Chapter 26. Changing the Physical and Social Environment | Community Tool Box

Safe, stable, affordable housing is an important part of individual, family, and community well-being. Around the world, many people face housing conditions that are unaffordable, overcrowded, unsafe, inaccessible, insecure, or disconnected from employment, education, transportation, health care, and other community resources.

Improving housing quality therefore involves more than constructing new homes. It includes preserving and repairing existing housing, expanding affordable options, improving accessibility and energy efficiency, supporting housing stability, reducing environmental hazards, and making sure residents have meaningful roles in decisions about the places where they live.

This section focuses particularly on housing that is affordable to households with lower and moderate incomes and others facing housing barriers. We'll look at affordability, livability, design, environmental responsibility, community context, and strategies communities can use to improve and expand housing options.

This video describes neighborhood revitalization efforts in Greater Kansas City, including high-quality housing options, and how the revitalization efforts have improved community life:

What do we mean by improving the quality of housing?

Improving housing quality means creating and maintaining housing that is affordable, safe, healthy, accessible, durable, and responsive to the needs and priorities of the people who live there.

Housing quality is important at every income level, but households with fewer financial resources may have fewer options when housing is unaffordable or poorly maintained. They may have less ability to move, make repairs themselves, or absorb sudden increases in rent, utilities, insurance, or other housing costs.

Environmental considerations apply to housing at every price level. Energy efficiency, water conservation, healthy building materials, appropriate ventilation, climate resilience, and responsible use of resources can benefit residents as well as the wider community.

Affordability

Housing affordability depends on the relationship between housing costs and household resources. In U.S. housing policy and research, spending more than 30% of household income on housing is commonly used as an indicator of housing-cost burden. The measure is useful, but it does not capture every household's circumstances.

Two households spending the same percentage of their income on housing may have very different amounts remaining for food, transportation, health care, childcare, education, utilities, and other needs. Housing affordability should therefore be considered alongside income, household size, local costs, transportation, utilities, and other expenses.

Affordability also involves more than the monthly rent or mortgage payment. Other costs may include:

• Utilities
• Property taxes
• Insurance
• Maintenance and repairs
• Association or building fees
• Transportation associated with the location of the housing

Improving affordability may therefore involve increasing housing supply, preserving existing affordable housing, providing rental or homeownership assistance, reducing unnecessary development costs, improving household income and economic security, or using a combination of approaches.

Livability

Affordable housing should also be healthy, safe, accessible, and suitable for the people who live there.

Quality housing should:

• Be in good repair. Plumbing, electrical systems, heating and cooling, doors, windows, stairs, railings, roofs, and other building systems should function properly. Multi-unit buildings should also receive regular cleaning, maintenance, waste removal, and repair.
• Provide adequate space. Housing should provide sufficient living and sleeping space for the people who live there while respecting household preferences and applicable health and safety standards.
• Protect residents from environmental hazards. Housing should address risks such as lead, asbestos, mold, unsafe levels of radon, contaminated water, carbon monoxide, pests, and harmful building materials.
• Support safety and security. Doors, windows, locks, lighting, electrical systems, fire protection, stairs, railings, and emergency systems should be maintained appropriately.
• Be accessible. Housing should support access for people with disabilities and consider how people's mobility, sensory, communication, and other needs may change over time.
• Be located in healthy and connected environments. Affordable housing should not routinely be concentrated near environmental hazards, unsafe infrastructure, or areas isolated from essential resources simply because the land is less expensive.
• Provide reasonable access to community resources. Transportation, employment, schools, food, health care, recreation, childcare, social services, and other resources all influence whether housing works well for residents.

Design

Good housing design responds to the people who will live there, the surrounding community, the climate, available resources, accessibility, and the expected life of the building.

Four useful principles are:

• Housing should meet residents' needs
• Housing should respond thoughtfully to its physical, social, cultural, and historical context
• Housing should contribute positively to the surrounding community
• Housing should be durable and designed for long-term use

Housing should meet residents' needs

Consider:

• Size. Units should provide enough space for the households they are intended to serve.
• Layout. Space should be functional, accessible, and adaptable. Storage, kitchens, bathrooms, entrances, circulation, and other features should reflect how residents actually use the home.
• Shared and outdoor spaces. Where appropriate, housing can include safe outdoor areas, seating, shade, play areas, community rooms, gardens, or other shared spaces identified as useful by residents.
• Location. Housing should be connected, as reasonably possible, with transportation, employment, schools, food, health care, recreation, and other community resources.

Housing should understand and respond to its context

• Design should consider climate, sunlight, shade, wind, drainage, vegetation, topography, environmental hazards, and other characteristics of the site.
• New housing should consider the scale, materials, streets, public spaces, and other features of the surrounding area without requiring every building to look the same.
• Cultural and historical context should be understood through community participation rather than assumptions about how a particular racial, ethnic, or cultural community "should" look. Residents and local organizations can help identify which architectural features, public spaces, history, art, or cultural traditions are meaningful.

Housing should contribute positively to its neighborhood

• Good design, landscaping, maintenance, accessibility, and connections to surrounding streets can contribute to a comfortable and welcoming neighborhood environment.
• Mixed-use development, public spaces, sidewalks, local businesses, and gathering areas may help create opportunities for social interaction and everyday activity.
• New housing can add residents, customers, investment, and activity to an area, but planning should also consider affordability, displacement, and how existing residents and businesses will experience the change.
• Housing improvements can demonstrate continued investment in a neighborhood and support resident-led efforts to maintain and strengthen community spaces. Avoid assuming, however, that a building's appearance determines residents' attitudes or commitment to their community.

Housing should be built to last

Durable housing can reduce repair costs, conserve resources, improve safety, and help preserve affordable housing over time.

• Use durable materials appropriate to the climate and expected use.
• Consider maintenance requirements as well as the initial cost of materials.
• Use appropriate construction techniques and quality-control practices.
• Design high-use areas, entrances, shared spaces, and building systems for the amount and type of use they are expected to receive.

Building materials and technologies change over time. Evaluate durability, maintenance, health effects, environmental impact, repairability, and total cost rather than assuming that a newer or more expensive material is automatically better.

Environmental responsibility

Environmentally responsible housing uses energy, water, land, and materials efficiently while supporting healthy indoor environments and reducing harmful effects on surrounding communities and ecosystems.

Strategies may include:

• Using durable, lower-toxicity, recycled, renewable, or responsibly sourced building materials where appropriate
• Designing buildings in response to climate, sunlight, shade, wind, vegetation, and site conditions
• Using effective insulation, energy-efficient windows, and other building-envelope strategies while providing adequate ventilation and moisture control
• Providing appropriate natural or mechanical ventilation and allowing residents reasonable control of their indoor environment
• Reducing energy use through efficient lighting, appliances, heating and cooling systems, building design, and renewable-energy technologies where appropriate
• Using cool roofs, green roofs, shade, stormwater management, rainwater collection, or other strategies appropriate to the building and climate
• Conserving water through efficient fixtures, landscaping, water reuse where safe and permitted, and other conservation measures
• Locating housing near public transportation, services, and everyday destinations when possible
• Providing safe, accessible connections for walking, bicycling, and other forms of mobility
• Reducing unnecessary disturbance to soil, vegetation, wetlands, waterways, habitat, and other important site features
• Protecting water supplies, managing construction waste responsibly, and reducing harmful materials and pollution
• Reclaiming brownfields. Former industrial or commercial sites may sometimes be cleaned and safely reused for housing or other community purposes. Appropriate environmental assessment, remediation, regulation, and long-term monitoring are important when contamination is present.
• Reusing existing buildings. Mills, warehouses, schools, offices, and other structures may sometimes be adapted for housing, preserving existing resources and community history.
• Rehabilitating vacant or deteriorated buildings. Structurally sound buildings may be restored for housing rather than demolished, reducing waste while returning unused properties to productive use.
• Infilling. Building on vacant or underused sites within already-developed areas can make use of existing infrastructure and reduce pressure to develop open land.
• Preserving shared open space. Development can sometimes cluster housing so that a larger portion of a site remains available as shared green or open space.

Social and community effects

Housing policy and development can influence social connection, access to opportunity, residential stability, segregation, displacement, and community identity.

Communities should avoid assuming that the goal is to change the aspirations, behavior, or culture of residents with lower incomes. Instead, the focus should be on whether people have meaningful housing choices, whether different communities have equitable access to resources and opportunity, and whether housing development supports stability and belonging.

Approaches may include:

• Mixed-income development. Housing may include units available at several income levels. Successful mixed-income development should provide comparable quality, meaningful affordability, resident protections, accessible shared spaces, and equal treatment regardless of how a household's unit is financed.
• Mixed-use development. Housing may be combined with stores, services, offices, recreation, or other community uses. This can make everyday destinations more accessible and create more activity throughout the day.
• Housing for older adults and people with disabilities. Housing may include accessible design, supportive services, transportation, emergency-response systems, social opportunities, or other features that help residents live as independently as they choose.
• Co-housing and other shared-community models. Households maintain private living space while sharing selected common areas, facilities, responsibilities, or activities. Residents typically participate in decisions about how the community operates.
• Expanding housing choice across neighborhoods. Affordable housing can be developed and preserved in areas with strong access to employment, transportation, education, recreation, health care, and other resources while investment also continues in communities that have historically received fewer resources.

Finding the resources and support for getting it done

Improving housing quality often requires funding, land, policy decisions, technical expertise, community participation, and long-term coordination.

Useful partners may include residents, housing organizations, developers, architects, contractors, lenders, funders, public agencies, community organizations, disability organizations, neighborhood groups, and others affected by the project.

Why improve the quality of housing?

Housing influences health, economic security, education, transportation, safety, community connection, and quality of life. Improving housing can create benefits for residents and communities, although those benefits depend on how development is planned and who is able to remain in or access the improved housing.

• It can improve health and quality of life. Safe, well-maintained housing can reduce exposure to environmental hazards, provide stability, and create more comfortable living conditions.
• It can strengthen household financial stability. Affordable housing can leave households with more resources for food, health care, transportation, education, childcare, savings, and other needs.
• It can demonstrate continued investment in a community. Repairing housing and infrastructure can strengthen existing neighborhoods when improvements are planned with residents and do not unnecessarily displace them.
• It can reduce environmental impact. Energy-efficient, durable, climate-responsive housing can reduce resource use and operating costs while improving indoor comfort and health.
• Good construction can reduce long-term maintenance and repair needs. Durable materials, preventative maintenance, and quality construction may reduce future costs for owners, residents, and public agencies.
• Housing location can expand access to opportunity. Housing connected to employment, education, transportation, childcare, health care, and other resources can make participation in community and economic life easier.
• It can reuse existing land and buildings. Rehabilitation, infill development, adaptive reuse, and other approaches can preserve existing resources while reducing pressure to develop open land.
• It can preserve and modernize existing housing. Some buildings can be repaired or adapted rather than replaced. Others may need substantial reconstruction or replacement when they can no longer be maintained safely.
• It can help communities prepare for changing housing needs. Population changes, household size, aging, disability, migration, employment patterns, climate conditions, and other factors can affect what kinds of housing are needed.
• It supports dignity and well-being. People benefit from having housing that protects them from the elements, supports privacy and safety, and provides a stable place to live.

Housing improvement can also increase property values and attract investment. Those outcomes may benefit property owners and local governments, but they can create challenges if rents, taxes, or other costs rise faster than existing residents can afford. Housing strategies should therefore consider displacement and housing stability alongside investment.

When should you improve the quality of housing?

Housing quality should be monitored and improved over time rather than addressed only after conditions become severe.

Some particularly useful opportunities include:

• When community planning or development is underway. Comprehensive plans, neighborhood plans, transportation projects, redevelopment, infrastructure improvements, and major private development can provide opportunities to consider affordability, accessibility, housing supply, environmental responsibility, and displacement.
• When assessments identify unmet housing needs. Housing-condition data, resident surveys, homelessness data, rent or home-price changes, waiting lists, code complaints, overcrowding, eviction patterns, or other information may show where additional action is needed.
• When housing conditions create urgent health or safety concerns. Building failures, loss of heating or cooling, environmental hazards, displacement, homelessness, extreme weather, or other emergencies may require immediate action as well as longer-term solutions.
• Before a crisis develops. Communities do not have to wait for housing conditions to reach an emergency. Regular planning and maintenance can identify shortages, deterioration, accessibility needs, or affordability pressures early.
• When funding or other resources become available. Public, philanthropic, nonprofit, or private resources may provide opportunities to preserve, rehabilitate, or develop housing.

Who should be involved in improving the quality of housing?

Quality housing is more likely to meet community needs when the people who will live in it and the people affected by development have meaningful opportunities to participate throughout planning, design, implementation, and evaluation.

Possible participants include:

• Developers. Developers contribute knowledge about financing, land, construction, design, permitting, schedules, and project feasibility.
• Lenders and financial institutions. Financing strongly affects whether projects and homeownership opportunities are possible. Lending practices should be transparent, responsible, and consistent with applicable fair-lending requirements.
• Local and state officials and public agencies. Public institutions may control zoning, permitting, infrastructure, public land, funding, building standards, housing programs, or other parts of the development process.
• Funders. Government agencies, foundations, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and other funders may provide grants, loans, subsidies, guarantees, or other support.
• Neighbors and surrounding communities. People already living or working nearby can identify transportation, infrastructure, school, environmental, cultural, and other local considerations.
• Current and prospective residents. People who will live in the housing can identify priorities related to design, accessibility, affordability, shared spaces, transportation, services, security, and daily use.
• Housing and community organizations. Tenant organizations, neighborhood groups, housing nonprofits, homelessness organizations, disability organizations, community development organizations, and others may contribute lived and professional knowledge.
• Architects, planners, engineers, contractors, and other technical professionals. These participants can help translate resident and community priorities into safe, durable, accessible, and feasible designs.
• Media and community communication organizations. These organizations can help the public understand housing conditions and proposed projects while maintaining their independent editorial roles.

Participation should not be treated primarily as a way to turn critics into supporters. People may raise legitimate concerns about affordability, displacement, traffic, accessibility, public costs, environmental effects, or other issues. Those concerns can improve a project when they are examined seriously.

How do you improve the quality of housing?

Communities have many tools for improving housing, including planning, rehabilitation, new development, public investment, incentives, regulations, financing, land policy, tenant protections, partnerships, and community-led development.

The appropriate combination depends on local housing conditions, laws, resources, land availability, market conditions, resident priorities, and the type of housing being considered.

Individuals can contribute by learning about local housing conditions, participating in planning processes, joining housing or neighborhood organizations, sharing reliable information, attending public meetings, and supporting community-led housing efforts.

When public policy is involved, learn which agency or governing body has authority, what formal process applies, and how community members can participate. Keep attention on the housing issue, evidence, community experience, and practical alternatives rather than relying primarily on personal influence.

General guidelines

• Conduct an assessment of community housing needs and assets. Examine housing supply, cost, condition, accessibility, vacancies, homelessness and housing instability, transportation, environmental conditions, infrastructure, displacement pressures, available land, existing buildings, community organizations, and resident priorities. Ask people experiencing the housing conditions directly what works, what creates barriers, and what they need.
• Encourage meaningful participation. Residents, neighbors, developers, architects, public agencies, service organizations, and others can contribute different kinds of knowledge. Participation should begin early enough to influence important decisions rather than occurring only after major plans have already been completed.
• Consider inclusion and community context. Examine who currently lives in the area, who may be able to access the new housing, whether existing residents are at risk of displacement, how the project reflects community priorities, and how people with different backgrounds and needs can participate fully.
• Strive for equity. Affordable housing should receive the same attention to health, safety, accessibility, durability, design quality, and community connection as other housing.
• Consider the impact of development on surrounding infrastructure and services. Examine schools, childcare, transportation, utilities, parks, health care, food access, recreation, emergency services, traffic, walking and bicycling connections, and other community resources.
• Plan housing around residents' needs. Resident participation can help identify which features are essential, which are less important, and how limited resources can be used most effectively.
• Consider a range of housing models. Adaptive reuse, cooperative housing, community land trusts, accessory units, mixed-use development, shared-equity homeownership, infill, supportive housing, and other models may fit different community needs.
• Plan fair and accessible outreach. Provide clear information about eligibility, applications, rents or purchase costs, accessibility, financing, and available assistance. Outreach and screening practices should be transparent, nondiscriminatory, and accessible in relevant languages and formats.

Provide incentives for housing development and preservation

Governments may use incentives when they want to encourage housing that meets identified community goals. The types and availability of incentives vary by jurisdiction.

Possible approaches include:

• Tax incentives. Tax reductions, credits, abatements, or other tax policies may be used to support qualifying affordable housing, rehabilitation, accessibility, energy efficiency, or other community goals.
• Subsidies and financial assistance. Public resources may support renters, homeowners, developers, rehabilitation, land costs, infrastructure, or other components of housing affordability.
• Grant funding. Governments, foundations, nonprofits, and other funders may provide grants for construction, preservation, rehabilitation, planning, accessibility, energy improvements, or community development.
• Public land. Publicly owned property may sometimes be used for affordable or community-serving housing under appropriate public processes and conditions.
• Infrastructure support. Public agencies may invest in roads, sidewalks, transit, water, sewer, utilities, parks, or other infrastructure connected with housing development.
• Efficient permitting and review. Clear, coordinated, and timely review processes can reduce unnecessary delays while maintaining health, safety, accessibility, environmental, and community protections.
• Project coordination. Communities may assign staff or provide technical assistance to help housing projects navigate permitting, financing, infrastructure, and other public processes.
• Flexible development standards. Where permitted and appropriate, communities may adjust requirements involving density, height, parking, setbacks, or other development standards when doing so advances housing goals without creating unacceptable health, safety, accessibility, environmental, or community impacts.
• Place-based development incentives. Some jurisdictions provide additional support for investment in areas identified for housing, infrastructure, or economic development. Program names and requirements change over time, so use current official guidance.

Connect public incentives with clear community benefits

When public resources are used to support private development, agreements can clarify what the community receives in return and how requirements will be monitored.

Depending on local law and the project, these might include:

• A specified number or percentage of homes affordable to households at identified income levels
• Environmental or energy-performance standards
• Agreed construction, durability, accessibility, or design requirements
• Cleanup and safe reuse of a contaminated site
• Protection of environmentally sensitive land or other important site features
• Long-term affordability requirements or other mechanisms designed to preserve affordability over time
• Housing contributions connected with larger development agreements where allowed by law
• Development in areas identified through community planning
• Connections to public transportation or other mobility options
• Infrastructure, parks, trees, sidewalks, or other improvements connected with the project

Requirements should be clear before development begins and should include appropriate monitoring and accountability.

Use regulations and development standards where appropriate

Housing regulations can establish minimum standards and help communities manage development. They can also add cost or complexity, so requirements should be reviewed periodically to determine whether they remain necessary and effective.

Depending on local and state law, policy approaches may include:

• Inclusionary housing policies. Some jurisdictions require or encourage a portion of housing in certain developments to be affordable to households at specified income levels.
• Development fees or housing contributions. Some jurisdictions use fees or other requirements associated with development to help address infrastructure or housing needs created by growth.
• Dedicated housing revenue. Where authorized, public revenue may be directed toward affordable housing, rehabilitation, land acquisition, rental assistance, or other housing purposes.
• Building and environmental standards. Communities may require energy, safety, accessibility, environmental, resilience, or other standards appropriate to the project and jurisdiction.

Communities should evaluate both the intended benefits and possible effects of housing regulations, including how they influence construction costs, housing supply, accessibility, environmental quality, and affordability.

Use public resources to support housing

Local, state, Tribal, territorial, and federal governments may support housing through construction, preservation, rental assistance, financing, land, infrastructure, grants, tax policy, or partnerships.

• Publicly supported housing. Public agencies and their partners can provide housing affordable to households that the private market does not adequately serve. Quality depends on adequate funding, responsive management, maintenance, resident participation, safety, accessibility, and accountability.
• Community land trusts. Community land trusts can hold land for affordable housing or other community purposes while using ownership structures designed to preserve affordability over time.
• Use of public land. Publicly owned property may be made available for housing when doing so aligns with community plans and applicable public processes.

Expand access to responsible financing and housing information

Financing can be a significant barrier to homeownership, rehabilitation, and affordable-housing development.

• Work with lenders and community financial institutions. Communities can encourage transparent, responsible, and fair lending and can connect residents and developers with financing programs appropriate to their circumstances.
• Help buyers understand current financing options. Federal, state, local, Tribal, nonprofit, and lender programs may provide mortgage insurance, down-payment assistance, rehabilitation financing, counseling, or other support. Because programs and eligibility change, use current official information.
• Provide voluntary housing and financial education. Housing counseling can help people understand leases, mortgages, interest rates, closing costs, credit, maintenance expenses, available assistance, tenant or borrower rights, and the long-term costs associated with housing decisions.

Education should expand people's information and options rather than imply that housing instability results from residents lacking basic life skills. High housing costs, low wages, discrimination, limited supply, disability, health expenses, predatory lending, job loss, and other structural and individual circumstances can all affect housing stability.

Residents should not be required to adopt a particular lifestyle, culture, or set of social behaviors in order to be treated as capable members of a new housing community.

• Use self-help and shared-equity approaches where appropriate. Some programs allow prospective homeowners to contribute labor to construction or rehabilitation as one part of reducing costs. Participation, accessibility, safety, and the amount of labor required should be considered carefully so that these models do not exclude people who cannot perform construction work.

Cooperative housing offers another model. Residents may collectively own or govern a multi-unit property and establish agreements about decision-making, maintenance, finances, shared spaces, and what happens when a resident leaves. Clear governance and participation expectations are important.

Join in a collaborative development process

Housing development benefits from collaboration among people who bring different kinds of knowledge.

Residents and neighbors can explain how the area functions in everyday life. Architects and planners can translate priorities into design. Contractors and suppliers can explain construction and maintenance implications. Developers and lenders can contribute financing and project-management knowledge. Public officials and agencies can clarify infrastructure, permitting, legal, and funding requirements.

Collaboration does not mean that everyone must agree or that participation should be used simply to build support for a predetermined project. A meaningful process allows plans to change when residents, technical experts, or other participants identify better alternatives or important unintended consequences.

Participate in housing policy and community decision-making

Affordable housing often depends on public and private funding, land-use decisions, infrastructure, financing, and community support. Residents and organizations can participate in those decisions through established planning, budgeting, regulatory, administrative, and civic processes.

Public education can help people understand housing conditions, available alternatives, costs, benefits, and tradeoffs. Media and community communication, public meetings, neighborhood organizations, resident associations, research, and accessible information can all contribute to informed participation.

Organizations may also use research into foundations, public programs, financial institutions, nonprofit partners, and other funding sources when developing housing initiatives.

Policy and funding discussions should clearly distinguish evidence, community experience, proposed recommendations, costs, and uncertainties. People affected by a proposed housing decision should have meaningful opportunities to participate without being expected to support a predetermined outcome.

Continue monitoring housing needs and quality

Housing conditions change over time. Buildings age, household needs shift, rents and ownership costs change, populations grow or decline, environmental conditions change, and new technologies and housing models become available.

Continue asking:

• Is housing safe, healthy, and well maintained?
• Is it affordable to the households it is intended to serve?
• Are accessibility needs being met?
• Are residents able to remain in their homes and communities if they want to?
• Are some neighborhoods experiencing greater environmental or infrastructure burdens than others?
• Are public investments and housing opportunities distributed fairly?
• Do residents have meaningful ways to raise concerns and influence decisions?
• Are affordability requirements being maintained over time?
• Are new housing needs emerging?

The goal is not simply to produce more housing units. It is to create and maintain housing that supports stability, health, accessibility, dignity, opportunity, and community life.

In Summary

Improving housing quality means more than making housing less expensive. Quality housing should be affordable, safe, healthy, accessible, durable, environmentally responsible, and connected with the resources people need in everyday life.

Housing strategies may include preserving and rehabilitating existing homes, building new housing, adapting unused buildings, supporting mixed-income and mixed-use development, expanding responsible financing, investing public resources, improving infrastructure, preserving long-term affordability, and using incentives or regulations where appropriate.

Housing development also has broader community effects. Investment can improve buildings and infrastructure, but it can also increase costs or contribute to displacement if existing residents are not considered. Planning should therefore examine both benefits and burdens and include residents early enough for their participation to influence important decisions.

Strong housing efforts bring together current and prospective residents, neighbors, community organizations, developers, lenders, public agencies, funders, and technical professionals. No single participant has all the knowledge needed to determine what good housing should look like.

The long-term goal is to create communities where people with different incomes, ages, abilities, household structures, and backgrounds have meaningful housing choices and can live in homes that support their health, stability, dignity, and quality of life.

What do we mean by improving the quality of housing?

___Improving the quality of housing refers to increasing the quality and quantity of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income community members, as well as encouraging environmentally responsible construction

___Affordable housing costs no more than 30% of household income

Livable housing should be:

___Decent

___Big enough

___Free of hazardous materials

___Safe

___Accessible for all residents

___In appropriate locations

___Convenient to transportation and services

Housing should be well-designed so that:

___It meets the needs of its users

___It responds to its context

___It enhances it neighborhood

___It is built to last

___Housing itself and its construction and site should be environmentally responsible

___Housing should be built with its social effects in mind (mixed income, mixed use, etc.)

___Improving the quality of housing takes a concerted and collaborative effort, resources, and the use of incentives and regulations

Why improve the quality of housing?

___It adds to the physical and social attractiveness of the area

___It increases property values

___Improved housing increases pride in the neighborhood for everyone

___Well-built housing is kinder to the environment

___Improving the quality of housing is cheaper for both the developer and the community in the long run

___Improved housing can increase the potential or actual workforce in the area

___It can preserve open space and/or reuse unused, previously-built space

___It can replace or restore an aging housing stock

___Improving the quality of housing can be part of a plan for anticipating the growth of the community

___Improving the quality of housing is the right thing to do

When should you try to improve the quality of housing?

___When there’s a community planning or development effort in progress

___When there’s an outcry about the lack of decent housing

___When there’s a crisis

___When there’s funding available from a federal, state, or foundation initiative

Who should be involved in improving the quality of housing?

___The developer

___The business community, particularly lenders 

___Local officials

___Funders 

___Neighbors 

___Potential renters or buyers

How do you improve the quality of housing?

___Assessment

___Participation

___Consider diversity

___Plan, design and build as if this were upscale housing

___Address the impact, especially of a large development, on its area

___Plan, design, and build around the needs of residents

___Be creative

___Plan for recruiting tenants or buyers

___Use incentives for developers

___Expect and specify the returns for those incentives

___Enact regulations and limits on development

___Use public financing or building where it’s appropriate and will be well-managed

___Engage banks and work with low-income renters and buyers

___Use a collaborative development process

___Advocate

___Continue working indefinitely to improve the quality of housing

Example #1: Building a Better Future for Liberty City

Carrfour Supportive Housing is expanding efforts to redevelop the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami. Together with its partners, Carrfour is revitalizating one of the largest public housing developments in Miami-Dade County with high-quality, mixed-income housing, creating a cradle-to-college education pipeline, and increasing opportunities for health and physical activity in the neighborhood.

For more than two decades, Carrfour has developed affordable housing with a comprehensive array of on-site services for low-income individuals and families across the Miami region. Through Partners in Progress, Carrfour is bringing together local government leaders, residents, business owners, housing developers, and community organizations to redevelop the Liberty City neighborhood and improve the health care and education in the community. Carrfour is engaging community members in each step of the revitalization process and working with them to address pressing community challenges.

 

Example #2: Rolling Hills Apartments: Weaving Together Opportunities for Healthier Lives for a Diverse Immigrant Community

Twin Cities LISC, a local community development financial institution, has partnered with local organizations and city agencies to create quality affordable housing with improved healthcare access, including constructing a Federally Qualified Health Center. LISC also employed community health advocates to weave together the isolated health-related efforts in the neighborhood of focus into a cohesive health agenda. More specifically, they connect and help support existing efforts, identify and help address gaps, and facilitate the conversations and activities that sustain collaboration.

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives for immigrants in St. Paul, Minnesota in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #3: Community Development 2.0—Collective Impact Focuses a Neighborhood Strategy for Health

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) has built health into its strategic plan, and in the neighborhood revitalization work of The San Pablo Collaborative (SPARC), convened by EBALDC, health is the first priority. The San Pablo Area Revitalization Corridor neighborhood that stretches between downtown Oakland and Emeryville is considered to be one of the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California. Life expectancy in this area is up to 20 years lower than the neighboring area, Oakland Hills. SPARC works tirelessly to address the physical, social and economic factors-“social determinants”- that shape residents’ health in the San Pablo Avenue Corridor. SPARC partners work collectively in order to create an overall healthier environment for residents throughout the neighborhood. The California Hotel has been successfully preserved as affordable housing and a grocery store has been brought to this long abandoned neighborhood.

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives for the most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #4: Under One Roof: Health Care and Social Services in the Same Place

The Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) is the largest community development corporation based in Arizona. CPLC is committed to building stronger, healthier communities as a lead advocate, coalition builder, and direct service provider. CPLC helps more than 200,000 people through programs in four areas–housing, economic development, education, and health and human services. CPLC recognizes that the needs of the families it serves are complex as a family rarely approaches the CDC with only one need. As a result, CPLC sought to establish cross-sector partnerships that would more effectively and holistically meet the needs of families.

Read more about CPLC on Rooflines - The Shelterforce Blog, from the National Housing Institute.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #5: Supporting Childhood Wellness Through Healthy, Affordable Housing

In a low-income Philadelphia community, for-profit and non-profit developers have partnered to create Paseo Verde, a high-quality housing development highlighting resident and community health. The development prides itself on making healthy housing accessible even for families in poverty. This one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment complex, Paseo Verde, supports children’s health through its environmentally sustainable design, on-site health center and pharmacy, resident service programs, and social service programs.

Read more in the profile from How Housing Matters.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #6: Communities Driving Health Equity - PUSH Buffalo

PUSH Buffalo (People United for Sustainable Housing) is an organization working to make housing safe, affordable, and energy-efficient for residents of West Buffalo, NY. This spotlight video shows how PUSH Buffalo assists residents in obtaining federal and state grants to revitalize their homes, which are often harmful to live in due to the presence of toxins like mold and lead. PUSH Buffalo listens to and partners with residents, allowing them to make decisions and returning power and agency to their hands as they repair their homes.

 

Example #7: A RADical Way to Preserve Affordable Housing in San Francisco

A rendering of the new Ping Yuen Community Center to be built for a complex comprising 234 units, which to date has had no public gathering space for residents. A capital campaign is underway to fund the center's construction.

 

In order to preserve a major portion of its decaying public housing stock, the City of San Francisco is using HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program to convert thousands of homes to non-profit ownership. LISC has helped guide the rehabilitation of these neglected units, with community developers and residents leading the way.

 

Example #8: Anti-Racism Sparks Movement for Trauma-Informed Design

Arroyo Village is a supportive housing complex in Denver designed for those with traumatic histories. The apartments are soundproofed by design, along with other design elements to promote healing. The growing awareness of the impact of the built environment on our health is one reason for the growth of trauma-informed design — design that includes adaptations to support a strengths-based framework based in an understanding of, and responsiveness to, the impact of trauma. Read more.

A PowerPoint presentation summarizing the major points in the section.

Access to safe, stable, and affordable housing is a major community issue in the United States and around the world. Housing costs affect whether people can remain in their communities and whether households have enough resources for food, health care, transportation, childcare, education, and other needs.

Housing also plays an important role in sustainable communities. Sustainable Development Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities includes access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing among its priorities.

This section of the Community Tool Box discusses affordable housing as a community issue. It explains what affordable housing means, why it matters, describes several forms affordable housing can take, and outlines ways residents, community organizations, housing providers, businesses, financial institutions, planners, and governments can participate in creating and preserving housing that people can afford.

What is affordable housing?

In U.S. housing policy and research, housing costs greater than 30 percent of household income are commonly used as an indicator of housing-cost burden. The 30 percent measure is useful, but affordability also depends on household income, family size, utilities, transportation, childcare, health expenses, and other costs.

Affordable housing therefore means more than simply having a low rent or mortgage payment. Housing should also be safe, stable, accessible, appropriately maintained, and reasonably connected with employment, education, transportation, health care, food, recreation, and other community resources.

Why should affordable housing be a concern?

Housing affordability affects people differently. Some households have enough income and housing choices to absorb rising costs, while others may have to spend a large share of their resources on housing, move frequently, live farther from employment or services, share housing because of cost, or experience housing instability or homelessness.

Affordable housing is important for several reasons:

• Housing supports health and safety. Housing conditions can affect exposure to lead, mold, pests, extreme temperatures, environmental hazards, injury risks, and other health concerns.
• Housing stability can support children's learning and family stability. Frequent or involuntary moves can disrupt school attendance, relationships, transportation, childcare, and access to services.
• Housing costs affect household economic security. When housing takes a large share of household income, less money remains for food, health care, transportation, savings, education, childcare, and other necessities.
• Housing location affects access to opportunity. Where people live can influence access to employment, schools, transportation, health care, recreation, and other community resources.
• A range of housing options can support an inclusive community. Communities function better when people with different incomes, occupations, household types, ages, and abilities have realistic opportunities to live there.
• Housing affects the local economy. Employers may have difficulty recruiting or retaining workers when housing near employment is unavailable or unaffordable.
• Stable housing can strengthen community connection. People who are able to remain in their communities can maintain relationships with neighbors, schools, organizations, businesses, faith communities, and other sources of support.

What do we know about affordable housing needs?

Housing conditions and affordability change over time and differ considerably among communities. National statistics can help describe broad patterns, but local housing assessments are also important because rent, home prices, wages, vacancy rates, housing condition, transportation, and population needs differ from place to place.

Current housing research continues to identify serious affordability challenges among renters with very low incomes. Communities should use recent data rather than relying on statistics from earlier decades when assessing their housing needs.

Useful sources of information may include:

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data and reports
• U.S. Census Bureau and American Community Survey data
• Local housing authorities and planning departments
• Regional housing studies
• Homelessness and housing-instability data
• Local rent, home-price, vacancy, eviction, and housing-condition data
• Surveys, interviews, listening sessions, and other input from residents

When reviewing housing data, consider who is most affected, where needs are concentrated, what types of housing are unavailable, what barriers people encounter, and how conditions have changed over time.

What types of affordable housing exist?

Affordable housing can take many forms. It may be publicly, privately, cooperatively, or nonprofit owned, and affordability may be created through the cost of the housing itself, public or private assistance, financing arrangements, ownership models, or a combination of approaches.

Examples include:

• Newly constructed housing designed to remain affordable to households within specified income ranges
• Affordable homes included within mixed-income developments
• Existing homes or buildings that are rehabilitated or converted for residential use
• Existing affordable housing that is preserved so that it remains available over time
• Publicly supported rental housing
• Rental housing supported by vouchers or other forms of rental assistance
• Affordable homeownership programs
• Community land trusts and other shared-equity homeownership models

Other housing models may include:

• Cooperative housing. Residents collectively own or govern a housing property and share responsibility for decisions about finances, maintenance, and community spaces.
• Transitional housing. Time-limited housing may be paired with voluntary supportive services for people moving from homelessness, institutional settings, domestic violence, recovery programs, or other circumstances into more permanent housing.
• Housing designed for particular needs or stages of life. Examples may include housing for older adults, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, students, veterans, or households that benefit from particular accessibility or supportive-service features.
• Supportive housing. Affordable housing may be paired with voluntary services related to health, behavioral health, independent living, employment, or other participant-identified goals.
• Accessory dwelling units and smaller housing options. Additional units on existing residential property or smaller homes may expand the range of housing available in some communities.

Financial arrangements also vary. Affordable housing may be supported through public funding, nonprofit organizations, private investment, grants, loans, tax incentives, rental assistance, land contributions, shared-equity models, or combinations of these resources.

How do affordable housing programs take shape in practice?

Affordable housing can be created through several organizational and ownership models. The examples below describe common approaches rather than prescribing a single model.

Cooperative housing

In a housing cooperative, residents usually own shares in or membership interests in the organization that owns the property rather than individually owning their unit. Residents may participate in governance, budgeting, maintenance decisions, shared activities, or other aspects of the community.

Cooperative arrangements differ widely. Some are designed primarily to preserve affordability, some emphasize shared community life, and others resemble conventional homeownership more closely.

Community land trusts (CLTs)

Community land trusts are nonprofit or community-based organizations that acquire and hold land for long-term community benefit. In housing programs, the land trust may retain ownership of the land while a resident owns or rents the home located on it.

Shared-equity arrangements can reduce initial housing costs and help preserve affordability for future residents while allowing homeowners to build an agreed-upon amount of equity.

Community land trusts may also support rental housing, cooperative housing, community facilities, open space, or other locally identified priorities.

Community development organizations

Community development corporations and other nonprofit housing organizations may develop, rehabilitate, own, manage, or preserve affordable housing. They may also provide homebuyer education, financial counseling, repair assistance, rental support, community development, or other related services.

These organizations often combine public, philanthropic, nonprofit, and private resources and may work closely with residents and neighborhood organizations.

Self-help and partnership-based housing

Some housing organizations involve future residents, volunteers, community organizations, contractors, and donors in constructing or rehabilitating homes.

Participant labor may reduce some construction costs or contribute to a homeownership program, but programs should provide alternatives or reasonable accommodations for people who cannot perform construction work because of disability, health, age, caregiving responsibilities, work schedules, or other circumstances.

How can communities create and preserve affordable housing?

Creating affordable housing is a complex community-development task. Housing projects may involve land, financing, zoning, infrastructure, building codes, accessibility, environmental review, construction, property management, public funding, long-term affordability requirements, and resident participation.

Many different participants may therefore be involved:

• Current and prospective residents
• Neighborhood and resident-led organizations
• Housing nonprofits and community development organizations
• Developers
• Architects, engineers, planners, and contractors
• Financial institutions and lenders
• Local housing authorities and public agencies
• Local and state governments
• Employers and business organizations
• Foundations and other funders
• Disability and accessibility organizations
• Tenant organizations
• Faith communities and other community institutions

These participants may have different responsibilities, priorities, and interests. A productive process identifies those differences openly and develops housing strategies through evidence, community participation, financial analysis, and clear decision-making procedures.

There is no single strategy that works in every community. The appropriate approach will depend on existing housing supply, land availability, market conditions, community priorities, public resources, state and local law, infrastructure, and the needs of current and prospective residents.

Actions community members and community organizations can take

Getting started:

• Learn about the types of affordable housing available and examine examples from communities with similar circumstances.
• Participate in a local housing organization, neighborhood association, tenant group, planning process, or other community effort related to housing.
• If no appropriate group exists, consider bringing together people who are interested in understanding and addressing local housing needs.
• Connect with organizations whose work intersects with housing, such as:
  • Fair housing and civil rights organizations
  • Community development organizations
  • Tenant and resident organizations
  • Human rights and disability organizations
  • Organizations representing communities that have experienced housing discrimination or barriers
  • Organizations addressing homelessness, economic security, transportation, health, or other issues connected with housing

Working with others can bring together different forms of knowledge and make it easier to understand the housing system as a whole.

Possible community activities include:

• Meet with current and prospective residents to understand housing needs, priorities, preferences, and barriers. Review existing studies first when possible so people are not repeatedly asked for information that has already been collected.
• Meet with neighborhood groups and nearby residents to understand how potential housing development may affect transportation, infrastructure, schools, public space, accessibility, local businesses, and other community conditions.
• Consult housing, planning, design, financial, environmental, accessibility, and legal professionals when specialized knowledge is needed.
• Use housing assessments and community planning to establish measurable housing goals and monitor progress toward them.
• Examine inclusionary housing, affordability requirements, incentives, or other locally available approaches for incorporating affordable homes into new development.
• Examine whether development fees or other legally available funding mechanisms could contribute to affordable housing.
• Participate in established local budgeting, grant, planning, or housing processes where public funding for affordable housing is being considered.
• Review zoning and land-use rules to identify whether they unnecessarily limit housing options or whether changes could support additional housing while addressing health, safety, infrastructure, accessibility, and environmental concerns.
• Explore long-term affordability agreements and other tools that can preserve affordable rents or ownership opportunities when public resources support development.
• Support appropriate housing options for people who benefit from shared living arrangements, accessibility features, or supportive services while respecting fair-housing requirements and residents' right to participate in community life.

Preserve existing affordable housing

Creating new housing is only one part of addressing affordability. Preserving existing homes can prevent the loss of affordable units and help residents remain in their communities.

Possible approaches include:

• Reviewing locally available policies intended to limit displacement or excessive housing-cost increases
• Examining property-tax relief or assistance for qualifying homeowners who may otherwise face displacement
• Providing renters with accessible, current information about their rights and available housing resources
• Supporting tenant organizations and other resident-led efforts that allow renters to represent their own interests
• Making information about affordable-housing opportunities available through accessible and widely used communication channels
• Supporting rehabilitation of existing affordable homes
• Preserving subsidized or income-restricted properties when affordability requirements are scheduled to expire
• Exploring acquisition by nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, community land trusts, public agencies, or other mission-oriented owners when affordable properties are at risk of being lost

Actions local governments can consider

Local governments play an important role because they may have responsibility for land use, zoning, permitting, infrastructure, building standards, public land, local funding, and housing programs.

Depending on local and state law, possible approaches include:

• Establishing a housing plan or housing advisory body to examine community needs and track progress
• Maintaining fair-housing, nondiscrimination, accessibility, and other applicable civil-rights protections
• Including residents from a range of income levels, neighborhoods, housing situations, ages, abilities, and backgrounds in housing planning
• Establishing housing funds or other dedicated financing mechanisms where authorized
• Using legally available tax incentives or financial assistance to support qualifying affordable-housing development or preservation
• Providing clear and accessible property-tax relief information for qualifying residents
• Maintaining and enforcing fair-housing and nondiscrimination requirements
• Evaluating whether vacant or publicly acquired properties can be responsibly reused for affordable housing
• Seeking appropriate state, federal, philanthropic, or other funding opportunities
• Reviewing zoning, parking, density, lot-size, accessory-dwelling-unit, and other land-use rules to understand how they affect housing supply and affordability
• Using publicly owned land for housing where doing so is consistent with community plans and applicable public processes
• Supporting rehabilitation and preservation of existing affordable housing

Different approaches may have different effects on housing production, affordability, public revenue, infrastructure, neighborhood conditions, and property owners. Communities should examine those tradeoffs rather than assuming that one policy will work equally well everywhere.

Actions community and human-service organizations can take

Organizations that do not primarily develop housing can still help people find and maintain stable housing and can participate in broader housing partnerships.

Possible activities include:

• Maintain an accurate and accessible directory of local housing resources and affordable-housing opportunities when feasible
• Make housing information available online and through community locations used by people seeking assistance
• Evaluate whether housing referrals are connecting people with appropriate options and identify recurring barriers
• Provide current information about renter rights and available housing resources
• Provide information in accessible formats and relevant languages
• Offer voluntary housing education or navigation services
• Offer technical assistance to resident and tenant organizations
• Provide homebuyer counseling or connect prospective buyers with qualified housing-counseling resources
• Connect residents who want them with services related to employment, transportation, childcare, health, disability, behavioral health, legal assistance, or other needs

Supportive services should respond to residents' goals rather than treating people who live in affordable housing as inherently in need of correction or supervision. Many residents need only affordable, stable housing; others may choose additional services that help them pursue their own goals.

Actions faith communities and other community institutions can take

Faith communities, educational institutions, health systems, nonprofit organizations, and other community institutions may participate in affordable-housing efforts when housing aligns with their mission and resources.

Possible roles include:

• Participating in local housing partnerships
• Providing meeting space or community outreach
• Contributing land or facilities where appropriate
• Providing grants, loans, or other resources
• Partnering with experienced housing organizations
• Helping residents obtain reliable information about housing resources

Actions community planners can take

Community planners can examine how housing connects with transportation, employment, commercial activity, infrastructure, schools, parks, environmental conditions, and public services.

Possible planning approaches include:

• Planning mixed-use areas where housing, businesses, services, and community facilities can be located near one another
• Examining whether a range of housing densities and housing types could expand local housing choices
• Planning safe walking, bicycling, and public-transportation connections
• Considering accessibility and universal design
• Examining risks of displacement when public or private investment increases property values
• Involving residents early in neighborhood and housing planning

Actions financial institutions and lenders can take

• Maintain fair-lending and nondiscrimination practices and review lending patterns for potential barriers or disparities
• Participate in financing affordable-housing development and preservation where appropriate
• Explore responsible ways to make foreclosed or institution-owned properties available for affordable-housing or community-development purposes
• Provide clear financial information and support financial education or housing-counseling partnerships

Actions landlords and property managers can take

• Participate in programs that preserve or create affordable rental homes
• Maintain properties, communicate rent and fee policies clearly, and follow applicable affordability agreements and tenant-protection requirements
• Make reasonable accessibility improvements and accommodations as required and appropriate
• Provide residents with clear information about maintenance, repairs, emergency procedures, and property-management contacts

Actions real estate professionals can take

• Learn about affordable housing and homeownership programs available in the community
• Help prospective renters and buyers locate housing options for which they may qualify
• Provide clear and accurate information about available properties and housing resources
• Participate in community housing partnerships when appropriate
• Work with housing organizations, lenders, and public agencies to understand programs that expand access to housing

Actions businesses and employers can take

Housing affordability can affect workforce recruitment, retention, commuting, and employee stability. Employers may therefore have an interest in understanding local housing conditions.

Possible activities include:

• Participating in community housing partnerships
• Sharing information with other employers about local workforce-housing needs
• Providing financing, grants, land, or other resources for housing initiatives when aligned with organizational goals
• Partnering with experienced housing organizations when directly supporting housing development
• Providing employees with information about available housing programs or relocation assistance

Actions labor organizations can take

Labor organizations may participate in housing partnerships, share information about workers' housing needs, support housing-related benefits, contribute investment resources where appropriate, or participate in community planning.

Workers involved in affordable-housing construction should continue to receive compensation and protections consistent with applicable law, contracts, and labor standards. Affordable housing should not depend on workers being expected to accept below-standard compensation.

Actions foundations and other funders can take

• Include housing within grantmaking or community-investment priorities when it aligns with the funder's mission
• Collaborate with community organizations, residents, housing providers, governments, and other funders
• Provide grants, loans, guarantees, planning support, capacity-building resources, or other appropriate assistance for housing initiatives
• Support resident participation, evaluation, technical assistance, and long-term preservation in addition to construction

State-level approaches

States influence housing through funding, tax policy, land-use law, housing finance, infrastructure, building standards, tenant and homeowner protections, and administration of state and federal housing programs.

