agency over their environment and to push for meaningful change in the built spaces they live in.
Meeting the BASS Child Rights Collective
Our first stop was at the Federation Office, a modest community room used by YUVA for meetings and workshops. There, we met members of BASS (Baal Adhikar Sangharsh Sanghathan), the Child Rights Collective YUVA set up.
The children led the discussion with confidence that immediately challenged our expectations. They explained how they organize around issues of safety, education, and access to public space. One of their biggest victories was lobbying for a pedestrian bridge across a railway line that children once crossed dangerously on their way to school. Going door-to-door, they collected signatures, approached their local MP, and saw the bridge get built!
BASS also runs a Child Safety Forum, through which they engage local authorities and monitor unsafe sites. Their participation in maintaining new green spaces has been transformative. By giving children visible leadership roles, YUVA helped rebuild trust within families and the wider community. As one BASS member recounted, parents who once feared letting their children out of sight now take pride in their activism.
Our meeting ended with two songs performed by the BASS members, written and sung by the children themselves. The first was a spirited call for unity and revolution, celebrating the power of friendship and collective strength. The second struck a deeper chord; its lyrics confronted the contradictions of the city: those who build its homes sleep on its streets; those who grow its food go hungry.
Listening to their voices echo through the Federation Office, we felt the distance between our frameworks of urban transition and the lived realities of those most excluded from it. The songs were testimonies of inequality, sung with hope. As we narrow our project’s focus, these moments reminded us that equity must be rooted in the everyday struggles for safety, health, and dignity in underserved urban communities.
Site Visits: From Dumping Grounds to Green Spaces
After the discussion, we visited two key sites within the compound that embodied YUVA’s process of transformation.
Site 1: The Green Courtyard
Once a neglected, paved-concrete lot, this space has been reborn as a community park. The initiative began in 2021 when YUVA organized co-design workshops with residents to imagine what an “ideal” green space could be. Men envisioned fitness areas, children wanted playgrounds, and women called for safe, open areas where they could gather.
Working with the BASS and the larger community for over a year, YUVA identified creating a green courtyard as its solution. Today, the courtyard is full of life: trees, plants, and children’s laughter. Maintenance is handled collectively, with BASS members watering plants and hosting activities. This level of support was grounded through a participatory process that seeded a sense of ownership into the shared space.
Site 2: Star Tower Park
Just a few minutes away, we visited the Star Tower area. It was once a dumping ground, but is now a small park filled with greenery. This transformation was entirely community-driven. Residents participated in cleaning and replanting the area, turning the space into a public amenity, and inspiring some to keep their own plants in their homes.
To encourage long-term care, YUVA adopted an unconventional approach. Instead of scolding those who littered, they gave roses to people who didn’t. This small gesture of positive reinforcement sparked a shift in behaviour. Residents began taking pride in keeping the park clean, and the space is now maintained using the society’s own maintenance fund.
As we boarded the bus from the Lallubhai Compound, the impact of what we had witnessed settled in. The green spaces, the confident voices of BASS members, and the community’s commitment to their own transformation highlighted that lasting change is most effective when led by the communities themselves, reiterating the importance of including voices that have previously been invisibilized in the conversation.
In the afternoon, we travelled to YUVA’s main office in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, to better understand the organization’s broader mission. As we reflected on field visits to Ambojwadi and the Lallubhai Compound, we struggled to see how issues like sanitary infrastructure, community safety, and green spaces connected to our problem statement, focused on climate action. But through YUVA’s presentation and conversations, the connections became clear.
Dominant global climate action frameworks, they explained, are rarely inclusive and equitable. The impacts of the climate crisis are uneven, and without intentional inclusion, communities like Ambojwadi and the Lallubhai Compound risk being left further behind.
After an hour of collaborative discussion and brainstorming with YUVA staff, our team developed a clear path forward for the project, and we are truly excited about where it is headed. Leaving the Kharghar Center, we found ourselves no longer navigating uncertainty and inspired to tackle the rest of the project head-on.
