New Worcester Podcast Tackles Intersection Of Urbanism, Queer Identity

WORCESTER, MA — How do you cultivate cities that meet the needs of all residents?

A new podcast from Worcester nonprofit leader Joshua Croke will tackle that subject, with an eye toward making cities more welcoming for people in the LGBTQ+ community. Croke, cofounder of Love Your Labels, launched "Queer for Cities" this month after months of planning and contemplation.

The podcast will explore issues like the high cost of housing and how it feeds rising homelessness, transportation justice and the availability of affirming healthcare options. Croke uses the phrase "make queer a joyful norm" to describe the overarching goal of the pod.

Worcester Patch spoke to Croke about creating the podcast, and what topics they will explore that might be instructive in New England's second-largest city.

What prompted you to create a podcast with these topics?

The way our cities are designed is intentional — but the impact of that design has caused a lot of unintended — and very intended — harm to people. And so often, the design of cities excludes and doesn’t center folks at the margins—BIPOC, 2SLGBTQA+, disabled, elders, the list goes on. And a lot of us queer folk have really challenging relationships with places, especially the places and spaces that we grew up in that weren’t supportive of us. So many of us move to the city. The city has been a place of relative refuge for many queer and trans folks throughout time, and that’s part of why we’re doing this show.

Queer For Cities is a podcast and radio show about life at the intersections of identity and place and designing equity-centered, liberated communities where 2SLGBTQIA+ folks thrive.

Queer For Cities feels like it has been emerging for a good portion of my life, though I only had the idea to start this project about 8 months ago. I've had a pretty dynamic and changing career background, working as a visual and UX designer to a brand strategist all the way to nonprofit consultant and coalition builder. I've been involved in projects focused on race and health equity to education and youth justice to strategic planning around building inclusive innovation environments. I started Love Your Labels, a nonprofit focused on supporting queer and trans youth through art, fashion, and design, and have organized festivals like POW! WOW! Worcester (2015) from a place of love for community and a desire for a more inclusive and affirming world. So Queer For Cities, in many ways, is a show about the intersections I've experienced and bringing my worlds closer together; urbanism, art, queer and trans thriving. For a while, they felt like separate parts of me; things I practiced separately in different spaces. This show is bringing my full, very queer self forward to talk about all things urbanism, community justice, and more.

What does it mean to make queer a "joyful norm?"

Making queer a joyful norm means that queer visibility is embraced and affirmed in the communities we call home. It means queer and trans people can access spaces safely—from bathrooms to boardrooms to baseball practice. It means we are a part of a thriving community where everyone's needs are met—from housing and accessibility to healthcare and food. It means our outcomes are not predictable based on our gender identity or sexuality. It means we can be at ease in public spaces without fear of hate, bullying, or violence. It means we can simply be at peace where we are.

What are some of the biggest issues facing queer people in cities in New England?

Queer and trans folks have a greater likelihood of experiencing discrimination in the workplace, which leads to queer and trans folks being more likely to be unemployed and unhoused than cis people. Queer and trans youth are more likely to be unhoused because of unsupportive families and have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide than their cis and straight peers because of bullying and a lack of acceptance. We have a healthcare system that doesn't require med students to receive queer and trans-inclusive health education, leading to a lot of under-informed and harmful practices across our healthcare system. Many school systems aren't teaching comprehensive, LGBTQ+ inclusive health education, which is evidence-backed showing more positive outcomes for all students receiving that education. Queer and trans organizations receive less money from foundations and philanthropy than a lot of other causes; the Stonewall Foundation found that in 2021, for every $100 granted, only 28 cents went to LGBTQ+ causes, with just 4 cents being dedicated to trans communities. These are not systems failing; systems were not set up to be supportive of us. We need to rebuild systems and community practices to be affirming, supportive, and informed by queer and trans people.

Have you encountered examples of cities, (in New England or not) that would be a model for the topics you’re exploring in this podcast?

That is part of what this show is about—exploring how folks are addressing challenges in their communities. We're looking at existing and imagined solutions for the housing crisis, like talking about Community Land Trusts to relaxed zoning that would allow for a broader diversity of housing options outside of single-family development. We're talking about inclusive tactical urbanism practices that build pride in place and deepen community relationships. We're talking about trans-inclusive and uplifting healthcare environments, transportation justice, wealth building and more. Give the show a follow @queerforcities and join us.

Looking at just Worcester, what needs to happen or change to make this a more welcoming city?

Worcester has a lot of beautiful community organizations doing the work to create an inclusive and affirming city. We have work to do to ensure our queer and trans students are having positive and supportive experiences in their school. We have to ensure our healthcare systems are places where queer and trans people can go for comprehensive and informed support and not have to travel to Boston for gender-affirming care. We need to prioritize and uplift racial equity work and build antiracist practices into the way our city functions because these are intersectional issues. We should have zero unhoused youth. Queer and trans youth do face houselessness in this city, which can lead to criminalization, sexual exploitation, drug abuse, and violence. We need to continue to advocate for fare-free transit access and greater accessibility for our disabled folks. We need to adopt a truly intersectional justice approach for how we do everything as a community. I believe we have the people here to accomplish this, and the work is moving forward, but we need stronger accountability systems in place to ensure the City and others are implementing all they're saying around "equity." It's not a buzzword, it's an action, and it's something we can measure.

Who are you looking forward to having on the podcast, and who would you really like to talk to?

Listeners can look forward to conversations with folks like Juancarlos Soto talking about the work of the New Haven Pride Center to an inspiring discussion about student organizing in the face of censorship and erasure from New College students Sol and Gaby—this conversation is also, in some ways, a warning on how policies like bathroom bans are tactics in a much more sinister strategy. Our next episode will feature Aaron Griener from Culture House. Aaron is a queer urbanist passionate about making public spaces safe and welcoming to LGBTQ+ people, where we dive into what "public space" actually means.

Queer For Cities airs on WICN 90.5 FM every other week on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 11 p.m., but is also available streaming onling and on popular podcast platforms.