Depending on state law and priorities, approaches may include:

• Supporting affordable-housing development and preservation through state housing programs
• Providing grants, loans, tax incentives, or housing-finance programs
• Supporting local housing planning and technical assistance
• Establishing or enforcing fair-housing and nondiscrimination protections
• Supporting infrastructure connected with housing development
• Providing property-tax relief or other assistance to qualifying households
• Supporting accessibility, energy efficiency, rehabilitation, and preservation of existing housing
• Maintaining accessible statewide information about housing programs and resources

Specific state housing policies vary widely and change over time. Communities should consult current state statutes, regulations, housing agencies, and program guidance when considering these approaches.

Federal housing resources

The federal government plays a major role in U.S. housing through rental assistance, public and assisted housing, housing finance, community development, fair-housing enforcement, grants, tax policy, and support for state and local housing programs.

Federal housing programs and funding levels change over time. Communities and organizations should use current information from federal agencies and other official sources rather than relying on program descriptions or funding information from earlier decades.

In Summary

Affordable housing is not one particular type of building or program. It can include rental housing, homeownership, public or privately owned housing, cooperatives, community land trusts, mixed-income developments, supportive housing, rehabilitation of existing buildings, and other approaches.

Successful housing strategies usually depend on several factors:

• Resources. Housing requires land, financing, construction, maintenance, infrastructure, and long-term operating resources. Public, private, nonprofit, philanthropic, and community resources may all contribute.
• Adaptability. Communities can consider rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, community land trusts, cooperatives, mixed-use development, infill, accessory dwelling units, shared-equity models, and other approaches that fit local conditions.
• Partnership. Residents, housing organizations, governments, developers, lenders, businesses, planners, funders, and other institutions often need to coordinate their work.
• Resident participation. People who live in or need affordable housing should have meaningful opportunities to shape housing priorities, design, services, and evaluation.
• Preservation. Maintaining existing affordable housing can be as important as constructing new units.
• Accessibility and inclusion. Housing should accommodate people with different abilities, ages, household structures, languages, and circumstances.
• Long-term affordability. When public or charitable resources are invested in housing, communities should consider how affordability will be maintained over time.
• Evaluation. Housing strategies should be reviewed to determine who is benefiting, whether affordability is being maintained, whether residents are experiencing barriers, and whether conditions have changed.

Creating affordable housing is complex because housing is connected with land, financing, transportation, employment, health, education, infrastructure, environmental conditions, and community development.

The goal is not simply to build more units. It is to expand and preserve meaningful housing choices so that people with different incomes, household structures, ages, and abilities can live in safe, stable, accessible, and affordable homes within communities where they have opportunities to participate and thrive.

Example #1: Rolling Hills Apartments: Weaving Together Opportunities for Healthier Lives for a Diverse Immigrant Community

Twin Cities LISC, a local community development financial institution, has partnered with local organizations and city agencies to create quality affordable housing with improved healthcare access, including constructing a Federally Qualified Health Center. LISC also employed community health advocates to weave together the isolated health-related efforts in the neighborhood of focus into a cohesive health agenda. More specifically, they connect and help support existing efforts, identify and help address gaps, and facilitate the conversations and activities that sustain collaboration.

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives for immigrants in St. Paul, Minnesota in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #2: Community Development 2.0—Collective Impact Focuses a Neighborhood Strategy for Health

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) has built health into its strategic plan, and in the neighborhood revitalization work of The San Pablo Collaborative (SPARC), convened by EBALDC, health is the first priority. The San Pablo Area Revitalization Corridor neighborhood that stretches between downtown Oakland and Emeryville is considered to be one of the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California. Life expectancy in this area is up to 20 years lower than the neighboring area, Oakland Hills. SPARC works tirelessly to address the physical, social and economic factors-“social determinants”- that shape residents’ health in the San Pablo Avenue Corridor. SPARC partners work collectively in order to create an overall healthier environment for residents throughout the neighborhood. The California Hotel has been successfully preserved as affordable housing and a grocery store has been brought to this long abandoned neighborhood.

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives for the most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #3: From Homelessness to Housing in San Francisco: Portraits and Oral History

As we build collaboration across sectors, storytelling and art that lifts up success stories become more and more important. A moving new multi-media art project called “Everyone Deserves a Home” on display in San Francisco’s Public Library asks 40 formally homeless residents in supportive housing, “what does home mean to you?”

 

Example #4: A Tour of Mariposa: Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

The Mariposa Project led by the Denver Housing Authority is an affordable and transit-oriented housing development in which health outcomes and community-level improvements are evaluated. The new mixed-income community has revitalized the surrounding areas, breaking down physical barriers between the public housing units and the rest of the community and infusing the area with community-informed retail and services. The Denver Housing Authority has transformed 10th Street into a promenade that connects the rail station to the nearby Art District on Santa Fe, drawing visitors from across the city to an area that was once overlooked.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #5: The Brandywine Center: In Pennsylvania, Wealthy County’s Poorer Residents Get A Healthy Place To Live

Although Chester County, Pennsylvania, has been considered one of the richest counties in the country, seven percent of its half-million residents live in poverty. Coatesville, a city of 13,000 people, is one such low-income pocket. To combat this problem, the Brandywine Health Foundation (BHF) constructed the Brandywine Center, a community hub. The four-story building houses health and dental services on the first floor, behavioral care on the fourth, and 24 units of affordable senior housing on the two middle floors. The BHF is committed to working toward both improved neighborhood conditions and improved health in this low-income community.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #6: Vita Health & Wellness District: Health at the Center of a Neighborhood Transformation

The Vita Health & Wellness District project was established through a partnership between the Stamford housing authority and Stamford hospital to revitalize an impoverished inner city area, in Stamford Connecticut, into a mixed-income community with expanded neighborhood services centered around a sustainable urban farm. Addressing the social determinants of health provide a framework for managing the neighborhood transformation in ways that would support and strengthen the existing community.

The Vita project is a great example of how a hospital can fulfill the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to engage its community by partnering to address the social determinants of health. The project also demonstrates how a forward-thinking community development organization can effectively partner with the health sector to pursue comprehensive community revitalization that could not have been achieved otherwise. These are still early days in what promises to be a fruitful and long-lasting partnership.

Read more about the Vita Health & Wellness District project on the Building Healthy Places Network blog.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

Example #7: Grandmas4Housing: How a Tenant-Led Community Land Trust Came to Be

In February 2021, tenant and community activist Jocelyn Foreman learned that her rental home in Pinole California, was up for auction with Wedgewood Inc. winning the bid of $600,000. Using California's SB 1079 law—granting tenants 45-days to match auction offers—Foreman and her support network, "Jocelyn's Corner," moved quickly.

The group successfully raised a $100,000 down payment and partnered with a land trust to secure financing for the purchase. By April, Foreman became the first tenant to purchase her home through SB 1079, proving the potential power of tenant-led initiatives in combating housing insecurity.

Her success sparked broader changes across the state. In July 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation allocating an additional $500 million to support SB 1079 foreclosure acquisitions. Foreman's story shows the important role of community land trusts in housing stability and affordability.

Read more about this story on the Non Profit Quarterly website.
 

Example #8: A Community Creates Denver's First Resident-Owned Mobile Home Park

An 80-family mobile home community in Denver is set to become the city's first resident-owned manufactured housing park. In response to fears of displacement following several nearby park closures, residents of Capital City, now Montevista Comunidad, used Colorado’s Opportunity to Purchase law to collectively buy their park. This cooperative ownership model allows mobile homeowners to manage the land themselves, shielding them from corporate landlords and rising rents. 

The two-year effort was the result of a decade of grassroot organizing and advocacy. In partnership with three non-profits, residents generated enough capital to purchase the park. The City of Denver, once hesitant to support mobile home parks, became one of the largest lenders—reflecting growing pressure from housing advocates.

Montevista Comunidad shows how sustained community action can shift policy and expand access to affordable housing.

Read more about this story on the Non Profit Quarterly website

Example #9: Supporting Childhood Wellness Through Healthy, Affordable Housing

In a low-income Philadelphia community, for-profit and non-profit developers have partnered to create Paseo Verde, a high-quality housing development highlighting resident and community health. The development prides itself on making healthy housing accessible even for families in poverty. This one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment complex, Paseo Verde, supports children’s health through its environmentally sustainable design, on-site health center and pharmacy, resident service programs, and social service programs.

Read more in the profile from How Housing Matters.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #10: A Ride to Better Health

The Mariposa project is on the front lines of a rapidly growing movement seeking to reconnect low-income residents to the critical networks — transit, affordable housing, jobs — that are the cornerstones of opportunity. By centering development efforts around a transit stop, planners are hoping to reinvigorate a neighborhood by connecting its residents to integral supports and services, from hospitals to schools to grocery stores , all while paying heed to the risks of gentrification and displacement.

 

Example #11: Building Strong Neighborhoods with Affordable Housing

The New Settlement Apartments project began in 1990 with the acquisition and restoration of fifteen abandoned buildings, the construction of a new building, in addition to the acquisition of a seventeenth building to provide over 1,022 affordable homes for a community of more than 3,500 people, in which thirty percent are formerly homeless. Presently, the eighteenth building is under construction to provide sixty additional affordable apartments. This project has played a monumental role in transforming one of the worst areas of New York City into a vibrant mixed-income neighborhood.

Read more from the Settlement Housing Fund.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #12: ‘Housing first’ model making inroads on homelessness

People who are homeless in the Arlington, Virginia, area can turn to the Homeless Services Center at the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network for the health and support services that they cannot easily access. Medical care, food, shelter, counseling and job training are all available to people who need assistance.

Such wraparound services are vital to people who are homeless, but the “housing first” model is at the heart of the organization’s mission.

Housing first is based on the premise that housing is necessary for health, security, and wellness, and that people need not meet a long list of prerequisites to access permanent housing. While some programs require people to enter treatment programs for addiction or mental health or be employed before they are housed, housing first posits that with the right services and support, such issues can be better addressed after housing is secured. Read more from the Nation's Health.

 

Example #13: Kansas City Builds Tiny House Village for Homeless Veterans

“Approximately 40 percent of homeless men are veterans, according to The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Nearly half of those suffer from mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder and another 50 percent struggle with substance use. While government programs do exist to help veterans re-acclimate to civilian life, too many fall through the cracks. So the citizens of Kansas City and other concerned Americans have decided to take matters into their own hands.” Read more.

 

Example #14:  Chicago Regional Funding Pool Helps the Chronically Homeless Get Off the Street and Into a Permanent Home

A successful demonstration program lays the foundation for a $13 million funding pool for supportive housing. Homelessness is a health risk at any time, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an even greater risk. Legislators are looking at ways to better cope with the problem. Read more.

 

Example #15: The Tiny-House Village That’s Changing Lives

Agape Village is a place where people find community, structure, stability — and a path to permanent housing. Agape Village, located on the grounds of the city’s Central Nazarene Church, consists of 13 simple wooden huts. Sarah Chapman, outreach coordinator at Agape, calls them sleeping pods, but they are more like tiny homes. Read more.

 

Example #16: Kansas City Adopts a Tenants Bill of Rights

A group of tenants in Kansas City, Missouri, is celebrating a victory after the city council approved legislation last week creating a tenants’ bill of rights. The bill is a public resource that will help tenants navigate their relationship with landlords, and — just as critically, organizers say — an official expression of solidarity from the local governing body. Read more.

 

Example #17: Fair Chance Housing in Seattle

In August 2017, the City of Seattle passed Fair Chance Housing legislation to help prevent unfair bias in housing against renters with a past criminal record. The new ordinance prevents landlords from unfairly denying applicants housing based on criminal history. It also prohibits the use of advertising language that automatically or categorically excludes people with arrest records, conviction records, or criminal history. Read more.

 

Example #18: Renter Protection Policies in Minneapolis

The City of Minneapolis has adopted renter protection policies as part of their Housing Maintenance Code. Violations of these policies may lead to citations or other penalties. Here's what property owners and managers need to know to stay in compliance. Read more.

 

Example #19: Lawrence Community Shelter to debut tiny home village for families experiencing homelessness

The Lawrence Community Shelter in Lawrence, Kansas, is preparing to open a tiny home village that shelter leaders say will provide a better environment for families experiencing homelessness. The shelter has partnered with the long-running University of Kansas architecture program Studio 804 on the tiny homes project, Monarch Village. Read more.

 

Example #20: Defining and Unpacking the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity–A Culture of Health Webinar

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) held the first webinar in its Culture of Health Webinar Series on November 29, 2018. The National Academies report Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity identified nine social determinants of health and how these determinants impact our health and the health of our communities. It features efforts to grow affordable housing. The report also defines health equity as the state in which everyone has the opportunity to attain full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or any other socially defined circumstance. Read more.

 

Example #21: Dutch prisons turned into welcoming homes for refugees

Plunging crime rates throughout the Netherlands have left Dutch prisons empty - and a new, creative way has been found to make those empty buildings useful. The government has restyled these former prisons to become temporary homes for refugees and has partnered with an artist group called United Painting to make these buildings beautiful. Partnering with local artists, United Painting has turned these buildings into functional pieces of art, transforming “ this huge complex with six giant grey towers that have long been an eyesore in Amsterdam’s skyline” into a beautiful, welcoming place for refugees. While living in these restyled buildings, refugees practice their Dutch, learn to ride bikes, and create lasting connections. Read more.

 

Example #22: Tackling homelessness and saving money: Permanent supportive housing

Denver, Colorado, like many U.S. cities, struggles with an ever-growing homeless population. Unlike many other cities, however, Denver has taken a new approach to tackle homelessness, while also saving money. The permanent supportive housing program works not only to house unhoused people, but to help them stay housed by providing them with a skilled support team made up of social workers, nurses, psychiatrists, and peer mentors. This program is also unique in that instead of putting the burden on unhoused people to find and apply for the program, it actively tracks down people that need its services. This program has both decreased Denver’s homeless population and saved them money by lowering the city’s spending on “police, court, emergency medical, ambulance, and jail services.” This program is not without its struggles, however. There is pushback from conservatives, homeowners, and businesses, too many people and not enough beds, and the challenge of finding skilled teams to run the program. But with the statistics in permanent supportive housing’s favor, it’s likely that this program will continue to develop and grow. Read more.

 

Example #23: California is turning hotels into permanent housing

Homekey, which was first launched in July 2020 in response to the pandemic with $600 million in funding, provides grants to local municipalities to transition hotels, motels and other commercial housing buildings into permanent residences for Californians experiencing homelessness. Last year’s launch and the first round of funding resulted in the creation of more than 6,000 units. Read more.

 

Example #24: Putting Faith in a Local—and Ingenious—Solution for Affordable Housing

LISC’s New York Land Opportunity Program is helping churches and other mission-driven groups build capacity and scale the steep learning curve that leads to developing affordable housing on their land. Three years in, the effort is making promising inroads into the city’s affordable housing crisis, and inspiring similar initiatives in communities across the country. Read more.

 

Example #25: Houston Has Housed 25,000 Homeless People With Apartments of Their Own

Houston has reduced homelessness over the last decade by 63% using a housing first approach.  “The logic…is that if someone’s already drowning, it doesn’t help to teach them how to swim first.” Read more.

 

Example #26: Community-Owned Land Trusts Catch Hospitals’ Eye

As an undocumented immigrant growing up on Chicago’s West Side, Jeisson Apolo and his mother were at the mercy of their landlord. “He saw the fear in our eyes and took advantage of it,” Jeisson said. “He raised the rent every month.”

Jeisson, 28, promised himself he’d never live like that again. After graduating from Cornell with a degree in architecture and another in urban planning, he wanted to sink some roots and buy a home. But in Richmond, Va., where he’d moved after college, prices were already beyond reach. Read more.

 

Example #27: A first-of-its kind affordable housing complex with childcare center breaks ground

A new affordable 120-unit housing complex with a childcare center on the ground floor began construction this week in St. Louis Park. The developers of the Rise on 7 project, CommonBond Communities, hope it can eventually serve 400 residents and up to 60 children in its early learning center.

 

Example #28: $20 Million Partnership Aims to Co-locate Child Care with Affordable Housing

The Urban Investment Group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management invested $20 million to support LIIF’s innovative new Brighter Futures Fund (the Fund). The Fund aims to create and preserve child care facilities co-located with affordable housing and other community resources.

 

Example #29: A Johnson County Program Aims to Increase the Number of Landlords Accepting Housing Choice Vouchers

A new program in Johnson County offers new incentives to landlords accepting housing vouchers, with ten landlords in the county joining the program in the three months since it's launch.

Example #30: Denver Uses Universal Basic Income Strategy for Addressing Homelessness

An experiment to pay people who were homeless in Denver with no limits on how they could spend the money led to twice as many people in stable housing, according to researchers who released their one-year report Tuesday. 

One participant, a mother of two named Anita, is now living with a family member after previously living in her car or outside. She told researchers the monthly payments she received were a “leg up” and that she now relies on the payments for hygiene items, child care expenses, transportation and other bills. 

Another participant, a single mom who lives with her parents, said she was able to start a new job, buy a car and enroll in school. She also reported that she was able to make more “happy memories” with her children and is looking into moving into her own housing.

“We believe the first year of the program established a sense of stability for participants, and the second year and beyond is when individuals can experience an even more profound transformation,” Mark Donovan, founder and executive director of the Denver Basic Income Project, said in an emailed news release. “We aim to persuade policymakers to establish permanent funding streams for programs like ours.”

To read more, please click this link to the full artcile on the Colorado Sun website.

Example #31: Together, Renters Triumph: The Power of Organizing in Colorado's Fight for Fair Evictions

Colorado renters face significant challenges, exacerbated by rapid population growth and rising rental prices. Low-income renters are vulnerable, particularly to corporate landlords who use evictions to drive up rents. This unstable housing environment gave rise to Colorado Homes For All (COHFA), a statewide coalition focused on advancing progressive housing policies that prioritize renters’ rights. COHFA believes that low-income renters are the key to transformative change. In an understanding that together they prevent displacement and discrimination, COHFA’s policy priorities include repealing the rent stabilization ban, passing local rent stabilization policies, and ensuring just cause for evictions.

Check out the case study and learn more about Colorado Homes For All here.

Tool: The Basics of Affordable Housing in the United States

Public housing

Public housing is low-income housing operated by a local housing authority. Public housing was first provided in the 1930s to provide decent and safe rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities. There are many types of public housing ranging from scattered single-family house to high -rise apartments. There are approximately 1.3 million households living in public housing units managed by more than 3,300 housing authorities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administers federal aid to these local housing agencies to manage the affordable housing for low-income residents. HUD furnishes technical assistance in planning, developing, and managing the developments.

Public housing is development-based assistance. This means that assistance is "attached" to a specific housing development that is owned by a public housing authority (PHA). When a vacancy occurs in that development, the PHA offers it to prospective tenants. As long as they live in the apartment the assistance "stays " with them. When the next family moves in, they receive the assistance. Public housing is available for renters who qualify and is contingent on availability.

Section 8 housing

The Section 8 housing program is also a federal program, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It subsidizes housing in the private housing market with certificates or vouchers issued through a PHA. Section 8 assistance is tenant-based. Tenant-based assistance goes with the tenant wherever he or she moves. With the certificate or voucher the tenant finds rental housing on the private housing market and a PHA agrees to assist them with the rent. The housing must meet certain basic quality standards and rent must be reasonable. Public housing and Section 8 programs account for 4.3 million subsidized units in the United States.

In rural communities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides rental assistance programs, home improvement and repair loans and grants, and self-help housing loans to low income individuals and families through the Rural Housing Service (RHS). Rental assistance ensures that elderly, disabled, and low-income residents of multi-family dwellings pay no more than 30 percent of their income for housing.

Manufactured housing

A manufactured home (formerly "mobile home") is a transportable, factory-constructed home. They are more affordable than conventional homes and offer many of the same amenities. Owners of manufactured homes rent or buy land on which to place a home. PHAs can subsidize homes for qualifying renters or buyers.

Housing initiatives focusing on home ownership

Cooperative housing

Cooperative housing, (also known as a "co-op"), is a democratic living environment where tenants cooperatively own the building(s) in which they live. Tenants usually form a not-for-profit cooperative organization to which each person or family contributes monthly to pay operating expenses. A co-op is managed by a board of co-op members. Residents buy a membership in the co-op, but the cooperative owns the building(s), land, and common areas. Residents live there as part of membership benefits and pay a fixed amount each month to cover expenses including mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, insurance, utilities, and reserves.

Housing co-ops come in forms ranging from single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, garden apartment, mid- and high-rise apartments, fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, rural communities, land subdivisions with sites and utilities, and manufactured homes. More than one million U.S. families of all income levels live in homes owned and operated through co-op associations. Cooperative housing is used in rural areas to provide easier to manage home ownership for seniors. This frees up single-family homes for younger families while maintaining independence for healthy seniors.

Advantages to cooperative housing are:

• Reasonable monthly charges for taxes and operating costs
• Tax deductions
• Ownership equity
• Members can jointly exert influence on tax rates and utilities prices and obtain improved services from local government
• Savings due to shared costs of ownership and not-for-profit status
• Community control
• Cultural diversity
• Shared maintenance responsibilities
• Ownership reduces vandalism and improves shared security

Disadvantage to cooperative housing:

• Difficulty in financing due to membership consisting of very low-income residents
• Many low-income co-ops must define minimum income limits for potential members in order to remain financially viable

Community Land Trust (CLT)

A Community Land Trust is a democratically controlled, non-profit corporation with an open membership and an elected board of trustees that makes it feasible for low-income families to be homeowners. A CLT typically acquires or holds land, but sells off commercial or residential buildings on the land. Without property, land cost is minimized or eliminated, making housing more affordable. Community land trusts develop affordable housing, commercial space, and parks while promoting home ownership, historic preservation, local control, and neighborhood revitalization.

CLTs operate in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The modern CLT model was developed in the 1960s by community activists wanting democratically controlled institutions that would hold land for the common good and make it available to individuals through long-term land leases. Many rural CLTs ensure access to land and housing for low -income people and preserve family farms. Urban CLTs often deal with combating the negative effects of speculation and gentrification.

Land speculation and gentrification often result in displacement of low-income residents. Speculation involves a developer buying up property to sell at a high profit for business or new residential development. Gentrification involves many individuals coming into a deteriorating neighborhood, buying property at a low price, rehabilitating it, and residing in the neighborhood. As the rate of gentrification increases, the face of a neighborhood changes radically and property values increase. This sometimes inspires residents to sell the properties at a large profit.

Typically, a CLT project has five or more sources of funding that may include commercial mortgages and construction loans, HUD loans and grants, a state housing finance agency, private foundation loans and grants, tax credits, and pension fund investments. CLT projects must meet strict requirements for housing quality; energy efficiency; historic preservation; handicapped accessibility; lead, asbestos, and other environmental requirements; and levels of affordability. Entire communities benefit from this thorough approach to development.

Community Development Corporation (CDC)

A Community Development Corporation is a nongovernmental development organization run by professional staff and citizen boards. Often the board members live in the community they serve, have a personal interest in improving it, and have intimate knowledge about how to do it. CDCs are funded from private, corporate, and government resources. They create opportunities in their communities through commercial, industrial, and residential initiatives. More than 2,000 nonprofit CDCs exist in the U.S.

Nonprofits are the groups usually most willing to invest the time and work in saving and building affordable housing, and have provided effective solutions to the housing problem. The main problem with relying completely on private developers to supply and restore publicly subsidized housing is that often there is conflict between public goals to provide housing and private interests to profit at taxpayers' expense.

Community Development Block Grants

The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 authorized the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs). The goal of the program was to rehabilitate the nation's deteriorating urban areas, build community leadership, and empower low-income people to take charge of their neighborhoods and their futures.

A CDBG offers funds to a locality on a competitive basis. They were designed to unite neighborhoods, business leaders, and government in building affordable housing, spurring economic development, creating jobs, and providing essential social services in disadvantaged communities. Twenty years and $60 billion later, the program has been judged as a partial success. Projects revitalized many neighborhoods, but low -income advocates had to wage continual battles to get funding and keep it targeted on needy neighborhoods. After some local governments used CDBG money for projects of questionable benefit to the poor, the program was amended to require that 70 percent of CDBG programs must benefit low- and moderate-income citizens.

Affordable housing:

___30% or less of income

Concerns of affordable housing:

___Everyone should have a decent home

___Communities becoming more uniform

___Negative social outcomes

Facts:

___Bad conditions are rapidly rising

___Poor families in suburbs suffer the worst

___Minority families show the fastest increase in worst case conditions

___Affordable housing is shrinking

Co-housing:

___Families that share living space with separate bedrooms

Transitional housing:

___For people recovering from physical or emotional problems

Categorical housing:

___For social group members

A PowerPoint presentation summarizing the major points in the section.

 

The Urban Land Institute's case study of the 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati provides an example of adaptive reuse: a deteriorated historic downtown building was rehabilitated and given a new use that combines hospitality, art, and public cultural space. Projects like this can preserve historic resources while contributing to broader community development.

Historic buildings, neighborhoods, landscapes, cultural sites, and other places can tell important stories about the people who built, used, shaped, and cared for them. Those stories may reflect achievement and creativity, but they may also include conflict, exclusion, displacement, labor, migration, resistance, and other experiences that have shaped a community.

Historic preservation can help communities understand those histories while deciding how historic and cultural resources should continue to function in the present. Preservation is strongest when the people connected with a place – including residents, Tribal Nations, descendant communities, property owners, workers, cultural organizations, and others – have meaningful roles in identifying what matters and how it should be treated.

In this section, we'll look at historic preservation, why communities may choose to preserve historic and cultural resources, who should participate in those decisions, and the tools communities can use to protect, adapt, interpret, and sustain important places.

What do we mean by historic preservation?

Historic preservation is the practice of identifying, protecting, maintaining, interpreting, and appropriately using places and resources that have historic, cultural, architectural, archeological, or community significance.

Preservation is not limited to keeping an old building exactly as it looks today. Depending on the resource and its significance, preservation may involve maintaining historic materials, adapting a building for a new use, restoring features from a particular period, documenting archeological resources, protecting a cultural landscape, or recognizing continuing cultural relationships with a place.

Types of historic and cultural resources

Buildings and structures

Houses, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, schools, places of worship, barns, bridges, transportation structures, monuments, and other built resources may have historic significance because of their architecture, construction, use, age, association with people or events, or importance to a community.

A building does not have to be architecturally elaborate or associated with a nationally famous person to matter. An ordinary home, store, school, workplace, meeting hall, or other structure may be important because it reflects the everyday history of a community or the experiences of people whose stories have not always been included in traditional historical narratives.

Neighborhoods and districts

Groups of buildings, streets, public spaces, landscapes, businesses, and other features may together reflect an important period of community development or the history of a particular community.

Historic neighborhoods are also living communities. Preservation decisions should therefore consider housing affordability, accessibility, current residents, community culture, changing needs, and the effects that investment may have on displacement or property costs.

Tribal, Indigenous, and culturally significant places

Some places have continuing cultural, spiritual, historical, or community significance to Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples. These may include settlements, landscapes, burial places, traditional cultural properties, archeological resources, gathering places, sacred sites, and other locations whose importance cannot be understood only by looking at buildings or architectural style.

Tribal Nations are sovereign governments, and preservation involving Tribal lands, resources, or cultural heritage should include the appropriate Tribal governments, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices where applicable, and other people designated by the Tribe.

Some cultural information may be sensitive or not appropriate for public interpretation. Communities and preservation professionals should respect Tribal sovereignty, cultural protocols, and decisions about what information should or should not be shared.

Landscapes

Historic landscapes may include farms, parks, battlefields, transportation corridors, waterfronts, industrial landscapes, cemeteries, traditional cultural landscapes, and other places shaped by relationships among people, land, and natural resources.

Landscape preservation can involve physical features such as roads, fields, vegetation, waterways, structures, landforms, views, or spatial patterns, as well as the cultural meanings attached to them.

Archeological sites

Archeological resources can provide information about communities and time periods that may not be fully represented in written records. These resources may exist above or below ground and can include structures, artifacts, features, cultural deposits, and landscapes.

Archeological work should be conducted carefully and in accordance with applicable laws, professional standards, and consultation requirements, particularly when human remains, funerary objects, sacred materials, or Tribal cultural resources may be involved.

Objects and features

Signs, murals, public art, monuments, machinery, landscape features, street elements, industrial equipment, trees, walls, markers, and other objects may have historical or cultural importance.

Their significance may come from design, age, craftsmanship, use, association with a place or community, or the stories people connect with them.

Cultural heritage

Historic preservation can also connect with cultural heritage that is not limited to buildings or objects. Language, artistic traditions, foodways, music, craftsmanship, ceremonies, oral histories, traditional knowledge, and community practices may all be part of how people understand and sustain their history.

Protecting cultural heritage works best when the people whose heritage is involved help determine how it should be documented, interpreted, shared, and sustained.

Approaches to historic preservation

The U.S. National Park Service identifies four major treatments for historic properties: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. The appropriate treatment depends on the significance and condition of the property, its proposed use, available documentation, and the goals of the project.

Preservation

Preservation focuses on maintaining and repairing the existing historic materials, features, form, and character of a property. It generally emphasizes continued maintenance and limited repair rather than extensive replacement or new construction.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation allows a historic property to continue serving a useful purpose or take on a compatible new use while retaining the features that convey its historic, cultural, or architectural significance.

Rehabilitation may involve repairs, alterations, accessibility improvements, updated building systems, additions, or other changes necessary for continued use, provided that important historic characteristics are respected.

Restoration

Restoration focuses on depicting a property as it appeared during a particular period in its history. Features from that period are retained or restored, while some features from other periods may be removed when appropriate to the restoration goal.

Reconstruction

Reconstruction uses new construction to recreate a non-surviving building, structure, landscape, site, or other resource as it appeared during a particular historical period.

Because reconstruction creates something that no longer survives, it should be based on strong documentary and physical evidence and should be clearly identified as a contemporary re-creation.

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties provide detailed guidance for deciding how preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction should be carried out. The appropriate treatment depends on the property rather than on a general preference for making something look "older" or returning it to an assumed original appearance.

Deciding what should be preserved

Preservation decisions may involve disagreement. A building may contain important features from several periods in its history. Residents may value a later addition that preservation professionals initially consider less significant. A property may be historically important while also needing substantial changes to remain useful, accessible, affordable, or environmentally responsible.

Questions to consider include:

• What makes the building, site, landscape, district, or object significant?
• What does it mean to the people and communities connected with it?
• Whose histories are represented, and whose may have been overlooked?
• What future uses are possible?
• How is the property currently used?
• What is its physical condition?
• What accessibility, safety, climate, environmental, or building-system improvements are needed?
• What are the costs and tradeoffs of different treatment approaches?
• What do residents, property owners, Tribal Nations, descendant communities, and other people connected with the property want?
• Are there requirements associated with grants, tax incentives, easements, public ownership, or other funding?
• Is appropriate preservation expertise available?
• Could preservation or redevelopment contribute to displacement, rising costs, or loss of community access?

Why encourage historic preservation?

• It can preserve community history, identity, and continuity. Historic places can help people understand how their community developed and how different generations and groups contributed to it. Preservation can maintain features that make places distinctive while keeping community history visible.
• It can help broaden whose histories are recognized. Preservation can document places connected with communities, workers, movements, cultural traditions, and everyday experiences that may have received less attention in traditional historical accounts.
• Reusing existing buildings can conserve resources. Rehabilitation may reduce demolition waste and make continued use of materials, infrastructure, and embodied energy already invested in existing buildings.
• It can preserve traditional skills and craftsmanship. Historic buildings may require specialized masonry, carpentry, plaster, metalwork, decorative arts, and other skills. Preservation projects can create opportunities to sustain and teach those trades.
• It can contribute to the character of a community. Historic buildings, landscapes, streets, and cultural places may help distinguish one community from another and strengthen residents' connection to place.
• It can contribute to community investment and economic activity. Rehabilitation may create construction and preservation jobs, provide space for businesses or housing, support cultural institutions, or contribute to tourism and commercial activity.
• It can create workforce-development opportunities. Paid apprenticeships and training in preservation trades can help participants develop transferable skills in construction, restoration, design, research, project management, and related fields.
• It can make creative use of buildings that no longer serve their original purpose. Schools, factories, warehouses, hotels, offices, transportation buildings, and other historic structures may sometimes be adapted for housing, cultural facilities, businesses, education, community services, or other uses.
• It may support economically viable redevelopment. Some preservation projects can use tax incentives, grants, loans, or other resources that make rehabilitation more feasible. Historic settings may also contribute to the identity of businesses, cultural institutions, housing developments, or tourism efforts.

Historic preservation does not automatically produce equitable community development. Investment may also increase rents, property values, or commercial pressure. Communities should consider who benefits from preservation, whether existing residents and businesses can remain, and how public investment can support both historic resources and community stability.

When should you encourage historic preservation?

Communities may consider historic preservation whenever decisions involving development, public investment, housing, land use, cultural heritage, or significant properties are being made.

• When the community is developing or updating a comprehensive plan. Historic and cultural resources can be considered alongside housing, transportation, environmental protection, economic development, accessibility, public space, and other community priorities.
• When neighborhood planning is underway. Residents can identify buildings, landscapes, businesses, cultural places, streets, and other resources that contribute to neighborhood identity and discuss how they should fit into future development.
• When an area is receiving new investment or has experienced long-term disinvestment. Rehabilitation of existing buildings can be part of broader community development, but planning should include residents and consider affordability, displacement, local ownership, accessibility, and who will benefit from new investment.
• When historic buildings can help meet an identified community need. An unused school, hotel, industrial building, office, or other property might be adapted for housing, education, community services, cultural uses, workplaces, or other purposes.
• When new development may affect historic or cultural resources. Preservation can be considered early in planning so that significant resources are identified before major design and investment decisions have already been made.
• When a community is documenting or commemorating its history. Anniversaries, oral-history projects, cultural programs, exhibitions, and other activities may create opportunities to identify places and stories that residents want to protect or interpret.
• When a historic or culturally important property is threatened. Demolition, prolonged neglect, environmental hazards, inappropriate alterations, climate-related risks, or development pressure may threaten significant resources.
• When communities are considering heritage and cultural tourism. Historic and cultural resources may support tourism when interpretation is accurate, community-led, respectful of living cultures, and connected with local economic opportunities.
• When preservation can support workforce development. Paid training and apprenticeship programs can teach preservation trades to young people, adults changing careers, and others seeking employment opportunities, including people who have experienced barriers to entering the workforce.

Workforce programs should build on participants' strengths and goals rather than defining people primarily by poverty, substance use, justice-system involvement, or other challenges they may have experienced. Training should provide meaningful skills, appropriate supervision, safe working conditions, accessibility, and fair compensation.

Who should encourage historic preservation?

Historic preservation affects more than preservation professionals. The people who live, work, worship, gather, conduct business, maintain cultural traditions, or otherwise have relationships with a place may all bring important knowledge.

• Residents and people connected with the place. People who experience a neighborhood or property in everyday life can identify meanings and histories that may not appear in formal records.
• Tribal Nations and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. Tribal governments and designated cultural representatives should have central roles when projects may affect Tribal historic properties, ancestral places, sacred sites, archeological resources, or other resources of importance to Tribes.
• Descendant communities and cultural organizations. Communities connected with historic places through ancestry, migration, labor, religion, race, ethnicity, culture, or shared experience can provide essential knowledge about significance and interpretation.
• Public officials, planners, and public agencies. Government decisions involving planning, zoning, transportation, infrastructure, public land, funding, and development can significantly affect historic resources.
• Owners of historic properties. Homeowners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, institutions, developers, and other property owners often make the day-to-day decisions that determine whether historic resources are maintained, altered, adapted, or demolished.
• Community development organizations. Historic properties may be connected with housing, economic development, cultural activity, neighborhood investment, and other community priorities.
• Businesses and organizations connected with tourism and local economic activity. Hotels, restaurants, museums, stores, guides, cultural organizations, and other businesses may benefit when preservation contributes to responsible heritage tourism.
• Businesses and employers. Businesses may occupy historic buildings, contribute funding or expertise, participate in preservation partnerships, or benefit from community investment.
• Community organizers and preservation advocates. These participants may help document community priorities, bring people into planning processes, conduct research, organize projects, and communicate with public and private decision-makers.
• Historians, preservation organizations, and people interested in community history. These participants may contribute research, documentation, interpretation, and knowledge of historic resources.
• Architects, engineers, archeologists, landscape architects, conservators, craftspeople, and preservation professionals. Specialized expertise may be needed to understand a property's condition and develop appropriate treatment options.
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations. Their participation can help ensure that preservation and accessibility are addressed together rather than treated as competing goals.
• Young people and educational institutions. Students can contribute oral histories, documentation, research, mapping, interpretation, and other work while learning about community history.

How do you encourage historic preservation?

Communities can support historic preservation through planning, incentives, funding, regulations, technical assistance, education, community participation, and stewardship.

The appropriate combination depends on local law, ownership, community priorities, the type and significance of the resource, and whether state, Tribal, or federal requirements apply.

Incentives

Financial and development incentives can make preservation more feasible when rehabilitation costs are higher than conventional construction or when preservation provides a public benefit.

Tax incentives

Tax incentives may include:

• Tax credits. A tax credit generally reduces the amount of tax owed when eligibility requirements are met.
• Tax deductions. A tax deduction generally reduces the amount of income subject to taxation rather than directly reducing the tax owed.
• Tax abatements or property-tax incentives. State or local governments may reduce qualifying taxes for a defined period or under specific preservation programs.

The federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program currently provides a 20 percent tax credit for qualifying rehabilitation expenses involving certified historic structures used for income-producing purposes. The rehabilitation must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and receive the required certification.

State and local preservation incentives vary substantially. Property owners and project sponsors should use current information from the National Park Service, State Historic Preservation Office, Tribal Historic Preservation Office where applicable, tax authorities, and relevant local agencies.

Other incentives

Depending on local law, governments may also use:

• Grants or low-interest financing
• Rehabilitation assistance
• Zoning flexibility
• Density or development incentives
• Technical assistance
• Support for accessibility, energy efficiency, environmental remediation, or code-related improvements
• Public infrastructure investments connected with preservation projects

Preservation incentives should not be treated as permission to bypass necessary health, safety, accessibility, environmental, or building requirements. Where historic conditions make compliance difficult, project teams can work with preservation professionals, code officials, accessibility specialists, engineers, and others to identify appropriate solutions.

Grants and loans

Government agencies, foundations, nonprofit organizations, financial institutions, and other funders may support:

• Preservation or rehabilitation of historically and culturally significant properties
• Historic transportation facilities, routes, bridges, stations, and related resources
• Historic and scenic transportation corridors
• Heritage areas and regional cultural landscapes
• Tribal historic properties, cultural resources, and preservation programs
• Historic sites associated with civil rights, labor, transportation, agriculture, military history, maritime history, migration, industry, and other subjects
• Research, documentation, planning, and interpretation
• Preservation work supported by foundations and nonprofit organizations
• Accessibility, climate resilience, energy efficiency, and adaptation of historic properties

Programs and eligibility requirements change. Use current official guidance when identifying funding rather than relying on older program lists.

Regulations and preservation policy

Regulations can help communities identify significant properties and establish a process for reviewing proposed demolition, alteration, or development.

Regulatory approaches vary considerably by state, Tribal Nation, municipality, and property type.

Historic districts and local designation

Historic districts may be recognized at the federal, state, Tribal, or local level, but different forms of designation have different legal effects.

Listing a privately owned property in the National Register of Historic Places does not, by itself, impose federal restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do with the property unless federal funding, licensing, permitting, or another federal action is involved. State, Tribal, or local laws may establish separate requirements.

Local historic districts or landmarks may be subject to design review or other preservation ordinances. Depending on local law, review may address:

• Exterior alterations and design. Changes to windows, entrances, additions, architectural features, materials, signs, or other visible elements may be reviewed.
• Building scale, height, or massing. New construction may be reviewed for compatibility with surrounding historic resources.
• Building materials. Review may consider whether proposed materials are compatible with the historic property or district without requiring new construction to falsely imitate historic buildings.
• Landscapes and site features. Historic vegetation patterns, walls, paths, trees, open space, and other landscape elements may be considered where they contribute to significance.
• Demolition and new development. Communities may establish processes for considering how demolition, additions, or new construction affect designated historic resources.

Historic buildings and structures

Depending on applicable law, communities may establish review processes for demolition or major alteration of designated historic properties.

Preservation review should also consider:

• Whether the building can reasonably be repaired or adapted
• Which materials and features convey its significance
• Accessibility
• Fire and life safety
• Energy efficiency
• Heating, cooling, electrical, plumbing, and other building systems
• Climate resilience
• Environmental hazards
• Whether new additions are distinguishable yet compatible

Historic preservation, accessibility, environmental responsibility, and continued use do not have to be treated as mutually exclusive goals. They may require thoughtful design and technical expertise, but many historic properties can be adapted while retaining the features that make them significant.

Community participation and oversight

Communities may establish historic commissions, preservation boards, resident advisory groups, Tribal preservation programs, or other bodies that participate in preservation decisions.

These bodies should use transparent procedures and provide meaningful opportunities for property owners, residents, Tribal Nations, descendant communities, people with disabilities, cultural organizations, and others affected by decisions to participate.

Community participation should not begin only when a property is threatened. Ongoing surveys, oral histories, planning, mapping, and cultural-resource inventories can help identify significant places before decisions about demolition or redevelopment are urgent.

Help and support

Historic preservation may require specialized knowledge that many property owners and community organizations do not have. Technical assistance can make preservation more feasible and improve the quality of the work.

Sources of assistance may include:

• Colleges and universities. Faculty and students in architecture, history, archeology, planning, engineering, landscape architecture, public history, preservation, and related fields may contribute research or technical assistance.
• Preservation professionals and skilled tradespeople. Architects, engineers, conservators, craftspeople, historians, archeologists, and others may contribute paid or volunteer expertise.
• Government agencies and preservation offices. Local agencies, State Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and federal agencies may provide guidance, review, training, or technical resources.
• Historic preservation and cultural organizations. These organizations may provide training, research, technical information, networking, or community engagement.
• Accessibility and sustainability professionals. Their participation can help historic properties remain useful while addressing access, energy, climate, and environmental needs.

Support documentation and appropriate designation

Communities and organizations may help research historic properties, prepare surveys or nominations, document oral histories, identify cultural landscapes, or navigate appropriate local, state, Tribal, or federal preservation processes.

Formal designation is not always the best or only preservation tool. Communities should first understand what designation means, what protections it provides, what responsibilities may follow, and whether property owners and communities support that approach.

Volunteer and community support

Community members can contribute to preservation in many ways, including:

• Historical and archival research
• Oral-history projects
• Photography and documentation
• Community surveys and mapping
• Public education and interpretation
• Fundraising and grant development
• Appropriate maintenance or restoration work under qualified supervision
• Community events and cultural programming
• Monitoring properties for maintenance or preservation concerns

Volunteer participation should complement professional expertise where specialized construction, conservation, archeology, safety, or technical work is required.

Public education and interpretation

Preservation is easier to sustain when people understand why a place matters and have opportunities to connect with its history.

Interpretation should present history accurately and acknowledge complexity. A historic place may carry different meanings for different communities, and difficult histories should not be removed simply because they complicate a celebratory story.

Public education may include:

• Guided and self-guided tours. Walking, bicycling, driving, or virtual tours can connect people with local history and historic places.
• Signs and interpretive displays. Signs, plaques, digital interpretation, and other resources can explain the significance of buildings, landscapes, people, and events.
• Maps, brochures, and community guides. These can help people discover historic and cultural resources throughout the community.
• Community presentations and conversations. Libraries, schools, cultural organizations, neighborhood groups, faith communities, and other organizations can provide places to learn about and discuss local history.
• Arts and cultural programming. Performances, exhibitions, storytelling, public art, oral histories, and other creative approaches can help interpret historic places and experiences.

Use media and digital communication

Local news organizations, newsletters, podcasts, community websites, social media, videos, digital maps, and other communication channels can share information about historic places, preservation projects, community history, and opportunities for participation.

Digital platforms can also provide virtual tours, oral histories, photographs, archival materials, interactive maps, and links to preservation resources.

Digital materials should be designed with accessibility in mind and, when cultural or Tribal information is involved, should respect decisions about what information is appropriate to make public.

Include preservation in education

Schools, colleges, museums, libraries, youth programs, and community organizations can help young people learn about local history and historic places.

Activities might include:

• Walking tours
• Oral-history projects
• Archival research
• Mapping neighborhood history
• Photographing and documenting historic places
• Studying architecture and landscapes
• Learning traditional building and preservation trades
• Working with museums, historical societies, Tribal cultural programs, or preservation organizations

Students do not need to pursue careers in historic preservation for these experiences to be valuable. They can develop research, observation, communication, technical, and civic skills while learning how their community has changed over time.

Participate in public decision-making

Historic preservation decisions may involve planning boards, historic commissions, Tribal governments, public agencies, elected bodies, property owners, developers, funders, and other decision-makers.

Community members and organizations can participate by:

• Conducting and sharing research
• Participating in public meetings and hearings
• Serving on planning or preservation committees
• Providing comments on proposed plans
• Working with property owners and developers
• Identifying alternatives to demolition
• Participating in comprehensive and neighborhood planning
• Seeking funding or technical assistance
• Using appropriate administrative or legal processes when preservation requirements are not being followed

Effective participation focuses on the significance of the resource, community experience, available evidence, costs, alternatives, legal requirements, accessibility, environmental considerations, and possible effects on residents and property owners.

Not everyone will agree that a particular property should be preserved or about how preservation should occur. A strong process considers those differences openly rather than treating disagreement simply as opposition that needs to be overcome.

Continue stewardship over time

Historic preservation is an ongoing process. A building that has been successfully rehabilitated still needs maintenance. Landscapes change. Climate and weather may create new risks. New research may reveal histories that were previously overlooked. Community priorities may also change.

Continue asking:

• Is the historic or cultural resource being maintained?
• Is its significance accurately interpreted?
• Are people connected with the place still involved in decisions?
• Are accessibility needs being addressed?
• Are climate or environmental risks changing?
• Is the property financially sustainable?
• Is the current use compatible with its historic character?
• Are preservation investments contributing to displacement or unequal access?
• Have new histories, perspectives, or cultural relationships been identified?

In Summary

Historic preservation can protect buildings, structures, neighborhoods, landscapes, archeological resources, cultural places, and other resources that help communities understand their histories and identities.