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Shahenshah, Mrunmayi, Dulari, and the entire YUVA team for welcoming us with such kindness and generosity. Your openness, insight, and passion made our time with you incredibly meaningful. We are so thankful for your support and can’t wait to continue working and learning together in the months ahead!
The Raah Foundation
Meet the team – Aditi, Margaux, Polina, Ishita, Tanya, and Varusha. We are an international team of University of Toronto and Ashoka University students. In this blog, we will share our IMUCP experience of working for a non-profit Raah Foundation to explore the intersection of gender, nutrition, and climate change amongst the indigenous communities of Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
Note on Palghar
Palghar is a district located within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which comprises a cluster of villages. The village we visited falls under the Vikramgad taluka (subdivision of the district).
According to the 2011 Indian Census, 38% of Palghar’s population is tribal. The major
tribal communities in the region include the Warli, Karkari, Malhar Koli, and Thakur groups.
Given its geographic position in the Western Ghats, Palghar experiences significant climate vulnerability. This, coupled with entrenched gender norms (which we discuss later in this blog), creates a complex intersection of gender, climate, and nutritional inaccessibility.
Site visit preparation
Our work on this project began months before visiting Palghar. Our team worked hard to minimize the outsider effect and familiarize ourselves with the community beforehand. We conducted a literature review on nutritional issues in indigenous communities in India and Palghar and sought to educate ourselves on the local context through weekly Zoom meetings with the organisation’s CEO, project manager, and local field team.
Simultaneously, we created a diverse methodology toolkit, which consisted of:
- survey questionnaires to be conducted by the field team post our visit;
- questions for Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with indigenous women;
- interview questions with tribal couples; and
- interview questions with the head farmer.
Such rigorous preparation became a site of reflexivity for us. We constantly discussed what it meant to ask ‘neutral’ or non-judgmental questions that invited narratives rather than justifications.
Aware of the risks of imposing standardised frameworks, we, through discussions with our Teaching Assistant and Professors, made deliberate efforts to design queries that were open-ended and context-sensitive.
Palghar site visit
Our first day involved a site visit to a remote village in the Vikramgad taluka (administrative division) of Palghar, where the Raah Foundation works to support indigenous communities.
During our nearly four-hour journey there, we observed the gradual change from the densely populated Mumbai to the peri-urban Palghar. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with a traditional puja, marigold flowers, and hats; a warm and touching gesture that set the tone for the day.
Our visit quickly started with the focused group discussion (FGD) involving indigenous women, their husbands and ASHA workers. We learnt about the community’s dietary habits, daily routines, food-related practices and the impact of climate change. We explored common nutritional health issues faced by women and the role of ASHA workers in addressing these challenges.
However, several challenges emerged that have become key learnings for us. Although the session was intended for women alone, their husbands joined the FGDs without prior notice, which seemed to affect the authenticity of women’s responses. The unexpected presence of multiple groups also complicated the structure of our discussion. We had prepared separate questionnaires for each group, but with everyone present simultaneously, it became difficult to maintain focus and direct questions appropriately.
Language barriers added another layer of complexity. While some participants understood basic Hindi, many were more comfortable in Marathi, a language none of our team members spoke. Translation support from the Raah Foundation staff was essential, yet we remained mindful of the potential for loss of nuance and the introduction of inherent bias in translation processes.
We also noticed that men would respond to questions even when they were specifically directed at women. At one point, some men asserted that their community does not discriminate based on gender, while the women remained silent. This hinted at the underlying power dynamics and suggested that gender relations may be more complex than they appear on the surface. It reminded us to critically assess who speaks, who doesn’t, and what that silence might signify.
The experience reinforced that effective fieldwork requires more than collecting information; it demands attentiveness to context, social dynamics, and the voices that may be overshadowed. We will implement these reflections in our future work and ensure inclusivity and responsiveness of our methods to the realities of the communities we work with.
The FGD was followed by the shared community lunch. When served food, we learnt that it had been grown in the community, which elicited conflicting emotions. While trying to learn about gendered nutrition access in the community, we were taking some of their nutrition away, which we found contradictory. Nevertheless, we were heartened by the community’s hospitality and their willingness to invite us to their table despite experiencing nutritional issues.
