Presenting: David Brown,
the Urban Tour Host, a True Expert on Miami
One of my favourite things when I travel is to
connect with local experts to get an insider’s
view of the destination that I am traveling to.
During my recent trip to Miami I did some research
and located a real expert: David Brown, the Urban
Tour Host, whose company offers cultural community
and eco tours in the Miami area and specializes
in sustainable community-based tourism that gives
back to local communities.
On December 1, 2010 we spent a great few hours
together and started our explorations with a visit
to Overtown, a historic African-American area of
Miami. We stopped in at the Historic Mt. Zion Missionary
Baptist Church and met with Pastor Ralph Ross. Little
Haiti was our next stop where we visited the Little
Haiti Cutural Centre. Our final tour stop was at
the Kalbassi House, an artist’s cooperative
that is also a local grassroots economic development
initiative. Finally, David took me to the Downtown
Miami Riverwalk, a waterfront promenade next to
the Miami River that has become the annual venue
of the Downtown Miami Riverwalk Festival, a local
celebration that David has organized now for the
third year. I definitely enjoyed my insider look
at the multicultural communities of Miami.
David Brown shows off some local art, two colourful
parrots
In this interview David gives us some insight into
his special connection with Miami and his dedication
to community-based tourism.
1. Please tell us about yourself and your
background. Where did you grow up, what is your
profession? Please tell us about your experience
in education and community development.
I grew up in New Britain, Conn. I started my career
teaching all the fun sciences at several very good
private schools, in Connecticut and then in Miami.
I then began working in the non-profit sector in
1994, specializing in providing services in non
profit development and management. During this time
I got to know the communities very well and built
strong relationships in the same neighborhoods that
I do my tours today. It was this combined background
that gave me the insight to develop my community
tour program, the Urban Tour Host featuring"
Miami's Cultural Community Tours and Eco-tours".
David's office is located right in downtown Miami,
in the historic Ingraham Building
2. What brought you to Miami? What were
your first impressions of Miami and how have they
changed since you lived there?
I was brought here to Miami as a teacher of ecology
and marine sciences at a very good private school.
I really liked Miami because of its sub-tropical
climate and cultural diversity. Things have changed
a bit because of over-development, however, the
city is working to make the built environment more
pedestrian friendly. There have also been a lot
of recent infrastructure improvements throughout
Miami's cultural communities and these have helped
to facilitate the development of my community tourism
program.
David Brown and Pastor Ralph Ross from the Historic
Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church
3. How did you come up with the idea for
creating "the Urban Tour Host"? How has
your tour company evolved since the beginnings?
I wanted to be able to showcase our historic, urban,
ethnic communities which have been left off the
pathway of traditional tours of Miami. Because of
my former work in community development, I wanted
to provide economic opportunities and hope for the
local businesses by implementing best practices
in community-based tourism. As a result of this,
I have more community partners, more local attractions
within the community and a deeper knowledge of the
communities themselves. The community looks forward
to our tours and fully understands the connection
between tourism and economic prosperity.
Huge colourful murals at the Little Haiti Cultural
Center
4. Please tell us about the Miami outside
of the stereotypical images that we associate with
South Beach. Please give us a brief history of this
diverse city and let us know what makes this city
special?
Miami is more than a beach, but unfortunately, Miami
has been marketed as "Miami Beach" historically.
The communities of Little Haiti, Overtown, Liberty
City, Allapattah, and Little Havana are low income
communities, however, what most people do not know
is that each is so rich culturally. The music, the
arts, craft, dance, and food within each respective
community gives the visitor a unique experience.
As you know, The traveler of today is more sophisticated,
wanting to immerse themselves in the culture of
a place and have an authentic community experience.
People are willing to pay a little more for this
kind of tour. Further, they like to buy hand made
arts and crafts souvenirs to take home.
Colourful butterflies available for sale at the
Kalbassi House
5. Miami is a city of immigrants. Please
give us an overview of the ethnic and cultural communities
of Miami.
Little Haiti is the largest enclave of Haitians
outside of Haiti. The population is about 40,000-
95 percent of which are of Haitian heritage. Most
of them migrated as refugees and arrived by boats
in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Haitian Creole
is primary language spoken there.
Little Havana is primarily a Cuban neighborhood
where most of the refugees came between 1965 and
1973 by air, by what were known as the "freedom
flights". Many children came on flights known
as "Pedro Pan",( Spanish for Peter Pan).
The infrastructure of Little Havana is a bit more
advanced for cultural tourism because it was established
fifteen years earlier than Little Haiti.
Allapattah is primarily a Dominican and Puerto Rican
community. Coconut Grove has a strong Bahamian history
and maintains a vibrant Bahamian cultural heritage
to this day. Overtown, once known as the "Broadway
of the South" is primarily an African-American
community with strong Bahamian roots. Liberty City
is an African-American community that developed
as an expansion of Overtown.
Brightly painted facades in Little Haiti
6. You specialize in cultural community
tours and tourism-driven urban revitalization. Please
tell us about your emphasis on connecting with and
supporting the local communities?
It is very important to support the local communities
to help them flourish through tourism. One of our
principle doctrines is "Economic Development
through Tourism" and the other is " Cross-Cultural
Experiential Learning". We have a very close
relationship with the entrepreneurs, pioneers and
community leaders in each of the communities we
tour. These relationships took seven years to build
before we did the first tour. We encourage our visitors
to shop in the community. We also provide donations
to the churches and other small community attractions
that we visit.
