Neighbors
DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
People want and need to belong. They want to be part of something larger, build something that endures. When people come together to connect -‐ to neighbors, their community, and their city - in a diverse, inclusive and equitable way, people have hope, and can thrive. Ensuring access to adequate venues for community interaction is a way of building cohesiveness. Caring for, and about, one’s neighbor is the basis for creating a sustainable life. Community should be at the center and community engagement can be the engine that produces and drives change. When neighbors’ work together, they are unstoppable. A unified, connected community leads to neighborhood strength and stability.
CURRENT STATUS
It is the job of all of us: government, its partners and residents to create a sense of building, not just things or even structures, but a sense of place, a sense of home. This helps nurture, grow and hold all of us: a place we belong. Community venues strengthen neighborhood bonds and enhance residents’ sense of place. The City’s 45 recreation centers and 21 library branches and, nonprofits organizations manager free and low cost programming at venues throughout the city such as the Creative Alliance, Maryland Community Health Initiatives’ Penn North Community Resource Center and the Hampden Family Center.
EQUITY INDICATORS
What is community? Who is part of the community? Who is valued? Sometimes community voices are ‘difficult,’ and it is hard to listen. In many communities, the dominant model is not working but everyone has something to say. Each voice must be valued. Every story counts when a community and the government, embrace the beauty of differences and diversity. Giving the community their voice, and increasing access to gathering spaces, is a necessary step toward becoming an inclusive city where neighbors value one another. Government and others must go deeper to hear residents, go beyond community meetings and to places where people gather.
STRATEGIES
1. Strengthen neighborhood bonds and enhance residents’ sense of place by promoting a positive sense of community by showing that 75% of residents live within ¼ mile of a community space that is open to the public and offers free services and events.
Action 1 - Involve residents and partners to create a baseline of community venues.
Action 2 - Share information about community events, programs, services and activities that are accessible to all including non-English speakers.
Action 3 - Demonstrate the use of community venues by residents such as community centers, art centers, universities, and similar venues where neighbors can meet together.
2. Identify and address neighborhoods-‐specific needs by creating community partnerships with neighborhood groups, city government, residents, experts and stakeholders, with a focus on communities of color and vulnerable communities.
Action 1 - Support and encourage resident dialogue and the building of social capital of neighborhoods. Create an online directory of events and resources, a “hub” for neighbors.
Action 2 – Create a comprehensive capacity building program for residents that builds from existing leadership institutes and initiatives.
Action 3 – Engage youth in voices that speak to them in order to engage them in their communities.
3. Ensure that every story counts and diverse voices are heard by creating strategies and partnerships to do a deeper dive in neighborhoods.
Action 1 - Continue highlighting good work by residents in neighborhoods to engage a greater number of individuals and communities in shaping the city’s future, especially those voices that have too long been marginalized and are too often most negatively impacted by environmental inequities.
Action 2 – Identify, hire and partner with experts in cultural competency, diversity and equity to assist
Action 3 - Use ‘pop ups’ and other innovative outreach techniques, reach larger audiences by going beyond physical buildings and meet communities where they are, in order to ensure more participation from more residents, in terms of numbers and diversity of voices.
METRICS FOR SUCCESS
Strategy 1: 75% of residents live within ¼ mile of a community space that is open to the public and offers free services and events
Strategy 2: Increase in the number of residents participating in formal facilitated programs
Strategy 3: Increase in the number of events where residents have the opportunity to be heard