The four major approaches recognized by the National Park Service – preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction – serve different purposes. The appropriate approach depends on the property's significance, physical condition, proposed use, available documentation, and community goals.

Historic preservation can support community identity, environmental responsibility, adaptive reuse, housing, cultural activity, workforce development, tourism, and economic investment. At the same time, preservation decisions should consider accessibility, affordability, displacement, climate resilience, cultural sensitivity, property rights, and who benefits from public and private investment.

Strong preservation efforts include the people most closely connected with the place, including residents, Tribal Nations, descendant communities, property owners, cultural organizations, people with disabilities, preservation professionals, businesses, public agencies, and other affected groups.

Communities can support preservation through planning, incentives, funding, appropriate regulations, technical assistance, education, interpretation, workforce development, and participation in public decision-making.

Preserving history does not mean freezing a community in the past. It means understanding what places and stories matter, deciding together what should continue into the future, and finding ways for historic and cultural resources to remain meaningful, useful, accessible, and connected to the people whose lives they represent.

Tool:  The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Historic Rehabilitation

Under the statute that governs the federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program (36 CFR 67), "Rehabilitation" is defined as "the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values."

The Standards:

The standards explain the nature and quality of the work expected of a historic rehabilitation.

• A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.

• The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

• Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

• Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

• Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

• Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

• Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

• Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

• New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

• New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

The Guidelines:

The guidelines set out the order in which rehabilitation activities must be considered and carried out.  That means that the first of these must be tried and completed to the extent possible before moving on to the second, which in turn must be completed before moving on to the third, etc.  In practice, the architect or contractor in charge will determine beforehand what can be retained, what needs to be protected, what should be repaired, etc.

The order of consideration in rehabilitating historic buildings and building features is:

• Identify, retain, preserve (any part that’s in good shape).

• Protect and maintain (anything that’s threatened or needs cleaning or the like).

• Repair (applied to anything that isn’t so completely deteriorated that it can’t be repaired).

• Replace (with in-kind materials, design, colors, tools, workmanship, etc., where something has deteriorated past the point of repair).

• Design for missing features (should conform to what was there, if you know what it was, or can be a new, but appropriate, design when you don’t have direct evidence of what the missing features looked like or were made of).

• Alterations or additions (must be consistent with the historic materials and/or character of the original).

• Energy efficiency/Accessibility/Health and Safety. (Work on these areas must respect the historic materials, design, spaces, etc. of the original.  Essentially, this means that installation of any equipment for these purposes can’t involve destruction of any original material or features, or alter the character of the structure.)

What do we mean by historic preservation?

___Historic preservation is safeguarding the existence and appearance of historic elements of the community

___Historic elements may include structures, neighborhoods, landscapes, and building or landscape features

___Historic preservation includes four possible activities:

• Preservation is preserving a place as it is in the present
• Rehabilitation fixes up a deteriorated historic property, often for a use other than its original one
• Restoration means putting a building or landscape back the way it was originally, or at a historically significant time in its past
• ­Reconstruction is the creation of a historically accurate copy of either a specific historic property that no longer exists or an example of one from a chosen historical period

Why encourage historic preservation?

___It preserves the historic, architectural, and aesthetic character and heritage of a community or area, and helps to provide a sense of place and continuity

___It is an efficient use of resources

___It preserves old methods of workmanship

___It can add character and/or charm to a community, and emphasize its uniqueness

___It can attract investment and change the nature of a deteriorating neighborhood or area

___It can provide an opportunity for the imaginative or creative use of a building that has stood empty because it outlived its previous use, and at the same time solve a community problem

___It can be a good investment

When should you encourage historic preservation?

___When the community is engaged in creating a comprehensive plan for growth and development

___When there’s a neighborhood planning effort

___When there’s a neighborhood revitalization effort under way

___When affordable housing or another specific need is clear in an area, and historic buildings are available to meet it

___When development is planned in an area that includes a historic structure or neighborhood

___When there’s a celebration of community history

___When a historic property is threatened

___When the community is engaged in a heritage tourism effort

___As part of a job training effort aimed at at-risk populations or individuals

Who should encourage historic preservation?

___Public officials and planners

___Owners of historic properties, including developers, businesses and industries, and individual homeowners

___Community developers

___Those likely to benefit from tourism

___The business community

___Community activists, especially those concerned with the cultural heritage of the community

___History buffs

How do you encourage historic preservation?

___Use incentives: tax incentives, other incentives, grants and loans

___Use regulations governing the treatment and use of historic properties

___Provide help and support for preservation

___Educate the public on the topic

___Engage in advocacy with governmental and non-governmental decision makers

Example: Community Development 2.0—Collective Impact Focuses a Neighborhood Strategy for Health

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) has built health into its strategic plan, and in the neighborhood revitalization work of The San Pablo Collaborative (SPARC), convened by EBALDC, health is the first priority. The San Pablo Area Revitalization Corridor neighborhood that stretches between downtown Oakland and Emeryville is considered to be one of the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California. Life expectancy in this area is up to 20 years lower than the neighboring area, Oakland Hills. SPARC works tirelessly to address the physical, social and economic factors-“social determinants”- that shape residents’ health in the San Pablo Avenue Corridor. SPARC partners work collectively in order to create an overall healthier environment for residents throughout the neighborhood. The California Hotel has been successfully preserved as affordable housing and a grocery store has been brought to this long abandoned neighborhood.

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives for the most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Communities are shaped by the relationships among the people who live, work, learn, gather, and participate in them. Those relationships may develop through families, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, faith communities, cultural organizations, businesses, recreation, public institutions, and everyday encounters in shared spaces.

Social, economic, technological, and demographic changes can affect how often people encounter one another in everyday life. People may live near neighbors they do not know, work or study far from where they live, communicate increasingly through digital spaces, or belong to communities that extend well beyond a particular neighborhood.

At the same time, communities may include people with different cultures, languages, ages, abilities, household structures, economic circumstances, experiences, and perspectives. Shared spaces can provide opportunities for people to participate in community life, build relationships, exchange ideas, and develop a stronger sense of belonging.

This section explores how the built environment, programming, policy, and community participation can help create places where people can comfortably gather and interact.

Not everyone will use a public space in the same way or want the same amount of social interaction. A successful community space can support conversation and connection while also allowing people to observe, rest, spend time alone, or participate at their own comfort level.

What do we mean by good places for interaction?

Social interaction includes the everyday encounters through which people communicate, share experiences, exchange information, participate in activities, or simply become more familiar with one another.

Good places for interaction are welcoming, accessible spaces where people have opportunities to gather, participate in activities, spend time comfortably, and interact with others when they choose.

These spaces may bring together people from the same neighborhood or from different parts of a community. They may also create opportunities for people with different backgrounds and experiences to encounter one another in ordinary, low-pressure ways.

Four characteristics are especially important:

• There is a reason for people to go there.
• There are reasons for people to stay once they arrive.
• People can feel comfortable and reasonably safe.
• The space is welcoming, accessible, and usable by a wide range of community members.

Many different kinds of public, nonprofit, institutional, and privately operated spaces can support community interaction.

• Squares and plazas. Central public spaces can provide places for markets, performances, civic events, celebrations, informal gathering, outdoor dining, recreation, and everyday encounters.
• Public buildings and their surroundings. Libraries, government buildings, cultural institutions, and other public facilities may include plazas, steps, meeting rooms, courtyards, or other spaces used for events, public participation, and informal gathering.
• Pedestrian streets. Streets designed primarily or periodically for walking can support conversation, shopping, dining, performances, markets, recreation, and community events without the noise and movement of vehicle traffic dominating the space.
• Streets and boulevards. Wide and accessible sidewalks, trees and shade, seating, active storefronts, safe crossings, food and retail businesses, and interesting streetscapes can make streets useful not only for travel but also for community life.

Food can be an important part of community gathering. Restaurants, cafes, markets, food vendors, community meals, festivals, and picnic areas can provide natural reasons for people to spend time together.

Communities should also consider affordability. A gathering place should not require people to make a purchase in order to feel that they belong there.

• Bridges and transportation connections. Bridges with pedestrian and bicycle access, viewing areas, seating, public art, or other features can become destinations as well as transportation routes.
• Markets. Farmers' markets, public markets, street markets, and other marketplaces can combine commerce with opportunities for conversation and community activity.
• Public transportation facilities. Transit stations, stops, and waiting areas may function as community spaces when they are comfortable, accessible, well connected, easy to navigate, and integrated with surrounding businesses or services.
• Parks. Parks can bring together recreation, nature, play, exercise, community events, relaxation, food, sports, and informal gathering.
• Walking, rolling, and bicycling routes. Trails, greenways, sidewalks, and similar routes can provide both transportation and opportunities for recreation and everyday social contact.

To learn more about creating community trails, visit Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

• Theaters, sports facilities, libraries, museums, and other cultural or recreational spaces. Shared activities can give people a common experience that creates opportunities for conversation and connection.
• Schools. Schools can create opportunities for students and families from different backgrounds to learn, build relationships, participate in activities, and contribute to their communities. Inclusive school climates, respectful relationships, accessible activities, and meaningful family and community engagement can strengthen those opportunities.
• College and university campuses. Campuses may provide public lectures, performances, libraries, museums, recreation, public art, green space, and other opportunities for community participation when those resources are open and accessible to the public.
• Community centers, faith-community facilities, and nonprofit spaces. Classes, meals, meetings, recreation, cultural programs, support groups, and other activities can bring people together around shared interests and needs.
• Commercial gathering places. Shopping areas, cafes, indoor markets, and similar privately operated spaces may also function as community gathering places when they are welcoming, accessible, affordable to use, and connected with the surrounding community.

Commercial redevelopment can create attractive gathering places, but it may also change who feels able to use a space. Cost, transportation, business mix, rules of use, displacement, and changes in neighborhood identity can all affect whether existing residents continue to feel that a place belongs to them.

Why create good places for interaction?

• They can strengthen belonging and community stewardship. People who help shape a shared space may develop stronger connections to it and greater interest in its long-term care and success.
• They can create opportunities for relationships across differences. Repeated, everyday contact can help people learn about one another's experiences and develop relationships that may not otherwise form.
• They can expand opportunities for children and young people. Shared community spaces can expose young people to different interests, experiences, cultures, activities, mentors, peers, and ways of participating in community life.
• They can support social connection. Familiar faces, informal conversations, shared activities, and regular encounters can contribute to a sense of belonging.
• They can make community life more enjoyable. Festivals, food, recreation, cultural traditions, music, conversation, nature, public art, and other shared experiences can enrich everyday life.
• They can contribute to community safety and mutual support. Well-used and well-maintained spaces can increase activity, visibility, familiarity, and opportunities for people to notice hazards, offer assistance, and communicate about community concerns.
• They can improve neighborhood livability. Accessible gathering places can support recreation, social connection, community events, local organizations, services, and resident-led efforts to improve neighborhood conditions.
• They can support cross-cultural learning. People may have opportunities to share language, food, art, traditions, experiences, and perspectives while learning about both differences and common interests.
• They can provide places to exchange ideas. Shared spaces can support formal public discussion as well as informal conversations about community issues.
• They can expand access to relationships and community networks. Welcoming public spaces can create opportunities for people across income levels and other differences to develop relationships, exchange information, share resources, and participate in community activities.
• They can build social capital. Repeated relationships and community participation can strengthen networks of trust, information, cooperation, and mutual support.
• They can support collective community action. Existing relationships can make it easier for people to work together when they identify a shared priority or concern.

Good places for interaction create opportunities for connection, but physical proximity alone does not guarantee trust, understanding, or equity. Relationships are also influenced by history, discrimination, power, language, economic conditions, programming, organizational practices, and how people are treated within the space.

When should you create good places for interaction?

Communities can consider interaction and belonging whenever they plan, build, renovate, maintain, or change shared spaces.

Particularly useful opportunities include:

• When the neighborhood or community is engaged in a planning process. Community plans can identify where gathering places are needed and how existing spaces can be connected, improved, or made more accessible.
• When economic or community development is underway. New investment can include public space, shade, seating, walking and bicycling connections, gathering areas, local businesses, cultural spaces, and other features that support community life.
• When new residential or commercial development is proposed. Developers, residents, planners, and public agencies can consider how a project contributes to public space, accessibility, transportation, community services, and the surrounding neighborhood.
• When major public projects are planned. Roads, bridges, sidewalks, transit projects, public buildings, parks, schools, and other public investments can include spaces and connections that support community interaction.
• When a gathering place has become underused, poorly maintained, or difficult for residents to use comfortably. Community assessment can help identify whether the issue involves maintenance, programming, lighting, transportation, accessibility, conflict, environmental design, staffing, or other conditions.
• When transportation or development may create new physical barriers. Highways, rail lines, large developments, and other projects can divide neighborhoods or make walking, bicycling, transit, and everyday connection more difficult.
• When an existing gathering place is threatened. Funding cuts, redevelopment, changes in ownership, environmental conditions, or other factors may reduce public access to spaces that residents value.
• When residents identify tension, isolation, or limited interaction among groups. Shared spaces and activities may create opportunities for contact, but the approach should be developed with the people involved and should take history, safety, power, and the nature of the conflict into account.

A shared park, recreation center, or public event should not be expected to resolve serious conflict by itself. When a community is experiencing violence, harassment, discrimination, or longstanding conflict, additional strategies may be needed alongside improvements to physical space.

Who should be involved in creating good places for interaction?

The people who currently use a space, the people who might use it if barriers were removed, and the people who live or work nearby should have meaningful roles in planning it.

Different community members may value different features. Families may prioritize play, restrooms, shade, and places to sit together. Young people may identify recreation, food, technology, music, sports, or informal gathering as important. Older adults may emphasize seating, shade, restrooms, transportation, and safe walking routes. People with disabilities may identify accessibility barriers that are not obvious to other participants.

Other participants may include:

• Public officials and public agencies. They may have responsibility for planning, funding, land, transportation, maintenance, permitting, public facilities, or other aspects of the project.
• Planners, architects, landscape architects, engineers, and designers. These professionals can help translate community priorities into functional, accessible, safe, and sustainable spaces.
• Developers and property owners. Their projects may create or affect gathering spaces, pedestrian connections, public access, and surrounding community conditions.
• Trusted community members and resident-led organizations. They may contribute local knowledge, relationships, history, and perspectives that are important to understanding how a space is actually used.
• Businesses and business organizations. Businesses can contribute to active streets and gathering areas and may also provide funding, programming, food, services, or other resources.
• Public-safety, public-health, transportation, and social-service professionals. Their expertise may be useful when the project involves specific safety, health, mobility, or service issues.
• Community organizers and community-based organizations. These participants may help engage residents, identify barriers, organize activities, connect resources, and strengthen community participation.
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations. Their participation can help ensure that physical, sensory, communication, cognitive, and other forms of accessibility are considered from the beginning.
• Young people. Children and adolescents should have age-appropriate opportunities to help shape spaces they use rather than being viewed only as potential sources of problems.

How do you create good places for interaction?

Four areas are especially important:

• Design: What should the space look like, feel like, and provide in order to support gathering and interaction?
• Incentives and regulations: How can policy and development tools support well-designed and accessible gathering spaces?
• Community action: How can residents and community organizations participate in creating, improving, programming, and caring for shared spaces?
• Community participation and advocacy: How can residents participate in the public and private decisions that shape community gathering places?

Design

Communities have always created places where people gather, although the form of those places changes over time. Markets, porches, public squares, parks, libraries, places of worship, recreation facilities, cafes, transit stations, workplaces, community centers, and digital communication all play different roles in community life.

Modern development patterns, transportation systems, technology, and changing work and household patterns can either create opportunities for interaction or make them more difficult.

Thoughtful design can help ensure that communities continue to have shared places where people can gather, participate in activities, rest, observe, and interact.

The four basic principles remain:

• Provide reasons to come.
• Provide reasons to stay.
• Support comfort and safety.
• Be welcoming and accessible.

Good places for interaction provide reasons for people to go there

People may come because the space provides something they need – transportation, services, shopping, education, work – or because they enjoy what it offers.

Features and activities may include:

• Cafes, restaurants, and food vendors.
• Food markets and grocery shopping. Markets can combine everyday errands with dining, events, outdoor seating, play, and social activity.
• Stores and local businesses. Active storefronts can create destinations and contribute to street activity.
• Museums, libraries, and other public-access institutions.
• Transportation. Transit stops and stations can become more comfortable community spaces when they include seating, shelter, accessible information, services, and connections with nearby destinations.
• Festivals, markets, celebrations, and community events.
• Music and cultural programming.
• Street performance and public art.
• Theaters, performance spaces, cinemas, and other cultural venues.
• Recreation. Basketball courts, playgrounds, volleyball courts, fields, trails, fitness areas, games, and other recreational features can bring people together around shared activity.

Active storefronts and ground-floor uses can make streets more interesting and create more opportunities for people to see and encounter one another. Blank walls, wide vehicle entrances, difficult crossings, and other design features can make walking and gathering less comfortable.

Good places for interaction provide reasons to stay

People are more likely to spend time in a place when they can meet basic needs and choose how they want to use the space.

• Seating. Provide a range of seating options for individuals, pairs, families, and groups. Movable seating may provide additional flexibility where appropriate.
• Sun and shade. Trees, shelters, canopies, and building orientation can help make outdoor spaces usable in different seasons and weather conditions.
• A mix of larger and smaller spaces. Some people want lively group activity; others may prefer quieter conversation, observation, or time alone.
• Food and drink. Where appropriate, food vendors, picnic tables, cafes, drinking water, or places to bring food can make longer visits easier.
• Views and visual interest. Nature, architecture, art, community activity, and changing scenery can make spaces enjoyable to spend time in.
• Green space. Trees, gardens, grass, native plantings, and other vegetation can provide shade, habitat, visual interest, cooling, and opportunities to experience nature.
• Water features. Streams, fountains, splash areas, or other water elements may contribute to comfort and recreation when they are safe, accessible, environmentally appropriate, and maintainable.
• Quieter areas. Some community members benefit from places with lower noise and sensory stimulation.
• Interesting routes for walking, rolling, or moving through the space.
• A variety of activities. Spaces may support recreation, conversation, art, shopping, food, performances, play, rest, nature, community events, or other uses.
• Restrooms, drinking water, and other basic amenities. These can make spaces much more usable for children, older adults, people with disabilities, families, and people spending extended periods there.

Good places for interaction support safety and comfort

Safety should be considered through both evidence and the experiences of people who use the space. Different groups may experience the same environment differently, so planners should avoid assuming that one feature or strategy makes everyone feel safe.

Useful considerations include:

• Regular use by a variety of people. A space that is active at different times of day may feel more welcoming and provide more opportunities for informal awareness of what is happening around it.
• Clear sightlines. People should be able to understand the layout of the space, see entrances and exits, and navigate it comfortably.
• Connections with surrounding streets, businesses, homes, or other active places.
• Appropriate lighting. Lighting should support visibility, walking, wayfinding, and activities while considering glare, nearby residents, wildlife, and other effects.
• Active edges and visibility. Windows, entrances, seating, storefronts, homes, and other active uses can connect a gathering place with its surroundings.
• Age-appropriate and accessible play areas. Equipment and surfaces should be maintained and designed with appropriate safety and accessibility considerations.
• Community-informed approaches to public safety. Depending on the setting, this may include trained staff, ambassadors, outreach workers, emergency communication, public-safety personnel, conflict-resolution resources, or other strategies identified through local assessment.
• Emergency access. People should be able to obtain assistance and leave the space safely when needed.

Avoid assuming that the presence of a particular gender, age group, racial group, law-enforcement presence, or other category of people is itself proof that a space is safe. Ask different users what contributes to or reduces their sense of safety.

Comfort also matters:

• Cleanliness and maintenance. Maintain walkways, seating, landscaping, restrooms, equipment, lighting, waste facilities, public art, and other features.
• Appropriate light. Natural light can contribute to comfort, while shade and protection from glare may also be important.
• Protection from traffic and excessive noise. Landscaping, distance, barriers, traffic calming, and other design strategies can help.
• Comfortable and varied seating.
• Weather protection. Shade, shelter, wind protection, cooling, heating, or indoor alternatives may increase year-round usability.

Young people can be valuable partners in designing, programming, and caring for community spaces. Involving them should be based on their knowledge, ideas, creativity, and right to participate in decisions affecting them – not on an assumption that they otherwise would damage the space.

Good places for interaction are welcoming and accessible

People should be able to understand that they are welcome, reach the space, enter it, move through it, use its facilities, obtain information, and participate in its activities.

Consider:

• Visibility and welcoming entrances. Entrances should be easy to identify and navigate.
• Accessibility for people with disabilities. Apply current accessibility standards and involve people with disabilities in assessing entrances, routes, surfaces, seating, restrooms, recreation, communication, signs, transportation connections, and other features.
• Inclusive communication and cultural representation. Relevant languages, accessible communication, public art, interpretation, programming, and other features can reflect the communities that use the space. Representation should be developed with community members rather than based on assumptions about particular groups.
• Transportation and location. Consider walking, rolling, bicycling, public transportation, drop-off areas, and parking as appropriate to the setting.
• Ease of navigation. Paths, entrances, exits, signs, maps, lighting, and landmarks can help people find their way.
• Accessible restrooms.
• Usable public space. Rules should protect health, safety, accessibility, shared resources, and other legitimate needs without unnecessarily preventing people from using public space.
• Affordability. Include opportunities to spend time in the space without having to purchase goods, tickets, food, or services.
• Sensory accessibility. Where possible, consider noise, lighting, crowds, quiet areas, and other environmental conditions that may affect people differently.

Use participatory design

Current and potential users should be involved early enough for their participation to influence important design decisions.

Participatory design can help identify:

• How people currently use the area
• What prevents some people from using it
• What activities residents want
• Where people prefer larger or quieter gathering areas
• Accessibility needs
• Cultural or historical features that matter to the community
• Transportation and connectivity concerns
• Safety and comfort concerns
• Programming needs
• Maintenance priorities

When different groups identify different priorities, planning can explore how several needs can be accommodated without assuming that one group must give up access for another.

Incentives and regulations

Local governments may use planning, incentives, development standards, public investment, and other policy tools to encourage or require gathering spaces and pedestrian-oriented design.

The appropriate tools depend on local and state law, community priorities, the type of project, financial feasibility, and existing development requirements.

Possible incentives include:

• Tax incentives. Where authorized, governments may provide tax benefits connected with qualifying public-space or community-development goals.
• Subsidies and grants. Public or philanthropic funding may support public-space improvements that provide identified community benefits.
• Development flexibility. Where appropriate and allowed by law, density, height, parking, setback, or other development standards may be adjusted in connection with specific public benefits.
• Coordinated or expedited review. Clear and efficient review processes can reduce unnecessary delay while maintaining appropriate health, safety, accessibility, environmental, and community protections.
• Use of public land. Public property may sometimes support public gathering spaces or community-serving development through transparent public processes.
• Recognition and partnerships. Communities may recognize organizations or residents that contribute resources, programming, stewardship, or other support.

Regulations or design standards may address:

• Public or shared open space in larger developments
• Plazas, courtyards, gathering areas, seating, shade, landscaping, or pedestrian connections
• Design standards that support accessible, active, and usable public space
• Open-space requirements where appropriate
• Gathering spaces connected with housing, institutions, commercial developments, or other large projects
• Clear expectations about public access, maintenance, operating hours, accessibility, and long-term responsibility

Public projects can likewise incorporate:

• Parks, plazas, and public spaces designed around community priorities, accessibility, comfort, activity, and safety
• Accessible sidewalks, bicycle routes, street trees, safe crossings, curb ramps, seating, and other mobility infrastructure
• Pedestrian and bicycle access on bridges where appropriate
• Building designs that create active connections with streets and public spaces
• Traffic-calming, crossings, signals, signage, and other strategies that support safe walking and bicycling

Community action

Residents and community organizations can play important roles in improving shared spaces. “Friends of” organizations, neighborhood groups, youth organizations, cultural organizations, businesses, schools, and other partners may contribute ideas, programming, fundraising, stewardship, research, or volunteer activities.

Possible activities include:

• Community cleanups
• Gardening and landscaping
• Public art and cultural programming
• Community events
• Fundraising
• Resident surveys and participatory planning
• Youth programs
• Accessibility assessments
• Historical or cultural interpretation
• Volunteer stewardship

Volunteer involvement should complement, rather than automatically replace, the responsibilities of public agencies, property owners, or other organizations responsible for safe operation and long-term maintenance.

Community-led work can strengthen relationships, build skills, increase resident influence over local spaces, connect organizations, and create a foundation for addressing other community priorities.

Community participation and advocacy

Advocacy may be appropriate when community members want changes to planning, funding, design standards, development practices, public facilities, or other policies that affect shared spaces.

Begin by identifying the decision that needs to be made, who has authority over it, which people will be affected, and what formal opportunities exist for public participation.

Include people affected by the decision

Bring together current and potential users of the space, nearby residents, businesses, people with disabilities, young people, community organizations, and others with relevant knowledge or experience.

Participation should not depend on a person's political influence or institutional status. People who experience the space directly may have important knowledge even if they do not hold formal positions of power.

Do your homework

Learn about:

• How the space is currently used
• Community priorities and concerns
• Accessibility
• Safety and comfort
• Transportation
• Costs and funding
• Maintenance and staffing
• Relevant plans and regulations
• Possible alternatives
• Potential unintended consequences

If people disagree with the proposal, understand their concerns and examine whether those concerns identify weaknesses, tradeoffs, or alternatives that could improve the plan.

Participate through the appropriate decision-making process

Public meetings, planning commissions, advisory groups, budget processes, neighborhood planning, administrative review, public comment, meetings with responsible staff or officials, and other established processes may provide opportunities to contribute.

Relationships with public officials, developers, businesses, and organizations can help communication, but decisions should remain grounded in transparent processes, evidence, community experience, applicable requirements, and the merits of the proposal rather than personal access or influence.

Communicate with the public and media

Local news, newsletters, websites, social media, community meetings, signs, and other communication channels can help residents understand the issue and learn how to participate.

Communication should provide accurate information and acknowledge significant costs, disagreements, uncertainties, and tradeoffs rather than seeking only favorable coverage.

Contribute solutions

Community groups may be able to contribute design ideas, research, programming, outreach, fundraising, volunteer activities, or evaluation.

They should not be expected to absorb responsibilities that properly belong to public agencies or other organizations simply because community members care about the space.

Continue evaluating the space

After a project is completed, continue asking:

• Who is using the space?
• Who is not using it, and what barriers may explain that?
• Is it accessible?
• Do different users feel welcome?
• Is it comfortable at different times and seasons?
• Are there safety concerns?
• Is programming responsive to the community?
• Are rules being applied consistently and fairly?
• Is the space being maintained?
• Are nearby residents or businesses experiencing unintended effects?
• Has the community changed in ways that require the space to adapt?

In Summary

Good places for interaction give people opportunities to participate in community life, encounter one another, build relationships, exchange ideas, enjoy shared activities, and develop a stronger sense of belonging.

These spaces can include parks, plazas, streets, trails, markets, libraries, schools, cultural facilities, transportation hubs, community centers, businesses, and many other places.

Strong gathering places generally provide reasons to come, reasons to stay, comfort and safety, and meaningful accessibility. They also allow different people to use the space in different ways rather than requiring constant social interaction.

Community participation is essential. Current and potential users – including young people, older adults, people with disabilities, families, people from different cultural and linguistic communities, and others who may experience the space differently – can identify priorities and barriers that designers or decision-makers may otherwise overlook.

Incentives, development standards, public investment, community action, and civic participation can all help communities create and sustain shared spaces. These tools should be used transparently and with attention to accessibility, affordability, safety, maintenance, transportation, displacement, and other possible effects.

The goal is not to force people into interaction or assume that simply placing different groups in the same space will eliminate conflict or inequality. It is to create welcoming environments where people have real opportunities to participate, build relationships, enjoy community life, and shape the places they share.

What is a good place for interaction?

­­___Good places for interaction are places where people – often from many parts of the community and/or diverse backgrounds – meet naturally and interact because of the nature or attraction of the space and/or the activities associated with it

___Good places for interaction have a reason for people to go there

­___Good places for interaction have a reason for people to want to stay once they’ve arrived

___Good places for interaction feel safe and comfortable

___Good places for interaction  are welcoming and accessible to everyone

Why should you create good places for interaction?

___They can help to develop a sense of community pride and ownership

___They can help build a true sense of community among people of diverse origins, backgrounds, and points of view

___They can expand children’s horizons through interactions with people who have different assumptions and expectations

___They can make the community a more pleasant place to live because more people have contact with one another

__ They can increase the general enjoyment of life in the community

___They can increase safety and security

___They can improve the livability of neighborhoods

___They can promote individuals’ understanding of one another’s culture and humanity

___They can provide a forum for the exchange of ideas

___They can increase equity

___They can increase social capital, particularly bridging social capital

___They can increase the chances for concerted community action and social change

When should you create good places for interaction?

___When the neighborhood or community is engaged in a planning process

___When there’s an economic development initiative

___When there’s a new residential or commercial development or major building going up

___When any major municipal project is in process

___When a neighborhood or community gathering place is, or is in danger of, falling into decay or being overrun by drug dealers or others who make it unpleasant and dangerous for the community to use it

___When barriers to interaction are proposed

___When an existing good place for interaction is threatened

___When there’s tension among different groups that share an area or live in neighboring areas

Who should create good places for interaction?

___The people who are going to use them

___Local officials

___Planners, architects, and designers

___Developers

___Community leaders and opinion makers

___The business community

___The police and the court system

___Community activists and community-based organizations

How do you create good places for interaction?

___You design interaction into them, by giving them:

• Reasons for people to want to go there (things to see and do)

• Reasons for people to want to stay there (seating, food, etc.)

• Comfort and safety (quiet, movable seating, good lighting, lots of other people)

• Accessibility and a welcoming feeling (ramps, easy access from the street, visibility, wide entrances, signs in different languages, representations of various cultures)

___You use incentives for private developers and businesses

___You pass regulations that mandate the inclusion of interactive spaces into private and public projects

___You advocate for incentives and regulations, and for attention to be paid to spaces in a particular neighborhood or area that you’re concerned with

___You organize the community or neighborhood to use its own assets – people, institutions, physical elements, etc. – to plan and create or restore its own good places for interaction

___You keep at it indefinitely

Example #1: Shared-use Roosevelt: Unlocking Opportunities

Through this community-oriented project called Shared-use Roosevelt, made possible through a Health Impact Assessment, we see how a neighborhood benefits when diverse partners work together on a common goal: making school district properties accessible to the community. By opening up a vacant lot, a wellness center, and a greenhouse to the public, neighbors are able to come together, families can access healthier food and recreation opportunities, and a neighborhood can build itself up.

 

Example #2: A Tour of Mariposa: Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

The Mariposa Project led by the Denver Housing Authority is an affordable and transit-oriented housing development in which health outcomes and community-level improvements are evaluated. The new mixed-income community has revitalized the surrounding areas, breaking down physical barriers between the public housing units and the rest of the community and infusing the area with community-informed retail and services. The Denver Housing Authority has transformed 10th Street into a promenade that connects the rail station to the nearby Art District on Santa Fe, drawing visitors from across the city to an area that was once overlooked.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #3: Community Health And Literacy Center: A Health, Literacy & Recreation Hub

The Community Health and Literacy Center, formed out of a collaboration between the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the City as unexpected partners, worked together to bring a neglected neighborhood both improved access to health care and health, promoting recreation and literacy opportunities.

The center, which opened in the spring of 2016, is a first-of-its-kind hospital-city partnership. The project includes a CHOP pediatric clinic; a full-service community health center run by the city’s department of public health; a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia; and a modern recreation center with a playground and green space, run by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. It offers welcoming outdoor space for the neighborhood and an indoor community meeting space. The location has excellent public transit access, with a subway stop on site. CHOP and the city are working to integrate services and programming as a way to have more of an impact on improving population health.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #4: Community Development 2.0—Collective Impact Focuses a Neighborhood Strategy for Health

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) has built health into its strategic plan, and in the neighborhood revitalization work of The San Pablo Collaborative (SPARC), convened by EBALDC, health is the first priority. The San Pablo Area Revitalization Corridor neighborhood that stretches between downtown Oakland and Emeryville is considered to be one of the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California. Life expectancy in this area is up to 20 years lower than the neighboring area, Oakland Hills. SPARC works tirelessly to address the physical, social and economic factors-“social determinants”- that shape residents’ health in the San Pablo Avenue Corridor. SPARC partners work collectively in order to create an overall healthier environment for residents throughout the neighborhood. The California Hotel has been successfully preserved as affordable housing and a grocery store has been brought to this long abandoned neighborhood.

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives for the most disadvantaged areas of Oakland, California in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #5: Revitalizing People and Place with a Healthy Food Hub Origin

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the founders of what became Broad Community Connections (BCC) began to attend community meetings, and investigate with their fellow community members how to rebuild a city in disarray. These discussions highlighted many of the problems that many central New Orleans resident had faced even before the storm, including but not limited to economic disadvantage, community disinvestment, health disparities, and lack of access to many needed goods and services. BCC was designed to revitalize Broad Street, a commercial thoroughfare running through the heart of the city and to connect several of the central city neighborhoods.

Founded in 2008, BCC set its sights on improving health and improving economic vitality in the area. Ultimately, the ReFresh project provided a high-quality grocery store to a low-income food desert and created a multi-faceted hub to improve healthy food access and local food systems, foster community connectivity, support youth development, and anchor economic development.

Read more about the ReFresh project in New Orleans on the Building Healthy Places Network blog.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #6: Housing and Soccer: A winning Team in East New York

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Soccer is more than a game for many residents in a low-income Brooklyn neighborhood, as it has the potential to provide residents with an opportunity to a better life. HELP USA is an organization that provides shelter, housing and jobs to homeless and at risk people across five states. In addition, HELP USA through a partnership is able to provide medical and dental services and an after-school program. In recent years, HELP USA has incorporated soccer into its-after school program through its affiliate, Street Soccer USA (SSUSA). SSUSA and HELP USA’S goals align perfectly, as both organizations seek to improve health, education, and employment outcomes for the disadvantaged by using sports to teach life skills like punctuality and dependability.

Read more about HELP USA on How Housing Matters.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #7: Building Strong Neighborhoods with community programs

The New Settlement Community Campus is a 172,000 sq. ft. community school facility that combines two public schools, special education classrooms, a health clinic, and outdoor play spaces, with an aquatics center, dance studio, green roof learning terrace, cooking classroom and multipurpose spaces. This development addressees the need to alleviate overcrowded schools and the need for space in order to expand the community’s programs for youth and families.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #8: The Mosque Around the Street

Muslim community leaders in Memphis wanted a commodious place where they could gather for other purposes besides worship, i.e. weddings, parties, holidays, day care services, recreational activities, etc. The Islamic center had purchased 30 acres near the intersection of Humphrey and Houston Levee roads right across the street from a Christian church. As construction of the new Islamic Center progressed slowly the Christian church members decided to share their place of worship and welcome the Muslim community. Out of this simple act of kindness many friendships and relationships were developed and a community became more religiously and culturally tolerant.

Read more about The Mosque Around the Street.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #9: Tempe Sound Canopy; A Respite for Resident and Performers

Tempe Sound Canopy. Photo by Jesus Gutierrez.

The summer of 2017 in Tempe, Arizona the director of placemaking, Julie Kent had a dream to use an area downtown that was used for a roll-off dumpster to be transformed into a place to “invite people to hangout and connect with other people they wouldn’t normally connect to.” Home of Arizona State University, students submitted their plans for how to use this new space. An architectural sculpture student was chosen with her “sound canopy” idea to use this space for a stage in the evenings, and seating during the day.  Through the making and installation of the sound canopy, the community came together to support one another. As various restaurants are asking to have it in front of their business, Kent is hoping to continue to unify community members through music and art.

Learn more at Creative Exchange’s Springboard for the Arts.

Contributed by Meagan Ziegler.

 

Example #10: It’s Not Just About the Buildings: How Community Development Organizations are Promoting Residents’ Mental Health

Around the country, housing and community development groups are increasingly stepping up to partner with residents to improve community well-being by proactively strengthening residents’ emotional and mental health. Read Crosswalk's article on Community Development Organizations on Medium.

Example #11: Culdesac: Banning Cars and Building Community

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Much of the U.S.’ housing stock alienates people from their communities and each other, however a new housing development in the Southwest is changing that by eliminating cars, and intentional design.

 

Example #12: "Know your neighbor" cards

The Johnson County, Kansas, Sexual Violence Prevention coalition built a valuable partnership with the emergency preparedness department. Though they have different aims, both groups work to strengthen neighborhood connectedness. Neighborhood connectedness is an important protective factor for both community safety and disaster readiness. Knowing neighbors can help prevent isolation, which lowers the risk of sexual violence, and also ensures people can check on each other during emergencies.
Together, these groups developed a “Know Your Neighbor” campaign to encourage residents to share basic contact details and build relationships with those living close by. The goal is to make it easier for neighbors to support one another in everyday life as well as during crises.
To gather a range of input, they did outreach on the online platform Nextdoor to engage residents with diverse perspectives and ideas for making the campaign as effective as possible.
 

 

• What do we mean by changing the physical structure of the community?

• Why would you change the physical structure of the community?

• When would you try to change the physical structure of the community?

• Who should be involved in changing the physical structure of the community?

• How do you change the physical structure of the community?

 

Atlanta, Georgia, developed around automobile travel, and major highways have shaped how different parts of the city connect with one another. The Downtown Connector, for example, separates areas of the city and can make travel between them more difficult for people walking, bicycling, or using public transportation.

When the former Atlantic Steel Mill site was redeveloped, planners and developers had to address environmental contamination as well as transportation and access. One response was the 17^th Street Bridge, which connects the redevelopment with surrounding areas and accommodates vehicles, public transportation, bicycles, and people walking.

Redevelopment of the site also included environmental cleanup, green space, water-conservation measures, plantings, and transportation options intended to reduce reliance on private vehicles.

This example illustrates how changes to the physical environment can address several community priorities at the same time: environmental health, transportation, housing, economic development, accessibility, and opportunities for walking and bicycling.

This section introduces ways communities can use changes in the built and natural environment to support health and quality of life. It also emphasizes the importance of involving people who will experience those changes directly.

What do we mean by changing the physical structure of the community?

The physical structure of a community includes the places, systems, and natural features that shape everyday life. It includes buildings and streets, but also parks, waterways, transportation systems, utilities, public spaces, and the connections among them.

Changing that structure might mean creating something new, modifying what already exists, restoring a damaged area, improving accessibility, or preserving something the community values.

Examples include:

• Buildings – residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, institutional, educational, cultural, and historic
• Spaces around buildings – plantings, gathering areas, seating, terraces, and other features
• Roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, and walkways
• Bridges and underpasses
• Parks and open space
• Playgrounds and recreation areas
• Squares, waterfronts, street markets, and other public spaces
• Rivers, streams, wetlands, drainage systems, and other water features
• Public transportation and mobility systems
• Signs, wayfinding, and public information
• Streetlights and other public lighting
• Trees, plantings, gardens, and green infrastructure
• Infrastructure – water, energy, communications, stormwater, sewer systems, and treatment facilities

Infrastructure includes the physical systems that allow a community to function, along with the people and processes needed to operate and maintain them. Roads, bridges, water systems, electricity, communications, drainage, waste systems, and transportation are all examples. Infrastructure may look different in a small rural community than in a large city, but it is important in both.

• Landfills, recycling facilities, composting facilities, and waste-treatment sites
• Golf courses, cemeteries, sports fields, community gardens, and other uses of open land

The physical structure of a community includes both the built environment and the natural environment. Community development may alter natural environments, but it can also restore them. A former industrial site might become a park, for example, or a vacant paved area might be converted into green space.

Restoring natural features can provide several benefits. Trees and native plantings may reduce heat, absorb stormwater, provide habitat, improve air quality, and create more comfortable public spaces. Restoring soil, waterways, wetlands, and vegetation can also strengthen biodiversity and ecological function.

Physical changes can have effects beyond the immediate site. Transportation systems, energy use, water systems, development patterns, pollution, and natural-resource decisions can affect neighboring communities and larger ecosystems.

Changes may be relatively small, such as adding accessible curb ramps, shade, seating, or safer crossings, or they may involve major projects such as redeveloping an industrial site into mixed-income housing, businesses, parks, and transportation connections.

Community organizations and residents may be able to carry out some changes themselves. Larger projects usually involve local government, public agencies, developers, businesses, property owners, funders, and other partners.

Whatever the scale, people affected by the change should have meaningful opportunities to identify priorities, raise concerns, contribute local knowledge, and help evaluate possible alternatives.

A healthy community approach considers how a physical change affects the community as a whole. A transportation project, housing development, park, business district, or environmental improvement may affect health, cost of living, accessibility, social connection, transportation, economic opportunity, culture, and the natural environment at the same time.

Why would you change the physical structure of the community?

• Health promotion and disease prevention. Physical environments influence access to health care, nutritious food, physical activity, clean air and water, shade, transportation, and other conditions related to health. Communities might build clinics in areas with limited access, create walking and biking routes, remove environmental hazards, or improve access to parks and recreation.
• Safety. Street lighting, safe crossings, sidewalks, traffic calming, fire protection, emergency access, building maintenance, and other improvements can reduce hazards and help people move through the community more safely.
• Strengthening community connection and stewardship. Well-maintained public spaces, community-led improvements, and places where people can gather may support social connection and encourage residents to participate in caring for shared spaces.
• Improving accessibility. Accessible sidewalks, curb ramps, crossings, entrances, restrooms, transportation, signage, seating, and other features can make communities easier to navigate for people with disabilities and many others.
• Improving transportation and mobility. Public transportation, sidewalks, bike routes, trails, shelters, accessible stops, and safe connections can help people reach employment, schools, health care, stores, recreation, and community services.
• Conserving natural resources. Water-efficient fixtures, native and drought-tolerant plantings, energy-efficient infrastructure, green stormwater systems, and other improvements can reduce resource use.

Physical changes can spread through example as well as formal planning. A successful community garden, native planting project, safer intersection, or improved public space may encourage nearby residents, organizations, or businesses to consider similar improvements.

• Economic development. Infrastructure and development can support jobs, businesses, housing, and tax revenue. Communities should also consider who benefits, what public resources are being committed, and whether development contributes to displacement or other unintended effects.
• Restoring or expanding green space. Vacant lots, former industrial sites, paved areas, or other underused spaces may be converted into parks, gardens, habitat, or other community green space.
• Environmental protection. Wastewater treatment, pollution prevention, habitat restoration, community monitoring, and cleanup of contaminated sites can improve environmental and community health.
• Meeting housing needs. Communities may build, preserve, rehabilitate, or adapt housing to increase affordability, accessibility, energy efficiency, stability, and the range of housing options available.
• Expanding economic opportunity. Transportation, broadband, housing, neighborhood investment, childcare access, and proximity to employment can influence whether residents facing economic barriers can reach jobs and other opportunities.
• Historic preservation. Reusing and maintaining historic buildings can preserve community history and cultural resources while allowing structures to serve new purposes.
• Supporting arts and culture. Public art, performance spaces, cultural centers, festivals, and community-designed spaces can reflect local identity and expand access to cultural experiences.
• Improving everyday experience. Shade, seating, landscaping, public art, clean spaces, and attractive design can make public environments more comfortable and inviting.
• Recreation. Courts, fields, playgrounds, trails, pools, parks, and other facilities can expand opportunities for movement, recreation, and social connection for people of different ages and abilities.
• Physical comfort. Shade, shelter, drinking water, seating, restrooms, weather protection, and other features can make outdoor and public spaces more usable.
• Encouraging social interaction. Parks, plazas, markets, community centers, pedestrian areas, and other shared spaces can create opportunities for people to meet and interact.
• Supporting connection across communities. Shared community spaces can provide opportunities for people from different neighborhoods, cultures, generations, or backgrounds to participate in activities together when those spaces are designed and programmed collaboratively.
• Advancing equity. Infrastructure and public investment can help address longstanding differences in access to transportation, housing, parks, environmental quality, broadband, public facilities, and other community resources.

These goals frequently overlap. A transportation project may affect health, employment, accessibility, environmental quality, and housing. A park may support recreation, stormwater management, social connection, cooling, habitat, and neighborhood identity.

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion identifies peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice, and equity as important conditions for health. Changes to the physical environment can influence many of these conditions.

When would you try to change the physical structure of the community?

Opportunities for physical improvements may arise during planning, redevelopment, infrastructure work, environmental restoration, or community-led projects.

• When a new development or project is being planned. Residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, school, park, and renovation projects can provide opportunities to consider affordable housing, accessibility, green space, transportation connections, environmental performance, and other community priorities before designs are finalized.
• When funding becomes available. Grants, capital-improvement funds, private investment, or other resources may create opportunities to address projects that communities have already identified.
• When community assessment or public attention identifies an issue. Local data, resident experience, planning processes, environmental monitoring, or public discussion may bring attention to housing, safety, transportation, accessibility, environmental, or public-space needs.
• When major development decisions are being negotiated. Communities can participate in planning discussions about infrastructure, public space, transportation, affordable housing, environmental safeguards, local employment, and other possible community benefits.
• When evidence shows that existing conditions are creating serious risks or barriers. Unsafe crossings, environmental contamination, inaccessible facilities, deteriorating infrastructure, repeated flooding, inadequate lighting, or other conditions may require prompt attention.

Who should be involved in changing the physical structure of the community?

Physical changes affect people differently depending on where they live, how they travel, whether they rent or own property, their age, disability, income, work, culture, and many other factors. Planning should therefore include more than technical professionals and formal decision-makers.

• Community members and resident-led groups. Residents bring knowledge about how spaces are actually used, what works, what creates barriers, and which places or features matter to the community. They may participate in planning, design, stewardship, evaluation, or community-led improvement projects.

For example, young people who regularly use a playground or recreation area may understand its strengths and problems differently from adults who visit only occasionally. Involving them in planning can lead to improvements that better reflect how the space is actually used and can strengthen their connection to the project.

• Public officials and public agencies. Local governments, planning departments, transportation agencies, public works departments, parks departments, housing agencies, and other public institutions often have authority over land use, infrastructure, funding, maintenance, or regulation.

Some changes are also shaped by state or federal laws and regulations. Environmental, transportation, housing, accessibility, historic-preservation, and infrastructure requirements may affect what is permitted, required, or funded.

