UNIT
United Neighbors In Tucson

United Neighbors in Tucson (UNIT) is a grassroots organizing platform designed to empower Tucsonans with the tools and information they need to shape their communities. UNIT connects residents with vital local resources, guides them through opportunities for civic engagement, and helps them navigate participation in city, county, and regional government. From joining neighborhood associations to attending public meetings across political jurisdictions, UNIT makes it easy for neighbors to stay informed, get involved, and build collective power for change in Tucson.​​

 

We believe that the future of Tucson should belong to the people who live here. UNIT is how we build that future, together, from the ground up. UNIT is a new initiative to build place-based power across the city. It begins with neighborhood “units” to build hyperlocal hubs of organizing residents rooted in the culture and history and first-hand experience of the needs and issues of their own community. Whether you're in a historic barrio, a mobile home park, an HOA, or an unincorporated neighborhood, UNIT is your way to plug in. This is about more than representation. UNIT is a vehicle for everyday people to come together, identify shared struggles, pool our resources, and build collective power: political, social, and economic.​

 

We are inspired by movements around the world that have proven what’s possible when neighbors organize beyond traditional party structures:​

 

1. Richmond, California – Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) RPA organized grassroots campaigns against corporate domination, winning rent control, community ID cards, and progressive policing reforms in a working-class, majority-BIPOC city shaped by Chevron’s influence. RPA candidates, backed by small-dollar donors and deep community support, now hold a majority on the city council.
    

2. Jackson, Mississippi – Cooperation Jackson In a deindustrialized, majority-Black city long devastated by systemic disinvestment and environmental racism, Cooperation Jackson has created a network of worker cooperatives, a community land trust, and people’s assemblies to build dual power. They are advancing a Just Transition strategy to create local, sustainable, and democratic alternatives to extractive systems.
    

3. Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona en Comú Emerging from the housing rights movement and neighborhood assemblies, Barcelona en Comú created a platform through deep consultation across the city’s diverse communities. They won mayoral leadership in 2015 and governed with a commitment to transparency, ecological sustainability, and radical democracy.
    

4. Rojava, Northern Syria – Democratic Confederalism​ In the Kurdish-majority region of Northern Syria known as Rojava, communities have built a radically decentralized system of self-governance rooted in direct democracy, gender equity, and ecological sustainability. Local councils and neighborhood assemblies make decisions collectively, while cooperatives and communal institutions meet daily needs. Despite war and external threats, Rojava offers one of the most ambitious contemporary examples of bottom-up governance and grassroots autonomy.

 

These movements remind us that change does not start at the top. It starts with neighbors in conversation, in action, and in solidarity.​

 

UNIT is still taking shape, and we want you with us.

 

Over the coming months, we will be building assemblies, gathering input, and creating space to collectively decide what this network will become. We are not starting from scratch. We are starting from strength, experience, and deep roots in Tucson’s neighborhoods.​

 

If you're ready to stay connected, help shape what comes next, and bring people together where you live, sign up today:​​

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In the meantime, we encourage you to explore the powerful community infrastructure that already exists across Tucson. Local artist Monique Laraway of Revolta Art has created a beautiful, illustrated Community Resource Portfolio, highlighting local mutual aid efforts, support services, and organizing hubs: View the Community Resources Guide​​​​​​​

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