Laurie Mazur

4 Posts

Laurie Mazur is a senior content editor and writer for Island Press, an imprint of Princeton University Press. Her work is supported by The Kresge Foundation and the Summit Foundation.

Four Black adults—three women and one man—stand outside in front of a brick building. On the building is a sign that reads "Tom Lee's Centennial Celebration and the Unsung Heroes of Klondike."

From the Field

A Historic Black Memphis Neighborhood Turns to a CLT to Avoid Displacement

June 9, 2026 | Laurie Mazur

A former hub of Black-owned businesses in North Memphis that suffered urban renewal seeks to rebuild without a new wave of displacement. Can a community land trust strike that balance?

A Black woman, wearing a white scarf and black robe and holding a microphone, speaks inside a room. Sitting are four people listening, and others are standing in the back.

From the Field

Preparing Underinvested Communities for New Funding

October 6, 2023 | Laurie Mazur

Underinvested communities are at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting and deploying funding. The Center for Community Investment is helping to change that.

A young Black woman in an orange top and bold print pants roller-skates with her two young children, a girl in blue whose arm the mother is holding to keep her from falling, and a boy in pale orange skating on his own with his arms out for balance.

Arts & Culture

‘We-Making’: How Arts and Culture Build Social Cohesion

January 3, 2022 | Laurie Mazur

In Oakland, the Black Cultural Zone ties together art and community ownership to prevent gentrification and heal trauma.

Community Development Field

More Than a Mural: How Arts and Culture Advance the Mission of the Seattle Housing Authority

April 30, 2021 | Laurie Mazur

Arts programs at one public housing development in Seattle have eased the challenges of redevelopment by helping residents define what the community means to them.