During lunch, one of the tribal couples ate next to us. A field team staff explained that this was rare occurrence. Therefore, we inferred that men and women tend to eat separately, which made us question their earlier statements around gender equality in the community. If we could spend more time in the community, we would have been able to explore the gendered differences in nutrition, but sharing the same meal with the entire village, we could not make any meaningful observations.
After we finished lunch, we noticed the women from the FGD sat down to have their lunch. In hopes of getting to know them better and express out gratitude, we joined them on the floor. Facilitated by professor Mehta, we had an informal conversation with them and learned more about their community and shared more about our project and where our own lives.
Finally, we interviewed the tribal couples and the head farmer. Unexpectedly, the interviews between the stakeholders were combined into one once again. We spoke at length with two tribal couples, both in their middle ages, about their household dynamics. The husbands elaborated on the daily challenges they faced—commuting long distances for work, securing stable livelihoods, receiving unfair prices for their crops, and ensuring their children’s welfare. During these conversations, we noticed that the husbands often spoke on behalf of their wives, even when questions were directed to both, such as those about decision-making around money or how they got married. To encourage the women to participate more actively, we shifted our focus to topics they might feel more comfortable discussing, such as pregnancy recovery, dietary practices, and childcare responsibilities. Through these conversations, we realized that women tended to prioritize self-care the most during pregnancy, suggesting that interventions emphasizing maternal and child health could see the greatest acceptance and impact within the community. When the head farmer arrived, he introduced himself as a government employee responsible for agriculture policies, which is why our conversation with him focused on climate change and government schemes implemented in the area.
Throughout the visit, the community went out of their way to make us feel welcomed. Their belief in Atithi Devo Bhava (the guest is God) was woven into every interaction and smile. They thanked us for taking the time and travelling such a long distance to listen to their stories. But truly, it is we who are thankful that they chose to share their stories with us. Filled with immense gratitude and respect for the indigenous women of Palghar and inspired by their resilience and perseverance, we hope to create meaningful contributions that will improve the community’s nutritional access and livelihoods.
After an eventful day in Palghar, our goal for the second day was to collect our thoughts and analyse the information we obtained through the community interactions. Upon reaching the Raah Foundation office, we met with senior members of the organisation, starting with the Strategic Advisor, Girish Kulkarni, and Senior Research and Policy Associate, Sunidhi Hegde. They walked us through the Raah’s history and origins, the key domains they focus on, and the kinds of solutions they implement. The session was collaborative and detailed, helping us situate our field observations within the broader framework of the institutional philosophy and methods followed by The Raah Foundation.
The discussion moved further through an illustrative activity titled “The Circles of Reflection” – a reflective exercise which led us to reckon more intimately with the previous day’s conversations with the Indigenous community. The activity itself consisted of three intersecting circles, forming a venn diagram, each focusing on a different aspect of our findings and aimed at helping us think critically about our experiences. Each circle related to what challenged us, what moved us, and what is remaining that we’d like to learn about, respectively, rooted in the experiences and conversations of the previous day. These prompts, consequently, encouraged us to reflect on moments that were emotionally resonant, intellectually difficult, or sparked curiosity. Not only did this facilitate conversation and highlight key moments, but the intersection of these reflections also possibly helped shape potential research questions and further guide us with regards to the exact problems we hope to address through our research, and the overall scope of our work.
What struck us the most was the tribal women’s resilience and openness with regards to communicating their experiences; specifically their courage to be able to speak up and be transparent about their lived realities. We were deeply touched by how the community enthusiastically cooked us meals, taught us folk dances, and more. In a way, their hospitality starkly highlighted the contrast between their determination as a community and the adversities they face, showing their strength as a collective and hope for their future. There was also a distinct pattern of prioritizing the aspirations and goals of the children and future generations of the community in the face of the scarcity they face which also moved us.
Conversely, what challenged us was the manner in which we were able to conduct research during our visit. There was an underlying tension and effort by the student team to not apply our own assumptions and an outsider understanding of their culture, specifically our own ideas when it comes to gender and equity, to the Indigenous community. Our team had also noticed the implicit and subtle power dynamics that shaped the community during our visit. A couple things that came to mind were men that denied the existence of gender inequality within the tribe while also answering for their wives and other women present, in spite of questions intended for the Indigenous women and specifically geared towards them. The silence of the women in the community also rang evident even when it came to overarching blanket questions posed for the entire collective.
