2010 Neighborhoods USA Conference

2010 Neighborhoods USA Conference

NUSA-LogoNUSA’s 35th Annual Conference on Neighborhood Concerns , May 26-29, 2010

Neighborhoods, USA (NUSA) is a national non-profit organization committed to building and strengthening neighborhood organizations. The City of Rochester and RNeighbors are proud members of NUSA and are working to bring an upcoming NUSA conference to Rochester.

The 2010 NUSA Conference was held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Over 60 workshops were offered, designed to meet the needs of beginners, intermediate and advanced neighborhood activists. Twenty-five Neighborhood Pride Tours were also offered to showcase the historic and diverse makeup of Little Rock and its neighborhoods. The City of Little Rock was extremely welcoming to the NUSA Conference attendees. Interactive tours were given of the headquarters of Heifer International, Central High School, and the Clinton Library.

You can check out some photos taken at the conference on our facebook page. The following is a summary of workshops attended. RNeighbors was able to attend the 2010 NUSA Conference thanks to grants from the City of Rochester, the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the UofM Experiment in Rural Cooperation. 

 

Summary of Workshops Attended

Eds and Meds: How Medical and Educational Institutions are Anchoring Revitalization Efforts in Little Rock

Presenter: Ron Copeland, Director, University District Partnership, Little Rock AR + panel

  • Public and Private medical and educational institutions working with neighborhood associations, banks, private businesses, community development corporations and the city to revitalize the city.
  • The panel highlighted the conflicts and cooperation between city neighborhoods and large institutions.
  • Impacts of larger institution: racism, poverty, hate, succession plan for leaders.
  • Influence of larger institution: coalition building: baking, cooking.
  • Improving relationship between institutions and neighborhoods/city: teaching kids to be faithful.
  • Improving the district by keeping common areas (newsletter, parks, benches, daycare centers) maintained. (County tax)

 

Coalition Building

Presenter: Robert H. Holt, Founder/Executive Director of L.O.V.E (Let Our Violence End, INC.) Little Rock AR

  • Not as simple as we think it is!
  • Why? Competition,  prejudices in the form of racial, cultural and socio-economic status.
  • Challenging our children to work across differences. How do we expect this when as adults we align and separate ourselves? (Cryps-Bloods; Reds-Blacks; Democrat-Republican)
  • Find people you know that have a heart and recognize that relationships are important. Key point was information. Getting people involved by giving them the information. This includes partners and churches.
  • Find every member’s strengths.

 

Putting the Neighbor Back in the Hood

Presenter: Dr. Fitz Hill, Arkansas Baptist College (ABC), Little Rock AR + panel

  • College reclaimed neighborhood surrounding their college in downtown Little Rock by “Loving Thy Neighbor as Thyself”.
  • Revitalization efforts began at meeting neighborhoods’ most basic needs.
  • Developed partnerships to implement urban renewal, academic outreach, entrepreneurial training and strong positive male leadership focused on service to others. 
  • Arkansas Baptist College’s renewal model was presented.
  • Taking a mess, and finding a message. Problems are going to be present in your community whether you like it or not. Untangle the mess to get to the root of the issue.

About ABC’S Area Neighborhood

  • Why did the once thriving neighborhood suffer decline? Gang activity, increased crime rates, and drug use, failing schools and businesses, declining property values, and the departure of strong leadership. 
  • What was the outcome? The community lost touch with its sense of pride, values and a hope and vision for the future. 
  • Taking action. To change the community, the college changed itself. The board of directors was narrowed down, managing a better size. It recruited its first white female. It now included various degrees of people: attorneys, judges, business owners, scholars and pastors.  

Reducing Crime

  • Where is it occurring? Mostly in abandoned homes and properties.
  • Taking action: the College purchased these lots, and either razed or renovated the houses. (The college took an old carwash that was a known location for violence and drug use and renovated it. Then using it as the “Auto Baptism Carwash.” They eventually acquired 3 businesses and purchased 12 more lots.
  • Who is committing these crimes? Mostly black men.
  • Taking action: target programs to this demographic sector by empowering black males, offering role models.

Memorable Quotes

  • You can’t be afraid to sit where it’s not comfortable.
  • To clean a fish, you have to catch it first.
  • Wind: Can’t see it, but can feel it.
  • Anything that can be improved, can be measured.
  • Broken ankle community. Need to fix the ankle before a person can walk upright.
  • Can’t be what you can’t see.
  • God meant everyone to read, or he would have given Moses the 10 Commandments on an Ipod.
  • Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

 

Growing Green-A Look at Grassroots Community Projects

Presenter: Ron McCorkle, Director, Urbiculture Center, Roanoke VA + panel

Community gardens, bicycle sharing, an urban farm and farm-to-schools programs.

  • Sharebike is an innovative nonprofit that has bikes around the community that anyone can use for free.
  • Urban neighborhood gardens were highlighted, using a very simple work share model.
  • Farm to School programs bring healthy food from local farms to school children nationwide. The program teaches students about the path from farm to fork, and instills healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. At the same time, use of local produce in school meals and educational activities provides a new direct market for farmers in the area and mitigates environmental impacts of transporting food long distances.

 

Neighborhood Oriented Government: City of Houston Super Neighborhood Program

Presenter: Donald R. Perkins, City of Houston Planning and Development Department, Houston, TX

  • Super neighborhoods created to encourage residents of neighboring communities to work together to identify, prioritize and address the needs and concerns of the broader community.
  • Houston has 88 super neighborhood areas, with physical features (freeways, etc) as the boundaries. Councils composed of civic club, non-profit, faith-based, business and other active stakeholders. This council works to holistically address needs and plans for a broader area.
  • The Council focuses community attention on broader area and encourages communities to work together to identify, prioritize and address needs and concerns. The council allows the city to provide services more efficiently and creates manageable framework for community action.

Stakeholder Participation

  • Civic Associations
  • Civic Clubs
  • Tenant Associations
  • Non-Profits
  • Umbrella Organizations (schools, hospitals, churches, businesses)
  • CDCs

Examples of projects (SNAP=Super Neighborhood Action Plan)

  • Park improvements
  • Street Overlays/Concrete Street Patch
  • Traffic Control/Signage
  • Public Facility Major Renovations (fire station, etc)
  • Public utility improvements
  • Major park improvements (basketball court, concession stand, parking)
  • Grassroots agenda: neighborhood clean-ups, collaborative community town hall meetings, political forums and super neighborhood alliance

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