SUSTAINING & STEWARDING THE BLACK HOME
Black In Design | Harvard GSD
The “Sustainable Soul Spaces: Reclaiming African Heritage in the Home and Community” Workshop offers a collaborative experience where participants embark on an inspiring journey. Ms. Obikoya delves into a multitude of challenges and uncovers even more opportunities related to the design and construction of her home in a historically African neighborhood with exclusionary zoning practices and limited financial resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout, Ms. Obikoya maintains her cultural identity in her design and arrives at forward-thinking solutions for the neighborhood’s plan amidst a modern renaissance. The workshop focuses on a non-conforming 25×100’ parcel with challenging zoning restrictions and design constraints, including 18’ side yard and 25’ front and rear yard limitations, within a historically African-American neighborhood forever changed by gentrification. In four modules, this workshop will delve into the sustainability of Black homes and communities.
EXPLORE AND EXPERIENCE ARLINGTON'S AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE
Arlington, Virginia | Arlington Convention & Visitors Service
From late 2022 through 2023, the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service (a division within Arlington County’s economic development department) brought together nearly 20 community and county partners to catalog and promote the full array of visitor sights and experiences that showcase Arlington’s African American heritage.
​
The project, made possible through Virginia Tourism Corporation’s DRIVE 2.0 grant program, seeks to inspire exploration, understanding and celebration of the invaluable contributions of Black culture and life in Arlington.
THE MISSING MIDDLE
Arlington Magazine, March 01, 2021
Bridget Obikoya knows how hard it can be to buy a house—any house—in Arlington on a middle-class salary. “Public servants don’t make a lot of money,” says Obikoya, who handles parking and site plan reviews as a design engineer for Arlington County. “I can tell you the opportunity to buy a house in Arlington is almost nonexistent.”
​
Almost. She lucked out in 2015 while looking at homes with her mother in Green Valley.
​
“A house was being sold for $490,000,” she recalls, “and I asked the owner about her side yard. She said, ‘That’s not my yard. That’s an empty lot.’ ”
Obikoya found the lot’s owner, called him and made an offer on the narrow property, which he accepted after a second phone call.
​
Today, she’s serving as project manager on the construction of a 15-foot-wide shotgun-style home, which she designed herself with help from her architect sister and others.
PATHWAYS TO INCLUSION: 2020 - 2021 COHORT PARTICIPANT
Urban Land Institute - Washington, September 16, 2020
Bridget Obikoya is a 2020-21 Scholarship recipient for the Pathways to Inclusion Initiative. Pathways to Inclusion seeks to increase diversity by providing opportunities to diverse real estate professionals, and opportunities to develop partnerships outside of ULI to assist with these goals.
The mission of the Urban Land Institute is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities. ULI Washington carries forth that mission by serving the Washington region with pragmatic land use expertise and education.
2019 NAACP ARLINGTON BRANCH - WILLARD J. BRITTAIN JR. COMMUNITY APPRECIATION AWARDEE
Inside NOVA, September 24, 2019
Bridget Obikoya is the 2019 recipient of the Willard J. Brittain Jr. Community Appreciation Award, which is bestowed by the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) upon a person who demonstrates outstanding leadership, community involvement, and a commitment to education.
The vision of the NAACP is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race. Its mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
EXAMPLES OF AND STRATEGIES FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Black Communities Conference, September 11, 2019
Bridget Obikoya examines how a community may reject further neighborhood disenfranchisement, demand inclusionary community development practices, and use neighborhood planning as a guiding principle in enhancing your community for your community’s benefit with transportation, public art, and other low-cost, hard infrastructure improvements that make communities thrive. Finding opportunities for neighborhood enhancement in underfunded communities can be challenging, yet rewarding if successful.
FROM UNSCHOOL AND HOMESCHOOL: CULTURALLY-RICH CURRICULUM AND ENVIRONMENT
Black Communities Conference - A Conference for Collaboration, April 24, 2018
Have you ever said or heard someone say, “If only we were taught [blank] in school” or “They do teach you THAT in school” or all the variations in between? If so, then you’re among most of us who expected our schools to teach us historically-accurate and culturally-rich lessons and have been left wanting due to lack thereof. Bridget Obikoya explores the culturally inclusive ways in which homeschooling can enrich the lives of children and their communities.