• Local businesses. Businesses may contribute funding, property, expertise, maintenance, or other resources and may be affected by changes in transportation, parking, public space, or development.
• Larger employers and corporations. Major employers can influence land use, transportation, employment, environmental conditions, and local investment. Their involvement should be considered alongside the interests and experiences of residents, workers, and other community members.
• Developers and property owners. Developers can help create housing, businesses, infrastructure, and public spaces. Effective partnerships clearly identify community goals, public responsibilities, private responsibilities, costs, benefits, and accountability.
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations. Their participation can help ensure that accessibility is built into projects from the beginning rather than added later.
• Tribal governments and Indigenous communities. Projects affecting Tribal lands, culturally important places, natural resources, or Indigenous communities should include the appropriate governments and communities in decision-making.
• Environmental, housing, transportation, health, cultural, and other community organizations. These groups may contribute specialized knowledge and community relationships.
• Design and technical professionals. Planners, architects, engineers, landscape architects, public health professionals, ecologists, transportation specialists, and others can help translate community goals into safe and workable designs.

How do you change the physical structure of the community?

Every community has different opportunities, constraints, resources, and priorities. The examples below illustrate some of the ways physical environments can be improved.

Begin by asking community members what places support their daily lives and which places create barriers. Consider vacant or underused properties, transportation gaps, inaccessible buildings, lack of shade or green space, housing conditions, environmental hazards, public gathering places, recreation, and infrastructure.

Avoid assuming that the appearance of a neighborhood tells you how people who live there feel about it. Residents may value relationships, history, culture, businesses, public spaces, and other assets that are not visible to an outside observer. Community assessment should identify both strengths and areas for improvement.

Buildings

Building design, location, maintenance, accessibility, and environmental performance can influence health, energy use, transportation, social interaction, economic activity, and quality of life.

Communities can encourage new construction and renovation that:

• Uses energy and water efficiently
• Reduces exposure to harmful materials
• Supports accessibility and universal design
• Provides healthy indoor air and appropriate ventilation
• Connects safely to sidewalks, transportation, and nearby services
• Preserves or creates green space where appropriate
• Supports interaction with streets and public spaces rather than isolating buildings from the surrounding community

Housing and residential development. Housing location, cost, condition, accessibility, energy efficiency, and proximity to transportation and services can strongly affect household stability and quality of life.

• Building and preserving affordable housing. Affordable housing should also be safe, accessible, well maintained, connected to transportation and services, and located in places where residents can participate fully in community life.
• Supporting shared-equity and community-based homeownership approaches. Some programs reduce the cost of homeownership through volunteer labor, community land trusts, cooperatives, shared-equity models, financial assistance, or other strategies.
• Rehabilitating vacant or deteriorated buildings. Existing houses, apartments, commercial buildings, schools, and other structures may sometimes be restored or adapted for housing rather than demolished.
• Including affordable, accessible, and environmentally responsible housing in larger developments. Communities may use planning, incentives, funding, or other tools to encourage a range of housing options.

Housing policy should avoid framing residents as people who need to be taught how to live in a particular neighborhood or housing type. Residents bring their own skills, cultures, relationships, and priorities. When people move into new housing, useful supports might include tenant information, opportunities to build community, access to services, and clear information about rights and responsibilities – provided in ways that respect residents' agency.

Commercial buildings and development. Neighborhood businesses can provide goods, services, employment, gathering places, and opportunities for local ownership.

Commercial development should be planned with attention to what existing residents need and value. New investment can strengthen a neighborhood, but it can also contribute to rising costs or displacement if affordability and local participation are not considered.

Industrial buildings and development. Industrial development can provide employment and economic activity, but location, traffic, noise, emissions, waste, and other environmental effects should be considered carefully.

Communities can examine whether environmental burdens are concentrated in particular neighborhoods and can use planning, regulation, monitoring, cleanup, and community participation to reduce harmful exposure.

Office and government buildings. Their design and location can affect workers, visitors, public access, transportation, energy use, and surrounding businesses and neighborhoods.

Cultural centers. Theaters, museums, performance spaces, libraries, cultural centers, and community arts facilities can strengthen cultural life when they are accessible, welcoming, affordable, and connected to the communities they serve.

Recreation and entertainment facilities. Sports facilities, theaters, recreation centers, amusement facilities, and other destinations can provide recreation and economic activity. Planning should also consider transportation, public cost, accessibility, surrounding neighborhoods, environmental impacts, and who can afford to use them.

Historic buildings, sites, and monuments. Communities may preserve, restore, reinterpret, relocate, or otherwise reconsider physical reminders of local history. Decisions about public history can involve different perspectives about culture, identity, memory, and community values. Inclusive public processes can help communities determine how historic places and monuments should be understood and used.

Educational facilities. School design can influence accessibility, safety, teaching, recreation, transportation, environmental quality, and opportunities for collaboration. Buildings can include traditional classrooms as well as shared learning spaces, outdoor classrooms, laboratories, arts spaces, recreation, technology, and community-use areas.

Large redevelopment projects can improve infrastructure and create new opportunities, but they can also displace residents or businesses if housing affordability, property costs, community ties, and local ownership are not considered.

Past urban-renewal projects demonstrate why redevelopment should include meaningful participation from the people who live and work in the affected area and should consider how existing residents can share in the benefits.

Public spaces

Public spaces contribute to community life when they are accessible, welcoming, well maintained, comfortable, and connected to the places people need to go.

Public spaces include areas around buildings, parks, plazas, pedestrian streets, markets, waterfronts, trails, and neighborhood gathering areas.

Spaces around buildings. Trees, plantings, public art, seating, shade, lighting, water features, and accessible walkways can make streets and buildings more inviting.

Parks. Parks can provide recreation, nature, cooling, community gathering, habitat, and relief from traffic and noise. Good planning considers accessibility, lighting, maintenance, transportation, programming, restrooms, shade, and how different groups experience the space.

Pedestrian areas. Streets or districts designed primarily for walking can support social interaction, local businesses, recreation, and public events. Accessibility, deliveries, emergency access, transportation connections, and the needs of nearby residents should also be considered.

Waterfronts. Waterfronts can support recreation, cultural activities, transportation, environmental restoration, businesses, and public gathering.

Redevelopment should preserve meaningful public access and consider affordability so that improvements remain useful to a broad range of community members.

Neighborhood spaces. Lighting, occupied buildings, safe crossings, well-maintained sidewalks, transportation, recreation, businesses, and active public spaces may contribute to people's comfort and use of neighborhood streets.

Avoid assuming that physical design alone causes or prevents violence. Community safety is also influenced by housing, economic opportunity, social connection, services, trauma, policing practices, substance use, education, and many other conditions.

Vacant and underused lots. Community-led projects can convert unused spaces into gardens, play areas, gathering spaces, habitat, stormwater features, or other uses identified by residents.

Public art. Murals, sculpture, temporary installations, performances, and other forms of public art can reflect community history, identity, creativity, and values.

Community participation in selecting artists, themes, locations, and interpretation can help public art represent the people and places around it.

Roads and other infrastructure

City streets. Crosswalks, traffic signals, sidewalks, lighting, accessible curb ramps, bike lanes, traffic calming, shade, and clear signage can improve mobility and safety for people walking, bicycling, driving, or using mobility devices.

Placement and maintenance of roads and train tracks. Highways and rail lines can connect communities, but they can also divide neighborhoods or create noise, pollution, and safety concerns.

Bridges, underpasses, crossings, transit connections, greenways, and other design changes may help reconnect areas that have been separated by transportation infrastructure.

Rural road planning may involve different considerations, including agricultural access, wildlife habitat, scenic character, historic features, safety, and the preservation of community identity.

Road and infrastructure maintenance should also be examined for equity. Communities can compare pavement quality, sidewalks, drainage, lighting, transit access, and other investments across neighborhoods to identify longstanding gaps in public infrastructure.

Public transportation. Reliable and accessible public transportation can connect people with employment, education, health care, shopping, recreation, and community services while reducing the need for some automobile trips.

Routes, schedules, fares, stops, shelters, accessibility, and connections should reflect the needs of different neighborhoods and riders.

Walking and bicycling routes. Trails, sidewalks, protected bike routes, greenways, and other connections can support transportation, recreation, social interaction, and physical activity.

Public recreation facilities such as basketball courts, volleyball courts, playgrounds, fields, and other spaces can also provide opportunities for physical activity and community connection.

Electricity, communications, water, sewer, and gas infrastructure. Replacing aging pipes, maintaining energy systems, expanding broadband, improving drainage, and modernizing other infrastructure can have major effects on health, safety, economic opportunity, and daily life.

Infrastructure upgrades should consider which neighborhoods have experienced longstanding gaps in investment and whether new systems are affordable and accessible to residents.

The natural environment

Open-space preservation. Parks, forests, farmland, wetlands, waterways, habitat, and other open spaces can provide recreation, environmental benefits, cultural value, and opportunities to experience nature.

Preservation decisions should consider ecological importance, public access, Indigenous and cultural connections to land, community priorities, and long-term development needs.

Restoration of environmentally damaged areas. Former mines, industrial sites, oil and gas sites, landfills, and other disturbed areas may require cleanup, soil restoration, replanting, removal of hazardous materials, water restoration, or other forms of remediation.

Where possible, organizations responsible for environmental harm should participate in or fund appropriate cleanup, while communities and regulatory agencies help establish standards and monitor results.

Pollution prevention. Pollution can sometimes be prevented through cleaner technologies, wastewater treatment, safer materials, environmental controls, appropriate siting, maintenance, and enforcement of environmental standards.

Pollution prevention also includes community infrastructure. Maintaining sewer systems, septic systems, stormwater systems, drinking-water infrastructure, and household connections can prevent contamination and protect health.

Correcting existing pollution. Contaminated soil, groundwater, buildings, waterways, and industrial sites may require cleanup or containment. Remediation should involve appropriate technical expertise, regulatory oversight, and meaningful communication with people who live or work nearby.

Identifying opportunities to improve the built and natural environment is only the beginning. Physical improvements need long-term maintenance. Buildings need repairs, trees and plantings need care, trails and roads need upkeep, public art may need restoration, and infrastructure requires regular inspection and investment.

Maintenance should be planned from the beginning so that improvements remain safe, accessible, and useful over time.

In Summary

The built and natural environments together form the physical structure of a community. Housing, transportation, public spaces, infrastructure, buildings, green space, waterways, environmental conditions, and other features can influence health, accessibility, economic opportunity, social connection, environmental quality, and everyday life.

Physical change can range from a small neighborhood improvement to a major redevelopment or infrastructure project. Whatever the scale, strong planning begins by understanding existing community strengths, priorities, barriers, and history.

Community members – particularly people who will be most directly affected – should have meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions about what changes are needed, what tradeoffs are acceptable, and how benefits and burdens will be distributed.

Effective changes also consider accessibility, affordability, displacement, environmental impact, cultural and historic resources, transportation, maintenance, and unintended consequences.

The goal is not simply to make places look different. It is to create and maintain environments that support health, belonging, safety, accessibility, opportunity, environmental sustainability, and quality of life for the people who use them.

 

We encourage the reproduction of this material, but ask that you credit the Community Tool Box.

What do we mean by changing the physical structure of the community?

__ The built environment is composed of those physical features of the community created or changed by people.

__ The natural environment is composed of those physical elements of the community that existed before people came, or have been reclaimed by nature.

 

Changing the physical structure of either the built or natural environment involves:

__ Building, installing, or creating something new

__ Altering an existing physical structure__ Destroying or eliminating an existing physical structure

__ Viewing the community as a whole when considering changing a physical structure.

 

Why would you change the physical structure of the community?

__ Health promotion and disease prevention.

__ Safety/security.

__ Increasing community pride and changing attitudes.

__ Assuring access for people with disabilities.

__ Transportation.

__ Conservation of natural resources.

__ Economic development.

__ Restoration/expansion of green space.

__ Environmental protection.

__ Meeting housing needs.

__ Expanding opportunity for low-income residents.

__ Historic preservation.

__ Encouragement of arts and culture.

__ Aesthetic experience.

__ Recreation.

__ Physical comfort.

__ Encouraging social interaction.

__ Addressing social problems and concerns, such as diversity and racial harmony.

__ Equity.

 

When would you try to change the physical structure of the community?

­­__ When a new development or project is starting.

__ When funding is available for a project, with the stipulation that planning has to involve the community.

__ When a particular issue suddenly rises to the top of the public consciousness.

__ When someone is negotiating with the community about changes, especially if those changes will inconvenience it.

__ When a problem has become too serious to ignore.

 

Who should be involved in changing the physical structure of the community?

__ Community members

__ Policy makers and public officials.

__ Business community.

__ Corporations.

__ Developers.

 

How do you change the physical structure of the community?

You might change the physical structure of the built environment by building or adding, altering, or eliminating:

__ Housing.

__ Commercial buildings and development.

__ Industrial buildings and development.

__ Office and government buildings.

__ Cultural centers.

__ Recreation and entertainment complexes.

__ Historic buildings and monuments.

__ Educational facilities.

__ Spaces around buildings.

__ Parks.

__ Pedestrian areas.

__ Waterfronts.

__ Neighborhood spaces.

__ Vacant lots.

__ Public art.

__ City streets.

__ Placement and maintenance of roads and train tracks.

__ Public transportation.

__ Walking and bike trails.

__ Electricity, telephone, water, and gas lines.

 

Changes in physical structure that directly affect the natural environment include:

__ Open space preservation.

__ Reclamation of environmentally damaged areas.

__ Prevention of pollution.

__ Correction of pollution problems.

__ Sustaining the effort

Example #1: Defining and Unpacking the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity–A Culture of Health Webinar

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) held the first webinar in its Culture of Health Webinar Series on November 29, 2018. The National Academies report Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity identified nine social determinants of health and how these determinants impact our health and the health of our communities. This example underscores the addressing of built environment/ social determinants of health. The report also defines health equity as the state in which everyone has the opportunity to attain full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or any other socially defined circumstance. Read more.

 

Example #2: H.E.A.T. Report: Place and Health - Wyandotte County, Kansas

Video: Place & Health - Geopgrahy and the Social Determinants of Health (Liquorlining and the lack of healthy choices).

Example #3: Sunset Hills neighborhood donates bench for Lawrence Transit bus stop

A new bench has been installed at a Lawrence Transit bus stop thanks to the generosity of the Sunset Hills Neighborhood. Located on 9th Street, next to The Merc, the bench was donated in response to concerns about the lack of seating. This project, completed in collaboration with Lawrence Transit and the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows Program (SELF) at the University of Kansas, highlights the power of community-led solutions to enhance the transit experience. Read More.

 

example #4: enhancing community safety through connected neighborhood design

Neighborhood support and cohesion are key protective factors for preventing sexual and other forms of violence, while low support and social isolation increase risk. In Johnson County, Kansas, 844 residents completed a survey measuring how connected they feel to their community on a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The average score was 2.6, indicating only moderate community connectedness. To strengthen neighborhood support and trust, a violence prevention coalition launched initiatives to boost community connectedness through improvements to the built environment. In one neighborhood, they focused on a central resource library, a large new park, and an elementary school located close together. With support from City Council members, they aimed to increase resident use of these shared spaces by installing engaging wayfinding signage, assessing and improving crosswalks, conducting walking audits, and planning a nature walking path linking the park and the library. These efforts worked to increase usage of these public spaces and increase social connectedness–and likely also supported goals related to increasing physical activity.

• What do we mean by ensuring access for people with disabilities?

• Why ensure access for people with disabilities?

• When should you ensure access for people with disabilities?

• Who should ensure access for people with disabilities?

• How do you ensure access for people with disabilities?

• How do you engage in disability advocacy?

 

Many features of everyday environments are easy to overlook when they work for us. Curbs, stairs, narrow doorways, signs, websites, public announcements, forms, transportation systems, and workplace procedures can all make it easier or harder for people to participate in community life.

For a wheelchair user, a building without an accessible entrance may prevent access entirely. A person who is Deaf or hard of hearing may miss information provided only through a loudspeaker. A person who is blind or has low vision may encounter barriers when information is available only visually. Someone with a cognitive, learning, communication, neurological, or mental health disability may encounter other barriers when information, services, or environments are not designed with a range of needs in mind.

These barriers are not inevitable. Accessibility can often be built into environments, programs, communication, technology, employment, education, transportation, and public participation from the beginning.

This section discusses ways communities can identify and remove barriers so that people with disabilities can participate fully in employment, education, services, public spaces, government, recreation, and community life.

What do we mean by ensuring access for people with disabilities?

Disability includes a wide range of physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, cognitive, neurological, learning, communication, mental health, and other conditions. Disabilities may be apparent or non-apparent, lifelong or acquired later in life, and may affect people differently in different environments.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disability is defined broadly in relation to a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.

Accessibility means creating environments, systems, information, services, and opportunities that people with disabilities can use and participate in on an equitable basis.

Disability is shaped not only by a person's condition, but also by the barriers or supports in the surrounding environment. A wheelchair user may participate fully in a workplace when entrances, workspaces, restrooms, transportation, and emergency procedures are accessible. A Deaf employee may participate fully when effective communication is available. A person with a cognitive or learning disability may benefit from information presented in clear and accessible formats.

Removing barriers does not mean that a person's disability disappears. It means that the environment no longer unnecessarily restricts that person's participation.

Language related to disability continues to evolve, and individual preferences differ. People with disabilities is widely used as person-first language. Some people and disability communities prefer identity-first language such as disabled people, Autistic people, or Deaf people. When possible, respect the language people use for themselves.

Avoid euphemisms such as "differently abled" and outdated terms such as "the handicapped." Terms such as "special needs" may also be less specific than simply describing a person's disability, access needs, or support needs.

Types of disabilities

Disability experiences vary widely, and the categories below are not exhaustive. A person may also experience more than one type of disability.

Mobility and physical disabilities

Mobility and physical disabilities may affect walking, standing, balance, movement, dexterity, strength, stamina, or use of the hands and arms. People may use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, prostheses, braces, other mobility devices, or no mobility device at all.

Environmental features such as stairs, narrow passages, heavy doors, inaccessible restrooms, high counters, or poorly maintained sidewalks may create barriers.

Sensory disabilities

• Deafness and hearing loss. People may communicate through spoken language, American Sign Language or another sign language, captioning, assistive listening technology, text, or a combination of approaches.
• Blindness and low vision. People may use screen readers, magnification, Braille, tactile information, white canes, service animals, audio information, or other tools and techniques.

Communication disabilities

Some disabilities affect speech, language, or other forms of communication. People may use speech-generating devices, text, communication boards, interpreters, assistants, or other forms of augmentative and alternative communication.

Difficulty speaking does not indicate a person's intelligence or ability to understand information.

Neurological and chronic health disabilities

Conditions such as epilepsy, migraine, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and other neurological or chronic health conditions may affect mobility, concentration, communication, energy, sensory processing, or other activities.

Some disabilities are episodic. A person's support or access needs may therefore change over time.

Intellectual and developmental disabilities

Intellectual and developmental disabilities include a broad range of conditions that may affect learning, communication, decision-making, daily activities, sensory processing, or other areas.

People have different strengths, goals, and support needs. Some live and work independently, while others use varying levels of support. Avoid making assumptions about a person's abilities based on a diagnosis.

Autism is a developmental disability that can affect communication, sensory processing, routines, social interaction, and other aspects of daily life in different ways. Autistic people vary greatly in their strengths, communication styles, support needs, and preferences.

Learning and cognitive disabilities

Learning disabilities can affect reading, writing, mathematics, memory, processing, organization, or other areas of learning. Dyslexia is one example. Learning disabilities are not a measure of overall intelligence.

Some people also experience cognitive disabilities related to brain injury, neurological conditions, intellectual disabilities, or other causes.

Mental health and psychiatric disabilities

Mental health conditions may qualify as disabilities when they substantially limit major life activities. Conditions may include major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and others.

People's experiences and treatment preferences vary. Access may involve flexible schedules, changes in the environment, communication supports, leave, remote participation where appropriate, or other individualized accommodations.

Environmental sensitivities and other non-apparent conditions

Some people experience significant symptoms related to fragrances, chemicals, lighting, noise, temperature, or other environmental conditions. Depending on the person's functional limitations and the setting, reducing exposure or making other changes may improve access.

Non-apparent disabilities may also include chronic illnesses, epilepsy, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain, mental health disabilities, and many other conditions. Do not assume that a person does not have a disability because it is not immediately visible.

Service animals

Some people with disabilities use trained service animals to assist with disability-related tasks. Examples include guiding a person who is blind, alerting a Deaf person to sounds, retrieving objects, assisting during a seizure, or performing disability-related tasks for a person with a psychiatric disability.

Rules concerning service animals differ according to the law and setting. In the United States, organizations should use current ADA guidance rather than relying on assumptions about an animal or a person's disability.

Access for people with disabilities

Accessibility includes several interconnected areas.

Physical access

Physical accessibility includes the ability to enter, move through, and use buildings and outdoor spaces. Depending on the setting, this may involve accessible routes, entrances, parking, passenger-loading areas, ramps, elevators, restrooms, counters, seating, signs, recreational facilities, and other features.

Accessibility is strongest when it is incorporated into the original design rather than added later as a separate feature.

Access to communication and information

Information should be available in forms that people with different communication, sensory, cognitive, and learning needs can use.

Depending on the situation, this may include:

• Captions and transcripts
• Sign language interpretation
• Assistive listening systems
• Braille, tactile, large-print, or audio information
• Plain-language information
• Accessible electronic documents
• Websites and mobile applications that work with assistive technology
• Communication devices or alternative forms of communication
• Visual as well as audible emergency and public announcements

Program and service accessibility

Accessibility also means that people with disabilities can participate in programs and obtain services without unnecessary barriers.

This may require changes in policies, procedures, communication, scheduling, location, equipment, or the way a service is delivered.

Employment

Employment access includes nondiscriminatory recruitment, applications, interviews, hiring, training, advancement, workplace participation, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Qualified applicants and employees with disabilities may need reasonable accommodations that allow them to participate in the application process, perform the essential functions of a position, or access the benefits and privileges of employment.

Education

Students with disabilities should have equitable access to education, instructional materials, school facilities, technology, extracurricular activities, communication, and other parts of the educational experience.

Appropriate supports vary according to the student, educational setting, and applicable law.

Community and civic access

Accessibility includes opportunities to participate in recreation, cultural activities, religious life, community organizations, public meetings, government services, transportation, and civic life.

It also includes accessible voting, public information, meetings, and other opportunities to participate in community decision-making.

Why ensure access for people with disabilities?

• Accessibility is a civil rights issue. People with disabilities have the right to participate in community life without discrimination. Laws in the United States and many other countries establish accessibility and nondiscrimination requirements.
• Accessibility supports autonomy and participation. Removing unnecessary barriers gives people greater ability to make their own choices about employment, education, services, recreation, relationships, and civic life.
• Communities benefit from the participation of people with disabilities. People with disabilities are workers, students, business owners, leaders, caregivers, artists, volunteers, customers, residents, and participants in every part of community life.
• Accessible design often benefits many people. Ramps, curb cuts, captions, clear signs, automatic doors, plain-language information, flexible communication, and other accessibility features can also benefit older adults, parents with strollers, people recovering from injuries, travelers carrying luggage, and many others.
• Accessibility can improve organizations and services. Designing for a wider range of users can improve communication, customer service, safety, usability, and organizational responsiveness.
• Accessibility helps build more inclusive communities. People should not have to overcome avoidable barriers in order to participate alongside their neighbors, coworkers, classmates, friends, and families.

When should you ensure access for people with disabilities?

Accessibility should be considered from the beginning rather than only after someone encounters a barrier.

• When new buildings, facilities, or public spaces are being designed. Accessibility can usually be integrated more effectively when it is part of the original design.
• When buildings or facilities are being renovated or altered. Review current accessibility standards and determine which requirements apply to the particular project rather than relying on a simple percentage rule.
• When historic buildings are being adapted for public use. Historic preservation and accessibility should be considered together using the requirements and alternatives applicable to the particular property.
• When parks, trails, recreation facilities, streets, and other public spaces are being improved. Include people with disabilities in planning routes, entrances, seating, recreation features, signs, transportation connections, restrooms, and other elements.
• When an organization moves or changes the way it provides services. A new facility, program, technology platform, application system, or service-delivery model provides an opportunity to address accessibility from the beginning.
• When websites, mobile applications, documents, or other digital systems are developed or updated. Digital accessibility should be part of design, procurement, development, testing, and maintenance.
• When emergency plans are developed or reviewed. Emergency communication, evacuation, sheltering, transportation, and continuity plans should account for people with a range of disabilities.
• When people report barriers. Complaints and requests for accommodations provide important information, but organizations should not wait for a complaint before examining accessibility.
• As part of ongoing evaluation. Technology, standards, programs, buildings, and community needs change. Accessibility should be reviewed periodically.

Who should ensure access for people with disabilities?

Accessibility is a shared responsibility, but people with disabilities should have meaningful roles in identifying barriers, setting priorities, developing solutions, and evaluating results.

• People with disabilities. People who experience barriers directly bring knowledge that may not be visible to designers, administrators, employers, or service providers. Participation should begin early enough to influence decisions rather than being added after plans are nearly complete.
• Disability-led and disability rights organizations. These organizations may provide expertise on accessibility, independent living, rights, policy, accommodations, and community participation.
• Centers for Independent Living and other community organizations. These organizations may provide training, peer support, accessibility knowledge, and connections with people who have a range of lived experiences.
• Public officials and public agencies. Governments may establish, implement, fund, or enforce accessibility requirements and should ensure that people with disabilities can participate in public programs and decision-making.
• Enforcement and civil rights agencies. Appropriate government agencies investigate complaints, provide guidance, and enforce applicable disability-rights laws.
• Employers. Employers can make recruitment, hiring, workplaces, communication, technology, training, advancement, and workplace benefits accessible.
• Educators and educational institutions. Schools and colleges can address physical, instructional, technological, communication, and program accessibility.
• Organizations that provide public or community services. Accessibility should be considered in facilities, programs, eligibility practices, communication, technology, and service delivery.
• Architects, planners, engineers, designers, and building professionals. Accessibility can be incorporated into buildings, transportation, public spaces, housing, digital systems, and other environments from the beginning.
• Developers and property owners. Designing for accessibility from the beginning can reduce the need for later retrofits and expand who can use a property.
• Technology designers, developers, vendors, and content creators. Digital accessibility depends on decisions made throughout design, procurement, development, testing, and content creation.

How do you ensure access for people with disabilities?

Accessibility is most effective when it is built into ordinary planning and decision-making rather than treated as a separate project or an exception for a small group of people.

Begin with people with disabilities

Include people with disabilities in accessibility assessment, planning, design, implementation, testing, and evaluation.

Ask people what barriers they experience rather than assuming what they need. Different people with the same disability may use different strategies, technologies, communication methods, or accommodations.

When someone requests an accommodation, focus on what would provide effective access rather than on whether the request matches what has been provided to someone else.

Use accessible and universal design

Universal design seeks to make environments, products, technology, and information usable by as many people as possible from the beginning.

Universal design does not eliminate every need for individualized accommodations, but it can reduce the number of unnecessary barriers people encounter.

Physical access

Buildings and outdoor spaces should be evaluated using the accessibility standards that apply to the particular facility and jurisdiction.

Features to consider may include:

• Accessible routes from sidewalks, transportation, parking, and passenger drop-off areas
• Accessible entrances and doors
• Ramps, elevators, lifts, and appropriate changes in level
• Accessible restrooms
• Accessible counters, service areas, seating, and workspaces
• Accessible parking and passenger-loading areas
• Clear floor and maneuvering space
• Accessible signs and wayfinding
• Accessible recreation facilities and outdoor routes
• Emergency evacuation and refuge planning

Accessibility standards contain specific technical requirements, so designers and organizations should use current official standards rather than relying on generalized measurements or older guidance.

Accessibility does not need to separate people with disabilities from everyone else. A park trail, entrance, recreation area, seating section, or public space can be designed so that people with and without disabilities use the same environment together whenever feasible.

Businesses may also be eligible for federal tax incentives related to qualified accessibility improvements. Because eligibility and tax rules can change, organizations should use current IRS guidance when planning or claiming these benefits.

Emergency access and planning

Accessibility planning should include emergencies rather than assuming that ordinary accessibility features will always remain available.

Consider:

• Accessible emergency exits and evacuation routes
• Procedures for people who cannot use stairs
• Visual, audible, and accessible digital alerts
• Emergency transportation
• Accessible shelters and temporary facilities
• Backup communication when power or technology fails
• Individualized planning when appropriate

People with disabilities should be included in emergency planning and exercises.

Access to communication and information

Effective communication means that people with communication disabilities can receive information from and communicate with an organization as effectively as others.

Appropriate approaches depend on the person, the setting, and the nature and complexity of the communication.

Examples may include:

• Sign language interpreters
• Real-time captioning
• Captions on videos
• Assistive listening systems
• Large-print, Braille, tactile, or audio materials
• Screen-reader-compatible electronic materials
• Plain-language or easy-to-understand information
• Speech-to-text or text-to-speech technology
• Augmentative and alternative communication
• Visual and audible public announcements

Do not assume one method works for everyone. For important or complex communication, ask the person which methods are effective for them and follow the requirements that apply to the organization.

Digital accessibility

Websites, mobile applications, online forms, documents, videos, learning platforms, kiosks, and other digital tools are increasingly important parts of community access.

Digital accessibility may include:

• Keyboard navigation
• Compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies
• Text alternatives for meaningful images
• Captions and transcripts for multimedia
• Sufficient contrast and readable text
• Clear headings and navigation
• Accessible forms and error messages
• Accessible electronic documents

Federal agencies are subject to Section 508 requirements for covered information and communication technology. Other entities may have accessibility responsibilities under the ADA, Section 504, state or local law, funding agreements, or other requirements.

State and local governments should also consult current Title II requirements for web content and mobile applications.

Access to services and programs

Services must be non-discriminatory, and covered organizations may need to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, or procedures so that people with disabilities can participate.

Examples may include:

• Moving an activity to an accessible space
• Modifying a check-in or application procedure
• Providing an alternative communication method
• Adjusting a policy when necessary for disability access
• Providing services in another accessible manner when required and appropriate
• Allowing service animals as required by applicable law

Accessibility should not mean providing an unnecessarily separate or lower-quality service. The goal is equitable participation and access.

Accessibility also includes organizational culture. Staff should communicate respectfully, avoid assumptions about people's abilities, understand relevant accessibility procedures, and know how to respond when someone requests an accommodation or identifies a barrier.

Service animals

Organizations should train staff on current service-animal requirements.

Under the ADA rules that apply to state and local government services and public accommodations, a service animal is generally a dog individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to a person's disability. The ADA also contains separate provisions concerning individually trained miniature horses.

Staff should not assume that a person's disability must be visible in order for a service animal to be legitimate.

Different rules may apply in housing, air travel, employment, and under state or local law, so organizations should consult the requirements that apply to the particular setting.

Employment

Employment decisions should focus on whether an applicant or employee is qualified to perform the essential functions of a position, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Reasonable accommodations may include:

• Adjusting equipment or workspaces
• Modifying schedules
• Providing accessible technology
• Providing interpreters or readers
• Changing how information is provided
• Job restructuring where appropriate
• Remote work where it is an effective and reasonable accommodation
• Other individualized changes that allow a qualified employee to perform essential job functions or receive equal employment benefits

Employers generally may ask applicants whether they can perform the essential functions of a job, with or without reasonable accommodation, but disability-related questions and medical examinations are subject to specific rules during the hiring process.

Safety standards should be connected to actual job requirements and individualized evidence rather than assumptions or stereotypes about disability.

Employees with disabilities remain responsible for meeting legitimate performance and conduct expectations, with reasonable accommodations considered where required.

Education

In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) establishes rights related to special education and related services for eligible children with disabilities. IDEA Part B generally applies to children ages 3 through 21, subject to specific state-law exceptions.

Eligible students receive a free appropriate public education through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed through an individualized planning process that includes parents or caregivers and, when appropriate, the student.

IDEA also requires that students with disabilities be educated with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal from the regular educational environment should occur only when education there cannot be achieved satisfactorily with appropriate supplementary aids and services.

Educational access can include:

• Accessible classrooms and facilities
• Accessible instructional materials and technology
• Communication access
• Assistive technology
• Appropriate academic and behavioral supports
• Accessible extracurricular programs and school activities
• Individualized accommodations and services where required

Institutions of higher education also have disability nondiscrimination and accessibility obligations under applicable federal and state laws. The specific requirements differ from the K–12 special education system, so students and institutions should use current guidance applicable to higher education.

Civic access

People with disabilities should be able to participate in government services, public meetings, community planning, and elections on an equitable basis.

Civic accessibility may involve:

• Accessible meeting locations
• Accessible public notices and documents
• Sign language interpretation or captioning where needed
• Accessible websites and online participation
• Accessible polling places and voting systems
• Reasonable modifications that allow participation

How do you engage in disability advocacy?

Disability advocacy includes self-advocacy, community organizing, education, accessibility planning, participation in public processes, enforcement of existing rights, and efforts to improve policies or practices that create barriers.

People with disabilities and disability-led organizations should have central roles in determining priorities and strategies.

Identify the barrier and the desired change

Begin by clearly identifying what is preventing access.

Is the problem:

• A physical barrier?
• Inaccessible communication?
• An inaccessible website or technology?
• A policy or procedure?
• Discriminatory treatment?
• A lack of appropriate accommodation?
• Inconsistent implementation of an existing accessibility policy?

Defining the barrier clearly can help identify who has responsibility and which solutions are possible.

Start with communication when appropriate

Sometimes an organization may not realize that a barrier exists. Bringing the issue to the attention of the appropriate staff member, accessibility coordinator, administrator, employer, property manager, or other responsible person may lead to a solution.

Explain the barrier, the effect it has on access, and what change would provide meaningful access. Keep records of important communications when the issue may require formal follow-up.

Use established complaint and enforcement processes when needed

When informal problem-solving does not resolve an accessibility or discrimination concern, administrative complaints, internal grievance procedures, disability-rights agencies, mediation, legal assistance, or court processes may be available.

The appropriate process depends on the type of organization, law involved, location, and nature of the issue.

Because filing requirements and deadlines can vary, use current official information or qualified legal assistance for a specific complaint.

Work with disability-led organizations and other knowledgeable partners

Centers for Independent Living, disability-rights organizations, Protection and Advocacy systems, legal organizations, accessibility professionals, and community groups may provide information, training, technical assistance, peer support, or legal guidance.

Collaboration can also help identify whether a barrier experienced by one person reflects a broader accessibility problem.

Participate in public policy and planning processes

When an accessibility issue involves government policy, building standards, transportation, public services, or other public decisions, people with disabilities and community organizations can participate through established civic processes.

These may include public meetings, advisory groups, hearings, public-comment opportunities, accessibility committees, planning processes, and communication with the public agencies responsible for the issue.

Provide accurate information about the barrier, the people affected, applicable accessibility requirements, possible solutions, costs, and implementation considerations.

Advisory groups and planning bodies should include people with a range of disabilities and access experiences. One person should not be expected to represent every disability or every member of the disability community.

Work with designers, developers, inspectors, technology professionals, and service providers

Collaboration early in a project can prevent barriers before they are built into a facility, program, or technology.

Accessibility professionals and people with disabilities can help organizations understand how technical standards translate into actual use.

Whenever possible, test buildings, public spaces, websites, applications, documents, and services with people who use different mobility devices, communication methods, and assistive technologies.

Use public communication responsibly

Media and community communication can help explain accessibility barriers, disability rights, community experiences, and possible solutions.

Coverage should avoid portraying people with disabilities primarily as inspirational, tragic, dependent, or exceptional because of their disability.

When people share personal experiences, they should have meaningful control over how their stories, disability, photographs, and identifying information are presented.

Disability should not need to be made emotionally compelling before an accessibility concern is taken seriously.

Continue evaluating accessibility

Accessibility is an ongoing process. Buildings age, technology changes, programs evolve, staff change, and new barriers may emerge.

Continue asking:

• Can people with different disabilities enter and use the space?
• Can people obtain information in forms they can use?
• Are websites, applications, and documents accessible?
• Are accommodation and modification requests handled effectively?
• Do staff understand accessibility procedures?
• Are emergency procedures inclusive?
• Are people with disabilities involved in evaluating the organization's accessibility?
• Are some people experiencing barriers that others are not?
• Have applicable standards, technologies, or legal requirements changed?

Accessibility should not be measured only by whether an organization has received complaints. People may stop using an inaccessible service without ever filing one. Proactive assessment and direct participation from people with disabilities can identify barriers earlier.

In Summary

Accessibility means more than ramps, elevators, and accessible restrooms. It includes physical environments, communication, information, technology, employment, education, services, transportation, emergency planning, and civic participation.

Disability is part of human diversity. People with disabilities have different strengths, preferences, identities, goals, and access needs, and no single solution will work for everyone.

Strong accessibility efforts:

• Include people with disabilities in decisions that affect them
• Build accessibility into planning and design from the beginning
• Remove physical, communication, digital, programmatic, and social barriers
• Provide individualized accommodations or modifications where needed
• Use current accessibility standards and legal guidance
• Train staff and people responsible for implementation
• Create effective ways to identify and resolve accessibility concerns
• Evaluate accessibility over time

The goal is not to make disability less visible or to expect people with disabilities to adapt to environments that were not designed with them in mind. The goal is to create communities in which people with disabilities can make choices, participate, contribute, and live their lives without unnecessary or discriminatory barriers.

Tool 1: Worldwide Disability Rights Laws

A list of existing disability rights laws from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.  The website has the texts or abstracts of most of these laws, many with an English translation, or with an English summary.  Others may be found on the Internet separately, or may need to be researched in libraries or through the controlling government bodies.

Tool 2: The United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities

The United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities is available in several languages. The Standard Rules are a comprehensive set of standards for countries to institute disability rights and equal opportunity.

From the U.N. website’s introduction to the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities:

People with disabilities - as citizens of their societies - should have the same rights and obligations as all other citizens.

There is an increasing awareness by Governments of their obligation to grant equal rights to all of their citizens. It is ultimately the responsibility of all Governments to ensure that disabled people:

• live as dignified and independent a life-style as possible within the community;
• take an active part in the general, social and economic development of society;
• receive education, medical care and social services within the ordinary structures of their societies.

Governments, through their legal system, can protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

Governments can enact laws to guarantee equality and to prevent discrimination. The cost of denying equal opportunities to persons with disabilities is high not only in financial terms, but in the loss of their contribution to society.

A recent trend emphasizes self-care and puts greater emphasis on increased support to the family and community to provide services for persons with disabilities. In many countries, such services continue to be concentrated in the private sector, financed by voluntary contributions. Such programmes are important, but they do not guarantee equal opportunities for disabled people at all levels of society. Governments should provide disabled people with permanent access to basic public services.

The untapped potential of disabled people will be realized only when Governments ensure that equal opportunities are given to all of their citizens.

Equal opportunities enable disabled persons to govern their own lives with self-respect and personal integrity.

What do we mean by ensuring access for people with disabilities?

___According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), “the term ‘disability’ means an individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities or there is a record of such an impairment or an individual is regarded as having such an impairment.”

Types of disabilities include:

___Physical

___Neurological

___Developmental

___Psychological

___Alcoholism

Types of access include:

___Physical access

___Access to communication and information

___Access to services

___Access to employment

___Access to education

Why try to ensure access for people with disabilities?

___In many countries, it’s the law

___It’s a matter of fairness and respect

___Failing to do so wastes talent and energy

___It makes good business and economic sense

___Many people with disabilities already have a difficult life

___People with disabilities add to the diversity of the community, and that diversity makes everyone’s life richer

___Access for people with disabilities improves access for everyone

When should you try to ensure access for people with disabilities?

___When new public facilities are being designed and/or built

___When there’s an addition, renovation, or repair made to a public facility

___When a historic building is rehabilitated for a public use

___When a community group is working on improving or rehabilitating a public facility or space

___When an organization, institution, or agency that provides services or education is moving or renovating its facility

___When there are complaints about lack of access

Who should ensure access for people with disabilities?

___People with disabilities themselves

___Organizations concerned with disability rights

___Legislators other public officials

___Enforcing agencies

___Employers

___Educators 

___Organizations that provide services

___The court system, when necessary

___Architects and planners

___Developers

How do you ensure access for people with disabilities?

___Changing attitudes and educating the public, as well as policymakers, architects and planners, and others about the realities, needs, and rights of people with disabilities may be the most important step

___Demand reasonable accommodation for all types of access

___Tax credits can help make accommodations affordable

___Physical access means access to:

• Public facilities
• Federal, state, and local government facilities
• Outdoor spaces
• Public ways
• Public transportation

___Know the design features that constitute physical access

___Access to communication and information means making accessible or providing

• Signs, posters, and other similar features
• Announcements
• Telephones
• ASL interpretation
• Readers
• Internet
• Television
• Concerts and theater performances

___In the U.S., people with disabilities cannot be denied access to services for which they’re eligible

___Reasonable accommodations must result in a service that’s equivalent to that which is offered to other eligible participants, although it doesn’t have to be exactly the same in all respects

___Employers cannot refuse to hire someone because of a disability if that person is the best-qualified for a job, except where the disability would make it impossible for the person to do the job

___An employer may fire someone with a disability because of poor job performance if other employees in the same situation would be treated the same way

___Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act guarantees every child ages 6-21 the right to a free public education that meets his needs in the least restrictive environment possible

___In both public and private post-secondary institutions, ADA requires non-discrimination in admissions and accommodation for admitted undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities

Advocate for the rights and needs of people with disabilities:

___Demand enforcement of existing laws and regulations

___Work with legislators, and their aides to pass laws that guarantee equality of access and opportunity to people with disabilities

___Work with architects, planners, developers, and interior designers to make them aware of the concerns and needs of people with disabilities

___Enlist the media to help change attitudes and expectations

___Call attention to lack of access whether you have a disability or not

___Keep at it indefinitely

Example #1: Chicagoland Add Us in Initiative’s The Learning Garden

The Chicagoland Add Us In Initiative funded by the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, provides opportunities and promotes employment experiences for high school students with disabilities to prepare them for their transition into adult life. The goal for the Learning Garden is to be a place where students can observe and experiment with growing plants, fruits and vegetables while obtaining some invaluable work experience and skills.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #2: "Stoplights Don't Stop Us!"

“Stoplights Don’t Stop Us!” tells the story of how people with disabilities in Emporia, Kansas, living in a high-rise apartment complex near a dangerous intersection, came together as allies to advocate for change in their community. The changes they achieved enhanced their ability to more fully and safely participate in the community. (The video is also available with audio description.) To learn more about this process for making change to support independent living for all, visit the free publication: Your Action Planning Guide for Promoting Full Community Participation Among People with Disabilities: A Resource for Independent Living Centers and Other Community-based Initiatives.

 

Example #3: Ed Roberts: Free Wheeling

Imagine that, as a typical baseball-loving 14-year-old kid, one of your mother’s worst fears is realized: You succumb to the polio epidemic of the 1950s and contract a disease that paralyzes you from the neck down, except for several fingers and toes. 

Your despair is exacerbated when you overhear a doctor tell your mother, “You should hope he dies, because if he lives, he’ll be no more than a vegetable for the rest of his life.” You spend 18 months in hospitals and, upon discharge, attend high school by phone from home, lying flat on your back with only your head emerging from an “iron lung,” a huge box-like device using air pressure to stimulate the breathing that your lungs cannot accomplish. 

How would you respond?

Read more.

 

 

I grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Boston, on a busy street of apartment buildings. Behind that block, however, was a city park of about 15 acres, where my friends and I spent much of our time beginning when we were about six or seven years old. It had an official name, but to us it was simply “the Park.” There was a baseball diamond, tennis and basketball courts, and skating in the winter, but we spent much of our time exploring the wooded area just behind our homes.

To us, the park became whatever our imaginations could create. Its hills, trees, and exposed rocks became mountains, forts, distant landscapes, and places for exploration. We rolled down the hills in summer and sledded on them when there was snow.

Several blocks away was a commercial district where our families did much of their shopping. For me, however, one of its main attractions was the local branch of the Boston Public Library. By the time I started school, I already had a library card, and the library became another important part of my life.

Before digital technology became part of everyday childhood, much of my free time revolved around these two community resources. They exercised my imagination and my body and helped develop a lasting love of the outdoors, literature, and learning.

Parks, libraries, recreation facilities, cultural spaces, transportation, health facilities, and other shared community resources can have a lasting influence on people's lives. They provide opportunities to learn, move, gather, create, receive services, connect with others, and participate in community life.

This section discusses what makes parks and other community facilities useful and welcoming, when communities may want to create or improve them, who should participate in those decisions, and how communities can plan for their long-term accessibility, use, maintenance, and sustainability.

 

This video highlights young people's involvement in improving parks in Atlanta's English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods. Video courtesy of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 

What do we mean by improving parks and other community facilities?

Community facilities can support health, learning, culture, recreation, mobility, social connection, public participation, and access to services. Parks provide green space and places for recreation and gathering. Libraries, museums, community centers, and performance spaces expand access to knowledge, creativity, culture, and community activities. Health facilities provide care, and public transportation helps connect people with employment, education, services, businesses, and other parts of the community.

Communities differ in what facilities they have and what improvements they need. Some may lack particular facilities entirely. Others may have facilities that no longer reflect the size, accessibility needs, interests, or priorities of the people they serve. A facility may need repairs, updated equipment, improved transportation connections, stronger programming, better accessibility, or changes that make it more welcoming and useful.

In other cases, a facility may be physically well maintained but underused. That can be a reason to ask whether its hours, programs, cost, location, communication, design, transportation access, or other features create barriers for potential users.

Improving community facilities therefore involves more than building or renovating something. It means understanding community strengths and priorities, identifying barriers, creating or improving facilities in response to those priorities, and planning for their continued operation and maintenance.

In this section, a community facility is a place, space, service environment, or physical resource that contributes to community life. It may be publicly owned, nonprofit, community-run, or privately operated. What matters is that it provides a meaningful community benefit and is reasonably accessible to the people it is intended to serve.

Parks

Parks vary greatly in size, design, ownership, and purpose. They may protect natural or historic resources, provide recreation, create gathering spaces, support environmental health, or serve several of these purposes at once.

Common types include:

• Urban parks. These may include lawns, trees, gardens, playgrounds, picnic areas, trails, courts, athletic fields, natural areas, cultural facilities, or other features within a city.
• Small-town parks. These may serve as central gathering places for recreation, community events, celebrations, performances, markets, or informal social activity.
• County or regional parks. These may contain trails, waterways, beaches, sports facilities, natural areas, historic resources, or larger landscapes that serve several communities.
• State parks. State parks may protect natural landscapes, cultural resources, historic sites, recreation areas, or a combination of these.
• National parks and monuments. These protect natural, cultural, historic, and recreational resources of national significance and may also be important community resources for people who live nearby.

