Steps on Becoming an Independent Neighborhood Curator

Flushing Meadows Corona Park - Queens, NYC Photo by Byron Nicholas

One may think tour guides are only unique to exotic destinations with warm weather, unfamiliar plants and animals not native to the American mainland.

The fact is, everyone, over the age of 18 has the potential to be a tour guide, or as I like to call it a travel connoisseur, or better yet, a neighborhood curator.

A neighborhood curator is defined as a person who creates unique experiences from the assets a neighborhood has to offer. If your town or city have notable places of interests, including galleries, museums, restaurants and eateries, an art scene, or anything unique from other places, you are able to create an experience for tourists. 

Creativity in Curating

We were all shocked and saddened by the apparent suicide of Anthony Bourdain. He has left a remarkable legacy on both the food and tourism industry. His show, Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown was widely successful due to his willingness to showcase not-so notable places. Some of his show's selected locations have opened our minds to sections of the world and parts of cities that no one cared to explore. He understood that different cultural perspectives were important and Black spaces in particular, were worth exploring. Bourdain has catalyzed the potential of the tourism industry by exploring the social, economic and cultural aspects of places through food.

Bourdain used food as a medium to link cultural similarities and differences between the places he visited. Art is another medium that can be used as a medium to tell a story of a neighborhood or city. Museums, cultural centers and many other amenities can be used as a focal interest to showcase the culture and history of a neighborhood or city. The point is that a well curated tour can compel a visitor to fully engage in  unique aspects of what cities and neighborhoods have to offer.

Some urban tours feature the art of graffiti and murals as the basis of their tours. Modern graffiti was first considered a nuance in urban areas such as Philadelphia and New York, affiliated with the early hip-hop movement. But now, modern graffiti and tagging has popped up in trendy neighborhoods and art galleries all over the world.

There is creativity in designing your routes, stops, locations and even means of transportation to show tourists around.

As a business entrepreneur, a neighborhood curator either work full time as their main source of income or work part time on weekends to supplement their current income. You can create individual tours or group tours, it really depends on your comfort level. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind when becoming a neighborhood curator:

1. Find out if your city or town requires a certification to become a tour guide.

Some municipalities  require a permit or license to conduct tours. For example, New York, Washington D.C require tour guides to be licensed.

If your municipality does not require any license or certification, then that is one less step to worry about.

2. Tourists Want to Hear Interesting Stories

As a neighborhood curator, you would be able to tell a story of your neighborhood. Here are some important questions to ask yourself:

Who or what are important people, places or things in your neighborhood? I.e- famous parks, eateries and public spaces.

Who were the first to do what and where? 

What interesting buildings were erected?

What movements were started here?

When did the neighborhood endure its ups and downs?

What are some of the neighborhood's future planning prospects? I.e - such as a new subway station.

3. Tourists Will Be Hungry

One of the best things that can link cultures, support local businesses and engage conversations is food. Local food spots are prevalent in large urban areas and are usually unique to each neighborhood. A great example to do this is by curating a food tour around cuisine unique to Black populations. For example, you can bring tourists on a food tour to sample Afro-Caribbean cuisine in Flatbush Brooklyn via places like Mangoseed Restaurant, as shown in the 4 pictures above.

It is highly recommended that you find a few of the best eateries and casual restaurants in your neighborhood to share with tourists. Casual eateries or restaurants with take out menus are best for short waits and appetizers to eat on the go. Consider creating a deal with these restaurants through a MOU (mémorandum of understanding) where discounts can be provided to your tourists.

4: Which platforms allow you to advertise your neighborhood curating business?

Airbnb created an Activities platform on their website. In addition to booking places for accommodations, users can now book experiences from locals. In fact, Essence Magazine highlights some Black neighborhood curators that uses the Airbnb platform. 

Large cities may have a tourism and travel website where you can find a list of resources. It's highly advisable to utilize this resource for exposure and marketing.

Social media is a great tool to reach international audiences. Creating a hashtag can link a wide range of audiences to your local website for publicity. 

5: Limitations

Not all culturally rich neighborhoods are located in the heartland of cities.  New York for example features great Afro-Caribbean neighborhoods in Crown Heights and Flatbush located in Brooklyn, which can be a 30 to 45 minute subway ride from some parts of Manhattan in which tourists resides. Other ethnically rich neighborhoods are found throughout Queens.

It is not expected for a tour to visit every place of interest, but breaking up tours by geographic location would be helpful for big cities like New York. In other cities, like Miami, you may need a vehicle to access some places of interests between the culture rich neighborhoods such as little Haiti and little Havana.

 Say No to Slum Tourism!

The sole purpose of introducing, reinforcing and promoting tourism to African-Americans and for Black neighborhoods is to provide economic opportunities and raise positive cultural awareness about Black urban spaces.

BLACK+URBAN does not, in any form, support slum touring, which is defined as seeking joy, pleasure or entertainment from viewing people in abject poverty. It is highly encouraged to highlight positive historic, present and future prospects of a neighborhood. For example, If a neighborhood curator would like to highlight historic events leading to the present conditions of a neighborhood,  it is recommended to do so with great empathy, sensibility and for educational purposes.

Notoriously dangerous neighborhoods

Discretion and precaution must be considered while hosting a tour. Always remember that perceived crime is different from actual crime, however it is not recommended to tour notoriously dangerous neighborhoods. 

