small-scale manufacturing

It was a cool Saturday morning in Santa Ana, California, earlier this year. At the corner of Walnut and Daisy, an urban farm displayed rows of beautiful carrots and greens. Shipping containers – turned into coffee-shop business space – were painted in blues, oranges, and greens. Community artists speaking English and Spanish gathered at the center of the area to add the finishing touches to an artisan production shed. Ana Urzua, executive director of Cooperacion Santa Ana, looked out at the nearly completed construction. Ten years ago, this had only been a dream. In 2015, when the city announced plans to widen two large streets of Santa Ana and began purchasing neighboring homes and storefronts to demolish, Urzua was part of a community coalition that knew they would need to organize against it innovatively.