David introduces me to some local entrepeneurs
7. What neighborhoods do your tours cover?
What kind of special, unique places do your tours
cover?
Little Haiti, Overtown, Liberty City, Coconut Grove,
Wynwood, Allapattah, and Little Havana. In each
community we feature unique attractions that represent
the history and culture of the community. In Little
Haiti some of the spots include: a botanica, a bakery
and ice cream shop, restaurants, a bookstore, an
art gallery and a church. In Little Havana we feature
galleries, monuments, souvenir shops and restaurants.
In Overtown, churches, boutiques, a theater, a restaurant
and even a barbershop. In Liberty City, a wall,
that in times of segregation, divided the black
and white communities, a t-shirt shop, a Jamaican
souvenir shop and restaurants. In Allapattah, monuments,
churches, restaurants and a gallery. Wynwood is
an upcoming neighborhood that is the focal point
art galleries. Coconut Grove has historic Bahamian
homes, a Bahamian Cemetery and churches.
The Historic Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church
8. You also offer eco-tours. What unique
ecological resources can one visit with the Urban
Tour Host?
The subtropical climate of South Florida is unique
in all of North America so the flora and fauna here
is unlike anywhere else on the continent. There
are many endangered species that live here including
the West Indian Manatee and the Bottle-nosed Dolphin
and the American Crocodile. Eco-tour sites include:
Fairchild Tropical Garden, the Everglade National
Park and the Miccosukee Indian Village, Biscayne
(underwater-coral reef) Park and Virginia Key. We
also have a tour called "The Urban Parks of
Greater Miami"- most parks on this tour are
located on Biscayne Bay or on the Miami River.
Papayas grown in the Roots in the City community
garden
9. Some of your special tours focus on museums,
festivals, architecture and many other topics. Please
give us an overview of your customized tours.
All of our tours are customized as the itineraries
are geared towards the specific interests of the
client. Any museum or festival can be included in
a tour. We have a program called "FestivalBus"
where we can create a festival theme on the bus
and/or take people to an actual festival. Some of
the best known festivals we have here feature the
Haitian, Cuban, and Bahamian Heritage.
A Haitian sculpture available at the Kalbassi House
10. What programs do you offer for the locals
to discover their own city?
We have a program called "Take a Vacation in
Your Own City." We work very closely with local
non-profits, after school programs, youth development
programs, corporations, private schools and the
public school district. We also provide tours to
bring people to special events in the cultural neighborhoods.
Downtown Miami often has outdoor art exhibitions
with beautiful sculptures
11. Your Miami tours are offered in several
languages. What languages do you cover?
We offer tours in all languages and dialects through
our company. We have a wide range of tour guides
that work with us to accommodate any request for
a tour in a foreign language.
The Freedom Tower, one of Miami's most recognizeable
landmarks
12. Where do your customers come from? Do
you provide individual or group tours? How about
regular and customized tours? From a practical point,
what type of ground transportation is involved?
Our clientele is worldwide; we also have a large
local tourism program. We provide tours for individuals
as well as groups. Our tours are offered in the
newest, state of the art transportation available.
For private tours with from one to three persons,
we typically use a Lincoln Town Car. For groups
between four and nine, we use a luxury van such
as a Sprinter- ten to twenty five person in a luxury
mini coach and twenty six to sixty one, a full luxury
European motor coach.
David has built many friendships in Miami's diverse
communities
13. Please tell us about some of the awards
you have won and the recognition you have received
for supporting Miami's local communities.
Because of the uniqueness of our program, I think
we have been interviewed by more local and global
media than any other tour company in South Florida-
over thirty. We have received dozens of awards mostly
from local government and community-based non profit
agencies. We have also presented our program at
various conferences, locally, Statewide, Nationally
and overseas, especially Jamaica and Haiti.
David with Martine Theodore from the Kalbassi House
14. In addition to providing a comprehensive
collection of tours in and around Miami, you also
created a local festival - the Miami Riverwalk Festival.
Please tell us more about this unique initiative.
Yes, the festival is called the "Downtown Miami
Riverwalk Festival and Boat Parade".
The mission of the Festival is "a special multicultural
event that provides an opportunity for local residents
and visitors to explore and interact among local
arts and culture vendors, while also showcasing
the unique surroundings at the mouth of the Miami
River”.
The features of this family event include: Miami’s
best ethnic cuisine, arts and crafts, pageantry,
strolling performers including musicians, pet friendly
and “green”/ environmental vendors,
informational booths as well as a children’s
section with fun and educational activities, face
painting, clowns, give-a-ways all along the beautiful
Miami Riverwalk.
There is a boat parade with watercraft from local
government agencies and other boats on the Miami
River led by the U.S. Coast Guard. This November,
we will produce the 4th annual event.
Views of the Miami River from the Miami Riverwalk
15. What is coming up for David Brown in
2011 and beyond?
We are looking to expand our marketing efforts to
attract more visitors (both local and receptive)
that desire to see "Miami Behind the Scenes."
There are many other services related to community-based
tourism that we will be working on in the Greater
Miami area. We are also interested in expanding
our program to other U.S. cities that have cultural
neighborhoods. We will also be implementing training
programs in several countries in the Caribbean.
A gorgeous Haitian painting
Thank you for the interview, David, keep up your
great work with the local communities and all our
best wishes for your future endeavours!