Historic parks and sites can help communities understand and interpret the people, events, industries, cultures, landscapes, and experiences that shaped them. Historical interpretation should recognize that communities may contain multiple perspectives on the same history and should include people whose experiences have sometimes been excluded from traditional accounts.

Other community facilities

Parks are only one type of community resource. Other facilities may be publicly, privately, cooperatively, or nonprofit operated.

Access is an important consideration. A facility may serve a community purpose even when it charges a fee, but communities should consider whether cost, transportation, eligibility requirements, physical accessibility, language, scheduling, or other factors prevent some people from using it.

Examples of community facilities include:

• Libraries
• Community centers
• Theaters and cinemas
• Museums
• Auditoriums and concert venues
• Hospitals, clinics, and other health facilities
• Schools, colleges, and other educational facilities
• Faith-community facilities
• Local, state, Tribal, territorial, and federal government facilities that serve the public
• Sports and recreation facilities, including athletic fields, courts, recreation centers, pools, and stadiums
• Walking and bicycling trails. Organizations such as Rails-to-Trails Conservancy support the development of trails and active transportation connections.
• Recycling and resource-recovery facilities
• Community gardens
• Community arts centers
• Child care facilities
• Playgrounds
• Plazas, fountains, and public squares
• Public lakes, pools, rivers, canals, waterfronts, and other water-based recreation areas
• Boardwalks, beaches, boathouses, and other waterfront facilities
• Public transportation facilities and systems, including vehicles, stops, stations, shelters, and connections

Why improve parks and other community facilities?

• Good facilities can contribute to quality of life. Parks, libraries, cultural spaces, recreation, transportation, and other community resources can make communities more useful, enjoyable, connected, and supportive places to live.
• Good facilities expand access to intellectual, cultural, social, and physical activities. Affordable and accessible community resources can help people encounter books, art, music, recreation, technology, nature, educational opportunities, and other experiences that might otherwise be difficult to access.
• Good facilities can strengthen belonging and community stewardship. When people feel that public spaces reflect their needs and that they have meaningful roles in shaping them, they may be more likely to use, support, and care for those spaces.
• Good facilities provide useful community services. Public transportation can reduce the need for some automobile trips and improve access to employment and services. Libraries and museums can expand access to information, technology, history, culture, and different perspectives.
• Good facilities can support safe, positive, and connected community environments. Recreation, arts, education, youth programs, public spaces, and community activities can provide opportunities for relationships, learning, creativity, and participation.
• Good facilities can advance equity. When people across neighborhoods and income levels have access to useful, high-quality facilities, communities can reduce differences in access to recreation, information, transportation, culture, services, and public space.
• Good facilities can help communities retain and welcome residents. Parks, schools, libraries, transportation, cultural institutions, and other shared resources can contribute to people's decisions about where they want to live.
• Good facilities can support local economic activity. Community resources may support businesses, employment, tourism, workforce access, and nearby commercial activity. Economic benefits should be considered alongside affordability, displacement, public cost, and community priorities.
• Good facilities can improve the physical environment. Thoughtful design, maintenance, landscaping, public art, and preservation can contribute to comfortable, functional, and attractive surroundings.
• Good facilities can create places for social connection. Parks, plazas, libraries, community centers, transit stations, markets, cultural facilities, and other shared spaces can create opportunities for people to meet and participate in community life.

When should you try to improve parks and other community facilities?

Communities can review facilities at any time, but several circumstances may provide especially useful opportunities.

• When important facilities or opportunities are missing. A rural community may lack recreation opportunities, transportation, library services, health facilities, broadband access, or other resources. An urban neighborhood may lack green space, accessible recreation, or safe walking connections.
• When existing facilities need repair, modernization, or improved use. A park may have damaged equipment or safety concerns. A library may need additional space, accessible technology, or updated services. A recreation center may have hours or programming that no longer fit community needs.
• When community development or planning is underway. New housing, transportation, infrastructure, commercial development, and neighborhood plans can provide opportunities to incorporate parks, public spaces, recreation, cultural facilities, and other community resources.
• When funding or other resources become available. Grants, capital funds, charitable contributions, land, donated materials, technical assistance, or other resources may create opportunities for projects identified through community planning.
• When residents or community organizations identify a priority. Resident-led efforts may help restore a park, develop a community garden, improve a recreation area, reuse an underused building, or bring attention to a resource that needs investment.
• When land or buildings become available for community use. Vacant properties, former industrial sites, historic buildings, unused public land, or other properties may sometimes be adapted to serve new community purposes.
• When major development is being planned. Communities can consider how new development connects with public space, transportation, recreation, cultural facilities, accessibility, environmental quality, and other community priorities.
• When historic preservation or adaptive reuse is possible. Historic or older buildings may sometimes be restored and used for housing, libraries, arts, community services, transportation, or other purposes.

Who should be involved in improving parks and other community facilities?

Strong planning includes people who use the facility, people who may face barriers to using it, people responsible for maintaining or operating it, and people with relevant professional, community, or lived expertise.

Depending on the project, participants may include:

• Current and potential users. Residents who use or may use a facility can identify priorities, barriers, desired activities, accessibility needs, and features that would make the resource more useful.
• Young people, older adults, families, and other groups who use the facility in different ways. Their participation can help planners understand how needs vary across ages and life circumstances.
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations. Accessibility should be considered from the beginning rather than added after major design decisions have already been made.
• Trusted community members and resident-led organizations. People with strong community relationships may help planners understand local history, priorities, networks, and concerns. Their role should be to contribute knowledge and participation, not simply to persuade others to support a predetermined plan.
• Public officials and public agencies. Government agencies may own property, manage facilities, provide funding, issue permits, maintain infrastructure, or have other responsibilities connected with the project.
• Architects, designers, engineers, developers, landscape architects, and planners. Technical professionals can help translate community priorities into safe, functional, accessible, durable, and feasible designs.
• Community-based organizations. These organizations may use the facility, provide services there, or contribute relationships and experience with people who are often underrepresented in formal planning processes, including people experiencing homelessness and multilingual communities.
• Community foundations and other funders. Funders may provide grants, loans, technical assistance, or other resources for planning, construction, programming, accessibility, or long-term maintenance.
• Community organizers and resident advocates. They may help bring residents into the process, identify concerns, organize participation, and communicate with organizations and public institutions responsible for decisions.
• Facility staff, maintenance employees, and frontline workers. People who operate and maintain a facility can identify practical issues involving staffing, safety, programming, maintenance, equipment, and long-term costs.
• Businesses and other local institutions. They may provide resources or be affected by transportation, foot traffic, public space, or other aspects of the project.

How do you improve parks and other community facilities?

Improving a facility usually involves assessment, community participation, planning, design, funding, implementation, management, maintenance, and evaluation.

The process does not always happen in a neat sequence. A community may need to respond quickly to a damaged facility, an urgent accessibility concern, a funding deadline, or an unexpected opportunity to acquire land. Use the steps below as a framework and adapt them to local circumstances.

Assess community assets and needs

Begin by understanding both what the community already has and what barriers or unmet needs people experience.

A library may need more space or accessible technology. A neighborhood park may be physically deteriorated, poorly lit, difficult to reach, or associated with safety concerns. A recreation center may have useful facilities but limited hours or programs. A community assessment can help distinguish among these issues and identify possible solutions.

A participatory assessment can involve community members as planners, interviewers, observers, participants, and sources of knowledge. Participation should help shape actual decisions rather than simply be used to build support for a project that has already been designed.

Questions to consider include:

• Where are facilities located? Are they reasonably accessible to the people they are intended to serve? Are some neighborhoods better served than others?
• Who currently uses them? Who does not, and why?
• Are they large enough and appropriately designed? Can they support current and anticipated use?
• What condition are they in? What repairs, maintenance, modernization, or accessibility improvements are needed?
• Are they physically and digitally accessible? Consider mobility, sensory, communication, cognitive, and other access needs where relevant.
• Are they affordable to use? Do fees, transportation costs, equipment requirements, or other expenses create barriers?
• Do hours and programming fit community needs?
• Do people feel welcome and respected there?
• What community strengths can support improvement? Consider resident organizations, staff expertise, public resources, cultural assets, partnerships, volunteers, funding, land, and existing infrastructure.
• What long-term support exists? Is there funding, staffing, maintenance capacity, and organizational responsibility after construction or renovation is complete?

Assemble a participatory planning group

A planning group may take many forms: a resident-led organization, a “Friends of” group, a public advisory committee, a coalition, a nonprofit partnership, or a municipal planning process.

Whatever the structure, include people who use the facility and people who experience barriers to using it. A park used by young people, older adults, families, athletes, people with disabilities, and others will benefit from hearing directly from those different groups.

Participants should have meaningful opportunities to influence priorities, design, programming, accessibility, maintenance, and evaluation.

Many parks, libraries, museums, and other facilities have “Friends of” organizations that help with fundraising, volunteer activities, community engagement, stewardship, or other forms of support.

Useful principles for these groups include:

• Inclusion. Seek participation from different neighborhoods, ages, abilities, cultures, languages, income levels, and types of facility users.
• Clear structure. Establish transparent decision-making, communication, responsibilities, and accountability.
• Planning. Use the group to develop a practical plan based on identified community priorities.
• Accessible participation. Consider meeting times, transportation, childcare, disability access, interpretation, virtual participation, and other supports that may affect who can participate.

Determine what is needed and design the facility around community priorities

Use assessment findings and community input to determine what the facility should accomplish.

Creating or renovating a facility is not enough by itself. It also needs to be usable, accessible, well managed, well maintained, adequately funded, and responsive to the people it is intended to serve.

Useful principles include:

• Facilities should respond to community priorities. Evaluate not simply how many facilities exist, but whether they provide the services, spaces, and opportunities people need.
• Community participation should continue throughout planning and development. Residents and users should be able to influence major decisions, not only comment on finished plans.
• Facilities should reflect community strengths, culture, and history. Cultural representation should be shaped with residents and community organizations rather than based on assumptions about what a particular racial, ethnic, religious, or cultural group should want.
• Facilities should combine function with thoughtful design. High-quality design does not necessarily require expensive materials. It means creating the best solution possible for the intended use, available resources, accessibility requirements, and community context.
• Facilities should be accessible and welcoming. Consider transportation, entrances, paths, restrooms, signage, communication, digital information, language access, seating, lighting, sensory conditions, and affordability.
• Facilities should support health and safety. Use appropriate materials, address environmental hazards, maintain equipment, provide suitable lighting and emergency planning, and respond to actual safety concerns identified through evidence and community experience.

Avoid defining particular young people or community members as “troublemakers.” When a facility experiences damage, conflict, or unsafe activity, include affected residents and young people in understanding why the problem is occurring and what would make the space safer and more useful. Programming, trusted relationships, environmental design, staffing, maintenance, outreach, and other strategies may all be relevant.

• Facilities should be clean and well maintained. Regular maintenance protects people's health and safety, preserves public investment, identifies problems early, and makes facilities more comfortable to use.
• People should know what facilities offer. Use accessible community communication to share information about programs, hours, transportation, costs, accessibility, and opportunities to participate.
• Facilities should be adaptable. Needs, technologies, programs, populations, and community priorities change. Flexible spaces and systems can make adaptation easier.
• Facilities should provide multiple forms of community benefit when practical. A theater may offer performances, youth arts programs, classes, rehearsal space, or community events. A library may provide books, technology, meeting space, workforce resources, classes, and cultural programming.
• Facilities should be monitored and evaluated. Evaluate use, accessibility, participant experience, maintenance, programming, safety, affordability, and community outcomes, and use the findings to make improvements.
• Facilities should be sustainable. Consider environmental performance, climate resilience, staffing, maintenance requirements, durability, operating costs, and long-term funding.
• Facilities should be well managed. Clear responsibility is needed for management, maintenance, communication, staffing, programming, accessibility, and financial management.

Long-term operating and maintenance needs should be considered before construction begins. Raising money for a highly visible project can sometimes be easier than securing the resources needed to operate and maintain it year after year.

A financial plan may draw on several sources:

• Public funding
• Community and individual contributions
• Foundation or other grants
• Endowments or major contributions
• Fundraising events
• Sale of appropriate items or services
• Revenue generated through appropriate use of the facility
• Memberships or recurring contributions

Sustainable financing often uses a combination of approaches and should account for staffing, accessibility, maintenance, repairs, programming, utilities, insurance, replacement of equipment, and future improvements.

Assess and work to obtain available resources

Resources include money, staff capacity, professional expertise, community knowledge, public land, equipment, materials, partnerships, and volunteer contributions.

Plan for what can be maintained over time. A smaller facility that can be staffed, maintained, and used successfully may serve the community better than a larger project without resources for long-term operation.

Possible resources include:

• Public funding and staff
• Grants and philanthropic funding
• Community organizations and partnerships
• Professional expertise
• Equipment or materials available through public agencies
• Donated or loaned materials and equipment
• Community volunteers
• Business and institutional partnerships
• Fundraising and recurring donations

Volunteers can contribute valuable knowledge, labor, and stewardship, but they should complement rather than automatically replace the paid staff and public investment needed to operate essential facilities safely and consistently.

When seeking donations or partnerships, be transparent about the project's goals, costs, responsibilities, and how resources will be used. Avoid relying only on personal relationships or informal influence; open and accessible fundraising can broaden participation and trust.

If resources are limited, begin with achievable improvements

Communities do not always have enough funding to complete every desired improvement at once.

A larger park renovation may begin with cleanup, repaired lighting, accessible seating, programming, shade, improved signs, or one renovated recreation area. A library may begin by expanding digital access, improving accessibility, updating selected equipment, or partnering with another institution to offer additional services.

Small projects can build experience and demonstrate what residents value, but short-term volunteer projects should be connected whenever possible to a realistic plan for ongoing maintenance and responsibility.

Collaborate with other groups and organizations

Partner with neighborhood groups, resident organizations, faith communities, schools, businesses, public agencies, cultural organizations, disability organizations, youth organizations, health organizations, and others that can contribute knowledge or resources.

Collaboration can help coordinate programming, identify changing needs, share facilities, expand participation, obtain resources, and avoid duplicating work.

Communicate with the community and media

Work with media and community communication channels to explain the project, share accurate information, invite participation, identify resources, and keep residents informed about decisions and progress.

Communication may include local news, community newsletters, websites, social media, public meetings, signs, libraries, schools, neighborhood organizations, email, text messaging, and other channels people already use.

Communication should be two-way. Provide opportunities for people to ask questions, identify concerns, suggest improvements, and understand how their input is being used.

Participate in public decision-making

Many community facilities involve public funding, land, permits, transportation, infrastructure, maintenance, or other government responsibilities. Learn which public agency or governing body has authority over the issue and what decision-making process applies.

Appropriate forms of participation may include:

• Attending public meetings
• Participating in planning or advisory groups
• Submitting public comments
• Providing community assessments or evaluation findings
• Meeting with relevant public staff or officials
• Participating in budget or capital-planning processes
• Using established administrative, civic, or legal processes when concerns remain unresolved

Focus communication on the community need, available evidence, resident experience, costs, alternatives, accessibility, maintenance, and expected outcomes rather than on personal influence over particular decision-makers.

Organizations participating in lobbying or election-related activity should review current legal requirements, organizational policies, and any restrictions associated with their funding before acting.

Continue maintaining, evaluating, and improving the facility

Completing construction or renovation is not the end of the work. Community needs, facilities, technologies, programming, environmental conditions, and available resources continue to change.

Continue asking:

• Is the facility being used?
• Who is using it, and who is not?
• Are there accessibility, cost, transportation, language, scheduling, or other barriers?
• Is the facility safe, clean, and well maintained?
• Do programs and spaces continue to reflect community priorities?
• Are staff and operating resources adequate?
• Are some neighborhoods receiving substantially less investment or access than others?
• Are environmental and climate conditions creating new needs?
• Are there opportunities to improve the facility or use it in new ways?

Long-term stewardship should not depend on one person or a small group continuing indefinitely without support. Build responsibility, funding, participation, and institutional capacity that can continue even as individual leaders and volunteers change.

In Summary

Parks and other community facilities can contribute to health, learning, recreation, culture, transportation, social connection, economic activity, public participation, and overall quality of life.

Improving these resources may mean building something new, restoring or modernizing an existing facility, improving accessibility, expanding programming, addressing safety or maintenance problems, reducing barriers to use, or finding new ways to use an existing space.

Strong improvement efforts begin by assessing both community assets and unmet needs. Current and potential users – including people who may have been underrepresented in previous planning – should have meaningful opportunities to participate in assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation.

Good facilities are accessible, welcoming, useful, safe, adaptable, well maintained, environmentally responsible, financially sustainable, and responsive to the people and communities they serve.

Collaboration among residents, community organizations, public agencies, facility staff, technical professionals, funders, businesses, and other partners can help bring projects to completion and sustain them over time.

The goal is not simply to create attractive buildings or public spaces. It is to develop and maintain community resources that people can use, shape, enjoy, and rely on over the long term.

 

Example #1: Femke Rosenbaum and Spontaneous Celebrations

Improving community facilities can be a long process.  In order to create a new facility and turn it into a community institution, you may have to wait in line as other facilities are developed, make your way through political and interpersonal thickets, and have enormous persistence.  Femke Rosenbaum, founder of Spontaneous Celebrations Community Arts Center, has been able to negotiate all of the above and more to create a neighborhood center that’s now very much a fixture in her community.

Spontaneous Celebrations is a community arts center in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.  It runs programs for youth and adults, provides space for other arts projects, and puts on community festivals..  It is a community facility owned and run by the community itself, and the diverse board includes teens as well as adults, and people from many backgrounds and cultures.

The center reflects the vision of its Dutch-born founder, Femke Rosenbaum.  When she and her husband, Peter (Slug), moved to Jamaica Plain in the early 1970’s, they were looking not only for a place to live, but for a community they could be part of and could raise the family they planned.  They hoped to work for social change, not through protest and confrontation, but through art and the forging of relationships.  They bought a big Victorian house, made affordable by the then less-than-savory reputation of the neighborhood, and settled in for the long haul.

Before coming to Jamaica Plan, Femke had taught in an alternative elementary school in Philadelphia.  She says, “I was influenced by Deschooling Society [by Ivan Illich] and Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I wanted to bring education into the community.” With the hope of connecting schools and community more closely, she started a community art center in her basement.  She hoped to bring together children from many areas of the diverse neighborhood to make art out of recycled materials, and to learn to respect the earth and one another.  Soon the house was filled most afternoons with children making noise and exercising their creativity.  The first seeds of a unique community facility had been sown.

In the decade before the Rosenbaums came, much of the neighborhood had been under threat of being cut in half by the city’s plans to build a portion of a highway through the middle of it.  Hundreds of homes and businesses had already been torn down to make way for the highway, leaving a swath of undeveloped land slicing through the heart of the community.  This wasteland became a magnet for crime, further dividing Jamaica Plain by creating a dangerous barrier between the areas on either side of it.

By 1970, community protest had halted preparations for the highway (it was formally scrapped in 1975), but the devastation of the area – now called the Southwest Corridor – remained.  In 1976, the Southwest Corridor Community Farm formed to develop community gardens on a piece of the wasteland.  The number of gardeners grew quickly, with Femke and Slug prominent among them.  While the community garden flourished, most of the Southwest Corridor was still a garbage-strewn, overgrown moonscape...and more seeds were sown.

Femke, trailed by three small children, still ran art classes in her basement, but had made connections with a number of groups of all sorts, some oriented toward politics, some toward culture, some toward the environment.  One of the groups was led by a woman who taught folklore at a local university, and who was especially interested in festivals and their importance in various societies.  Femke, by now a member of the Jamaica Plain Arts Council, recruited a loosely-organized group to organize a community festival. They worked with the folklorist to define the spring festival traditions of the various groups – Hispanics, Blacks, and working-class Whites of various European backgrounds – in the Jamaica Plain and neighboring Roxbury neighborhoods.  Eventually, the group got a grant to teach traditional dances and other festival activities to kids, who would then perform them at a community spring celebration.

The first Wake Up the Earth Festival, organized by Femke and a few others, took place in May of 1979 on vacant land in the Southwest Corridor next to the community gardens. It was meant to be “a celebration of what can be accomplished when people of all traditions, cultures, ages, and beliefs come together,” to demonstrate and celebrate the use of the wasteland, and to create a community tradition.  Femke, through previous contact with them, was able to convince skeptical Black and Latino organizations in Jamaica Plain and neighboring Roxbury, long accustomed to being used politically, to take part.

Cooperation from the city was not forthcoming. “The morning of the festival, we realized that the lot next to the farm was still covered with garbage, when the city had said they would clean it up.  We swept it all up and put it in Slug’s dump truck, and parked it in back of the greenhouse.  Then when the festival was over, we put it back on the ground – all in a big pile, not scattered.  The city eventually took it away, weeks later.”

Participants paraded through the three neighborhoods representing the different cultures involved and there were spectacular dance performances and food.  A community tradition had indeed been born: May, 2007, marked 29th Wake Up the Earth Festival. The first drew several hundred people, remarkable in itself; festival attendees now regularly number about 10,000 – with no publicity.

Shortly after, partially as a result of the success of Wake Up the Earth, Femke was instrumental in an effort by the Arts Council to acquire the old neighborhood fire station, which was about to be replaced, for a community arts and performance center. Eventually, after much political wrangling, the Firehouse Community Arts Center was born, with Femke a member of the board. That board was split, however, between those who believed in art purely for its own sake, and those who, like Femke, also saw it as a vehicle for social change.

Femke is very clear that she wasn’t particularly interested in political art, but rather in art as a vehicle.  “I was political, but I really wanted to do something positive – that’s what Wake Up the Earth was about.  I saw art as a way to bring people together.”.  She was seen by many as a radical, however, and her relationship with the Firehouse and its director was never comfortable.  But her community-building continued: in 1984, now with four children in tow, she led the first Lantern Festival.  A group of neighborhood residents carried home-made candle lanterns – many constructed in lantern-making workshops at the Firehouse – around 62-acre Jamaica Pond, one of the central features of the neighborhood, on an evening in late October. Another community tradition was born: the Lantern Festival, now more than 20 years old, regularly attracts a procession of about 5,000 stretching over a mile – more than the circumference of the pond – bringing light as the nights grow longer.  A few years later, the midwinter Tropical Festival was initiated as a fundraiser for the Firehouse, and also took on a life of its own.

Femke chafed at the programming restrictions placed on her by her association with the Firehouse. “They wanted me to run a program that was a couple of hours a couple of afternoons a week, just to make stuff for the festivals.  But when the festivals get close, you’re working around the clock, and I wanted to do more than just make costumes or teach stiltwalking. So in 1991, I rented the basement under the name of Spontaneous Celebrations. That was the beginning of Spontaneous – the name on the check in 1991.”

When the Firehouse refused her offer to lease the basement space on a long-term basis, Femke started searching for a building, moving Spontaneous Celebrations into the old German Club a few blocks away in 1995. Since then, the center has become a true community facility. It started with a Festival Arts program for middle school kids, which focused on making costumes and decorations for the festivals, and learning traditional dances, songs, and skills (stiltwalking, for instance).  One group of sixth graders became so enthusiastic that they stayed with the program for three years.  When Spontaneous had no high school program for them to graduate into, they started one themselves – Beantown Society, dedicated to the eradication of teen violence in the still-dangerous neighborhood.

A course in drumming from different traditions has led to the Spontaneous Samba Band, which plays at the Spontaneous festivals, and at other events and locations around the city. La Pinata, a program of the Latin American Family Cultural Network, teaches the traditions of their cultures to Latino children. All in all, Spontaneous Celebrations is a lively place that reflects the faces, cultures, and traditions of all the people in the neighborhood and surrounding areas. It’s a community institution now, synonymous with Jamaica Plain. It serves to introduce children of all cultures to one another and to one another’s art and traditions, to awaken their creativity, and to instill in them the importance of celebrating life.  And now, although Femke has retired from her formal association with it, the project carries on, leading to changed lives and a stronger community.

 

Example #2: The City Project

© Judith Baca

The City Project believes that all people should have access to healthy, livable communities. Their multicultural, Latino-led team works with diverse allies to ensure equal access to (1) healthy green land use through planning by and for the community; (2) climate justice; (3) physical education and schools of hope as centers of their communities; (4) health equity and wellness; and (5) economic vitality for all, including jobs and avoiding displacement as communities become greener and more desirable. The mission of The City Project is to achieve equal justice, democracy, and livability for all.

As the next generation civil rights advocates, they pursue myriad strategies. They are problem solvers who use many of the same strategies that corporate or transactional lawyers use on behalf of their clients: planning, data collection and analysis, media, negotiation, policy advocacy, and coalition building are all part of a comprehensive problem-solving strategy. They join forces with clients, experts, and broader coalitions to seek equity and overcome structural barriers to a more equitable society. Their work can be framed as promoting new partners for smart growth, equitable development, ecosystem services, and compliance with civil rights and environmental justice policies and laws.

Goals

1. Healthy Green Land Use, Equitable Development, and Civic Engagement through Planning by and for the Community

The City Project promotes active living and healthy eating in communities that are park poor, income poor, or of color. They engage, educate, and empower diverse allies to plan, create, and preserve multi-benefit healthy green land use and infrastructure projects for active living, climate justice, and clean air, water, land, and habitat protection. This includes joint use of parks, pools, and schools; complete green streets with transit, biking, walking, and safe routes to school; and new partners for smart growth.

They provide multidisciplinary consulting, research, and analyses to inform healthy, sustainable planning by and for the community for generations to come. Their major publication, which reflects community based participatory research, has been influential in planning reports and studies by the federal government and others: Healthy Parks, Schools and Communities: Mapping Green Access and Equity for Southern California (The City Project Policy Report 2011), available at http://www.mapjustice.org. The National Park Service cites their work in recognizing that there is not enough green space for all, there are disparities in park access and health based on race and ethnicity, and park agencies need to address these concerns.

Healthy green land use projects underway with diverse allies and agencies include:

• Greening the Los Angeles River
• Creating the San Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area
• Greening the San Gabriel River
• National Parks Service Work Group on Healthy People,
  Healthy Parks Community Engagement Resource Guide
• California State Parks Forward Initiative
• Expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

They implement lessons learned from their successful projects, which include creating or preserving over 1,000 acres of urban green space in:

• Los Angeles State Historic Park – “a heroic monument” and “a symbol of hope,” according to the L.A. Times
• Rio de Los Angeles State Park, the starting point for greening the L.A. River
• Baldwin Hills Park in the historic heart of Black L.A., the largest urban park designed in the US in over a century
• Ascot Hills Park. Before that park, the largest green space in Northeast L.A. was Evergreen Cemetery, which sent a message to children that if they wanted green space, they had to die first.
• Vista Hermosa Nature Park, an "L.A. park like no other," according to the L.A. Times, and a best practice for joint use of schools, pools, and parks.
• Clean water and park multibenefit projects at North Atwater Park, South L.A. Wetlands Park, and Garvanza Park
• Kellogg Park in Ventura.

The City Project works to ensure everyone has equal access to active living where they live, learn, work, play, and pray. Best practices include:

• Transit to Trails to take inner city children on fun, educational, and healthy trips to mountains, beaches, and rivers
• Ensuring public beach access up and down the coast
• Keeping public trails open including Millard Canyon in the San Gabriels and Canyon Back trail in the Santa Monica Mountains.

They ensure parks reflect the culture, history, and diversity of the community through public monuments and art. Best practices include:

• Restoring and expanding the Great Wall of Los Angeles along the L.A. River
• Saving the sacred Native American site of Panhe and San Onofre State Beach
• Restoring Chicano Park in San Diego
• Commemorating Bruce's Beach, the historic Black resort.

They bring nontraditional partners to the table. They help build diverse support for statewide park and water bond measures, with over $10 billion in state park and water bonds passed over the past decade. Voters of color and low-income voters can make the difference in passing properly framed resource measures, and must receive their fair share of the benefits.

They ensure compliance with clean water and environmental justice laws. Through a $2 billion agreement under the Clean Water Act between grassroots groups, US EPA, and the City of Los Angeles, they are improving the sewer system city wide, eliminating offensive sewer odors that plagued Black people in Los Angeles for decades, and investing in multi-benefit park and water infrastructure projects.

2. Physical Education and Schools of Hope

The City Project works on compliance with physical education and civil rights laws with public officials statewide. Dr. Robert Ross, President of The California Endowment, has called this work "a best practice example for districts across the state to provide a quality education for the children of California." Half the school districts audited by the state in 2005-2009 were not in compliance with physical education requirements.

They are implementing the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations to provide physical education minutes, monitor compliance, alleviate disparities, improve teacher education, make physical education a core subject, and improve physical activity in the whole school environment.

They work to make schools the centers of their communities. LAUSD has raised $27 billion to build and modernize public schools. The City Project’s Robert García served as Chair of the Citizens’ School Bond Oversight Committee from 2000 to 2005, overseeing planning and implementation, and signing ballot measures to raise local, state, and federal funds. The district has built 130 new schools and modernized hundreds more since 1998. Hundreds of acres of land were cleaned up. The future became brighter for generations of students. Joint use of schools, pools, and parks makes optimal use of scarce land and resources.

3. Health Equity and Wellness in All Policies

The City Project works on health equity and wellness in all policies, alleviating health disparities, and addressing the social determinants of health. The Affordable Care Act’s section 1557 guards against health discrimination based on race, color, national origin, limited English proficiency, sex, disability, and age. The Act protects health and life itself through wellness, prevention, physical activity, and healthy land use, as well as health care. They work with academics and diverse allies in the planning process to develop regulations, guidance, and best practices for the US Department of Health and Human Services to implement these principles. Concretely, we are working with USC to improve the wellness element in the forthcoming general plan for the City of Los Angeles. They are working on eliminating Latino disparities in food stamp programs. They build healthy, active communities through healthy green land use, physical education, and other policies above.

4. Job and Wealth Creation

The City Project seeks triple bottom line infrastructure solutions that promote equity, economics, and the environment. The park, water, and school bond measures above provide billions of dollars for jobs and wealth creation. Each $50 million of the $27 billion in school bonds has created 935 annual jobs, $43 million in wages, and $130 million in local business revenue. Park jobs can help get the nation back to work, and build people’s feelings of self-worth. They support a 21st Century Conservation Corps to provide jobs, contracts for small, women, minority, and veteran- owned enterprises, careers, and environmental benefits.

5. Strategic Communications

• President’s Award, American Public Health Association, for helping make human health a social justice imperative
• KCETLink/Union Bank Local Hero Award
• PODER Magazine, Top 100 Green Latino Leaders in the Nation
• Hispanic Business Magazine, 100 Most Influential Latino Leaders, "men and women who are changing the nation"
• City of Los Angeles, L.A. River Award “for extensively publishing research and findings on urban parks and their benefits for the River, receiving national recognition in your efforts to revitalize the River, and for your contribution to the greening of the River.”
• Public Stewardship Award, American Society of Landscape Architects, SoCal chapter
• As reported in the New York Times, “The City Project [is] working to broaden access to parks and open space for inner city children, and . . . to fight childhood obesity by guaranteeing that . . . students get enough physical education.”

Major recent publications include:

• Robert García and Ariel Collins, Celebrate The Civil Rights Revolution: The Struggle Continues Policy Report (The City Project 2014)
• Michael Rodriguez, MD, MPH, et al., Using Civil Rights Tools to Address Health Disparities Policy Report (The City Project 2014)
• Robert García, The George Butler Lecture: Social Justice and Leisure 45(1), Journal of Leisure Research 7-22 (Winter 2013)
• Mariah Lafleur et al., Physical Education and Student Activity: Evaluating Implementation of a New Policy in Los Angeles Public Schools, 45(1) Annals of Behavioral Medicine 122-130 (2013)
• Robert García and Ramya Sivasubramanian, Environmental Justice for All: Struggle in Baldwin Hills and South Central Los Angeles, Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy (Nov/Dec 2012)
• Robert García, Physical Activity as a Civil Rights Issue, in Institute of Medicine, Legal Strategies in Childhood Obesity Prevention (Lynn Parker et al., eds. 2011)

Recent videos are available on their web site.

The City Project publishes the Green Justice Blog at KCET Departures online. KCET is the public television station for Los Angeles.

The values at stake. People are coming together to support healthy, safe parks and green space to support the diverse values at stake. These values include the simple joys of playing in the park and school field; improved physical, psychological, and social health; the full development of the child, including improved academics and positive alternatives to crime; economic vitality and local green jobs; conservation values of climate justice, clean air, water, and land, and habitat protection; cultural, art, and spiritual values; and smart, sustainable communities. Equal justice and democracy underlie these other values.

 

Example #3: Columbia Parc at the Bayou District-New Orleans, LA: Holistic Redevelopment to Bring Lasting Change to a Distressed Neighborhood

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives, where mixed income housing, new schools, and a sustaining economic anchor completely transformed a once-struggling neighborhood in post-Katrina New Orleans in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

 

Example #4: ‘Active Living Trails’ Give Boost to Public Parks in Northeast Kansas City, KS.

Photo from KU Today: Architecture Professor Nils Gore installs an inspirational sign in KCK's Parkwood Park. Credit: Matt Kleinmann

The Dotte Agency was one of three groups across the nation to receive grants from the new Gehl Institute to try out its cutting-edge tools for measuring activity and value in public space. The agency improved local parks, creating “active living trails” in order to introduce health education, motivation and social connectedness to the community on a modest budget. The project built capacity in the neighborhood and worked to improve the health of the community by improving access to public parks.

 

Example #5: Revitalizing Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston

Located within minutes of downtown Houston, Buffalo Bayou Park is a 160-acre, 2.3-mile long public space that has been subjected to years of neglect. Surrounded on both sides by high-use thoroughfares, the park was also difficult for nearby neighborhoods to access. In 2010, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) received a $30 million grant from the Kinder Foundation, which served as a fundraising catalyst for the park’s revitalization. In 2012, under the leadership of the BBP Board and President Anne Olson, collaborative partners including the City of Houston, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), and a variety of non-profit organizations, design firms, and community groups began reconstruction of the park. Read more. 

 

Example #6: Unity Park - Richmond, California

Groundwork USA, a national network of community-based organizations that enhances the built environment of underserved communities, mobilized local neighborhoods to design and construct an accessible green space for the public. Transforming an underutilized corridor into Unity Park, residents acknowledge that the collaborative infrastructure enabled greater degree of civic engagement, increased bonding, social capital and reduced isolation and loneliness. Read more.

 

Example #7: Defining and Unpacking the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity–A Culture of Health Webinar

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) held the first webinar in its Culture of Health Webinar Series on November 29, 2018. The National Academies report Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity identified nine social determinants of health and how these determinants impact our health and the health of our communities. They mention engaging youth to create a skate park and other community resources. The report also defines health equity as the state in which everyone has the opportunity to attain full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or any other socially defined circumstance. Read more.

 

Example #8: Changing the Landscape: People, Parks, and Power

In Changing the Landscape: People, Parks, and Power, Prevention Institute and Alessandro Rigolon of the University of Utah propose an approach to addressing park and green space inequities that prioritizes building power among people closest to the problem so that they can drive policy and systems change solutions. The paper includes lessons learned from other public health movements that can benefit the park equity movement as well as examples of promising green space equity policies. It was funded with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Read more.

 

Example #9: Jersey Creek Park Trail in Kansas City

Broderick Crawford, the executive director of the NBC (New Bethel Church) Community Development Corp., sees possibilities in deterioration. He envisions children biking to the playground, perhaps to play pickup basketball, and families who can enjoy the outdoors in safety.

The NBC Community Development Corp. is one part of a multifaceted coalition that includes Healthy Communities Wyandotte, Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, FreeWheels for Kids, UG Parks and Recreation, the University of Kansas School of Architecture, the Latino Health for All Coalition and other organizations that are working to improve the health of Wyandotte Countians. Read more.

 

Example #10: People, Parks, and Power: A National Initiative for Green Space, Health Equity, and Racial Justice

People, Parks, and Power (P3) is the first national funding initiative in the U.S. to support power building by community-based organizations to reverse deep seated park and green space inequities in Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities across the country. P3 is a joint effort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, led and managed by Prevention Institute. P3 will advance park and green space equity through a national grantmaking program, peer-to-peer learning community, research, network building, and strategic communications. Read more.

 

 

example #11: creating space for girls - a community-built playground for equity and inclusion

A coalition in Johnson County, Kansas, worked to empower girls by creating a community space designed specifically for–and by–them. Local government partnered with youth to design and build a playground to address the lack of spaces that cater to girls’ needs and interests.  This effort provides a supportive place for girls to connect and interact.
 

What do we mean by improving parks and other community facilities?

___A community facility is a physical feature provided – either by the municipality as a public service, or by a private entity – in the community for the benefit of community members

___Improving community facilities comes down to determining what the community needs and wants, and working to provide those facilities that will enhance the quality of life – socially, intellectually, culturally, economically, politically, and psychologically – for everyone

___Examples of community facilities include:

• Parks
• Libraries
• Theaters, both stage and cinema
• Museums
• Auditoriums and concert venues
• Hospitals and other health providers, both public and private
• Educational facilities (schools, colleges, etc.)
• Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious entities
• Local, state, and federal government offices meant to serve the public
• Public and other sports and recreation facilities
• Recycling facilities
• Community gardens
• Community art centers
• Child care facilities
• Playgrounds
• Transportation

Why improve parks and other community facilities?

___Good facilities contribute to the general quality of life in the community

___Good facilities provide exposure to and opportunities for a wide variety of intellectual, cultural, and physical activities

___Good facilities can instill a sense of ownership and community pride in residents

___Good facilities can provide services that help everyone

___Good facilities can help prevent crime and other dangerous behavior

___Good facilities can increase the level of fairness and equity in a community

___Good facilities can help to attract new residents

___Good facilities can improve the economic climate and prospects of the community, by attracting business and tourism

___Good facilities can make the community more attractive physically

___Good facilities can provide gathering places that improve the social character of community life

When should you try to improve parks and other community facilities?

___When there is a community need and facilities are simply lacking

___When facilities are in bad shape or inadequate

___When there’s a community development initiative under way

___When there’s money available – from grants or private sources – that can be used for it

___When the community, or at least a group of residents, is ready to take on the task

___When there’s a possibility of acquiring a piece of land or a building for community use

___When a major development is in the planning or early execution stage

___When there’s a possibility of historic preservation

Improving parks and other community facilities should be a participatory process, involving as many stakeholder groups as possible:

___Potential users of the facility

___Community leaders

___Public officials

___Architects, designers, engineers, developers, and planners

___Community based organizations

___Community foundations

___Community activists

How do you improve parks and other community facilities?

___Assess community assets and needs

___Assemble a participatory planning team representing the interests of all stakeholders

___Design the best facility possible, according to the results of your assessment and planning, the available resources, and the guidelines for creating a good community facility

___Guidelines for good community facilities:

• Facilities should meet the needs of the community
• Facilities should involve the community in all aspects of their planning and development
• Facilities should take advantage of the assets and culture of the community
• Facilities should be designed to be as beautiful, exciting, and functional as they can be, rather than merely adequate, regardless of the resources available
• Facilities should be accessible and welcoming
• Facilities should be healthy and safe
• Facilities should be clean and well maintained
• Facilities should be marketed to potential users
• Facilities should be as flexible as possible
• Facilities should be sustainable over time
• Facilities should be well managed
• Facilities should seek to benefit the community in as many ways as possible
• Facilities should have a mechanism for regular monitoring and evaluation, and a mechanism to act on their results

___Assess and work to obtain potential resources

___Do what you can with the resources you have

___Collaborate with other organizations, local government, etc.

___Enlist help from the media

___Advocate with policymakers, legislators, and the public

___Keep at it indefinitely

• What do we mean by environmental quality?

• Why protect environmental quality?

• When should you act to protect environmental quality?

• Who should be involved in protecting environmental quality?

• How do you protect environmental quality?

Imagine that a community discovers that an aging landfill is beginning to threaten a nearby wildlife refuge and the water resources connected with it. Closing or repairing the landfill would cost money, but allowing contamination to continue could damage wildlife habitat, recreation, drinking-water sources, and community health.

Residents, local officials, engineers, environmental professionals, and other community members might work together to examine the problem and consider several approaches: safely closing or improving the landfill, reducing the amount of waste sent for disposal, expanding recycling and composting where appropriate, monitoring water quality, and planning for long-term waste management.

This example illustrates an important principle: environmental quality is connected with everyday community decisions. Protecting it may involve preventing contamination, conserving natural resources, improving the built environment, restoring damaged ecosystems, reducing waste, responding to climate-related risks, or making sure that environmental benefits and burdens are considered across the whole community.

Environmental issues are often complex because they involve health, science, economics, land use, employment, transportation, housing, infrastructure, culture, law, and community priorities. This section explores that complexity and suggests ways communities can protect both natural and built environments for present and future generations.

What do we mean by environmental quality?

When people hear the word “environment,” they may first think of forests, rivers, wetlands, oceans, mountains, grasslands, and other natural places. But the environment also includes the places people have built and shaped: homes, schools, streets, farms, factories, parks, transportation systems, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

Environmental quality refers to the condition of the natural and built environments and the ways those conditions affect ecosystems, human health, safety, comfort, opportunity, and quality of life.

Environmental quality includes:

• Air quality
• Water quality and water supply
• Soil and land conditions
• Plants, wildlife, and biodiversity
• Natural resources and energy
• Waste and materials management
• The design and condition of buildings and neighborhoods
• Transportation and infrastructure
• Parks, open space, and recreation
• Noise, light, heat, and other environmental conditions
• Climate-related risks and resilience
• Cultural, historic, scenic, and community relationships with place

Environmental quality is also about distribution. Environmental benefits and environmental hazards are not always shared equally. One neighborhood may have abundant trees, parks, clean air, and safe drinking water, while another experiences greater exposure to traffic pollution, industrial activity, extreme heat, flooding, contaminated land, or other environmental burdens.

Understanding environmental quality therefore requires looking not only at the condition of the environment as a whole, but also at who experiences particular benefits or risks and how residents participate in decisions that affect them.

Why protect environmental quality?

Communities have many reasons to protect and improve environmental quality.

• To protect health and well-being. Clean air, safe drinking water, healthy soil, appropriate housing, access to green space, and protection from environmental hazards can contribute to building a healthy community.
• To protect essential community resources. Water supplies, watersheds, farmland, forests, fisheries, soils, wetlands, and other resources support daily life and local economies.
• To support quality of life. Parks, trees, trails, clean waterways, comfortable neighborhoods, and other environmental features can provide opportunities for recreation, restoration, social connection, and everyday enjoyment.
• To support attractive, functional, and culturally meaningful communities. Environmental quality includes not only scenic beauty but also places that have cultural, historical, spiritual, or community significance.
• To support economic stability. Businesses, agriculture, tourism, outdoor recreation, fisheries, forestry, energy, and many other economic activities depend on natural resources and environmental conditions.
• To support communities where people want to live, work, and visit. Environmental quality can influence people's experiences of neighborhoods and communities.
• To protect historic and cultural resources. Landscapes, waterways, historic places, traditional-use areas, and other environmental features may be closely connected with community history and identity.
• To reduce disaster and climate risks. Wetlands, forests, floodplains, healthy soils, shade trees, resilient infrastructure, and other environmental features can help communities manage flooding, erosion, extreme heat, drought, wildfire, storms, and other hazards.
• To prevent avoidable harm. Considering environmental risks before approving development or infrastructure can be less costly and less disruptive than repairing damage later.
• To protect biodiversity and habitat. Healthy ecosystems depend on suitable habitat and connections among habitats for plants, animals, pollinators, aquatic species, and other organisms.
• To maintain functioning ecosystems. Forests, wetlands, grasslands, oceans, rivers, soils, and other ecosystems provide services such as water filtration, flood protection, pollination, carbon storage, food production, and habitat.
• To protect resources for future generations. Decisions about land, energy, water, wildlife, waste, and development can have effects that last for decades or longer.
• To reduce unequal environmental burdens. Communities can examine whether some neighborhoods or populations experience greater exposure to pollution, heat, flooding, hazardous facilities, or other risks and work to improve those conditions.

When should you protect environmental quality?

Environmental quality should be considered continuously, not only after a serious problem appears. Several situations provide particularly important opportunities for action.

• When an environmental resource or community is threatened. Examples include proposed development near a wetland, contamination of drinking water, loss of important habitat, excessive air pollution, or development in an area exposed to flooding or wildfire.
• When community planning is underway. Comprehensive plans, neighborhood plans, transportation plans, housing strategies, infrastructure projects, and economic-development initiatives can incorporate environmental considerations before major decisions are made.
• When new commercial, industrial, infrastructure, or housing development is proposed. Site design, transportation, stormwater management, energy use, habitat, waste, materials, trees, accessibility, and other factors can be considered during planning and review.
• When an environmental emergency or emerging risk occurs. Contamination, wildfire, flooding, extreme heat, harmful algal blooms, drought, infrastructure failures, or other events may require immediate action as well as longer-term prevention.
• When new research or public information identifies a concern. Scientific findings, environmental monitoring, community observations, health data, investigative reporting, or public agency assessments may reveal risks that were not previously understood.
• When funding or technical assistance becomes available. Grants and other resources may provide opportunities for land conservation, pollution reduction, infrastructure improvements, energy efficiency, restoration, monitoring, or community planning.
• When contaminated or underused property is being redeveloped. Cleanup and redevelopment can provide opportunities to address environmental hazards while creating new community uses.
• When policies, zoning, building standards, or infrastructure plans are being updated. These decisions can shape environmental conditions for many years.

Who should be involved in protecting environmental quality?

Environmental quality is a shared responsibility. The people most directly affected by a decision should have meaningful opportunities to participate, along with those responsible for managing land, infrastructure, businesses, public health, and natural resources.