EVALUATING TRANSPORTATION EQUITY - PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Intersections: Creating Culturally Complete Streets, April 4, 2018
Effective Complete Streets policies establish project selection criteria and performance measures. As agencies increasingly emphasize transportation equity, selection criteria and performance measures should be updated reflect this priority. Bridget Obikoya highlights an example of how Arlington County Government incorporates equity into their technical practice by leveraging qualitative and quantitative data.
ROSSLYN CENTRAL PLACE - MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT
Around Arlington - February 24, 2014
Bridget Obikoya sets the scene for Rosslyn's transportation demands in the area leading to Washington DC's Key Bridge while construction takes place at Central Place. The Central Place development program consists of two towers: residential and office. The development soars 31 stories in the air with a public observation deck boasting panoramic views of the DC skyline and the Potomac River. This mixed-use development enriches the Rosslyn community with inviting new retail, a public plaza and direct access to the Rosslyn transit station.
GREEN VALLEY: A COMMUNITY FORGING A BRIGHT NEW FUTURE
DC History Conference 2019: History Network & Poster Sessions
Obikoya highlights Green Valley - a traditionally African- American neighborhood in Arlington - its rich history, its people and how the neighborhood has changed. Depictions of its anticipated future and visionary neighborhood conservation plan are included.
URBANPLAN STUDENTS TACKLE TOUGH ISSUES
Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies - GU’s UrbanPlan program
Affordable housing, housing the unsheltered and transit-oriented development were just some of the hot topics discussed.
FOUR MILE RUN VALLEY INTERIM PARKING PLAN
Department of Environmental Services - Inumidun Obikoya, Design Engineer
Parking changes are designed to provide better access for residents, park users and businesses in the area
CONNECTING SMART GROWTH AND ARCHITECTURE
American Institutes of Architecture Convention Tour - Washington, DC
Arlington County Redevelopment. Walking of Arlington County's Clarendon Area.
EAST FALLS CHURCH AREA PLAN
Department of Environmental Services - Inumidun Obikoya, Arlington County Government Project Team
The vision for East Falls Church is to create an inviting, walkable neighborhood center that will serve as an economic and social hub where people can live, work and shop near transit while preserving and protecting the nearby existing single-family residential areas. The neighborhood center will have a mixture of uses within easy reach of people living and working nearby in the surrounding community.
CRYSTAL CITY SECTOR PLAN
Department of Environmental Services - Inumidun Obikoya, Arlington County Government Project Team
A desired vision was identified and supported with primary goals to achieve as part of the future Crystal City. Issues related to land use, public streets and open spaces, architecture and built form, transportation, environmental and economic sustainability and transitions to adjacent neighborhoods were all identified as areas of interest. Ultimately, seven goals were established to outline the key aspirations for the revitalization of Crystal City.
CORRIDOR OF LIGHT
North Lynn Street Public Art Initiative - Inumidun Obikoya, Design Engineer, Arlington County Government
The Corridor of Light, a synthesis of public sculpture and lighting infrastructure, embraces and defines Rosslyn’s ur- banity. Illuminated sculptures of different scales appear at significant junctures along the corridor to create a series of linked points from Key Bridge to Meade Street Bridge.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Community Advisory Board Member (since 2021) - Inumidun Obikoya, Arlington County Resident
Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti engages regularly with the community she serves. She attends public meetings, participates in community events, and is deeply committed to including the community in her decisions.
​
The Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney under Parisa Dehghani-Tafti created a Community Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB serves as a community liaison, provides input on reforms ideas, analyzes policy for equity impact, and keeps the community informed of the office’s goals and objectives. The CAB consists of 10-15 residents of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, and it meets regularly with the Commonwealth Attorney.
D.C. HISTORY CONFERENCE
University of the District of Columbia - November 21 - 24, 2019
The annual D.C. History Conference is a collaboration among the DC History Center, DC Public Library, and the DC Historic Preservation Office. Since 1973, the mission of the conference has been to provide a dynamic, friendly, and rigorous forum for discussing and promoting original research about the history and culture of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
The 2019 D.C. History Conference explores the theme “Communities and Characters” through panel sessions, posters, workshops, tours, and films.