New Neighborhood Initiative Seeks ‘Catalytic’ Investments

The Washington Times reports on a new program proposed by the Obama administration to transform poor neighborhoods across the nation. The initiative, which builds on the Hope VI model, will concentrate action and funding on urban neighborhoods and coordinate investments ranging from public transit to new housing, early childhood education, farmer’s markets, and school reforms:

The HUD budget request Congress will consider in coming months says the program will seek to transform poor neighborhoods into “functioning, sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation and access to jobs.” …

“The goal of the program is to demonstrate that concentrated and coordinated neighborhood investments from multiple sources can transform a distressed neighborhood and improve the quality of life of current and future residents,” the administration argues in the budget, also saying the initiative “would challenge public, private and nonprofit partners to identify neighborhood interventions that would have the largest return on federal investments.”

If only there were a neighborhood in Tulsa where something like that is already happening? Oh wait – there is!

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Westside Coalition?

One of my projects here at CAP is to reduce tenant mobility for our project-based Section 8 community, Brightwaters. The community is in a depressed area on the west side of the river, at about 23rd St and Southwest Blvd. We want to get some sort of coalition going over there so that residents have a voice with other community partners, such as police (Uniform Division SW) and Eugene Field school. I’m not aware of any functioning coalitions out that way, but comment if you know of anything. We’re working on organizing a meeting of some of the community players. So who all should be invited?

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