Participants may include:

• Local, Tribal, state, territorial, and federal governments and agencies. Public agencies may set standards, issue permits, conduct environmental reviews, monitor conditions, enforce laws, manage public land, fund projects, or operate infrastructure.
• Environmental, conservation, public-health, and community organizations. These organizations may provide research, education, technical assistance, legal knowledge, organizing capacity, funding, or local experience.
• Community organizers and resident-led groups. Residents often have direct knowledge of neighborhood conditions, environmental changes, exposure concerns, community priorities, and the history of local decisions.
• People and communities directly affected by environmental conditions. People who live near a proposed development, contaminated site, transportation corridor, industrial facility, floodplain, wildfire area, or other environmental concern should be included early in assessment and decision-making.
• Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. Tribal governments are sovereign governments, and environmental decisions may involve Tribal lands, treaty rights, natural resources, cultural resources, subsistence practices, or ancestral places.
• Workers and people whose livelihoods depend on natural resources. Farmers, ranchers, fishers, forestry workers, outdoor-recreation workers, and others may have important practical knowledge as well as economic interests connected with environmental conditions.
• Scientists and technical professionals. Ecologists, biologists, hydrologists, engineers, geologists, climate scientists, public-health professionals, planners, toxicologists, and others can help communities understand evidence and possible consequences.
• People who use natural and public spaces. Hikers, hunters, anglers, birders, boaters, cyclists, gardeners, cultural groups, and others may bring different perspectives about conservation and access.
• Architects, planners, landscape architects, engineers, and developers. Their decisions influence energy use, transportation, land consumption, stormwater, heat, habitat, building materials, and the overall environmental performance of development.
• Businesses and employers. Businesses can reduce pollution and waste, improve energy and resource efficiency, manage environmental risks, comply with environmental standards, and participate in community solutions.
• Utilities and infrastructure providers. Water, wastewater, transportation, energy, waste, and other systems have major effects on environmental quality.
• Young people and educational institutions. Schools, colleges, and youth organizations can participate in environmental monitoring, restoration, education, research, and planning.

How do you protect environmental quality?

Environmental protection can take place at different stages:

• Prevent problems before they occur. Examples include protecting sensitive land, selecting appropriate development sites, reducing pollution at its source, designing energy- and water-efficient buildings, and considering environmental risks before major investments are made.
• Manage ongoing conditions. Monitor air and water, maintain infrastructure, enforce environmental standards, manage habitat, reduce waste, improve operations, and respond to problems as they develop.
• Repair or restore environmental damage. Cleanup of contaminated land and water, habitat restoration, stream restoration, reforestation, wetland restoration, and other actions may be needed after harm has occurred.

Prevention is often more effective and less costly than repairing serious damage later. At the same time, communities frequently need to combine prevention, management, restoration, and adaptation.

Elements of the environment to consider

Air, water, land, plants, animals, natural resources, the built environment, recreation, climate, and cultural relationships with place are interconnected. A decision affecting one may also affect several others.

Air

Air quality can be affected by transportation, power generation, industry, wildfire smoke, construction, agriculture, household sources, and other activities.

• Air pollution and smog. Air pollution can include particulate matter, ground-level ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, hazardous air pollutants, and other contaminants. Air pollution has declined substantially for many regulated pollutants in the United States over recent decades, but important health and geographic disparities remain.
• The ozone layer. Stratospheric ozone protects life from harmful ultraviolet radiation. International action under the Montreal Protocol has phased out most controlled ozone-depleting substances, and the ozone layer is gradually recovering. Continued monitoring and compliance remain important.
• Regional haze. Fine particles and other air pollutants can travel long distances and reduce visibility in parks, wilderness areas, rural communities, and cities as well as affect health.
• Acid deposition. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can contribute to acid rain and other forms of acid deposition. Emission-control programs have greatly reduced these pollutants from U.S. power plants, although nitrogen and sulfur pollution remain environmental concerns in some areas.
• Climate change. Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, land-use change, agriculture, and some industrial processes, have increased concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Climate change affects temperature, precipitation, sea level, extreme events, ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure, and human health.
• Indoor air quality. Ventilation, moisture and mold, combustion, smoke, radon, building materials, cleaning products, and other factors can affect air quality inside homes, schools, workplaces, and public buildings.

Air pollution does not remain within community boundaries. Smoke, dust, industrial emissions, and other pollutants can travel across regions and national borders, making air quality both a local and broader environmental issue.

Water

Communities need both safe water and reliable water supplies. Water conditions are affected by land use, climate, agriculture, industry, wastewater, stormwater, infrastructure, and watershed management.

• Water pollution. Industrial discharges, wastewater, agricultural runoff, stormwater, septic systems, mining, waste sites, and other sources can introduce pollutants into surface water and groundwater.
• Nutrient pollution. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer, manure, wastewater, stormwater, and other sources can contribute to harmful algal blooms and oxygen depletion in lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters.
• Persistent and emerging contaminants. Communities may need to address contaminants such as PFAS, pesticides, industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, metals, and other substances as scientific knowledge and monitoring improve.
• Stormwater. Roads, parking lots, rooftops, and other hard surfaces increase runoff and can carry pollutants into waterways. Green infrastructure, vegetation, wetlands, permeable surfaces, and other approaches can help manage stormwater.
• Water supply. Drought, population change, agriculture, industrial demand, groundwater depletion, aging infrastructure, climate change, and competing uses can all affect water availability.
• Flooding. Floodplain development, loss of wetlands, inadequate drainage, extreme rainfall, sea-level rise, and aging infrastructure can increase flood risk.
• Oceans and coastal waters. Marine environments face pressures from pollution, plastics, nutrient runoff, overfishing, habitat loss, warming, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification.

Watersheds cross political boundaries. Protecting a community's water often requires coordination with upstream and downstream communities, landowners, utilities, agricultural producers, industries, and government agencies.

Land and soil

• Contamination. Spills, leaking tanks, industrial activity, mining, waste disposal, pesticides, and other activities can contaminate soil and groundwater. Some contaminants persist for long periods and may require investigation, cleanup, or restrictions on land use.
• Land disturbance and extraction. Mining, logging, road construction, grading, and other activities can alter landscapes, fragment habitat, increase erosion, and affect water systems. Environmental effects vary by location, method, regulation, and restoration practices.
• Agriculture. Agriculture depends on healthy soil and water and can also affect them. Soil erosion, nutrient loss, pesticide use, irrigation, livestock waste, habitat conversion, and greenhouse-gas emissions are among the issues communities and agricultural producers may address through conservation and sustainable land-management practices.
• Waste and materials. Waste prevention, reuse, repair, recycling, composting, safe hazardous-waste management, and responsible disposal can reduce landfill use and conserve materials. The environmental benefits of different approaches depend on the materials involved, local systems, transportation, markets, and other conditions.
• Loss and fragmentation of open space. Development can reduce or divide habitat, farmland, forests, wetlands, and other open spaces. Planning can identify areas where conservation, restoration, or connected habitat is especially important.
• Brownfields and previously developed land. Cleaning up and reusing appropriate sites can address contamination while reducing pressure to develop undeveloped land.

Plants, wildlife, and biodiversity

Plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms, and the habitats that support them are interconnected parts of environmental quality.

• Unsustainable harvesting. Logging, plant collection, fishing, hunting, or other forms of harvesting can reduce populations when removal exceeds the ability of a species or ecosystem to recover.
• Habitat loss and fragmentation. Development, agriculture, roads, extraction, and other land changes can reduce or divide habitats and disrupt migration, feeding, reproduction, pollination, and other ecological processes.
• Pollution. Air, water, soil, pesticides, excess nutrients, plastics, and other pollutants can affect plants and animals as well as people.
• Invasive species. Some nonnative species spread rapidly and cause ecological, economic, or health impacts. Prevention, early detection, and appropriate management can reduce harm.
• Climate change. Changing temperatures, precipitation, wildfire patterns, sea levels, and seasonal timing can shift habitats and affect migration, reproduction, food availability, and species interactions.

One example of an invasive forest pest is the spongy moth, formerly commonly called the “gypsy moth.” Its caterpillars feed on many species of trees and shrubs and can cause substantial defoliation.

Natural resources and energy

Communities depend on water, soils, forests, minerals, energy, food systems, and many other natural resources. Sustainable management considers how resources are obtained, used, reused, and restored over time.

Approaches can include:

• Reducing unnecessary energy, water, and material use
• Improving energy and water efficiency
• Repairing, reusing, and recycling materials where appropriate
• Reducing pollution associated with extraction and production
• Expanding renewable and lower-emission energy sources where appropriate
• Improving electrical grids, storage, buildings, and transportation systems
• Considering environmental impacts across the full life cycle of products and infrastructure

No energy or resource system is impact-free. Wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, bioenergy, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, batteries, transmission systems, and other technologies all involve land, materials, infrastructure, costs, and environmental tradeoffs. Communities can compare those impacts and benefits using current evidence rather than assuming that one option has no consequences.

The built environment

Buildings, streets, transportation systems, utilities, parks, and other human-made environments affect health and environmental quality directly.

• Open and green space. Parks, trees, conservation areas, greenways, wetlands, gardens, and other open spaces can provide habitat, shade, stormwater management, recreation, cooling, and opportunities for social connection.
• Healthy and efficient buildings. Buildings can reduce energy and water use, provide healthy ventilation and indoor air quality, avoid unnecessary exposure to hazardous materials, use durable materials, and incorporate climate-responsive design.
• Transportation. Land-use and transportation decisions affect air pollution, greenhouse-gas emissions, noise, safety, physical activity, access to employment and services, and the amount of land devoted to roads and parking.
• Extreme heat. Trees, vegetation, shade, reflective or appropriate building materials, cooling resources, and thoughtful site design can help reduce heat exposure.
• Climate resilience. Buildings and infrastructure can be designed or adapted for changing risks such as extreme heat, flooding, severe storms, drought, wildfire, and sea-level rise.
• Light pollution. Appropriate lighting design can improve visibility and safety while reducing glare, unnecessary energy use, intrusion into nearby homes, and impacts on wildlife and night skies.
• Noise. Transportation, industry, construction, entertainment, and other sources can contribute to harmful or disruptive noise. Planning and design can help reduce exposure.

Recreation

Parks, forests, waterways, wildlife refuges, and other natural areas provide important opportunities for recreation, physical activity, cultural practices, education, and connection with nature.

At the same time, heavy use can damage sensitive environments through erosion, waste, disturbance to wildlife, vehicle use, vegetation loss, or other effects. Management may include designated trails and activity areas, seasonal restrictions, visitor limits, restoration, education, accessible facilities, and other approaches based on the needs of the particular environment.

Aesthetics, culture, and connection to place

People value environments not only for measurable resources but also because of beauty, history, cultural meaning, spiritual importance, recreation, identity, and attachment to place.

These values may sometimes conflict with development, energy production, transportation, resource extraction, or other community needs. Strong decision-making processes make those tradeoffs visible and include people connected with the place in considering possible solutions.

Decide which issues your community can most effectively address

Consider:

• Severity and urgency. How serious is the potential harm, and how quickly must action occur?
• Who is affected. Are particular neighborhoods, populations, ecosystems, or cultural resources experiencing greater risks?
• Potential for prevention. Can action now prevent a larger or more expensive problem later?
• Community priorities. What concerns are residents and affected groups identifying?
• Available authority. Which governments, agencies, property owners, organizations, or other institutions can actually make the relevant decisions?
• Resources and capacity. What funding, staff, technical expertise, partnerships, and community knowledge are available?
• Potential benefits and tradeoffs. Could an action improve health, climate resilience, transportation, housing, recreation, biodiversity, or economic conditions at the same time? Could it create unintended costs or displacement?

Learn what you need to know about the scientific, social, economic, legal, and policy context

Environmental issues rarely exist in isolation. Before deciding on a strategy, understand the environmental conditions as well as the people, institutions, resources, and decisions connected with them.

The history of the situation

Has this issue occurred before? What decisions were made? What were the results? Have some communities experienced environmental burdens over many years? Are there previous plans, permits, studies, cleanup efforts, or legal agreements that affect what happens now?

The science and technical information

Identify the best available information about the environmental condition, exposure pathways, health or ecological effects, uncertainty, possible interventions, and likely outcomes.

Useful sources may include:

• Environmental and public-health agencies
• Universities and research institutions
• Tribal environmental and natural-resource departments
• Scientists and technical professionals
• Environmental monitoring
• Community-based observations and research
• Environmental-impact or risk assessments

Technical expertise and lived experience can complement one another. Monitoring data may show concentrations of a pollutant, while residents may identify when odors occur, where flooding repeatedly happens, which routes children walk to school, or how environmental conditions affect daily life.

The social and economic context

Environmental decisions may affect jobs, housing, transportation, energy costs, agriculture, property values, public revenue, recreation, cultural practices, and other community priorities.

Ask who receives the benefits, who bears the costs or risks, and whether alternatives could protect environmental quality while reducing avoidable harm to workers, residents, businesses, or other affected groups.

The legal and policy context

Determine which laws, permits, regulations, zoning requirements, agency rules, property rights, Tribal rights, environmental-review processes, or other requirements apply.

Laws and regulations change, so use current guidance from the responsible agencies or qualified legal professionals when a specific legal issue is involved.

Build partnerships

Environmental protection usually requires coordination among several groups rather than action by one organization alone.

Depending on the issue, partners may include:

• Residents and affected communities
• Tribal Nations
• Scientists and technical professionals
• Public-health organizations
• Environmental and conservation organizations
• Schools and universities
• Farmers, landowners, and resource-dependent workers
• Businesses and employers
• Utilities
• Local, state, territorial, and federal agencies
• Community foundations and funders
• Media and community communication organizations

Partnerships should not be based only on how much influence a participant has. People who experience environmental conditions directly may contribute knowledge and priorities that are essential to a sound decision.

Develop a strategic plan

Planning should be participatory whenever possible, with meaningful involvement from people affected by the issue.

A plan may address:

• Long-term environmental improvement and prevention
• An immediate environmental threat
• Both at the same time

Long-term strategies might include conserving land, improving water systems, reducing pollution, expanding tree cover, improving building performance, restoring habitat, reducing waste, preparing for climate-related hazards, or encouraging environmentally responsible development.

Urgent strategies may involve stopping an illegal discharge, responding to contaminated water, addressing wildfire smoke, preventing unsafe development, containing a spill, correcting a serious infrastructure failure, or protecting people during an environmental emergency.

Elements to consider in your plan

Community participation and advocacy. Residents and organizations can participate in planning, permitting, budgeting, rulemaking, environmental review, public hearings, administrative processes, and other decisions that affect environmental quality.

Advocacy is strongest when it is grounded in evidence, community experience, transparent goals, and clear understanding of who has authority to act.

Laws, regulations, and policies. Environmental laws and regulations can establish limits, performance standards, monitoring requirements, permitting systems, cleanup responsibilities, conservation protections, and other safeguards.

Effective environmental protection also depends on monitoring, implementation, enforcement, and periodic review of whether standards are achieving their intended results.

Land-use policies can have particularly important environmental effects. Zoning, subdivision standards, building codes, transportation planning, stormwater requirements, floodplain regulations, conservation programs, and other local decisions can influence where and how development occurs.

Incentives and assistance. Grants, loans, tax incentives, technical assistance, infrastructure investments, conservation programs, energy programs, and other resources may help residents, businesses, landowners, institutions, or developers make environmentally beneficial changes.

Incentives work best when the desired public benefit is clear and measurable and when appropriate accountability is included.

Education and communication. Communities need understandable, accurate, and accessible information about environmental risks, benefits, uncertainty, alternatives, and possible actions.

Communication should be two-way. Residents may need information from scientists or agencies, while decision-makers may need information from residents about local conditions and lived experience.

Civic and direct action. Depending on the issue, community action may include public comments, petitions, meetings, demonstrations, community monitoring, restoration projects, administrative complaints, or legal action.

Participants should understand applicable laws, safety considerations, organizational policies, and possible consequences when choosing a strategy.

Implement your plan

Put the agreed-upon strategies into practice with clear responsibilities, timelines, resources, and measures of progress.

Some efforts can begin with achievable actions while longer-term work continues. For example, a community addressing urban heat might begin by identifying the hottest areas and providing immediate cooling resources while also pursuing longer-term tree planting, building improvements, shade structures, transportation changes, and land-use strategies.

Keep sight of the larger goal while adapting implementation when circumstances or evidence change.

Monitor and evaluate your efforts

Environmental conditions and community needs change over time. Evaluation should therefore continue throughout the effort.

Ask:

• Did the activities occur as planned?
• Did environmental conditions improve?
• Were exposures or risks reduced?
• Who benefited?
• Did any groups experience unintended burdens?
• Were residents meaningfully involved?
• Were the costs and resources consistent with expectations?
• Did the intervention create other environmental, health, or economic effects?
• Is additional monitoring needed?
• What should be changed based on the results?

Whenever possible, establish baseline information before an intervention so changes can be measured over time.

Maintain progress and adapt over time

Protecting environmental quality is an ongoing responsibility. Infrastructure ages, land uses change, new technologies emerge, scientific knowledge develops, climate conditions shift, and new pollutants or risks may be identified.

Continue monitoring environmental conditions, maintaining infrastructure and restored areas, updating policies, involving affected communities, and adjusting strategies when evidence shows that a different approach is needed.

In Summary

Environmental quality affects community health, natural resources, ecosystems, housing, transportation, recreation, economic activity, cultural life, and overall well-being.

Protecting environmental quality includes maintaining clean air and water, preventing and cleaning up pollution, conserving resources, protecting and restoring habitat, managing waste responsibly, supporting sustainable agriculture and development, creating healthier buildings and neighborhoods, preparing for climate-related risks, and considering how environmental benefits and burdens are distributed.

Prevention is often preferable to repairing serious environmental damage after it occurs, but communities may need to combine prevention, ongoing management, restoration, adaptation, and emergency response.

Strong environmental efforts bring together residents, affected communities, Tribal Nations, governments, scientists, workers, businesses, landowners, public-health professionals, environmental organizations, planners, and others with relevant knowledge and responsibilities.

Decisions should be informed by current science, community experience, legal requirements, economic realities, and careful consideration of both benefits and tradeoffs.

Environmental protection is not a one-time project. Communities need to monitor conditions, evaluate results, maintain progress, respond to new information, and continue working to ensure that people and ecosystems can thrive over the long term.

What do we mean by environmental quality?

___Environmental quality is a measure of the health of the environment itself (including the plants and animals it supports), and of the effects it has on the health, comfort, and psychological state of the people that inhabit it

Why protect environmental quality?

___To preserve the health of the community and its members

___To preserve community resources

___To create a more pleasant and better quality of life

___To enhance the aesthetic character of the community

___To attract new, environmentally-friendly business and sustain economic health

___To attract visitors and new residents

___To preserve community history

___To protect the community from environmental disaster

___To prevent people from taking actions they’ll later regret

___To protect endangered species

___To maintain ecosystems

___To be good stewards of the planet

When should you act to protect environmental quality?

___When it’s specifically threatened

___When there’s a community development initiative

___When there’s a new commercial, industrial, or housing development beginning

___When there’s an environmental crisis

___When there’s a publication or media event that calls attention to the environment

___When money is available

Who should be involved in protecting environmental quality?

___Local, state, and federal officials

___Local and national and international environmental organizations

___Community activists

___Those directly affected by environmental quality

___Businesses and corporations

___Anyone who is conscious of the effects of environmental quality – or the lack of it – on their lives

How do you protect environmental quality?

___Make yourself aware of what elements of the environment you should be paying attention to:

• Air
• Water
• Land
• Plants
• Animals 
• Natural resources
• The built environment
• Recreation
• Aesthetics

___Decide on the issues you can most effectively tackle

___Learn what you need to know about the scientific, social, economic, legal, and political realities of the situation

___Recruit allies

___Create, with as broad a range of allies as possible, a strategic plan, and prioritize both the actions you want to take and those you feel you must take

___Implement your plan

___Evaluate your efforts

___Maintain your gains, and do it again

Example #1: Creating Social Change with Knowledge

 

Groundwork USA’s Green Teams

Youth engagement strategies produce economic benefits both to the youth and the communities in which they live. Actively engaging youth in their communities strengthens social ties, fosters a sense of community, weakens the cycle of poverty, and inspires youth to achieve. Groundwork USA’s (GWUSA) Green Team program seeks to do just that by engaging high school-age youth from underserved and marginalized communities in environmental education, job training, stewardship, employment, and leadership opportunities. Read more from Community Science.

Example #2: Chile creates five national parks in historic act of conservation

 

Chile has created five sprawling national parks to preserve vast tracts of Patagonia – the culmination of more than two decades of land acquisition by the US philanthropists Doug Tompkins and Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and the largest donation of private land to government in South America.

The five parks, spanning 10.3 million acres, were signed into law on Monday by Chile’s president Michelle Bachelet, launching a new 17-park route that stretches down the southern spine of Chile to Cape Horn.

McDivitt Tompkins, the former chief executive of the outdoors company Patagonia, handed over one million acres to help create the new parks. The Chilean government provided the rest in federally controlled land.

'For every dollar you invest in national parks, you get 10 back; it’s more profitable than copper,' Hernán Mladinic, the executive director of Chile’s Fundación Pumalín, told The Guardian last year.

But protected areas can also have a less obvious effect on the local economy in developing countries: They can spur poverty alleviation.

'Research from around the globe suggests that parks can successfully balance conservation and development and are one of the most important mechanisms for permanent protection of natural resources,' said Katharine Sims, an economics and environmental professor at Amherst College."

You can also read more about this in the Huffington Post.

Suppose you were designing a new town or city. How would you want people to experience living there? How should homes, businesses, streets, parks, transportation, public spaces, and community facilities be arranged? How could the physical design support housing choice, accessibility, health, safety, transportation, environmental quality, social connection, and economic opportunity?

Or consider your own neighborhood or small town. What changes would improve residents' quality of life? Some improvements may be relatively simple, while others – such as redeveloping a former industrial site, expanding housing opportunities, redesigning transportation corridors, or creating mixed-use development – may require changes in land-use policy or zoning.

Communities use many tools to shape their physical environment. In this section, we'll focus on two of them – zoning and neighborhood design – and discuss how they can work together to support community-defined goals.

What are zoning and neighborhood design, and how do they work together?

Zoning and neighborhood design influence what can be built, where different activities can occur, how buildings relate to streets and public spaces, and how people move through and use a community.

Zoning provides a legal framework for land use and development. Neighborhood design considers how the different parts of a neighborhood work together. When they are connected through a broader community-planning process, they can help translate community goals into changes in the built environment.

Zoning

Zoning is a system of local land-use regulations that can specify how land and buildings may be used and developed. Local zoning authority and procedures are established and limited by state law, and zoning systems vary considerably among states and communities.

Depending on the jurisdiction, zoning may regulate uses, building size, density, height, setbacks, parking, open space, signs, accessory structures, landscaping, and other development features.

Common zoning categories may include:

• Residential. Residential districts may allow one or more housing types, including detached homes, duplexes, townhomes, apartment buildings, accessory dwelling units, or other forms of housing.
• Commercial. These districts may allow stores, restaurants, personal services, offices, lodging, entertainment, and other businesses.
• Industrial. Industrial zoning may distinguish among manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, research, production, and other activities according to their impacts and land-use needs.
• Office. Some communities have districts primarily intended for professional, medical, administrative, or similar uses.
• Civic and institutional. These may include schools, colleges, libraries, health facilities, government buildings, museums, community centers, and other public or institutional uses.
• Open space and conservation. These districts may protect parks, recreation areas, wetlands, waterways, habitat, farmland, environmentally sensitive areas, or other land intended to remain largely undeveloped.
• Transportation and infrastructure. Some communities identify land for airports, rail facilities, transportation corridors, utilities, or other infrastructure.
• Mixed-use. Mixed-use districts allow compatible combinations of housing, businesses, offices, civic uses, and other activities within the same area or, in some cases, the same building.

Communities may also use overlay districts or special-purpose districts to address particular issues such as historic preservation, environmental protection, design, transit-oriented development, downtown development, or affordable housing.

In addition to determining which uses are allowed, zoning may regulate:

• Density and intensity. Residential density may be expressed in dwelling units per acre or similar measures. Development intensity may also be regulated through floor-area ratio, lot coverage, building size, or other measures.
• Building height.
• Lot size and dimensions.
• Setbacks. These regulate where a building may be located in relation to streets, property lines, or other features.
• Building placement and spacing.
• Parking and loading.
• Landscaping and open space.
• Signs and other site features.

Zoning laws differ widely. A regulation that is permitted in one state or community may not be authorized in another. Communities should use current state statutes, local ordinances, comprehensive plans, and planning-agency guidance when considering a particular zoning change.

Zoning is also subject to federal civil-rights requirements. State and local governments may not use zoning or land-use practices in ways that unlawfully discriminate in housing. Housing-related zoning decisions should therefore be reviewed not only for their planning purpose, but also for their effects on protected groups and access to housing opportunity.

Variances, exceptions, and incentives

Communities often have procedures for addressing situations in which a property cannot reasonably meet a particular zoning requirement. The terminology and legal standards vary by jurisdiction.

A variance generally provides limited relief from a particular zoning requirement when the legal criteria established by state and local law are met. It should not be understood simply as permission to ignore zoning rules or as a reward for providing a community benefit.

Other tools may include conditional or special-use permits, administrative adjustments, planned development procedures, or similar mechanisms.

Communities may separately establish incentive zoning or density bonuses. These programs may allow additional development capacity or other benefits when a project provides specified public benefits, such as affordable housing, open space, infrastructure, environmental improvements, or community facilities.

Historic districts

Historic districts may be established or recognized at the federal, state, Tribal, or local level, and different types of designation have different legal effects.

Local historic districts may include review procedures governing alterations, demolition, additions, new construction, or other changes. Communities should distinguish these local regulatory requirements from federal or state historic recognition, which may not impose the same restrictions on private property.

Neighborhood design

Neighborhood design looks at how buildings, streets, transportation, housing, businesses, public spaces, services, infrastructure, and natural features work together.

The goal is not to impose a single design style. Instead, neighborhood design can help communities create places that are functional, accessible, healthy, environmentally responsible, connected, adaptable, and responsive to local history, culture, climate, and community priorities.

Neighborhoods may be understood through geography, history, culture, housing patterns, transportation, community institutions, public spaces, commercial areas, or residents' own sense of place.

Elements of neighborhood design may include:

• Street and transportation networks. Street layout, sidewalks, crossings, bicycle facilities, transit, and other transportation features influence mobility, safety, access, and how much people depend on private vehicles.
• Parking. Parking policies affect land use, housing costs, development feasibility, pedestrian environments, and transportation choices.
• Housing and building density. Appropriate density can support housing choice, public transportation, local businesses, walkability, infrastructure efficiency, and conservation of undeveloped land.
• Building placement. The relationship between buildings, sidewalks, streets, public spaces, and neighboring properties influences how a neighborhood feels and functions.
• Architecture and neighborhood context. New buildings can respond to local climate, history, existing development, accessibility, and community priorities without requiring every structure to have the same style.
• Trees, landscaping, and green infrastructure.
• Businesses and commercial areas.
• Schools, libraries, health facilities, government buildings, cultural institutions, and other community facilities.
• Parks, plazas, trails, natural areas, and other open space.
• Utilities and infrastructure. Wastewater, energy, stormwater, waste management, and other infrastructure should be located and designed with attention to health, environment, reliability, accessibility, and nearby residents.
• Walking, rolling, bicycling, and other active transportation.
• Safety and comfort. Lighting, traffic speed, crossings, visibility, maintenance, accessibility, emergency access, public activity, and other conditions can influence people's experiences of a neighborhood.
• Accessibility. Streets, buildings, parks, transportation, housing, information, and public spaces should consider people with a range of disabilities and mobility needs.
• Climate resilience. Tree canopy, shade, flood management, wildfire risk, building performance, stormwater systems, and other design considerations can help communities respond to changing environmental conditions.
• Housing choice and affordability. Neighborhood planning can consider whether people of different incomes, ages, household sizes, and abilities have realistic opportunities to live in the community.

New Urbanism and other planning approaches

New Urbanism has been an influential movement in neighborhood and community planning since the late 20th century. It emphasizes compact development, walkability, mixed uses, transportation choices, public space, architectural and landscape context, and a range of housing.

Many of those principles continue to influence contemporary planning. Current planning practice also places increasing emphasis on housing affordability, preventing involuntary displacement, accessibility, climate resilience, public participation, environmental justice, transportation choice, and acknowledging the effects of past land-use policies.

New Urbanism is therefore one useful planning framework rather than the only model for neighborhood design. Communities can draw from multiple planning approaches and adapt them to local needs and conditions.

The interaction of zoning and neighborhood design

Zoning can help create the conditions needed to carry out a neighborhood-design vision.

For example:

• Mixed-use zoning may allow homes, shops, services, offices, and community facilities to be located closer together.
• Allowing a wider range of housing types may expand housing choices.
• Appropriate density near transit can support public transportation and reduce the amount of land needed for parking.
• Building-placement and design standards may help create comfortable and active streets.
• Open-space and environmental regulations may protect important natural resources.
• Incentive programs may support affordable housing or other community-defined benefits.

Zoning alone, however, cannot guarantee a particular community outcome. Housing markets, transportation investment, infrastructure, public funding, development costs, discrimination, economic conditions, environmental risks, and many other factors also influence how neighborhoods develop.

Why use zoning and neighborhood design to influence the physical structure of your community?

• They can connect public investment with community priorities. Neighborhood planning can help identify where sidewalks, parks, transit, housing, infrastructure, trees, accessibility improvements, and other investments are most needed.
• They can expand housing choice and support inclusive communities. Allowing different housing types and price levels can help communities accommodate residents with different incomes, household sizes, ages, and needs.
• They can create opportunities for social interaction. Walkable streets, parks, businesses, schools, community institutions, and shared spaces can create opportunities for everyday encounters. Physical design can support interaction, although it does not by itself guarantee trust, inclusion, or strong community relationships.
• They can make everyday destinations easier to reach. When housing, services, schools, businesses, recreation, and transportation are reasonably connected, residents may spend less time and money traveling long distances.
• They can support physical activity. Safe and accessible walking, rolling, and bicycling routes can provide opportunities for active transportation and recreation.
• They can improve mobility for people who do not drive. Older adults, young people, people with disabilities, people who do not own a vehicle, and others may benefit from neighborhoods with accessible sidewalks, nearby destinations, and reliable public transportation.
• They can improve access to employment. Connecting housing with employment areas and transportation can reduce barriers associated with long or expensive commutes.
• They may reduce household transportation costs. Communities where residents have several realistic transportation choices may allow some households to drive less or own fewer vehicles.
• They can support environmental goals. Compact development, transportation choice, green infrastructure, energy-efficient buildings, tree canopy, and conservation of open space can reduce some environmental impacts.
• They can support environmentally responsible and climate-resilient development. Land-use rules can address energy and water use, stormwater, heat, flood risk, open space, transportation, contaminated sites, and other environmental concerns.
• They can help align development incentives with community goals. Where authorized by law, communities may use density bonuses, streamlined review, financial incentives, or other tools to encourage affordable housing, infrastructure, open space, or other identified benefits.
• They can support local economic activity. Neighborhood businesses may benefit from nearby residents, walking and bicycling activity, public transportation, public spaces, and predictable development rules.
• They can improve neighborhood comfort and character. Trees, public space, building design, transportation, lighting, landscaping, historic resources, and other elements can contribute to places residents value.
• They can support safer transportation and public spaces. Street design, traffic speed, crossings, lighting, accessibility, maintenance, and active uses can all influence safety. Different residents may experience the same environment differently, so community participation and evidence should inform safety strategies.
• They can contribute to quality of life. Housing, mobility, environmental quality, public spaces, access to services, community identity, and economic opportunity all influence how people experience their neighborhoods.

Developers, residents, public agencies, businesses, and community organizations may sometimes have competing priorities, but they do not need to be framed automatically as opponents. A transparent planning process can identify areas of agreement, legitimate disagreement, legal requirements, financial constraints, and possible tradeoffs.

When should you use zoning and neighborhood design?

Zoning and neighborhood design should be considered whenever major land-use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, or development decisions are being made.

Particularly useful opportunities include:

When zoning or land-development regulations are being developed or revised

Zoning codes change over time as communities respond to housing needs, transportation, economic conditions, environmental concerns, accessibility, changing development patterns, and other priorities.

Code updates provide opportunities for residents, businesses, property owners, housing organizations, developers, public agencies, and other stakeholders to understand the options and participate in decisions before regulations are adopted.

When a comprehensive, strategic, area, or neighborhood planning process is underway

Community planning can connect land use with housing, transportation, economic development, parks, environmental quality, infrastructure, health, cultural resources, and other priorities.

Because zoning is one tool for implementing a plan, it is useful to consider possible zoning changes while the broader vision is being developed rather than after the planning process is complete.

When a major development is proposed

Large residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, or mixed-use projects can significantly affect housing, transportation, infrastructure, environmental conditions, public services, nearby properties, and community character.

Review processes can provide opportunities to evaluate those effects, identify potential benefits and concerns, and determine whether changes or mitigation are needed.

When community or economic development is underway

New investment can provide opportunities for housing, businesses, jobs, infrastructure, public space, environmental cleanup, or other improvements.

Planning should also examine whether development could contribute to displacement, rising housing costs, environmental burdens, or loss of community-serving businesses and institutions.

When an area has experienced disinvestment or significant physical and economic change

Vacant properties, aging infrastructure, loss of businesses or employment, environmental contamination, housing deterioration, or lack of public investment may create opportunities for residents and institutions to rethink land use and neighborhood priorities.

Planning should begin with the community's existing assets and residents' goals rather than defining the neighborhood only by its problems.

When a neighborhood is experiencing demographic or housing-market change

Population growth, migration, new development, rising housing costs, changing household needs, or other demographic changes may affect housing, transportation, services, schools, businesses, culture, and community institutions.

Zoning and neighborhood planning can help communities prepare for growth and change while considering housing affordability, displacement, access to opportunity, cultural continuity, and the needs of both current and future residents.

Land-use policies have historically been used both to include and to exclude. Racially discriminatory housing practices, exclusionary zoning, segregation, redlining, displacement, and unequal infrastructure investment have shaped many communities. Contemporary planning should acknowledge that history and examine whether current policies continue to create unequal access to housing and opportunity.

Who should use zoning and neighborhood design?

Neighborhood planning works best when people affected by decisions have meaningful opportunities to participate, while recognizing that a neighborhood is also part of a larger community with broader housing, transportation, environmental, and economic responsibilities.

Participants may include:

• Neighborhood residents, including homeowners and renters
• Young people and older adults
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations
• Residents from different racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic communities
• Neighborhood business owners, employees, and professionals
• Industrial and other employers operating in the area
• Property owners and developers
• Tenant organizations and housing advocates
• Health, social-service, and community-development organizations
• Transportation, environmental, public-health, and accessibility professionals
• Public-safety and emergency-service agencies
• Local government officials and public agencies responsible for planning, housing, transportation, parks, infrastructure, public works, and other relevant services
• Libraries, museums, arts organizations, and other cultural institutions
• Schools, colleges, and other educational institutions
• Faith communities
• Tribal Nations or Indigenous communities when land, cultural resources, treaty rights, or other interests may be affected

Including a group does not mean every participant will agree. Residents, property owners, developers, public agencies, businesses, and other stakeholders may have legitimate but conflicting interests.

A participatory process should make those differences visible, provide understandable information, and establish transparent procedures for reaching decisions.

Participation should not depend only on who has the most time, political access, technical knowledge, or financial resources. Outreach may need to include translated materials, interpretation, disability access, childcare, transportation, remote participation, different meeting times, and other approaches that help a broader range of residents participate.

How do you implement zoning and neighborhood design?

A strong neighborhood-design process connects community participation, technical analysis, legal requirements, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Each community is different, so the process should be adapted to local conditions.

Create a neighborhood design plan

The first step is to develop a plan that describes the community's vision and the actions needed to move toward it.

Whenever possible, establish an ongoing planning structure rather than recreating the process only when a controversial development proposal appears.

Reach out to current and potential participants

Include residents, renters, property owners, businesses, organizations, institutions, public agencies, and others affected by neighborhood decisions.

Outreach may include:

• Mail to neighborhood addresses
• Email and text messages
• Community websites and online engagement
• Flyers and posters at libraries, businesses, schools, housing communities, recreation facilities, and other neighborhood locations
• Communication through neighborhood organizations, tenant organizations, schools, businesses, cultural organizations, health organizations, faith communities, and other institutions
• Phone outreach
• Direct conversations with residents and community partners
• Local and community media
• Neighborhood newsletters
• Community events
• Surveys, neighborhood walks, workshops, listening sessions, and small-group conversations

Do not rely only on digital communication or a single public meeting. Different methods reach different people.

Ask what residents value and what they want for the future

Begin with both strengths and challenges.

Questions may include:

• What should be preserved?
• What is missing?
• What creates barriers?
• What should change?
• What kinds of housing are needed?
• How should people move around the neighborhood?
• Which places have cultural, historic, environmental, or community significance?
• What services and businesses should be easier to reach?
• What concerns do residents have about displacement, affordability, safety, accessibility, or environmental conditions?

Develop a shared vision

A vision statement should describe the broad future residents and other participants want to work toward.

It might address:

• Housing choice and affordability
• Walking, rolling, bicycling, transit, and driving
• Parks and public spaces
• Local businesses and employment
• Accessibility
• Environmental quality and climate resilience
• Historic and cultural resources
• Public facilities and services
• Community identity
• Infrastructure

A shared vision does not require unanimous agreement about every detail. The planning process should document major areas of agreement and disagreement rather than presenting the community as though everyone holds the same views.

Develop outcome goals

Translate the broad vision into outcomes that can guide action.

For example, if residents want a neighborhood that is easier to navigate without a car, goals might include:

• Completing missing sidewalks
• Improving accessible pedestrian routes
• Creating safer crossings
• Expanding bicycle connections
• Improving public transportation
• Locating more everyday services near housing
• Reducing dangerous vehicle speeds

Generate specific objectives and recommended actions

Objectives should identify what will change, where, who has responsibility, what resources are needed, and how progress will be measured.

For example, instead of saying “improve walkability,” an objective might identify particular blocks where sidewalks are missing, intersections where accessible crossings are needed, or destinations that require better pedestrian connections.

Prioritize goals, objectives, and recommendations

Not every recommendation can necessarily be completed at once.

Consider:

• Community priority
• Urgency
• Housing and displacement effects
• Accessibility
• Environmental effects
• Health and safety
• Legal authority
• Cost
• Available funding
• Feasibility
• Who benefits and who may experience burdens
• Whether the action supports or conflicts with other community plans

Coordinate with nearby neighborhoods and larger community plans when issues cross neighborhood boundaries. Transportation, housing, watersheds, schools, employment, parks, and infrastructure rarely stop at a neighborhood boundary.

Identify zoning or other land-use changes needed to carry out the plan

Compare the plan's future land-use goals with current zoning and existing development.

A future land-use map or similar planning tool can help show where changes are anticipated. Geographic information systems (GIS) can be useful for mapping zoning, housing, transportation, environmental conditions, public facilities, and other information.

Not every planning goal requires rezoning. Some may be addressed through public investment, transportation projects, housing programs, infrastructure, development incentives, building codes, environmental regulations, acquisition of land, or other tools.

Where zoning changes are needed, identify the specific changes and the reasons for them.

Use the appropriate legal and public process

Procedures for changing zoning vary by jurisdiction and may involve planning staff, planning commissions, zoning boards, elected bodies, public hearings, mailed notice, administrative review, or other processes.

Learn:

• Who has legal authority to make the decision
• What notice and hearing requirements apply
• What standards decision-makers must use
• Whether the proposal is consistent with the comprehensive plan
• Whether state or federal requirements apply
• How affected property owners and residents can participate
• What appeal or review processes are available

Zoning changes should be evaluated on their planning, housing, environmental, transportation, economic, accessibility, and civil-rights implications rather than on whether organizers can simply persuade officials to support a predetermined outcome.

When disagreements occur, identify the underlying concern. Property owners, renters, developers, residents, businesses, public agencies, and housing advocates may have different interests.

Possible approaches include modifying the proposal, identifying alternatives, providing additional evidence, negotiating where appropriate, participating in public hearings, or using established administrative or legal processes.

Advocacy may be appropriate when residents want to influence a public decision. Advocacy can include meetings with officials, testimony, written comments, community organizing, media communication, petitions, demonstrations, or other lawful civic activities.

Effective advocacy should present accurate information, acknowledge significant tradeoffs, include affected residents, and use transparent decision-making processes.

Implement the plan

Approval of a neighborhood plan or zoning amendment is not the end of the process. Implementation may take years and involve public agencies, developers, community organizations, businesses, residents, funders, and other participants.

Establish responsibility for coordination

A neighborhood planning team, resident advisory group, planning agency, or other body can track implementation and provide ongoing communication.

Austin, Texas, continues to use Neighborhood Plan Contact Teams for adopted neighborhood planning areas. These groups work with city staff on implementation, review proposed plan amendments, and serve as points of contact for neighborhood stakeholders.

Maintain communication among residents, public agencies, developers, and other participants

Keep people informed about schedules, funding, construction, delays, design changes, zoning amendments, and other developments.

Communication should allow residents to raise concerns and receive explanations rather than simply reporting decisions after they have been made.

Support community-serving development

If a plan anticipates new businesses, housing, services, or community facilities, implementation may involve financing, infrastructure, marketing, technical assistance, property development, or partnerships.

Consider whether new development serves current residents as well as attracting new investment.

Encourage use of new and improved community resources

New trails, transit services, parks, public spaces, housing, commercial areas, or other improvements may benefit from community programming, communication, wayfinding, and ongoing evaluation.

Report progress

Provide regular updates on:

• Completed actions
• Projects underway
• Funding
• Delays
• Housing and displacement indicators
• Transportation changes
• Accessibility
• Environmental conditions
• Community feedback
• Changes that may require the plan to be reconsidered

Revisit the plan over time

Neighborhoods change. Housing demand, climate risks, transportation, technology, businesses, demographics, infrastructure, public funding, and community priorities may be very different years after a plan is adopted.

Review the plan periodically and ask:

• Are its goals still relevant?
• What has been completed?
• What has not been completed, and why?
• Who has benefited from the changes?
• Have housing costs or displacement pressures changed?
• Have accessibility needs been addressed?
• Have environmental or climate risks changed?
• Are transportation systems meeting current needs?
• Are new housing types, businesses, or services needed?
• Are there unintended consequences that should be addressed?
• Are residents still meaningfully involved?

Revise the plan when evidence and community priorities show that changes are needed.

In Summary

Zoning and neighborhood design are important tools for shaping how communities grow and change.

Zoning establishes legal rules concerning land use and development. Neighborhood design considers how housing, businesses, streets, transportation, parks, public spaces, community facilities, infrastructure, and natural resources work together.

Used thoughtfully, these tools can support housing choice, accessibility, transportation options, environmental quality, public space, economic activity, climate resilience, health, community identity, and quality of life.

They can also create or reinforce barriers. Past and present zoning decisions have influenced segregation, housing supply, environmental exposure, transportation access, and development patterns. Communities should therefore examine not only what a zoning rule permits, but who benefits from it, who may be excluded or burdened, and whether it supports broader community goals.

Strong neighborhood planning is participatory. Residents, renters, property owners, businesses, developers, community organizations, public agencies, people with disabilities, young people, older adults, housing advocates, and others affected by decisions should have meaningful opportunities to contribute.

Participation does not mean everyone will agree. The purpose is to create a transparent process in which different priorities can be understood, evidence and legal requirements can be considered, tradeoffs can be discussed openly, and decisions can be connected to a clear community vision.

A neighborhood plan is useful only if it can be implemented, monitored, and adapted. Zoning changes, public investment, infrastructure, development, housing programs, transportation projects, environmental improvements, and other actions may all be needed to turn a plan into reality.

The goal is not to create one ideal model of a neighborhood. It is to give communities effective tools for creating places where people with different incomes, ages, abilities, household structures, and backgrounds can live, move, work, gather, and participate in community life.

Example #1:  America’s "Worst City for Walking" Gets Back on its Feet

Oklahoma City—which was named as the “worst US walking city” in a 2008 study of 500 communities by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association—is embarking on big plans to become more walkable. An ambitious $18-million sidewalk improvement fund was approved by voters as part of a tax increase that also included money for parks, transit, bike trails and senior wellness centers around town.  Four busy streets heading into downtown are now being narrowed, with new “smart intersections” that provide walkers more safety with “refuge island” medians in the middle of streets and clearly marked crosswalks. Read the story.

 

Example #2: Columbia Parc at the Bayou District-New Orleans, LA: Holistic Redevelopment to Bring Lasting Change to a Distressed Neighborhood

Learn how social determinants of health are being addressed to build healthier lives, where mixed income housing, new schools, and a sustaining economic anchor completely transformed a once-struggling neighborhood in post-Katrina New Orleans in this Community Close-Up from the Building Healthy Places Network.

 

Example #3: A Holistic Approach to Community Development in Minneapolis-St. Paul

Learn how community developers are impacting the health of residents in a low-income housing complex in St. Paul and a senior center in Minneapolis, through two Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)-supported projects.

 

Example #4:  The Austin Neighborhood Planning Process

Thanks to Mark Walters, Principal Planner in the Austin Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department, for explaining the Austin Neighborhood Planning Process.

In 1996, as part of its Austin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, Austin, Texas instituted a Neighborhood Planning Process, designed to manage the city’s rapid growth and keep neighborhoods livable. The city was divided into approximately 60 neighborhoods, many of which were combined with others for planning purposes in 2002.

Neighborhood plans are developed by neighborhood stakeholders working with staff from the city’s Neighborhood Planning and Zoning office.  Since the city’s resources aren’t great enough to engage all neighborhoods in planning at once, neighborhoods are targeted for planning based on Neighborhood Planning staff analysis of their current or projected need for it.  Factors used to prioritize neighborhoods include (but aren’t limited to) projected growth, current problems, and need for services.

NPP starts the planning process in a particular neighborhood with a neighborhood survey mailed to every household, business, and other property owner in the planning area.  The survey is a general one relating to perceptions of the neighborhood, its strengths and challenges, and stakeholders’ ideas for its future.  Surveys are mailed or e-mailed to the Neighborhood Planning office and tabulated, and the survey is then followed by a community meeting to which all neighborhood stakeholders are invited (again, by direct mail to all stakeholders).

At this meeting, the results of the survey are presented, along with a profile of the neighborhood (demographic, geographic, and land use information) and an explanation of the neighborhood planning process.  Participants ask questions and comment about the process and about issues of concern to them. A SOC (Strengths, Opportunities, Challenges) exercise is conducted, and the results of that and the survey are used as a basis for continuing discussions.

The initial meeting gives everyone a chance to understand how neighborhood planning works, and to decide what parts of the process they want to put their energy into.   Smaller, follow-up meetings focus on specific areas of planning – vision and goals, land use, transportation, quality of life.  Members of each of these tightly focused groups are recruited from those who expressed interest in each of the areas in question. Out of these groups come the goals and objectives for each element in the plan, and the specific recommendations relating to each goal and objective – in other words, the substance of the plan itself.