Furthermore, the language barrier and our reliance on translation undeniably complicated our own interpretations and answers as given by the Indigenous women, which further amplified our concerns vis-à-vis the power dynamics. This led to us substantially shifting our questions, modifying the language and sequence, and our sweeping approach to the interviews. Moreover, eating a meal with them after our discussion about nutrition and lack of access to basic food provoked a feeling of discomfort that prompted us to reflect on our positionality and privilege during participation in the research.
Overall, our experiences have opened doors for potential questions and further inquiries. By doing secondary research and better understanding the Indigenous tribe’s lived experiences, we hope to probe into how gender inequality is subtle but persistent in the daily lives of the communities. We also aim to look further into the impact of urbanization and traditional diets and nutritional practices, an ongoing issue that was mentioned repeatedly during our field visit, but remained unexplored. Moving forward, we eagerly anticipate contributing to research that progresses The Foundation and Indigenous communities’ circumstances research and is consciously rooted in a non-extractive approach of knowledge production.
After the reflection exercise, we met Sarayu Kamat, a leader of the Climate Action Team, and later on with Sarika Kulkarni, the Chief Executive of The Raah Foundation. Their stories, and more so the experiences of the Indigenous communities, highlighted resilience, solutions and efforts that focus, repeatedly, on sustainable growth. As the Raah Foundation helps in creating new opportunities and possibilities for each individual within these Indigenous communities in order to help themselves and their future, we hope to align our work, as students, to the organization’s overarching objectives and efforts, and provide recommendations and work that carries long-term potential for bettering the circumstances and lived realities of the Indigenous tribes.
The primary takeaway from our visit to the Foundation’s office was a keen clarity regarding the direction of our project, and the specificities we hope to narrow down upon in regards to our deliverables while balancing the team’s larger objective of creating a project that is grounded, realistic, and carries the potential to make tangible impacts and be scaled in the future with appropriate resources.
In lieu of the markedly different context and background of the community that is the primary target of our research work, our efforts prior to the field visit had primarily focused on secondary research regarding the community’s environmental, material, and structural circumstances. We had conversations with the Foundation’s Field Team and compiled questions to address noticeable knowledge gaps and the need for contextual information. The actual community interaction, followed by the extensive reflection and focused discussion with The Raah Foundation allowed the student team and philanthropic organization to steer course as required and hone in on a well-defined aim rooted in context sensitivity, practical availability of resources, realistic aims, and multidisciplinary interests. The team collectively decided to continue focusing on producing a detailed research report to further illuminate the intersecting circumstances that define Palghar and its unique nutritional insecurity issues while also adding in a more practical and instrumental deliverable that is currently shaping up to be a toolkit that focuses on disseminating policy recommendations to improve current schemes being implemented and amplifying access to information for the Indigenous community regarding nutrition, health, and topics that fall under the umbrella of a balanced diet and its relevance.
We also came to the conclusion that we would continue to focus on and prioritize various stakeholders that are involved in the multifaceted challenges including ASHA Workers, Anganwadi workers, government employees and agencies, and so on. We hope to produce work that is consistently rooted in a holistic and sustainable approach and make recommendations that are relevant for, and actionable by, all parties.
This, coupled with The Raah’s Foundation’s potential partnership with an international organization that focuses on nutritional security and access, as shared by Sarika during our visit, makes us hope that our work can operate in tandem to the two organizations’ overarching collaboration and make for an instrumental part of their work that informs their decision-making and efforts.
A recurring theme throughout the day that we spent with Raah was the personalized and intimate nature of the work carried out by the Foundation with the Indigenous community. Sarika had endless anecdotes and stories to share about the community, highlighting the human connections that the organization emphasizes throughout every part of the work that they carry out. Our team hopes to carry out research in the same vein, and implement research and solutions that prioritize the community and its mindset, culture, and outlook above all else.