The number one rule of thumb for touring a residential neighborhood is this: stick to main attractions, cultural centers, historic homes and culturally rich food. Speak about the history of a predominately residential neighborhood in a common area, and not in front of someone's home.

Coming Soon

Be sure to follow the Brooklyn and Queens’ neighborhood curator journey.

Tourism as a Tool

Kings Theater, Flatbush, Brooklyn - Courtesy of Garrett Ziegler via Flickr

Tourism is a viable source of income for millions of people around the world. Although the United States has the largest travel economy in the world, at $488 billion, people in communities throughout the world rely on the revenue from tourists to make ends meet. The World Travel and Tourism Council has found that the tourism industry consists of 10% of the world’s GDP and 1 in every 10 jobs are supported by the industry.

In America, cities and towns invests millions of dollars to lure tourists to their destinations. Most of those investments go towards downtown streetscape improvements, sport arena rehabilitation projects, wayfinding, crime prevention tactics, public transportation and improvements. The goal of these investments are to create an ultimate user experience for visitors. 

In contrast, little investments from government go towards communities of color and specifically Black spaces. If low-middle income communities can utilize tourism as a meaningful source of income in other countries then the same logic can be applied to low-middle income black communities in the United States.  

There needs to be a larger interest to increase tourism in Black urban spaces throughout America. Advocating for more black tour guides and bringing tourists to Black urban spaces can have many positive impact ranging from economic to social and cultural benefits. Some advantages for tourism in Black urban spaces can:

1: Increase business for the local economy through local mom and pop stores. 

2:  Provide a primary or secondary source of income for Black tour guides.

3: Introduce people from other cultures to foods that represent Africa and its diaspora. 

4:  Raise awareness of Black history in a community. 

5:  Raise the level of compassion understanding and respect for black spaces and communities. 

Cities such as Atlanta, New York and the Washington D.C/Alexandria V.A regions offers great opportunities to experience African-American history and culture. Visitors in Atlanta, GA can experience Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy from his birth place to the many cultural centers he has inspired. D.C/Alexandria VA offers a series of museums, theaters, houses and restaurants owned by prominent Black owned figures and Howard University, a Historically Black University that has paved the way for many successful Black leaders including Zora Neal Hurston, Carter G. Woodson, and Thurgood Marshall. In New York,

Harlem is known to be the prominent quintessential African-American neighborhood with unique cultural sites and amenities. Over time other note-worthy African/Caribbean-American neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn and Queens such as Flatbush, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Jamaica have surfaced, offering unique cultural experiences.

These cities and a few others across America have large Black cultural influences that can offer a unique taste to a visitor's palette. Equally as important, there are American historic and cultural sites that are situated in Black neighborhoods throughout the country that are worth seeing.  

Black spaces and neighborhoods have interesting stories to tell, compelling people to meet, taste-worthy foods to and riveting cultural institutions that can all be successfully curated from a Black cultural perspective. 

The benefits of tourism in black communities are endless.  

Check out Steps on Becoming an Independent Neighborhood Curator (Tour Guide) to find out more on the ins and outs of being a Neighborhood Curator including how to get your start in the industry and pointing out some of its limitations.

Travel to Black Destinations

Cruise Ship Docking in Fort-De-France Harbor, Martinique, France, Photo by Byron Nicholas

One of the greatest opportunities afforded to mankind is the ability to travel and experience different places and people throughout the world.  When it comes to tourism, Black spaces are not treated the same as white Spaces. A vast majority of predominately Black destination as are known to exhibit Heaven on Earth comfort levels. However, there are some uniquely Black destinations that are often overlooked by tourists due to stereotypes and perceived danger. For one, negative prejudices looms around Black communities and spaces which, in effect, contribute to avoidance and neglect by tour companies. Depending on the context, tourists either do not get the full experience of Black spaces or in some cases in the Caribbean, tourists via cruise companies are able to take economic advantage of local businesses.

For example, the Caribbean hosts the largest market for the cruise ship tourism industry.  large million dollar cruise ship companies tour the Caribbean isles where the cruise ships raise social impact concerns and economically disadvantage many local businesses and public infrastructure. According to The Impact of the Cruising Industry on Local Destination there are three major concerns about cruise tourism in the Caribbean:

1. Local merchants and tour operators earn considerably less than the cruise liners for the products they provide

2. Improper usage of infrastructure – sewage and water systems, roads and paths and;

3. People pollution that may have adverse social impacts. 

Thoroughly Research Your Destination

If you travel by plane to your destination, tourists are often warned and deterred from exploring certain neighborhoods. No matter how unique the place may be, most tourists will not want to travel to a particular community if they perceive it to be unsafe and dangerous. I mean, can we really blame the tourists? Safety comes first, however, always remember that perceived crime is different from actual crime. This is why it is very important to do research on your destination before traveling and booking accommodations.

Find a Local Tour Guide

It is highly recommended to find a legitimate local tour guide from the country's tourism website or travel agency to explore neighborhoods tucked away from most visitors. This way, you would build a trustful relationship with the tour guide and boost the local economy by spending money on food, activities and transportation the locals have to offer. 

Some tour companies have the right idea. A more local example takes a look at a bus touring company. Gray Line  New York’s Sightseeing offers uptown loop tours to Harlem, a predominately Black neighborhood in uptown Manhattan. Tour buses allow passengers to view this historic black neighborhood with stops to many notable sites in Harlem which, in effect, maximizes tourist to local business transactions and social interactions.