Neighborhood Planning staff convene and work with these groups, explaining the realities of the city’s capacity and budget, conducting research on zoning and bringing in staff from other city departments to inform the neighborhood about existing capital projects and work plans for the area, and to discuss the feasibility of stakeholders’ suggestions and recommendations, which are then reviewed by the departments themselves. Recommendations that are not deemed feasible or affordable, or are set aside for more study by the city, are nonetheless included in the appendix to the plan, with the reasons why they weren’t approved. The involvement of the relevant city departments throughout the process means that the final plan is realistic, and has already been approved by the departments that will need to do the work of its recommendations.

One aspect of the planning process is a services forum, which convenes representatives of city services departments (transportation, Code Enforcement, etc.) to explain what they do and how they serve the area, and to address stakeholders’ concerns.

Once all the specific-issues groups have finished meeting, the Neighborhood Planning staff prepares an online final survey (distributed by mail to those who don’t have Internet access) that includes a draft of the plan and asks for comments. The staff then makes final adjustments to the plan based on these comments, and calls a final meeting, before which the plan is distributed online (and again, by mail to those who request it). At the meeting, neighborhood stakeholders have one last opportunity to comment on the plan through the final survey, and to approve the final version.

The plan then goes to the Planning Commission (a nine-member appointed body), which reviews it and makes any necessary modifications – usually to land use provisions (i.e., zoning). The Commission then passes the plan on to the City Council with a recommendation for approval or rejection. (At this writing, all submitted plans have been recommended for approval.)  The City Council generally accepts the Commission’s recommendation as is.

For the plan to go into effect, the City Council – which has the sole power to make zoning changes – must approve it as an amendment to the city’s Ausin Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan. A hearing accompanies the approval process, and usually results in the plan being adopted as a whole, except for any contested sections (almost always zoning changes being contested by those whose property is affected). These contested sections are settled on a case-by-case basis over time by the City Council.

How smoothly the approval hearing goes depends to a certain extent on the smoothness of the planning process up to that time.  Some hearings take an hour or less; others may go till the wee hours of the morning.

Once a plan is approved, it can’t be changed for a year, although it can be amended at any time at the request of the Neighborhood Planning Team.  A Neighborhood Planning Team/Neighborhood Contact Team – usually self-selected, and often composed of people with zoning interests and leaders of neighborhood associations and the like – acts as liaison between the Neighborhood Planning staff and the community on issues having to do with the plan.

Neighborhood Planning suggests that plans be revisited, revised, and reapproved every five years to assure that they’re addressing the current and real needs of the neighborhood.

Example #5: A Ride to Better Health

The Mariposa project is on the front lines of a rapidly growing movement seeking to reconnect low-income residents to the critical networks — transit, affordable housing, jobs — that are the cornerstones of opportunity. By centering development efforts around a transit stop, planners are hoping to reinvigorate a neighborhood by connecting its residents to integral supports and services, from hospitals to schools to grocery stores , all while paying heed to the risks of gentrification and displacement.

Example #6: Community By Design Walkthrough

In July 2024, WyCo-SAP and Downtown Shareholders organized a community walkthrough in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. The walkthrough relied on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to assess safety and accessibility of public spaces. 

Residents, local business owners, and employees joined the effort to identify the environmental factors that impact how people experience the area.

During the walkthrough, participants observed poor lighting, inadequate signage, and general maintenance issues. They also explored possible solutions, such as activating underutilized spaces, improving lighting and signage, and investing in community beautification.

The community identified next steps that include conducting a professional CPTED safety assessment and increasing engagement with local officials to ensure long-term, sustainable improvements.

Click here to read the full report.

Tool 1: Principles and benefits of New Urbanist neighborhood design

Principles

Walkability

• Most things within a 10-minute walk of home and work
• Pedestrian friendly street design (buildings close to street; porches, windows & doors; tree-lined streets; on street parking; hidden parking lots; garages in rear lane; narrow, slow speed streets)
• Pedestrian streets free of cars in special cases

Connectivity

• Interconnected street grid network disperses traffic & eases walking
• A hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys
• High quality pedestrian network and public realm makes walking pleasurable

Mixed-Use & Diversity

• A mix of shops, offices, apartments, and homes on site. Mixed-use within neighborhoods, within blocks, and within buildings
• Diversity of people - of ages, income levels, cultures, and races

Mixed Housing

• A range of types, sizes and prices in closer proximity

Quality Architecture & Urban Design

• Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a sense of place; Special placement of civic uses and sites within community. Human scale architecture & beautiful surroundings nourish the human spirit

Traditional Neighborhood Structure

• Discernable center and edge
• Public space at center
• Importance of quality public realm; public open space designed as civic art
• Contains a range of uses and densities within 10-minute walk
• Transect planning: Highest densities at town center; progressively less dense towards the edge. The transect is an analytical system that conceptualizes mutually reinforcing elements, creating a series of specific natural habitats and/or urban lifestyle settings. The Transect integrates environmental methodology for habitat assessment with zoning methodology for community design. The professional boundary between the natural and man-made disappears, enabling environmentalists to asses the design of the human habitat and the urbanists to support the viability of nature. This urban-to-rural transect hierarchy has appropriate building and street types for each area along the continuum.

Increased Density

• More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together for ease of walking, to enable a more efficient use of services and resources, and to create a more convenient, enjoyable place to live
• New Urbanism design principles are applied at the full range of densities from small towns, to large cities

Smart Transportation

• A network of high-quality trains connecting cities, towns, and neighborhoods together
• Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages a greater use of bicycles, rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation

Sustainability

• Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations
• Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural systems
• Energy efficiency
• Less use of finite fuels
• More local production
• More walking, less driving

Quality of Life

• Taken together these add up to a high quality of life well worth living, and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire the human spirit

Benefits

Benefits to residents

Higher quality of life; Better places to live, work, & play; Higher, more stable property values; Less traffic congestion & less driving; Healthier lifestyle with more walking, and less stress; Close proximity to main street retail & services; Close proximity to bike trails, parks, and nature; Pedestrian friendly communities offer more opportunities to get to know others in the neighborhood and town, resulting in meaningful relationships with more people, and a friendlier town; More freedom and independence to children, elderly, and the poor in being able to get to jobs, recreation, and services without the need for a car or someone to drive them; Great savings to residents and school boards in reduced busing costs from children being able to walk or bicycle to neighborhood schools; More diversity and smaller, unique shops and services with local owners who are involved in community; Big savings by driving less, and owning less cars; Less ugly, congested sprawl to deal with daily; Better sense of place and community identity with more unique architecture; More open space to enjoy that will remain open space; More efficient use of tax money with less spent on spread out utilities and roads

Benefits to businesses

Increased sales due to more foot traffic & people spending less on cars and gas; More profits due to spending less on advertising and large signs; Better lifestyle by living above shop in live-work units - saves the stressful & costly commute; Economies of scale in marketing due to close proximity and cooperation with other local businesses; Smaller spaces promote small local business incubation; Lower rents due to smaller spaces & smaller parking lots; Healthier lifestyle due to more walking and being near healthier restaurants; More community involvement from being part of community and knowing residents

Benefits to developers

More income potential from higher density mixed-use projects due to more leasable square footage, more sales per square foot, and higher property values and selling prices; Faster approvals in communities that have adopted smart growth principles resulting in cost / time savings; Cost savings in parking facilities in mixed-use properties due to sharing of spaces throughout the day and night, resulting in less duplication in providing parking; Less need for parking facilities due to mix of residences and commercial uses within walking distance of each other; Less impact on roads / traffic, which can result in lower impact fees; Lower cost of utilities due to compact nature of New Urbanist design; Greater acceptance by the public and less resistance from NIMBYS; Faster sell out due to greater acceptance by consumers from a wider product range resulting in wider market share

Benefits to municipalities

Stable, appreciating tax base; Less spent per capita on infrastructure and utilities than typical suburban development due to compact, high-density nature of projects; Increased tax base due to more buildings packed into a tighter area; Less traffic congestion due to walkability of design; Less crime and less spent on policing due to the presence of more people day and night; Less resistance from community; Better overall community image and sense of place; Less incentive to sprawl when urban core area is desirable; Easy to install transit where it's not, and improve it where it is; Greater civic involvement of population leads to better governance.

Tool 2: Good Practice Guide to Public Engagement in Development Schemes

The freely available Public Engagement Good Practice Guide helps developers, communities and decision-makers ensure that public engagement is undertaken in a meaningful way. This guide is intended to provide practical advice for all those involved in public engagement in development schemes which require planning consent. It is illustrated by real examples of good practice and provides information and assistance to those planning, engaging in, or assessing community consultation.

Tool 3: MOCSA Empowers Kansas City Neighbors with CPTED Toolkit

MOCSA's prevention department supports community coalitions in Missouri and Kansas by conducting Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessments using the Community by Design Safety Toolkit. This toolkit empowers residents to enhance neighborhood safety through environmental modifications like improved lighting and clean-ups, fostering community cohesion. Residents can perform assessments independently with the toolkit or in collaborator with MOCSA and the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri. The toolkit outlines six CPTED principles: natural surveillance, clear wayfinding, defined space usage, maintenance, neighborhood connectivity, and fostering a sense of community. It offers practical strategies for residents to address local issues and strengthen communal bonds.

Read more on the MOCSA website.

What are zoning and neighborhood design, and how do they work together?

___Zoning is a set of community laws and regulations that divides a community into various zones, and specifies what kinds of building, development, and economic activity can take place in each zone

___Neighborhood design refers not only to the design of buildings, but to the design of the neighborhood as a whole

___The type of zoning a community adopts can greatly shape the design of neighborhoods subject to that zoning

Why use zoning and neighborhood design to influence the physical structure of your community?

___They can guide public spending toward the appropriate places by putting money into projects and improvements most needed and wanted by neighborhood residents

___They can foster economic and racial/ethnic diversity

___They can foster social interaction and mixing among neighbors, and among neighborhood residents from diverse backgrounds

___They can make the chores of daily life easier and more convenient

___They can provide health benefits from walking and biking

___They can create ease of travel and independence for everyone

___They can provide easy access to jobs

___They can afford residents savings on transportation

___They can produce environmental benefits

___They can foster development that’s energy efficient and environmentally responsible

___They can lead to more profit for developers, and more reasons for them to invest in affordable housing

___They can create a better commercial environment

___They can make for a physically and aesthetically more pleasant neighborhood

___They can foster safer and more secure neighborhoods

___They can enhance neighborhood quality of life

When should you use zoning and neighborhood design?

___When a zoning code is being revisited or developed

___When a community strategic planning or neighborhood planning process is in place

___When a major development that could change the character of the neighborhood is proposed

___When a community or neighborhood development effort is under way

___When a community or neighborhood appears to be in a downward spiral

___When a neighborhood is in the midst of, or threatened by, changes in population

Who should use zoning and neighborhood design?

___Residents

___Neighborhood business owners and professionals (i.e. those who make their living in the neighborhood, although they may not live there)

___Industries with facilities in the neighborhood

___Those with financial interests in the neighborhood (landowners, developers with current plans)

___Neighborhood health and community service providers

___Civil servants – police, firefighters, etc.

___Local government representatives and agencies that serve the neighborhood – city councilors, state representatives, municipal recreation agencies, public transportation, etc.

___Cultural organizations with a venue or base in the neighborhood – museums, libraries, performing arts centers

___Educational institutions, both public and private

___Neighborhood houses of worship

How do you implement zoning and neighborhood design?

___Reach out and recruit stakeholders

___Solicit stakeholders’ ideas about the ideal future for the neighborhood

___Hold a series of public meetings where stakeholders can discuss their initial ideas and develop a shared vision for the neighborhood

___Flesh out the vision statement with outcome goals

___Generate concrete objectives tied to specific actions to achieve outcome goals

___Prioritize the lists of goals, objectives, and recommendations

___Identify the necessary zoning changes

___Implement the necessary zoning changes

___Choose a neighborhood design committee or other body to coordinate the effort

___Keep in close contact with everyone involved in changing the physical structure of the neighborhood

___If necessary, work with the municipality and developers to attract businesses and residents to the neighborhood

___Encourage neighborhood events, use of new bike and walking paths, public transportation, etc.

___Deliver regular progress reports to the neighborhood on work toward specific objectives and goals

___Revisit the neighborhood plan regularly and revise it as needed

___Maintain momentum indefinitely

Motor City Blight Busters director John George and
The Fertile Grounds Collective director Cornell Royal.

 

Let’s take a weekend walk through neighborhoods in two small cities with similar population characteristics, geography, open space, residential and commercial development, and building types.

In City A, many streets lack sidewalks, and some existing sidewalks are cracked or difficult to use. Trash has accumulated in gutters and parts of the neighborhood park. Trees and other plantings are limited, some buildings need maintenance, and heavy traffic creates noise along several streets. The park is mostly empty, while a few young people gather near its edge. Commercial areas have limited pedestrian activity, and the combination of maintenance needs, traffic, limited greenery, and underused public space makes the neighborhood less comfortable to move through and spend time in.

In City B, sidewalks and bike lanes are well maintained and frequently used. Trees, flowers, gardens, and other plantings appear throughout the neighborhood. Houses and businesses reflect a variety of colors and styles, and a city park is active with people picnicking, playing sports, walking, and using nearby trails. Traffic-calming features help reduce vehicle speeds on smaller streets, and benches, shade, landscaping, and other amenities make public spaces comfortable places to spend time.

These examples are intentionally simplified, but they illustrate how maintenance, transportation, greenery, public space, accessibility, buildings, and other physical conditions can shape people's experiences of a neighborhood.

Neighborhood improvement is not about making every place look the same or imposing one group's idea of what is attractive. It is about creating and maintaining places that residents find welcoming, functional, safe, accessible, culturally meaningful, and supportive of everyday life.

In this section, part of a chapter on enhancing quality of life through the physical and social environment, we’ll discuss neighborhood beautification and improvement and look at how residents can make meaningful changes even when financial resources are limited.

What do we mean by a neighborhood beautification program?

In simplest terms, neighborhood beautification means working together to improve the appearance, condition, usability, and experience of shared neighborhood spaces.

The word beautification can sound as though there is one correct way for a neighborhood to look. There isn’t. What makes a place welcoming and meaningful depends on its residents, history, culture, climate, architecture, needs, and priorities.

A strength-based neighborhood beautification program therefore begins with what residents already value about their community and asks how those assets can be maintained, strengthened, connected, or expanded.

A neighborhood beautification program isn’t a single event (“Fix Up Your Yard Day”), but rather a strategy for maintaining, improving, and shaping the neighborhood over time. Individual projects may be completed one at a time, but they should connect with a longer-term community vision.

Neighborhood improvement can take place both at the neighborhood level and at the level of individual properties. Ideally, residents, renters, property owners, businesses, community organizations, and public agencies each contribute where they have responsibility, resources, or expertise.

Depending on community priorities, a program may focus on a single location or involve several connected improvements. Areas to consider include:

• Cleanliness and maintenance. Streets, sidewalks, parks, vacant lots, drainage areas, public spaces, and other shared environments are easier and more pleasant to use when trash is removed, infrastructure is maintained, and community resources are cared for.

Graffiti should be considered in context. Unwanted marking of private or public property may need to be removed, particularly when it contains threatening, discriminatory, or harmful content. At the same time, murals, street art, and other visual expression can have cultural and artistic value. Communities should distinguish between unwanted property damage and art that residents or property owners want to preserve.

• The character and variety of buildings. A neighborhood can include buildings from different periods, styles, uses, and cultures. Design decisions can consider how new construction and renovations contribute to an interesting, functional, and coherent streetscape without requiring every building to look alike.
• The condition of individual buildings. Well-maintained buildings can contribute to health, safety, comfort, and neighborhood stability. When properties need substantial repair, communities can explore rehabilitation assistance, code-compliance support, accessibility improvements, weatherization, grants, loans, or other resources.
   
  Vacant or underused buildings may create maintenance or safety concerns, but they may also represent opportunities for housing, community facilities, businesses, arts and culture, or other community-defined uses.

Older and historic buildings can often be resources rather than liabilities. Section 7 of this chapter, Encouraging Historic Preservation, discusses how communities can preserve and adapt historic resources.

• Unused or potentially hazardous sites. Former industrial properties, unused rail corridors, vacant lots, aging infrastructure, and other sites may need cleanup, repair, environmental assessment, or redevelopment. When appropriate, they may be reused as trails, parks, housing, businesses, community facilities, or other neighborhood resources.

Former transportation infrastructure can sometimes be adapted for new community uses. Trails, gardens, public spaces, and other projects have been created from rail corridors, bridges, industrial sites, and other properties that no longer serve their original purposes.

• Trees, gardens, and other plantings. Trees and vegetation can provide shade, reduce heat, support wildlife, manage stormwater, contribute to air quality, and make streets and public spaces more comfortable and inviting.

Planting choices should fit the local climate, available water, maintenance capacity, and ecological conditions. Native and climate-appropriate plants can often provide environmental benefits while requiring less irrigation, fertilizer, or other maintenance.

• Parks and other open space. Parks, plazas, gardens, trails, playgrounds, natural areas, and other shared spaces can provide recreation, shade, habitat, social connection, and opportunities for community activities.
   
  These spaces require ongoing maintenance and resources. Community volunteers may contribute to stewardship, but public agencies, property owners, or other responsible organizations should also plan for long-term maintenance, accessibility, programming, and safety.
• The streetscape. Buildings, sidewalks, trees, lighting, seating, public art, transportation, storefronts, signs, and open spaces all contribute to how a street functions and feels. Good streetscapes support walking, rolling, gathering, business activity, transportation, and everyday neighborhood life.

Buildings with active ground-floor uses, windows, entrances, seating, shade, and connections to the sidewalk can contribute to street activity. Large blank walls, difficult crossings, excessive vehicle access, and other design features may make walking or gathering less comfortable.

• Signage. Signs can identify businesses and community institutions, provide directions, explain rules, support wayfinding, communicate accessibility information, and contribute to the identity of a place.
   
  Effective signs should be legible, accessible, appropriate to their setting, and designed for the people who need to use them.
• Lighting. Outdoor lighting can support visibility, navigation, and use of public space after dark. Well-designed lighting directs light where it is needed while reducing glare, unnecessary energy use, intrusion into homes, and impacts on wildlife and night skies.
• Traffic and mobility. Vehicle speed, traffic volume, transit, walking, rolling, bicycling, deliveries, parking, and street design all affect neighborhood experience.
   
  Depending on local conditions, communities may consider traffic calming, safer crossings, sidewalks, bicycle facilities, street trees, transit improvements, accessibility upgrades, routing changes, or other strategies.

Noise and air pollution are neighborhood-quality issues as well as environmental and health concerns. Traffic, industry, construction, and other sources may affect sleep, stress, respiratory health, hearing, comfort, and use of outdoor space.

• Parking. Parking is necessary in many neighborhoods, but large surface lots can consume land, increase stormwater runoff, contribute to heat, and make walking less comfortable.
   
  Communities may consider landscaping, trees, shared parking, accessible parking, bicycle parking, structured parking, transit access, or other strategies based on local needs.
• Public art. Murals, sculpture, memorials, temporary installations, performances, and other public art can contribute to neighborhood identity, history, culture, and creativity. Public art is strongest when the communities represented have meaningful roles in deciding what is created and how their stories are presented.

Many neighborhood projects can be completed through resident leadership and partnerships. Others require public funding, professional expertise, permits, property-owner participation, or changes in policy.

Possible neighborhood-led projects include:

• A neighborhood, park, street, or vacant-lot cleanup. Public agencies may be able to provide tools, equipment, waste removal, or staff assistance.
• Voluntary assistance with individual properties. With the property owner's or resident's permission, neighbors may help with painting, gardening, cleanup, accessibility improvements, or minor repairs.
• Clearing trash or invasive vegetation and improving trails or natural areas, with appropriate permission and environmental guidance.
• Removing unwanted graffiti or harmful markings with the permission of the property owner or responsible agency.
• Creating murals or other public art through a community-informed process involving artists, residents, property owners, and others connected with the location.
• Planting and maintaining trees, gardens, pollinator areas, median plantings, or other climate-appropriate landscaping.

Design matters, especially for projects that will shape public spaces over many years. Residents bring essential knowledge about how a place is used and what it means to the community. Designers, artists, planners, engineers, landscape architects, accessibility professionals, and others can contribute technical knowledge when needed. Professional expertise should support community priorities rather than replace community decision-making.

Some improvements require action by a municipality, public agency, property owner, developer, or other institution. In those situations, residents may need to participate in public planning and decision-making processes.

Community priorities might include:

• Public investment that supports the neighborhood vision. Examples may include sidewalk repair, street trees, accessibility improvements, lighting, parks, stormwater improvements, traffic calming, or public-space maintenance.
• Financial or development incentives. Where legally available, grants, loans, tax incentives, façade programs, rehabilitation assistance, or other tools may help property owners or businesses make improvements.
• Policies, regulations, or enforcement. Communities may seek changes to zoning, property maintenance, transportation, environmental, historic-preservation, accessibility, or other policies that affect neighborhood conditions.
• Partnerships with neighborhood businesses and institutions. Businesses, schools, faith communities, health organizations, libraries, cultural institutions, and other organizations may contribute funding, programming, space, equipment, expertise, or staff time.

When possible, begin by identifying shared goals and the people or institutions responsible for the relevant decisions. Public meetings, planning processes, budget processes, administrative procedures, meetings with responsible staff, and other established channels can provide opportunities to present community priorities and evidence.

When concerns remain unresolved, residents may also use petitions, public comments, media communication, demonstrations, administrative complaints, legal action, or other forms of lawful civic participation. The appropriate approach depends on the issue, community goals, and applicable laws.

Why establish a neighborhood beautification program?

Neighborhood beautification and improvement can support several community goals.

• A neighborhood beautification program can strengthen belonging and stewardship. When residents help identify priorities and shape improvements, they may develop stronger connections with shared spaces and with one another.
• Neighborhood beautification can improve quality of life. Well-maintained sidewalks, trees, parks, buildings, lighting, public spaces, and other neighborhood features can support comfort, mobility, recreation, health, and social connection.
• Neighborhood improvement can help residents remain in and feel connected to their community. Improvements can also make a neighborhood welcoming to new residents, but plans should consider housing affordability and displacement so that current residents can benefit from the changes they help create.
• Neighborhood improvement can support local businesses. Walkable streets, public spaces, transportation access, nearby residents, and well-maintained commercial areas can support local economic activity.
• Neighborhood improvement can support arts and culture. Public art, cultural programming, performance spaces, libraries, museums, festivals, and other activities can expand opportunities for residents and help express community identity.
• Neighborhood beautification can support broader community development. Physical improvements may connect with housing, transportation, environmental health, economic development, historic preservation, community safety, and other resident-defined priorities.

Investment can also create displacement pressures. Improvements that make an area more desirable may contribute to rising rents, property taxes, or housing prices. Long-term planning should consider how current residents, renters, homeowners, businesses, and community institutions can remain and benefit from neighborhood investment.

• Neighborhood improvement can support community health. Tree canopy, open space, safer walking and bicycling conditions, reduced trash, lower traffic exposure, accessible recreation, and environmental improvements can all contribute to health and well-being.
• Neighborhood beautification can expand participation in community decision-making. Young people, older adults, renters, people with disabilities, multilingual residents, people experiencing housing instability, and others whose perspectives may be underrepresented in planning can contribute knowledge, creativity, relationships, and leadership.
• Neighborhood beautification can strengthen relationships. Working together on shared priorities can build connections among residents and organizations and contribute to social capital.

Social capital refers to the relationships, networks, trust, and patterns of cooperation that help people share information, support one another, and work together.

Social capital may develop through everyday neighbor-to-neighbor interactions, community organizations, businesses, schools, faith communities, events, volunteer projects, and other shared activities.

Scholars sometimes distinguish between bonding social capital, which develops among people with similar experiences or identities, and bridging social capital, which develops through relationships among people with different backgrounds or experiences. (Adapted from Chapter 26, Section 8, Creating Good Places for Interaction.)

• Neighborhood beautification can help communities communicate how they see themselves. Resident-led improvements, public art, cultural spaces, landscaping, restored buildings, and other features can reflect neighborhood strengths, history, identity, and priorities and can challenge negative or incomplete outside perceptions.

When should you establish a neighborhood beautification program?

Any time can be appropriate, but several situations may create useful opportunities for organizing and investment.

• When residents identify neighborhood improvement as a priority. Programs are strongest when the goals and direction come from people who live in and use the neighborhood.
• When a neighborhood is experiencing disinvestment or changing conditions. Vacant properties, deferred maintenance, declining infrastructure, safety concerns, limited public investment, loss of businesses, or other changes may create reasons for residents and institutions to work together on neighborhood priorities.
• When a specific problem or opportunity has been identified. A vacant building, littered lot, unsafe intersection, missing trees, inaccessible sidewalk, underused park, or other issue can become the starting point for broader neighborhood improvement.
• When funding or other support is available. Public agencies, foundations, businesses, nonprofits, or other partners may provide grants, tools, equipment, materials, technical assistance, or staff support.
• When environmental cleanup or redevelopment is underway. Brownfield cleanup, infrastructure work, rehabilitation of vacant properties, or other investment may provide opportunities to improve surrounding public spaces as well.
• When other neighborhood initiatives are underway. Beautification may complement work related to housing, health, community safety, environmental quality, transportation, economic development, youth development, culture, or recreation.

Who should be involved in establishing a neighborhood beautification program?

Because neighborhood improvements affect many people, planning should include a broad range of residents and organizations. Participation should reflect the people who live, work, learn, own property, operate businesses, provide services, and spend time in the neighborhood.

Participants might include:

• Homeowners.
• Renters.
• Landlords and property owners.
• Business owners, employees, and managers.
• Local officials and public-agency staff, including planning, transportation, public works, parks, health, housing, and other relevant departments.
• Young people.
• Older adults.
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations.
• Residents from the racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious, and other communities represented in the neighborhood.
• Neighborhood associations, tenant organizations, block groups, youth groups, resident councils, and other resident-led organizations.
• Organizations and agencies that serve the neighborhood, such as libraries, health organizations, community-development organizations, cultural institutions, and human-service providers.
• Public services such as sanitation, recycling, fire and emergency services, planning, transportation, parks, and public works.
• Faith communities.
• Civic and service organizations.
• Schools, colleges, and other educational institutions.
• People experiencing homelessness or housing instability who spend time in or have connections with the neighborhood.
• Reentry organizations and residents who have experienced involvement with the justice system.

How do you establish a neighborhood beautification program?

There are three broad phases:

1. Bring together residents and other participants and identify community strengths, priorities, and opportunities.
2. Develop a vision, goals, strategies, action steps, responsibilities, resources, and a maintenance and evaluation plan.
3. Share the proposed plan with the broader neighborhood, incorporate feedback, establish community support, and begin implementation.

Phase One: Recruiting neighborhood residents as leaders and participants

Bring together people to help lead the effort. This might be an existing neighborhood organization, tenant association, resident council, or group of interested community members.

The leadership group should reflect the neighborhood as broadly as possible, including differences in age, race and ethnicity, language, disability, housing status, income, geography, and other experiences that may influence how people use and understand the neighborhood.

Because this is an ongoing program rather than a one-time event, establish a structure that allows responsibilities to be shared and new leaders to emerge over time.

Conduct outreach to neighborhood residents and organizations. People should have meaningful opportunities to shape the vision and priorities whether or not they want a formal leadership role.

Use multiple forms of outreach because different people receive information in different ways. These may include:

• Door-to-door outreach
• Phone or text communication
• Email
• Neighborhood websites or online groups
• Social media
• Flyers and posters
• Local newspapers, radio, or community media
• Schools, libraries, businesses, and community organizations
• Public meetings and community events

When collecting names, phone numbers, email addresses, or other contact information, tell people how the information will be used and protect it appropriately. Participation should not require people to provide more personal information than is necessary.

Make additional efforts to include residents whose perspectives have not been well represented in previous neighborhood planning.

Possible approaches include:

• Work with tenant organizations, resident councils, and residents of public, subsidized, and other rental housing.
• Work with organizations serving people experiencing homelessness or housing instability and create ways for people with lived experience to participate directly.
• Work with reentry organizations and other groups supporting people affected by the justice system. When volunteer or community-service opportunities are offered, participation should be safe, appropriate, and respectful.
• Work with schools, youth organizations, recreation programs, sports teams, clubs, and street-outreach or youth-development programs to involve young people.
• Connect with faith communities and cultural organizations serving different parts of the neighborhood.
• Connect with business associations and businesses owned by or serving different cultural and linguistic communities.
• Provide interpretation, translation, disability access, childcare, transportation support, different meeting times, remote participation, or other supports when they would make participation easier.

Phase Two: Developing a plan for neighborhood beautification

The planning process can follow the Community Tool Box's VMOSA – Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategy, Action framework.

Assemble a participatory planning group. Include people with different experiences of the neighborhood as well as participants with useful technical, organizational, cultural, or professional knowledge.

Conduct a neighborhood assessment. Assess both community assets and areas residents want to improve.

• Draw on the knowledge and experience of residents participating in the planning group.
• Conduct interviews, surveys, listening sessions, or other outreach with additional residents and organizations.
• Conduct observations or neighborhood walks. Record both strengths and concerns: trees and public art as well as broken sidewalks, community gathering places as well as vacant lots, active businesses as well as areas needing investment.
• Consult planners, architects, landscape architects, engineers, accessibility professionals, artists, environmental professionals, historians, or others when specialized knowledge would help.

Many assessments focus primarily on problems or needs. An asset-based approach begins by identifying what residents value and what resources, relationships, knowledge, institutions, and physical assets already exist. The community can then consider how to strengthen those assets while addressing barriers and unmet needs.

Develop a vision for the neighborhood. Based on the assessment and community participation, describe what residents want the neighborhood to become or continue to be.

A vision may include:

• Well-maintained and accessible public spaces
• Safe and comfortable walking, rolling, bicycling, and transportation
• Housing stability and affordability
• Trees, gardens, and environmental quality
• Strong local businesses
• Public art and cultural expression
• Parks and recreation
• Historic and cultural preservation
• Places for gathering and community activities
• A neighborhood where residents feel welcome and able to participate

The vision should reflect the community's priorities rather than an outside standard of what a “good” neighborhood is supposed to look like.

Develop goals and measurable objectives. Break the long-term vision into achievable steps.

For example, rather than simply setting a goal of having “better open space,” objectives might include repairing a particular playground, planting shade trees along specific blocks, adding accessible seating, improving a trail connection, or establishing regular maintenance for a community garden.

Benchmarks and checkpoints can help participants understand whether progress is being made.

Consider the resources required for each goal before beginning. Resources may include funding, staff, volunteers, tools, professional expertise, permits, maintenance, insurance, transportation, accessibility supports, and partnerships.

Some early projects can build momentum using resources already available, while larger projects may require grants, public investment, fundraising, partnerships, or longer-term planning.

Develop an overall strategy. Decide which goals should be addressed first, which can happen at the same time, and which depend on funding, permits, public decisions, or other conditions.

Starting with an achievable project can demonstrate progress, but priorities should not be based only on what is easiest. Urgent accessibility, safety, housing, environmental, or infrastructure needs may require attention even when they are more difficult.

Develop an action plan for each goal. Identify:

• What will be done
• Who is responsible
• Who should be consulted or involved
• What resources are needed
• What permits or approvals are required
• When the work will occur
• How accessibility and safety will be addressed
• How progress will be measured
• Who will maintain the improvement over time

Develop a maintenance plan. A one-day project can create visible improvement, but long-term success requires clarity about what happens afterward.

Identify who will water trees, maintain gardens, remove trash, repair equipment, repaint public art, replace damaged signs, maintain accessibility features, or complete other recurring work.

Volunteers can contribute to stewardship, but ongoing public or organizational responsibilities should not be shifted onto residents simply because they care about their neighborhood.

Devise a way to monitor and evaluate the effort. Evaluation does not need to be complicated.

Possible measures include:

• Resident participation
• Number and location of completed improvements
• Accessibility
• Condition of sidewalks, parks, lots, trees, and buildings
• Use of parks and public spaces
• Resident satisfaction
• Maintenance needs
• Tree survival or canopy
• Pedestrian and bicycle use
• Participation by residents whose perspectives were previously underrepresented
• Housing or business displacement concerns

Ask not only whether a project was completed, but whether it produced the benefits residents expected and whether any unintended effects emerged.

Phase Three: Presenting the plan to the neighborhood, building support, and implementing the first step

The broader neighborhood should have an opportunity to review the draft plan, ask questions, suggest changes, and understand how priorities were selected.

Use multiple communication methods so participation does not depend on Internet access, a particular social-media platform, English proficiency, ability to attend an evening meeting, or any other single condition.

1. Present the plan to the neighborhood.

• Post the plan on an accessible neighborhood or organizational website.
• Share it through relevant social-media and community communication channels.
• Send it by email, text, or other communication methods to people who have agreed to receive updates.
• Mail or deliver printed copies where useful and feasible.
• Make copies available at accessible community locations such as libraries, schools, community centers, businesses, faith communities, housing offices, and other places residents use.
• Hold community meetings, open houses, workshops, or other opportunities for discussion.

Provide information in relevant community languages and accessible formats. Depending on the community, this may include interpretation, translated materials, captioning, large print, accessible electronic documents, plain language, or other communication supports.

2. Collect feedback. Give people several ways to respond and enough time to consider the plan.

• Online comments or community forums
• Email
• Social media
• Community meetings
• Written comments
• Comment boxes at community locations
• Paper, phone, or online surveys
• Focus groups or listening sessions
• Phone outreach
• One-on-one conversations with residents or groups who may not participate through the other methods

3. Incorporate feedback. Not every suggestion can necessarily be included, especially when ideas conflict or resources are limited. Explain how major decisions were made and why particular recommendations were or were not incorporated.

4. Present the final plan and establish community support. Depending on the neighborhood and organization, support might be documented through a meeting, vote, consensus process, endorsements from participating organizations, written comments, or another transparent method.

Celebrate the completion of the planning process, recognize the people who contributed, and clearly explain what will happen next.

5. Implement the first stage of the plan. An early project might be a cleanup, planting day, public-art project, sidewalk assessment, park improvement, accessibility audit, or another activity identified through the planning process.

For a community work day:

• Recruit volunteers based on the actual work to be done. Provide a range of roles so people with different abilities, ages, schedules, and interests can participate.
• Arrange appropriate assistance from public agencies or other partners, including tools, equipment, waste removal, materials, or qualified equipment operators.
• Obtain any required permits or permissions.
• Establish clear coordination and supervision. Make sure people using specialized tools or equipment have the necessary skills and safety guidance.
• Plan communication among organizers and participants.
• Plan for basic needs, including drinking water, food where appropriate, accessible restrooms, first aid, emergency procedures, shade or weather protection, and any needed accommodations.

Documenting the project with before-and-after photographs can help show progress. When photographing identifiable participants, especially children, obtain appropriate permission and explain how the images may be used.

• Share information with local and community media when coverage would help residents understand or participate in the effort.
• Leave the work area safe and orderly and make sure tools, materials, waste, and equipment are handled appropriately.
• Celebrate the work. Recognize participants and partners, share what was accomplished, and explain what comes next.

If the first step involves advocacy rather than a physical project, identify who has responsibility for the decision and the appropriate process for participating. A conversation with relevant public staff, officials, property owners, or other decision-makers may be a useful starting point.

6. Begin the next stage of the plan. Build on the relationships, knowledge, and momentum created through the first project while continuing to invite new participation.

7. Keep the program going. Neighborhoods are always changing, and maintaining shared spaces requires continuing attention. Plants grow, infrastructure ages, murals fade, buildings change hands, new residents arrive, and community priorities evolve.

Continue assessing what residents value, what needs attention, who is participating, and whether neighborhood investment is benefiting the people who live there.

In Summary

A neighborhood beautification program should do more than make a neighborhood look different. At its best, it is a resident-led process for improving and caring for shared spaces while strengthening community relationships and responding to locally defined priorities.

Neighborhood improvement can include trees and gardens, sidewalks, buildings, parks, public art, transportation, lighting, accessibility, environmental improvements, local businesses, cultural spaces, vacant-property reuse, and many other features.

Strong programs begin with community assets rather than defining a neighborhood by its problems. They involve renters as well as homeowners, young people and older adults, people with disabilities, multilingual communities, businesses, institutions, community organizations, public agencies, and others who experience the neighborhood in different ways.

Planning should also consider affordability and displacement so that the people who help strengthen a neighborhood can continue to live, work, gather, and participate there.

Meaningful participation, realistic planning, appropriate professional support, long-term maintenance, evaluation, and shared responsibility can turn individual projects into sustained neighborhood improvement.

The goal is not to make every neighborhood conform to a single idea of beauty. It is to help communities create and care for places that reflect their strengths, histories, cultures, priorities, and hopes for the future.

 

Contributor
Phil Rabinowitz

Editor
Andrea Glinn

 

We encourage the reproduction of this material, but ask that you credit the Community Tool Box: /.

What do we mean by a neighborhood beautification program?

__ Neighborhood beautification means making a neighborhood look and feel better.

__ A neighborhood beautification program is a strategy to maintain, enhance, and/or change the character of your neighborhood over the long term.

__ Neighborhood beautification can lead to more interaction among neighbors from diverse backgrounds, more neighborhood life, and a neighborhood that supports both economic development and a sense of community.

 

Why establish a neighborhood beautification program?

__ A neighborhood beautification program can build neighborhood pride and ownership.

__ It can improve the quality of life in the neighborhood.

__ It can help to attract new residents.

__ It can help to attract new business.

__ It can attract entertainment and culture.

__ It can serve as the base for neighborhood revitalization.

__ It can improve neighborhood and community health.

__ It’s a way to involve youth and other people who are often left out.

__ It can build stronger neighborhood relationships.

__ It can send a message to the rest of the community about the unity and values of your neighborhood.

 

When should you consider a neighborhood beautification program?

__ When a neighborhood group acts as a spearhead.

__ When the neighborhood has gone, or is in danger of going, downhill.

__ When there’s a specific problem that needs to be tackled.

__ When funding or other support is available.

__ In conjunction with a brownfields cleanup or similar effort.

__ In conjunction with other types of neighborhood improvement efforts.

 

Who should be involved in neighborhood beautification programs?

__ Homeowners.

__ Renters.

__ Landlords and other property owners.

__ Business owners and managers.

__ Local officials. These would include neighborhood City Council representatives, state legislators that represent the neighborhood, Board of Health members, etc.

__ Youth.

__ Specific populations defined by race, ethnicity, or other common elements.

__ Neighborhood organizations. Some possibilities would include neighborhood associations or councils, a neighborhood watch, block associations, and neighborhood youth groups.

__ Organizations and agencies that serve the neighborhood – a local hospital, the public library, health and human service organizations, cultural institutions.

__ Community services (planning, police and fire, garbage pickup, recycling, etc.)

__ Neighborhood faith communities.

__ Service clubs (Lions, Rotary, etc.)

__ Schools and other educational institutions.

 

How do you establish a neighborhood beautification program?

Phase One: Recruiting neighborhood residents as leaders and participants

__ Recruit people to take the lead.

__ Conduct outreach to neighborhood residents to inform them about and involve them in the effort.

 

Phase Two: Developing a plan for neighborhood beautification

__ Assemble a participatory planning group.

__ Conduct a neighborhood assessment.

__ Develop a vision for the neighborhood.

__ Develop goals.

__ Develop an overall strategy to realize your goals and, ultimately, your vision.

__ Develop an action plan for each goal.

__ Develop a plan for maintaining gains.

__ Devise a way to monitor and evaluate your effort.

 

Phase Three: Presenting the plan to the neighborhood, gaining approval, and implementing the first step

__ Present the plan to the neighborhood.

__ Collect feedback.

__ Incorporate feedback to the extent possible.

__ Present the final plan and ask for neighborhood support.

__ Implement the first stage of the plan.

__ Start working on the next stage of the plan.

__ Keep the program going for the life of the neighborhood.

Example #1: The Urban Pioneers Service Project

 

Motor City Blight Busters (MCBB) has been working to alleviate blight within the city since 1988. The MCBB tears down blighted structures, clears trash, and brings lots to code. Since 2005, the Fertile Ground Collective (FGC) has been an integral part of the MCBB. Once the MCBB has cleared the land, the FGC helps residents in the neighborhood surrounding the lot establish community gardens. In this way, the cleared lots become vital spaces utilized by the community. The goals of the FGC are fourfold: reclaim the dilapidated land, so that it may become fruitful again; repurpose the land from dangerous eyesore to a source of food and enjoyment; training community members in urban agriculture, so that they may grow their own food, thereby helping to bring fresh food to needy people; and connecting the community through the communal act of growing and sharing food. Read more in our Community Story.

 

Example #2: Monrovia Community Partnership Restores Peace In Troubled Neighborhoods

Incidents on Sherman Avenue prompted the City of Monrovia to develop a Neighborhood Strategy Team (NST) with key staff representing all City services. The purpose of the NST was to review issues, elicit input from the community and apply their expertise toward resolving them. The NST developed the Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) as a comprehensive approach to address the Sherman Avenue crisis. MAP’s goals are to eliminate crime and blight while empowering neighborhoods by fostering citizen activism, volunteerism and community pride. Police and City staff walked throughout Sherman Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods speaking with residents and determining their needs. A comprehensive enforcement process was instituted and a gang injunction enacted to suppress crime. MAP home improvement grants were offered to residents to arrest blight. A series of Leadership Empowerment classes were presented to the community. Arrests were made, homes were improved, neighborhood leaders emerged and the community began rebuilding. Read more in our Community Story.

 

Example #3: Mending Fences Program

Mending Fences Program is a FREE service for qualified homeowners (low-income, senior, vet, disabled) living in houses that need minor repairs, replacements and renovations necessary for home safety. This program is about revitalizing our city and eliminating blight with a community of volunteers, skilled craftspersons, and generous donors through collaboration, partnerships and teamwork, focusing on providing home improvements to provide residents who are in dire need to remain safe, comfortable, and habitable in their own homes. Read more in our Community Story.

 

• What is a neighborhood cleanup program?

• Why conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

• Who should be involved in a neighborhood cleanup program?

• When should you conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

• How do you conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

 

In the 1960s, I taught in an alternative school in a large city. One day, my co-teacher and I took a class of seventh, eighth, and ninth graders to a park along a creek for an ecology lesson. As we were leaving, an eighth grader named Kyle tossed an empty bottle from a bridge into the creek.

When we pointed out the connection between litter and the environmental issues we had just discussed, he responded by describing the amount of trash he regularly saw in his own neighborhood. His reaction raised an important question: how do people's everyday surroundings shape what they come to expect from shared spaces, and how can residents be supported in improving those conditions?

Litter, illegal dumping, neglected public spaces, damaged infrastructure, and other environmental conditions can affect how people use and experience their neighborhood. They may create health or safety concerns, make sidewalks and parks harder to use, increase maintenance costs, and contribute to perceptions that an area is not receiving adequate attention or investment.

A neighborhood cleanup is one practical way residents and community partners can respond. Cleanup efforts can improve physical conditions, create opportunities for neighbors to work together, identify larger infrastructure or environmental concerns, and build relationships that support future community action.

A cleanup should not be framed as fixing residents or teaching a neighborhood to care about itself. Residents may already care deeply about their community while lacking adequate waste collection, public investment, property-owner cooperation, safe disposal options, or other resources. A strength-based cleanup program builds on that existing knowledge, commitment, and community capacity.

What is a neighborhood cleanup program?

Some definitions before we begin:

Litter generally refers to smaller discarded items such as packaging, bottles, paper, plastic, metal, or other materials left in streets, parks, sidewalks, vacant lots, and other spaces.

Household waste can include ordinary household materials as well as larger items that may not fit into regular waste collection.

Bulky waste may include furniture, appliances, tires, large branches, construction materials, and other items that require special collection or disposal.

Recyclable or recoverable materials are materials accepted by local recycling, reuse, composting, donation, or recovery programs. What is accepted varies by community.

Hazardous or potentially hazardous materials may include chemicals, fuels, batteries, certain electronics, medical waste, needles, contaminated materials, some paints and solvents, and other items requiring specialized handling. Volunteers should not handle these materials unless they have appropriate training, equipment, and authorization.

Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference between a neighborhood cleanup and a neighborhood cleanup program. A neighborhood cleanup is a one-time event. A neighborhood cleanup program is an ongoing effort that includes planning, recurring activities, partnerships, maintenance, and attention to the conditions that contribute to litter, dumping, or other waste problems.

A neighborhood cleanup can take several forms, and a single event may combine more than one approach:

• Public space cleanup. Residents and community partners clean streets, sidewalks, parks, trails, vacant public land, or other shared spaces using appropriate tools, protective equipment, and safety procedures.
• Household cleanup. Residents are given an opportunity to dispose of bulky items or other materials that are difficult to manage through regular collection. A municipality, waste provider, neighborhood organization, or community partner may arrange pickup or drop-off.
• Public-agency-assisted cleanup. Some sites or materials require equipment, permits, professional handling, property-owner permission, or action by a municipality or other responsible agency. Community organizations can identify the issue and work with the appropriate entity to address it safely.

Municipal support varies. Local governments or waste providers may offer dumpsters, collection vehicles, recycling containers, tools, staff assistance, disposal-fee waivers, or special pickup services. Communities should check current local procedures before planning the event.

Public space cleanup

A public space cleanup may be initiated by a municipality, neighborhood organization, resident group, school, business, nonprofit organization, or other community partner.

Some local governments organize designated cleanup days. Others allow neighborhoods to request equipment, containers, waste pickup, or other assistance for a particular date.

Resident-led cleanup efforts can also begin on a small scale. A few neighbors may address one block, intersection, park, or trail and gradually expand as more people participate.

Tasks may include:

• Picking up litter
• Sweeping sidewalks or public areas
• Separating recyclable materials where appropriate
• Removing approved bulky waste
• Clearing leaves or other debris from appropriate areas
• Maintaining community gardens or landscaped areas
• Reporting damaged infrastructure, abandoned vehicles, illegal dumping, or hazardous materials
• Removing unwanted markings or graffiti when appropriate permission has been obtained

Cleanup activities should match volunteers' abilities, training, ages, and comfort levels. Work involving traffic, hazardous materials, power equipment, unstable structures, heavy objects, contaminated water, sharp objects, or other significant hazards should be handled by trained personnel or the responsible public agency.

Cleanup projects can also help neighbors get to know one another. Shared work, planning, conversation, and problem-solving can contribute to social capital: the relationships and networks that help people exchange information, support one another, and work together on community priorities.

