1. Toward A Portrait of Resilience - The Build ABetter Neighborhood Board Game
Monopoly is a well known commercial board game that originated in the United States and
promotes the acquisition of things and money. If and when you have a bad run at it while
playing the game you can even end up in jail. My vision, is to introduce a board game designed
to create an educational experience that facilitates the themes of critical mindedness, active
engagement, flexibility, and dynamic and diverse community. The target age group is youth
between the age of 9 and 14 years old. The primary game objective is to promote youth gaining
familiarity with the optimal personal and collective development skills that are needed in order
for them to more likely be placed “at promise” as opposed to “at risk” (Boykin, 2000) in their
personal, family, school, church, and community life. This will improve their chance of emerging
as ideal agents for meaningful, purposeful, organised, and sustainable positive change within a
participatory democratic framework where they will be better able to thrive and flourish well into
their emerging adult lives.
In my view, a board game design incorporating mechanics that function to increase youth
knowledge, understanding, and competencies in the following nine domains for development as
an adaptive or protective process will provide a powerful means for the enhancement of self-
control, self-determination, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and self-community and psychology:
● Identity development
● Emotional development (EQ)
● Social development
● Cognitive development (IQ)
● Physical health and development
● Budget development and financial planning
● Spiritual and faith development (SQ)
● Diverse and revitalizing community development
● Mutual trust and urban sustainable development
My interests are in learning how to draw upon what is currently being done in Southeast
Chicago, San Diego, Boston, New York, and other urban settings to create the ultimate board
game decision scenarios that will help youth in the mediating of 7 Key Questions: Who, What,
Why, When, Where, How, and How Much? Who do you think should be consulted for
assistance, what are you seeking to accomplish, why do you want to try and avoid certain
consequences, where should you productively spend your time, how can you make the best
possible use of all of your available resources and vital touch points, and last but not least how
much effort will be required, are you willing to make a personal commitment to meet the
challenge, and are you prepared to stay the course?
In my own life as a poor African American urban youth there were numerous individuals,
organizations, and local safe places which all led me to dream, hope, and see beyond my
temporarily limited circumstances. They also helped me to effectively weigh the difference
between right and wrong and recognize that there are consequences to one’s actions and for
inaction. I desire to ‘pay it forward’ by creating a challenging and fun board game and
instructional tool that can be made available on a large enough scale to meet the vast

2. educational needs of disadvantaged, racially and ethnically diverse youth aged 9 to 14 years old
all across America.