Many cleanup events end with a meal, celebration, or community activity. People should be able to contribute in different ways – planning, outreach, photography, food, registration, translation, child care, accessibility support, logistics, first aid, transportation, or physical cleanup – based on their interests and abilities rather than assumptions about age or disability.

Household cleanup

A household cleanup may occur alongside a public-space cleanup or as a separate activity.

These programs can help residents dispose of furniture, appliances, yard waste, electronics, construction materials, or other items that regular waste collection may not accept.

Disposal rules vary significantly by community. Appliances, refrigerants, electronics, batteries, tires, paint, chemicals, motor oil, construction materials, and other items may require special handling or designated collection sites.

Do not assume that a cleanup event allows residents or volunteers to place hazardous materials into ordinary trash or dumpsters. Confirm requirements with the local waste, recycling, public works, or environmental agency before the event.

A neighborhood-organized household cleanup may involve distributing information, coordinating pickup, arranging drop-off locations, helping residents identify appropriate disposal or reuse options, and working with municipal or private waste providers.

Some residents may request assistance moving items to an approved pickup area. Offer help based on what the resident identifies as useful. People with disabilities, older adults, people recovering from injury, caregivers, and others may benefit from assistance, but should not be assumed to need it.

Public-agency-assisted cleanup

Some conditions cannot safely or legally be addressed by community volunteers.

Examples may include:

• Privately owned property where permission has not been obtained
• Abandoned or unsafe structures
• Abandoned vehicles
• Contaminated soil
• Hazardous chemicals
• Medical waste or discarded needles
• Large amounts of illegal dumping
• Unstable debris
• Work requiring heavy equipment

Residents can document the condition, report it to the responsible property owner or agency, participate in public processes, and work with officials or community organizations to seek a response.

The legal process for entering private property, removing vehicles, cleaning unsafe structures, or addressing environmental hazards varies by jurisdiction. Communities should not assume that volunteers have authority to remove property or enter a site simply because it appears vacant or abandoned.

When a serious health or safety concern remains unresolved, residents may use established administrative, civic, legal, or community-organizing processes to seek action. Depending on the issue, this might include public comments, petitions, meetings, complaints to the responsible agency, media communication, demonstrations, or legal assistance.

Why conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

• A neighborhood cleanup can strengthen stewardship and belonging. Residents who participate in caring for shared spaces can build relationships with one another and contribute directly to places they value.
• It can demonstrate collective capacity. A visible project can show what residents, community organizations, businesses, and public agencies are able to accomplish together and may build momentum for addressing larger priorities.
• It can create many ways to participate. Cleanup programs need planning, communication, registration, translation, logistics, transportation, photography, food, data collection, first aid, child care, accessibility support, physical cleanup, and many other contributions. People can choose roles that fit their skills and interests.
• A cleanup program can improve neighborhood quality of life. Removing litter and illegal dumping and addressing maintenance concerns can make streets, parks, sidewalks, and other shared spaces more comfortable and usable.
• It can improve how shared spaces function and are experienced. Cleanup can improve visibility, access, recreation, walking conditions, and use of public spaces without implying that residents' worth or identity depends on how tidy the neighborhood appears.
• A neighborhood cleanup program can support health and safety. Accumulated waste may attract pests, obstruct sidewalks or drainage, contain sharp or hazardous materials, or create other health and environmental concerns. Appropriate cleanup and waste management can reduce those risks.
• It can support environmental responsibility. Cleanup programs can connect residents with reuse, repair, recycling, composting, household hazardous-waste programs, and other ways of reducing waste where those options are available.
• It can support local businesses and community investment. Well-maintained public spaces and commercial areas can improve pedestrian activity and the experience of residents and customers. Economic-development strategies should also consider whether current businesses and residents can benefit from neighborhood investment.
• It can provide a foundation for other community activities. Relationships developed through a cleanup may support future work related to parks, transportation, housing, environmental quality, public health, community safety, youth development, or other resident priorities.
• It can strengthen social connections. Shared work can help neighbors meet one another, exchange information, build trust, and develop networks that support mutual aid and collective action.
• It can create opportunities for connection across differences. When participation is inclusive, cleanup activities can bring together people of different ages, cultures, languages, races and ethnicities, housing situations, abilities, economic circumstances, and other backgrounds.

Physical cleanup should not be treated as a substitute for public investment or solutions to larger structural problems. Illegal dumping, inadequate collection services, absentee ownership, inaccessible waste disposal, housing instability, underfunded infrastructure, and other conditions may require policy, service, or institutional changes in addition to volunteer action.

Who should be involved in a neighborhood cleanup program?

A neighborhood cleanup program should be as participatory as possible. People who live, work, learn, own property, operate businesses, provide services, or spend time in the neighborhood may all have useful perspectives.

Participants may include:

• Residents from the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic communities represented in the neighborhood
• Young people
• Older adults
• People with disabilities and accessibility organizations
• Faith communities
• Property owners, including owners who do not live in the neighborhood
• Renters and tenant organizations
• Neighborhood business owners, workers, and managers
• Neighborhood associations, resident councils, block groups, youth organizations, and other community organizations
• Health, housing, environmental, and human-service organizations serving the neighborhood
• Schools, colleges, educators, and student organizations
• Public-agency staff responsible for sanitation, recycling, public works, parks, transportation, environmental health, fire and emergency services, and other relevant services
• People experiencing homelessness or housing instability who use or have relationships with neighborhood public spaces
• Reentry and justice-affected community organizations
• Waste, recycling, reuse, and environmental organizations

Do not assume that participation will happen automatically. Language, disability access, work schedules, transportation, caregiving, previous experiences with institutions, immigration concerns, and other factors may affect people's ability or willingness to participate.

Ask residents what would make participation easier and provide appropriate supports where possible.

When should you conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

A neighborhood cleanup can be organized at any time when residents identify a need or opportunity, but several practical considerations affect timing.

Pay attention to weather and environmental conditions

Avoid extreme heat, severe cold, storms, wildfire smoke, poor air quality, flooding, or other conditions that could make outdoor work unsafe.

Have a backup plan for weather-related cancellation or rescheduling and provide shade, water, rest breaks, or other protections appropriate to the conditions.

Schedule around participants' lives

Weekends may work well in some communities, but they are not automatically best for everyone. Work schedules, religious observances, caregiving responsibilities, school activities, cultural events, transportation, and other factors should be considered.

When possible, ask residents which dates and times would make participation easiest.

Coordinate with public agencies and waste providers

Make sure collection vehicles, dumpsters, transfer stations, recycling facilities, household hazardous-waste programs, or other services will be available when needed.

Do not allow collected waste to remain in streets or public spaces longer than necessary.

Cleanup may be especially useful:

• When litter, illegal dumping, or accumulated waste interferes with the use of streets, parks, sidewalks, vacant lots, waterways, or other shared spaces.
• When municipal or partner resources are available.
• When debris creates a safety concern. Unstable materials, abandoned appliances, broken glass, sharp objects, collapsed structures, or other hazards may need prompt attention. Some hazards require professional or public-agency response rather than volunteer cleanup.
• When waste creates an environmental or public-health concern. This may include pests, contaminated soil or water, medical waste, discarded needles, chemicals, blocked drainage, or other conditions requiring specialized handling.
• When residents and businesses are working on broader community-development priorities.
• When residents want an activity that brings people together around a shared and visible goal.
• When residents want to build momentum for addressing additional neighborhood priorities. A cleanup can be one achievable project within a broader community-led improvement effort.

How do you conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

A successful cleanup requires planning, coordination, safety, community participation, appropriate waste disposal, and a structure for maintaining progress over time.

Recruit or identify a core group to begin the effort

The effort might begin with a neighborhood association, tenant organization, school, youth group, community organization, business association, faith community, or a small group of interested residents.

The initial group does not have to represent every part of the neighborhood immediately, but it should make broad and genuine participation an early priority.

Put together a planning group that reflects the neighborhood

Invite people with different experiences, roles, and perspectives to participate.

Trusted relationships can help with outreach, but do not assume one community leader speaks for everyone in a racial, ethnic, cultural, age, disability, or other community.

Use several outreach methods:

• Personal invitations
• Door-to-door outreach
• Flyers and posters
• Text and email
• Community websites and social media
• Schools and libraries
• Businesses and community organizations
• Local radio, newspapers, and community media

Provide translated and accessible information where needed, and consider interpretation, childcare, transportation, remote participation, and meeting times when those supports would expand participation.

Assess the neighborhood

Walk, roll, bike, or travel through the neighborhood with residents and document both strengths and cleanup needs.

Look for:

• Litter and illegal dumping
• Bulky waste
• Unsafe or inaccessible sidewalks
• Drainage problems
• Unwanted graffiti or harmful markings
• Vacant properties requiring attention
• Areas where hazardous materials may be present
• Existing community gardens, murals, trees, parks, gathering places, businesses, and other assets that should be protected or strengthened

Talk with residents about what they see as priorities rather than relying only on what outside observers consider unattractive.

Decide what kind of neighborhood cleanup you want to conduct

Use the assessment to determine the size, location, and type of cleanup.

Consider:

• How much work is needed
• What volunteers can safely do
• What requires municipal or professional assistance
• How waste will be transported and disposed of
• How many volunteers are realistically available
• Which sites residents consider the highest priority
• How accessibility will be maintained during the event

A cleanup may last a few hours, a full day, several days, or occur in smaller recurring activities.

Consider your resources

Resources may include funding, volunteer time, public-agency support, donated materials, professional expertise, transportation, equipment, and partnerships.

Potential partners may provide:

• Gloves and litter grabbers
• Bags and recycling containers
• Dumpsters
• Waste hauling
• Tools
• Safety equipment
• Food and water
• Printing and outreach
• Accessibility supports
• Staff or technical assistance

Volunteer effort is valuable, but volunteers should not be expected to replace public services or paid professional work that requires specific expertise, licensing, equipment, or ongoing responsibility.

Pick an appropriate place, date, and time

Select a gathering area that is safe, accessible, easy to locate, and large enough for volunteers, supplies, and waste containers.

Consider accessible transportation, parking and drop-off, shade, restrooms, emergency access, and pedestrian safety.

Recruit volunteers

Explain clearly:

• What the cleanup is intended to accomplish
• What tasks are available
• What volunteers should bring
• What equipment will be provided
• How long the event will last
• What safety procedures will be used
• What activities are available for people who do not want or cannot perform physical cleanup work

Children and young people can participate in age-appropriate activities with appropriate adult supervision. They should not handle sharp objects, needles, chemicals, hazardous waste, heavy equipment, traffic control, or other high-risk materials or tasks.

Organize volunteers

Collect only the contact information needed to coordinate the event, explain how it will be used, and protect it appropriately.

Offer a range of volunteer roles, such as:

• Litter pickup
• Registration
• Volunteer coordination
• Translation or interpretation
• Photography
• Food and water distribution
• First aid, when appropriately trained
• Transportation
• Outreach
• Recycling and waste sorting
• Accessibility support
• Child care or children's activities
• Documentation and evaluation

Ask volunteers what they are comfortable doing rather than assigning roles based on age, disability, gender, or other assumptions.

Plan the cleanup itself

Even a small cleanup needs clear coordination.

Coordinate the effort. Designate people responsible for volunteer support, safety, supplies, waste disposal, communication, and emergencies.

Ask for appropriate help from public agencies. Request dumpsters, collection services, tools, traffic-control support, or other assistance well in advance when available.

Traffic-control needs should be addressed by appropriately trained personnel and in accordance with local requirements. If volunteers will be working near streets, use appropriate signs, barriers, high-visibility equipment, and traffic-management procedures.

Get permissions and permits. Obtain authorization before entering private property, using parking areas, installing dumpsters, removing vehicles, closing streets, painting over surfaces, or conducting other activities that require permission.

Decide what volunteers will and will not handle. Establish clear procedures for hazardous or unknown materials.

Volunteers should generally stop and report:

• Needles or other sharps
• Medical waste
• Unknown chemicals
• Fuel or oil spills
• Asbestos-containing or suspected asbestos materials
• Unstable structures
• Dead animals requiring specialized disposal
• Electrical hazards
• Explosives, weapons, or suspicious objects
• Other materials the local authority identifies as hazardous

Manage volunteers. Organize teams according to tasks, locations, training, and volunteer preferences. Make sure everyone receives safety instructions and knows how to contact a coordinator.

Provide reasonable accommodations and alternative tasks when needed.

Communicate with the community and media. Share accurate information about the cleanup, why it is happening, how people can participate, and what was accomplished.

When taking or sharing photographs of identifiable participants, particularly children, use appropriate permission and explain how the images may be used.

Take care of practical needs. Depending on the event, provide:

• Drinking water
• Rest breaks
• Shade or weather protection
• Accessible restrooms
• First-aid supplies
• Emergency procedures
• Protective gloves and other appropriate personal protective equipment
• Handwashing or sanitation supplies
• Safe food handling when food is provided

Make the cleanup enjoyable. Music, food, children's activities, community art, recognition, or other activities can help make the event social as well as productive.

Avoid turning cleanup into a competition that encourages volunteers to work too quickly, lift unsafe loads, or collect hazardous materials simply to gather more waste.

Celebrate when you're done. Recognize people's contributions, share what was accomplished, thank community partners, and explain what comes next.

Run the cleanup

Follow the plan, adapt when conditions require it, and put volunteer safety ahead of completing every task.

Monitor and record your efforts

Keep track of what was accomplished and what should be improved next time.

Possible measures include:

• Number of participants
• Areas cleaned
• Amount or types of waste collected
• Materials reused or recycled
• Hazards reported to public agencies
• Accessibility issues identified
• Volunteer experiences
• Resident feedback
• Problems with disposal or logistics
• Follow-up actions needed

Create a structure to keep the effort going

If residents want an ongoing cleanup program, establish responsibility for future coordination without depending indefinitely on one person.

An existing neighborhood organization might create a cleanup or environmental-stewardship committee, or participants might form a separate working group.

Share responsibilities, develop new leaders, keep records, maintain partnerships, and identify how volunteers and residents can remain involved over time.

Address the causes as well as the cleanup

Recurring litter or illegal dumping may indicate a larger issue that cleanup alone will not solve.

Ask:

• Are enough trash and recycling containers available?
• Is bulky-item pickup affordable and easy to use?
• Are waste services reliable?
• Do residents know where hazardous or unusual materials can be taken?
• Are landlords or property owners maintaining their properties?
• Are businesses managing waste appropriately?
• Are there recurring illegal-dumping locations?
• Are language, transportation, cost, or identification requirements creating barriers to disposal services?
• Does the neighborhood need additional public investment or enforcement?

The goal should be to reduce the need for repeated cleanup, not simply to become better at removing the same waste again and again.

Start planning for the next stage

An ongoing cleanup program may include recurring events, but it may also lead to larger projects involving parks, trees, sidewalks, waste services, vacant properties, environmental health, public art, transportation, community gardens, or other resident priorities.

Continue asking residents what is working, what needs to change, and whether responsibility for maintaining neighborhood conditions is being shared fairly among residents, property owners, businesses, public agencies, and other institutions.

In Summary

A neighborhood cleanup can improve streets, parks, sidewalks, vacant lots, and other shared spaces, but its value can extend beyond removing waste.

Cleanup programs can create opportunities for residents to work together, strengthen relationships, identify environmental and infrastructure concerns, connect with public agencies and community organizations, and build momentum for other locally defined priorities.

A strength-based cleanup program does not assume that litter or neglected infrastructure reflects residents' character, values, or hope for the future. Neighborhood conditions may reflect many factors, including public investment, available services, property ownership, infrastructure, illegal dumping, accessibility of disposal options, and broader economic conditions.

Strong programs involve residents in deciding what needs attention and how the work should be done. They provide different ways for people of varying ages and abilities to participate, use appropriate safety procedures, handle hazardous materials through qualified services, and plan for long-term maintenance.

Cleanup is most effective when it is paired with attention to the causes of recurring waste and neglect. Volunteer effort can make an important contribution, but residents should not be expected to substitute indefinitely for public services, responsible property ownership, or other institutional responsibilities.

The long-term goal is not simply a neighborhood with less litter. It is a community where residents have meaningful influence over shared spaces, appropriate resources for maintaining them, and strong relationships that help them continue improving the places they call home.

 

Contributor

Phil Rabinowitz

Editor

Andrea Glinn

 

We encourage the reproduction of this material, but ask that you credit the Community Tool Box: /.

Here you will find a checklist summarizing the important points of the section.

 

What is a neighborhood cleanup program?

__ A neighborhood cleanup program is an ongoing project that assumes that effort will be maintained.

__ There are three kinds of neighborhood cleanups:

• Public space cleanup: neighborhood volunteers clean public spaces.
• Household cleanup: households clean up property and put out hard-to-dispose-of waste for special collection.
• Community-assisted cleanup: the community helps with permits, permissions, removing abandoned vehicles, etc.

__ In any of these cleanups, the community may supply tools, equipment, and/or employees to help neighborhood volunteers.

 

Why conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

__ A neighborhood cleanup program can instill neighborhood pride.

__ It can break a cycle of hopelessness and helplessness.

__ It gives everyone a chance to contribute.

__ A cleanup program enhances neighborhood quality of life.

__ It can improve the self-image of residents and of the neighborhood as a whole.

__ A neighborhood cleanup program can improve neighborhood health.

__ It can help to "green" the neighborhood.

__ It makes the neighborhood more attractive to business.

__ It can serve as a springboard for other neighborhood actions or activities.

__ It can increase the number of relationships and the amount of social capital within the neighborhood.

__ A neighborhood cleanup program can encourage the embrace of diversity.

 

Who should be involved in a neighborhood cleanup program?

__ Any significant racial or ethnic groups, including the majority group.

__ Youth.

__ Elders.

__ People with disabilities.

__ Faith communities.

__ Property owners, including absentee owners.

__ Renters.

__ Neighborhood business owners and managers.

__ Neighborhood clubs and associations.

__ Health and human service organizations that serve the neighborhood.

__ School personnel.

__ Neighborhood and/or municipal officials.

 

When should you conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

__ When the weather is good.

__ When volunteers are available.

__ When the municipality can help.

__ When open spaces and streets in the neighborhood are covered with waste.

__ When the municipality provides the opportunity.

__ When waste presents a danger to children or others.

__ When waste presents a danger to health.

__ When the neighborhood is interested in economic development.

__ When you want to bring the neighborhood together.

__ When the neighborhood seems to have lost hope.

 

How do you conduct a neighborhood cleanup program?

__ Recruit or find a core group to begin the effort.

__ Put together a planning group that represents all groups in the neighborhood.

__ Assess the neighborhood.

__ Decide what kind of neighborhood cleanup you want to conduct.

__ Consider your resources.

__ Pick an appropriate place, date and time.

__ Recruit volunteers.

__ Organize volunteers.

__ Plan the cleanup itself.

• Coordinate the effort.
• Ask for help from the municipality.
• Get permissions and permits.
• Decide what actually needs to be done.
• Manage volunteers.
• Work with the media to gain positive publicity.
• Take care of the nitty gritty.
• Make the cleanup fun.

• Celebrate when you're done.

__ Run the cleanup.

__ Monitor and record your efforts.

__ Create a structure to keep the effort going.

__ Start planning for the next cleanup.

 

 

Neighborhood action can take many forms. Residents may organize a block party, advocate for safer street crossings, create a community garden, respond to a proposed development, improve a park, support affordable housing, organize around environmental concerns, or develop ways for neighbors to share information and resources.

What these activities have in common is collective participation. People identify something they value, need, or want to change and work with one another to take action.

Neighborhood action can produce results that may be difficult for individuals to accomplish alone. It can also strengthen relationships, create new leadership opportunities, increase residents' knowledge about local institutions and decision-making, and build capacity for future community efforts.

This section discusses what neighborhoods are, what we mean by neighborhood action, why collective action can be valuable, when it may be useful, and how residents can build relationships and organize around shared priorities.

What do we mean by neighborhood?

People may define a neighborhood in different ways. For some, it is a few nearby blocks. For others, it may be a housing development, rural area, business district, cultural community, subdivision, apartment complex, or a larger area connected by shared institutions, transportation, history, or identity.

Residents may also experience the same neighborhood differently. One person may value its close relationships and cultural traditions, while another may be concerned about transportation, housing costs, traffic, maintenance, accessibility, or lack of services.

Rather than classifying neighborhoods as simply “good” or “bad,” it can be more useful to identify both strengths and conditions residents want to improve.

Neighborhood strengths might include:

• Strong relationships among neighbors
• Effective communication and information-sharing
• Well-maintained and accessible public spaces
• Active community organizations, businesses, schools, faith communities, cultural organizations, and resident groups
• Convenient access to stores, transportation, parks, services, and other resources
• Cultural traditions, history, local knowledge, and community leadership
• Opportunities for residents of different ages and backgrounds to participate in community life

Conditions residents may want to improve might include:

• Limited opportunities for neighbors to meet or communicate
• Social isolation or weak connections among residents
• Safety, maintenance, environmental, or infrastructure concerns
• Public spaces that are underused, inaccessible, uncomfortable, or lacking activities
• Limited access to food, transportation, health care, recreation, businesses, education, or other services
• Housing instability or affordability concerns
• Barriers to participation in public decision-making

What residents do – individually and collectively – can influence neighborhood life, but residents are not responsible for every condition in their community. Public investment, housing markets, transportation, discrimination, infrastructure, property ownership, economic conditions, environmental risks, and government policy can all shape neighborhoods.

Promoting neighborhood action means creating opportunities for residents to identify what they value, discuss their priorities, build relationships, and participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their community.

What do we mean by promoting neighborhood action?

We use the phrase promoting neighborhood action broadly. It can include activities that bring neighbors together, strengthen relationships, help people understand their community, or support collective work toward a shared goal.

Neighborhood action may be organized around a specific issue:

• Cleaning or improving a vacant lot
• Requesting a safer crosswalk
• Improving public transportation
• Responding to a proposed development
• Protecting affordable housing
• Improving a park
• Addressing flooding, traffic, pollution, or another environmental concern

But neighborhood action does not always need to begin with a problem. It may also include getting to know neighbors, organizing a community meal, checking in with an older adult who wants support, creating a community garden, holding a cultural event, starting a walking group, or developing a neighborhood communication network.

Why is it important to promote neighborhood action?

Neighborhood action can provide several potential benefits. These outcomes are not automatic, and different communities may experience them differently, but collective action can create opportunities that individuals acting alone may not have.

• Collective action can increase a community's ability to influence decisions. A group of residents can gather information, identify common priorities, participate in public processes, communicate with decision-makers, and combine skills and resources more easily than one person acting alone.
• Successful action can build capacity for future efforts. Residents who learn how to organize a meeting, gather information, work with public agencies, raise funds, communicate with neighbors, or complete a community project can use those skills again.
• Neighborhood action can strengthen collective efficacy. Residents may develop greater confidence in their ability to work together, solve problems, and influence decisions affecting their community.
• It can create opportunities for relationships. Meetings, community projects, events, shared spaces, and informal encounters can help neighbors become more familiar with one another.
• It can strengthen networks of trust and mutual support. Trust usually develops over time through repeated experiences, reliability, communication, and respect. Neighborhood activities can provide opportunities for those relationships to grow.

Social connectedness refers to the relationships and networks through which people interact, exchange information, provide support, and participate in community life. Neighborhood action can help strengthen those connections, although simply bringing people together does not guarantee trust or agreement.

• Neighborhood relationships can contribute to a sense of belonging and mutual support. Knowing nearby residents may make it easier to share information, ask for assistance, respond to emergencies, welcome newcomers, or work together on common concerns.
• Participation can make community life more enjoyable. Events, informal conversations, shared projects, recreation, cultural activities, and public spaces can add connection and meaning to everyday neighborhood life.
• Neighborhood action can support community safety. Residents may identify hazards, improve lighting or transportation, advocate for safer streets, organize violence-prevention activities, support young people, strengthen emergency preparedness, or work on other locally identified safety concerns.
• Neighborhood action can support health and well-being. Residents may organize around parks, housing, environmental quality, transportation, food access, recreation, social connection, health services, or other conditions that influence health.
• Neighborhood action can create opportunities for children and young people. Young people can participate in planning, recreation, arts, environmental projects, leadership, service, and other community activities while building relationships with peers and adults.
• Neighborhood action can support local economic activity. Residents may support local businesses, share information about employment or services, advocate for commercial investment, organize markets, or develop other strategies that reflect local economic priorities.

These benefits depend on how neighborhood action is organized. A process that excludes some residents, ignores disagreements, or treats one group as representing everyone may deepen existing divisions rather than strengthen the community.

When should you promote neighborhood action?

Neighborhood action can be useful whenever residents identify a shared interest, opportunity, concern, or goal.

Communities differ in how connected residents already are. Some neighborhoods have active organizations and strong networks. Others may have fewer opportunities for interaction because of work schedules, transportation, housing turnover, language barriers, physical design, disability access, or simply differences in how people prefer to engage.

Neighborhood action may be particularly useful:

• When residents identify an issue that has not been adequately addressed. Examples might include traffic safety, housing, park maintenance, environmental concerns, youth opportunities, public transportation, accessibility, or neighborhood services.
• When an outside decision or event may significantly affect the neighborhood. This might include proposed development, infrastructure changes, service reductions, environmental hazards, severe weather, or other community changes.
• When residents are already working on an issue but believe additional participation or a different strategy is needed.
• When conflict or disagreement exists among groups in the neighborhood. Neighborhood action may create opportunities for communication, but significant conflict may also require skilled facilitation, mediation, or other approaches.
• When a neighborhood is new or changing. New residents, new development, demographic changes, or housing transitions may create opportunities to build relationships and establish ways to communicate.
• When residents want more opportunities to know one another.
• When residents identify opportunities to improve community life even though there is no immediate problem.

Neighborhood action should respond to actual resident interests rather than creating a problem simply to generate participation. Sometimes the most useful action is solving a specific issue; at other times it may be creating a place, activity, or communication network that helps relationships develop naturally.

How do you promote neighborhood action?

Begin by asking:

Is there a specific issue, opportunity, or shared interest that residents want to address?

The answer can help determine what type of organizing makes sense. Some neighborhood action is issue-based and requires research, planning, and participation in decision-making. Other efforts focus primarily on relationships, activities, information-sharing, or community events.

Some Preliminary Principles

Increase opportunities for contact among neighborhood residents

Repeated contact can create opportunities for people to become familiar with one another, but contact alone does not automatically produce friendship, trust, or agreement.

Relationships are also influenced by people's experiences, history, culture, communication, discrimination, conflict, shared interests, and whether they feel respected and safe.

Neighborhoods can create a variety of voluntary opportunities for interaction:

• Create physical spaces that support gathering. Seating, shade, community bulletin boards, accessible playground areas, shared gardens, plazas, community rooms, and other features can provide opportunities for informal interaction.
• Hold events that people enjoy. Youth sports, neighborhood meals, cultural events, fairs, cleanups, arts activities, block gatherings, markets, workshops, and other activities can bring people together around shared interests.
• Connect community information or services with places people already use. Resource tables, health information, volunteer opportunities, neighborhood updates, or other services may be offered at community events, housing common areas, schools, libraries, markets, and other accessible locations when appropriate.

Not everyone will want frequent interaction with neighbors, and participation should remain voluntary. The goal is to make connection possible, not to define one preferred way of being a good neighbor.

Learn about your neighborhood's priorities and concerns

Do not assume that the people you already know represent the whole neighborhood. Different residents may have different priorities, and some may have experienced barriers to participating in previous community processes.

Ways to learn about priorities include:

• Informal conversations with neighbors
• Listening at social events and community gatherings
• Reviewing community bulletin boards, neighborhood communication channels, local media, newsletters, or online groups
• Attending public meetings and hearings
• Conducting short surveys at neighborhood events
• Organizing listening sessions, house meetings, or small-group conversations
• Reviewing previous community assessments or neighborhood plans
• Working with local government, libraries, schools, universities, or community organizations that may have relevant information
• Conducting a more structured neighborhood survey when appropriate

Collect only the information you actually need, explain how it will be used, and make participation accessible. Depending on the neighborhood, this may mean providing translated materials, interpretation, disability accommodations, paper and digital response options, childcare, transportation support, or different meeting times.

Learn about your neighborhood's resources and assets

Neighborhoods have knowledge, relationships, institutions, skills, cultural traditions, physical resources, businesses, organizations, and leadership that can be used to address community priorities.

Assets may include:

• Organizations and associations already active in the neighborhood. These may include resident groups, schools, faith communities, businesses, sports organizations, cultural organizations, health organizations, tenant groups, youth organizations, and others.
• Physical and natural resources. Parks, schools, libraries, clinics, businesses, community centers, gardens, waterways, trails, trees, transportation facilities, historic places, and other neighborhood assets.
• The knowledge, skills, relationships, and talents of residents. Residents may have experience in art, organizing, construction, education, technology, translation, gardening, health, finance, child care, law, transportation, communications, or many other areas.

Asset mapping should not turn residents into a list of free labor. People's skills are community strengths, but participation should be voluntary, and professional work should be compensated when appropriate.

Information about neighborhood assets can be gathered through conversations, surveys, community mapping, asset inventories, meetings, or other participatory activities.

Once priorities and assets are better understood, the neighborhood is in a stronger position to decide what kind of action makes sense.

When there is an issue

When residents identify a significant issue, neighborhood action can help people understand the situation, identify who has decision-making responsibility, consider different responses, and work toward an outcome.

The following steps provide a general framework.

Talk about the issue with others

Begin with people affected by the issue and others whose knowledge or perspective may be useful.

The goal at this stage is not simply to find people who already agree with you. Ask:

• How are different people experiencing the issue?
• What information is already available?
• Who is most affected?
• Who has responsibility or authority?
• What possible solutions have already been considered?
• Who has not yet been included in the conversation?

An existing neighborhood association, tenant organization, resident council, youth group, or other community organization may provide a useful place for discussion. If no organization exists, the issue may create an opportunity to establish one.

Call a larger meeting or create another accessible way to participate

Publicize the opportunity widely and invite people from throughout the neighborhood rather than relying only on established or influential leaders.

A traditional meeting may not be the best format for everyone. Depending on the issue, participation might also occur through listening sessions, surveys, small-group discussions, online meetings, neighborhood walks, workshops, or other approaches.

Share information and listen to different perspectives

Explain what is known, distinguish facts from assumptions, and invite participants to contribute additional information and experiences.

People may disagree about the problem, its causes, or the best response. Those disagreements can provide important information and should not automatically be treated as obstacles to organizing.

Explore possible responses

Options might include:

• Meeting with the responsible agency, property owner, business, or organization
• Participating in a public hearing or planning process
• Submitting written comments
• Gathering additional evidence
• Developing an alternative proposal
• Organizing a petition
• Working with partner organizations
• Using community or local media
• Holding a public demonstration
• Using an administrative complaint or legal process
• Taking direct community action when appropriate
• Waiting for additional information when immediate action is unnecessary

Choose your response

Consider:

• The importance and urgency of the issue
• Whether delay could create additional harm
• The level and breadth of neighborhood support
• Support or expertise available from outside the neighborhood
• The staff, volunteers, time, funding, expertise, and other resources required
• Areas of disagreement or opposition
• The likelihood that the proposed response can produce the desired result
• Possible unintended consequences
• Accessibility, safety, and legal considerations

Plan your response

Identify:

• What will be done
• Who will do it
• Who should be consulted
• What information or resources are needed
• What timeline is realistic
• How residents will be kept informed
• How progress will be evaluated

Implement the response

Carry out the plan, communicate with participants, and adapt if new information or changing circumstances require it.

Evaluate the results

Ask:

• What changed?
• Were the intended goals achieved?
• Who benefited?
• Were there unintended effects?
• Did residents feel meaningfully involved?
• What did participants learn?
• What should be changed next time?

Evaluation may include observations, resident feedback, public records, service data, response times, participation data, environmental measurements, or other information appropriate to the issue.

If the effort did not achieve the desired result, use what was learned to reconsider the strategy rather than assuming that either residents or decision-makers simply need to be pressured harder.

When there is not an apparent issue

Neighborhood action does not require a crisis.

When residents are generally satisfied with neighborhood conditions, community-building can focus on relationships, shared interests, recreation, culture, learning, mutual support, or enjoyment.

• Create opportunities to identify overlooked priorities. Residents may have concerns about traffic, playgrounds, accessibility, housing, parks, environmental conditions, or services that have not yet become organized community issues. Invite discussion rather than trying to make people concerned about something they do not see as a priority.
• Bring people together around shared interests. Music, gardening, sports, cooking, arts, books, walking, history, culture, technology, or other interests can create natural opportunities for connection.
• Support resident-defined learning opportunities. Residents might organize language exchange, digital-skills workshops, financial education, arts instruction, gardening classes, or other activities based on interests they identify themselves.
• Create opportunities simply to enjoy community life. Relationships do not always need to be organized around solving a problem.
• Organize a neighborhood event. A picnic, cultural festival, basketball tournament, community meal, arts event, street fair, movie night, market, or other activity can give people a reason to gather.

Tips for Running a Successful Neighborhood Event

Successful events are usually built around clear goals, realistic planning, accessible participation, and shared responsibility.

Find people to work with you

Begin with a small group if necessary, but invite additional participation as planning develops.

Explore event possibilities

Ask residents what activities they would actually enjoy and use. Do not assume that an event successful in another neighborhood will automatically work in yours.

Choose the event

Consider:

• Resident interest
• Cost
• Available time
• Volunteer and staff capacity
• Accessibility
• Transportation
• Weather
• Required permits
• Safety
• Whether the activity is welcoming to the people the organizers hope to include

Find more people to help

Recruit through personal invitations, phone calls, texts, email, neighborhood organizations, schools, businesses, faith communities, libraries, social media, flyers, websites, and other communication networks people already use.

Define the necessary tasks

Common responsibilities may include:

• Communication and outreach – invitations, flyers, social media, email or text updates, community announcements, local media, and other forms of outreach.
• Financing – budgeting, fundraising, payments, accounting, sponsorships, and financial reporting.
• Event activities and logistics – setup, registration, scheduling, accessibility, food, transportation, performers or presenters, cleanup, equipment, and volunteer coordination.

Depending on the event, planning may also involve a location, weather backup plan, permits, insurance, security or safety planning, transportation, parking, accessible entrances and restrooms, childcare, interpretation, captioning, equipment, food safety, emergency procedures, and evaluation.

Divide up the work

Match responsibilities with people's interests, skills, availability, and access needs.

No participant should be expected to take on a particular task because of age, gender, disability, profession, or another characteristic.

Larger or more complicated events usually benefit from clearer coordination and written responsibilities.

Prepare a budget and identify possible resources

Estimate likely expenses and identify available funding, donations, in-kind contributions, equipment, space, volunteer time, or partner support.

Consider both expected expenses and unexpected costs, and be transparent about how money will be handled.

Develop a timetable

Identify major tasks, deadlines, and the people responsible for them. Build in enough time for permits, outreach, contracts, accessibility arrangements, supplies, and other needs.

Carry out the event

Meet with key organizers before the event begins, confirm responsibilities, review emergency procedures, and make sure everyone knows how to communicate with coordinators.

For larger events, phones, radios, messaging systems, or other communication tools may help organizers stay connected.

Clean up

Event planning should include teardown, waste disposal, recycling, equipment return, payment of bills, removal of signs, restoration of the site, and any necessary follow-up.

Give thanks

Recognize the people and organizations that contributed. Appreciation can be expressed personally, publicly, through a message, at a follow-up gathering, or in another form that fits the event and community.

Conduct an evaluation

Shortly after the event, invite organizers and participants to reflect on:

• What worked well
• What did not work as expected
• Who participated
• Who may have faced barriers to participation
• Whether the event achieved its goals
• Whether expenses matched the budget
• What participants thought of the event
• What organizers would change next time

Evaluation may be simple. Attendance, participant feedback, money raised, new volunteers, completed activities, accessibility, community response, or other measures can provide useful information.

The purpose is not only to judge whether an event was successful, but to learn from it and strengthen future neighborhood efforts.

In Summary

Neighborhood action occurs when residents work together around shared priorities, interests, opportunities, or activities.

It can involve advocating for changes, addressing a neighborhood concern, creating a community project, organizing an event, sharing information, strengthening relationships, or simply creating more opportunities for neighbors to connect.

Strong neighborhood action begins with listening. Residents may experience the same neighborhood differently, and no individual or organization should assume that it already knows what the whole community needs.

Effective efforts build on neighborhood assets as well as concerns. Residents bring knowledge, skills, relationships, cultures, institutions, histories, and leadership that can help shape community action.

Collective action can strengthen relationships and community capacity, but contact does not automatically produce trust, agreement, safety, or equity. Those outcomes depend on how people are treated, whether participation is meaningful and accessible, how disagreements are handled, and whether communities have real opportunities to influence decisions.

Neighborhood action is most sustainable when leadership and responsibility are shared rather than concentrated in one person. Each project, meeting, event, or organizing effort can help residents learn more about one another and about how to work together.

The goal is not to make every neighborhood equally social or to require residents to participate in community life in the same way. It is to create opportunities for people to connect, contribute, make choices together, and shape the places where they live.

Example #1: How Neighborhoods Promote Neighborhood Action and Improve Neighborhood Life

Most of these examples come from the writer's direct experience, and some may be slightly out of the ordinary. They are given in short form and in no particular order; hundreds, and probably thousands, more examples could be compiled. But could some of these examples be adapted and refined to promote neighborhood action where you live? And can you think of some other examples of your own?

• Block parade. Some years ago, on the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, kids on the block dressed up with Statue of Liberty headdresses. The parade started at the top of the block: the little kids sat in red wagons; the big kids pulled them; the adults stood on the sidewalk and cheered. After the parade, there was a block barbecue.
• Block photograph. As part of a neighborhood slide show (later shown both at professional conferences and a local arts festival), the photographer dropped off flyers on the block announcing a block photograph to be taken the next day. ("Meet by the big tree in the middle of the block.") At the appointed time, the photographer was the only person there; but very gradually, doors started to open, people peered out, and then edged onto the street. A few minutes later, neighbors started to fetch other neighbors who hadn't yet shown. A few minutes after that, with almost everyone there, the block photograph was taken; the photographer made sure everyone got a copy.
• The neighborhood bulletin board. One neighbor took it upon himself to post a different saying on the bulletin board every day for six months. He kept track of how many responses he got, both to his own saying and also new sayings. The longer this exercise continued, the more responses occurred.
• Neighborhood poems. Another neighbor wrote poetry and posted multiple copies of his most recent work on the bulletin board. Neighbors were encouraged to take a copy and post some poetry of their own.
• The neighborhood hunt. This event was well publicized by telephone pole flyers and by attractive brochures delivered door-to-door. The hunt itself involved walking through the neighborhood, stopping at designated locations, looking for clues, and writing down answers. There was an optional $5 entry fee, and the person with the most correct answers won a $100 prize. It was fun to watch families roaming the neighborhood checking for clues, and sharpening their awareness too; the hunt also netted a profit for the Neighborhood Newsletter.
• The Neighborhood Newsletter. This newsletter comes out several times a year, written by neighbors and distributed door-to-door by a network of volunteer distributors to 1300 homes. No money is charged; no subscriptions are offered, no ads are taken. Instead, neighbors are asked to make a donation if they are so inclined. During seven years of operation, there's always been money in the bank.
• The Spooky Walk. At Halloween, parents decorate the perimeter of the pond with spider webs, witches' costumes, and scary jack-o'-lanterns. Ghostly sounds come from the trees and bushes. At dark, the little kids get a chance to go on the Spooky Walk, with their parents close by or not, depending on their level of fearlessness.
• Music in the park. There's a lot of musical talent in our neighborhood; the trick is finding it, and encouraging people to come out and play. But at a recent neighborhood picnic, there were two live neighborhood bands.
• Neighborhood autographs. At another picnic, neighbors were asked to collect autographs of other neighbors there. The instructions said (for example): "Find someone who has lived in the neighborhood for at least 30 years; someone who played high school basketball; someone who has been to China; someone who is pregnant (or thinking about it)." The first person to fill their autograph card won a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant.
• Friends of the Park. The park is the centerpiece of one neighborhood, and neighbors have formed a Friends group to supplement the town's sometimes-erratic maintenance. Members of the Friends can sometimes be seen watering the grass and plants, on their own time, with their own extension hoses.
• Neighborhood list-serv. Anyone can get on the neighborhood list-serv, which is also publicized in the Neighborhood Newsletter. Announcements go out from time to time. Once, when a neighbor's house was struck by fire, the news went out immediately on the list-serv; donations started to pour in within hours.
• Citywide Neighborhood Council. In one small city, a dozen neighborhood groups organized themselves into a Citywide Neighborhood Council. They join forces to lobby for better neighborhood services, better police protection, and better enforcement of health and zoning regulations; but they also support and learn from one another. A recent pledge walk netted a few thousand dollars per neighborhood. Local politicians might secretly wish the CNC would go away; but publicly they are obliged to respond when it speaks up.
• An Office of Neighborhood Affairs. Many municipal governments now have them, for neighborhoods are where much of the local action takes place. Local government offices can coordinate much neighborhood activity, help in the exchange of information, and offer moral, technical, and sometimes financial support. Portland (Oregon) and Seattle have two of the best.
• Neighborhood-police relations. In an effort to build stronger relations between neighborhood kids and the police, the police invited the kids down to the precinct one day a week after school. The kids got tours, refreshments, and mini-lectures; but they also got a trading card, one card per week, with a photo of a police officer on front and a message from that officer on the back. When a kid had collected the whole set of cards, he or she could redeem them for a bicycle, thanks to donations from local merchants.
• Neighborhood-college relations. Local colleges can work to improve their relationships not only with their communities, but with neighborhoods more directly. One state university has given course reductions to some of its professors who have worked with local neighborhood leaders to strengthen neighborhood groups.
• Block nurse. One neighborhood has organized itself so that there is a health care provider on every block, who can and does serve as first call for most routine health questions and needs.
• Treasure chest. Suppose you had some items that you hardly ever used: cross-country skis, an extension ladder, a pasta machine. You could keep hold of them but also let others use them, by putting them in a neighborhood "treasure chest." All you would need to do is to announce their availability to a Treasure Chest coordinator, who'd handle the publicity. Then if someone wanted what you had, they could arrange to borrow it. (This is an easy-to-run version of barter or skills exchanges.)
• Neighborhood gardens. A homeowner on a quiet residential street turned her own yard into a neighborhood vegetable garden. Much of the produce was donated to the local storefront food cooperative, which sold it back to neighbors nearly at cost.
• Yard sales. Why have one yard sale when you can have 20? Neighbors along one street came together to hold sidewalk sales outside their houses on the same day, making for small profits, but also greater connectedness among both sellers and buyers.
• Leadership training
• A neighborhood with many new immigrants developed a leadership training program for them. Since at least eight different neighborhood languages were spoken, the training was held in eight languages at once, with members of each language group sitting at separate tables, and one bilingual member at each table translating.
• One neighborhood training model provides cash incentives. A small group of neighbors signs up for six sessions of training and attends the training as a group. When the training is completed, the neighbors receive a small stipend (about $500) to carry out a pre-approved neighborhood project of their choice.
• "If these houses could talk..." One neighborhood used neighborhood memories as the basis for a theatrical production. Visitors walked through neighborhood streets at dusk. On many of the porches were older neighbors, in spotlights, who told stories about the neighborhood and about their lives to younger neighbors who had never heard them before.

Example #2: A Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood

"Mohawk-Brighton was divided into thirty-one blocks, each with approximately 500 people. The [coordinating organization] then contacted known supporters in each block area and asked them to initiate a block council. Each block council then elected a block worker to represent and serve them...

The first project, a child health care center, succeeded remarkably. The nursing staff and block workers made some 5,388 visits to 576 babies, of whom over two thirds received full medical examinations... In response to the demand for increased services, the [organization] was sponsoring prenatal care, medical examinations for preschool children, bedside nursing, supervision of local tubercular cases, epidemic disease prevention, and postnatal examinations. In two short years, the Cincinnati Social Unit Organization had established one of the most comprehensive, effective, and cooperative public health programs in the nation."

This took place in 1919. Can you imagine what might be possible today?

Example #3: Building a Better Future for Liberty City

Carrfour Supportive Housing is expanding efforts to redevelop the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami. Together with its partners, Carrfour is revitalizating one of the largest public housing developments in Miami-Dade County with high-quality, mixed-income housing, creating a cradle-to-college education pipeline, and increasing opportunities for health and physical activity in the neighborhood.

For more than two decades, Carrfour has developed affordable housing with a comprehensive array of on-site services for low-income individuals and families across the Miami region. Through Partners in Progress, Carrfour is bringing together local government leaders, residents, business owners, housing developers, and community organizations to redevelop the Liberty City neighborhood and improve the health care and education in the community. Carrfour is engaging community members in each step of the revitalization process and working with them to address pressing community challenges.

Example #4: “Miss Neighbor Lady” Kathy Mouacheupao hosts “Gatherings” in her St. Paul neighborhood

As a long-time “arts administrator,” Kathy Mouacheupao sees her role as one of facilitation and collaboration, working together with artists but understanding her own work as more social practice. 

Her current project is “The Gathering,” a series of food-centered art events held in community gardens throughout her neighborhood of Rondo in Saint Paul. Read more.

Tool: Tips for Promoting Neighborhood Action

• Give everyone a chance to get involved and contribute, in a way that best matches up with their talents, interests, and availability.
• Aim for small victories. Don't shoot for the moon, at least not the first time around. Other things equal, it's better to have a small success than a larger failure, because your group is more likely to stick together if it succeeds.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help, especially from people in public office. Public officials represent you; they are accountable to you; and active neighbors are probable voters, a constituency few would want to antagonize.
• Be concrete. When decisions are made, make them specific -- and make sure everyone knows what they are.
• Whatever you decide to do, follow through on it. Keep your commitments, to maintain our credibility with both your supporters and your opponents.
• Keep the lines of communication open, so that everyone knows what's been happening, where matters stand now, what's coming up, and where to go with information or ideas.
• Finally, learn from experience, and from your mistakes, so that you will do better the next time around

I understand what neighborhood action is:

___Neighborhood action is any activity that brings neighbors in contact with one another

I understand that neighborhood action is needed because it:

___Creates desired result

___Establishes trust

___Brings success, which brings power

I understand that action should be taken when:

___Outside threats occur

___Internal conflict with certain groups in neighborhood occur

___The neighborhood is new

I understand what to do when issues arise:

___Make others aware

___Call a larger meeting

___Explore possible solutions

___Carry out the solution

___Evaluate results