Towards a BrighTer FuTure A Plan For Southeast Brightmoor PreP ared BY: T?Chana Bradford sam Butler geoffrey dancik Kate davidoff amanda goski Nate gray Ben Kraft Matt orenchuk Qingyun shen urban and regional Planning Program Taubman College of architecture + urban Planning university of Michigan, nn arbor april 2007 acknowledgements  Towards a Brighter Future We owe the completion of this project to the leadership and guidance of Professor Margaret Dewar and Eric Dueweke. n addition, we thank our community partner, Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development, especially John O?Brien, Michael Chateau. We thank the following people and organizations for their time, expertise, and willingness to help with this project: Brightmoor Alliance Brightmoor neighborhood residents Brightmoor Community Center Paul Betts Natalie Wowk, Detroit Project Gregory Parrish, Detroit Planning and Development Department Table of Contents  Towards a Brighter Future eXeCuTiVe suMMarY Xi ChaPTer 1: iNTroduCTioN 1 ChaPTer 2: BrighTMoor TodaY 5 ChaPTer 3: goaLs aNd TheMes 11 ChaPTer 4: iMProVe saFeTY 13 ChaPTer 5: sTreNgTheN eXisTiNg housiNg QuaLiTY & deVeLoP housiNg oPPor TuNiTies 23 ChaPTer 6: iMProVe eNViroNMeNT aL CoNdiTioNs 39 ChaPTer 7: Crea Te a NeighBorhood ideNTiTY 4 9 ChaPTer 8: iNCrease resideNTs? iNVoLVeMeNT iN NeighBorhood redeVeLoPMeNT eFForT 57 ChaPTer 9: iMPLeMeNT aTioN 63 aPPeNdiCes: aPPeNdiX a: souTheasT BrighTMoor, us CeNsus 2000 BLoCK grouP BouNdaries 69 aPPeNdiX B: resideNTs? CoMMeNTs FroM CoMMuNiTY MeeTiNgs, FeBruarY aNd aPriL, 2007 71 aPPeNdiX C: assessiNg siTe use aNd housiNg CoNdiTioN 73 aPPeNdiX d: CiTY oF deTroiT aNd MiChigaN sT aTe housiNg deVeLoPMeNT auThoriTY 77 aPPeNdiX e: hoMe reP air TraiNiNg aNd Code eNForCeMeNT aNd sKiLL BaNK resourCes 81 Table of Contents V Towards a Brighter Future List of Figures V Towards a Brighter Future 1.1: BrighTMoor aNd deTroiT 1 1.2: souTheasT BrighTMoor 3 2.1: age disTriBuTioN iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 5 2.2: a Verage househoLd iNCoMes iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor, BrighTMoor aNd deTroiT 6 2.3: ChiLdhood PoVer TY ra Tes iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor, BrighTMoor, aNd deTroiT 6 2.4: househoLds wiTh No VehiCLe a VaiLaBLe iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMooT , BrighTMoor, aNd deTroiT 6 2.5: souTheasT BrighTMoor LaNd use 7 2.6: MediaN Year housiNg BuiL T iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 8 2.7: hoMeowNershiP iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor aNd BrighTMoor 9 2.8: LeNgTh oF resideNCe For reNTers aNd owNers iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 9 2.9: MediaN housiNg V aLues iN 1999 iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 10 4.1: PrioriTiZa TioN oF ProPer Ties To Be deMoLished 14 4.2: eXaMPLes oF aPPLYiNg CriMe PreVeNTioN Through eNViroNMeNT aL desigN (CPTed) TeChNiQues 17 4.3: eXaMPLes oF Poor Na TuraL surVeiLLaNCe 18 4.4: eXaMPLe oF good Na TuraL surVeiLLaNCe 18 4.5: saFeTY iMPLeMeNT aTioN guide 21 5.2: BouNdaries For ZoNes wiThiN souTheasT BrighTMoor 24 5.2-5.5: eXaMPLes oF houses assessed iN Four Ca Tegories 24-25 List of Figures V Towards a Brighter Future 5.6: housiNg CoNdiTioNs iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 25 5.7: sidiNg reP air Needed 26 5.8: guTTer reP air Needed 26 5.9: wiNdow reP air Needed 26 5.10: PerCeNT age oF owNer-oCCuPied aNd reNTer-oCCuPied housiNg uNiTs iN 1999 iN wesTwood ParK 26 5.11: NuMBer oF housiNg sTruCTures iN eaCh CoNdiTioN Ca TegorY wiThiN wesTwood ParK 27 5.12: disTriBuTioN oF reNTer aNd owNer-oCCuPied housiNg uNiTs iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 29 5.13: NuMBer oF For-saLe V aCaNT houses BY asKiNg PriCe iN 1999 iN BrighTMoor 30 5.14: NuMBer oF reNTer-oCCuPied housiNg uNiTs BY househoLd iNCoMe grouP iN 1999 iN BrighTMoor 30 5.15: eXTerior ProPer TY CoNdiTioNs oF uNoCCuPied houses 31 5.16: eXaMPLes oF Boarded uNoCCuPied houses wiTh good aNd F air PhYsiCaL sTruCTure 31 5.17: LoCa TioNs oF uNoCCuPied good aNd F air QuaLiTY houses BY owNershiP iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 32 5.18: NdNd-owNed V aCaNT LoTs adJaCeNT To good or F air QuaLiTY owNer-oCCuPied housiNg 32 5.19: goVerNMeNT -owNed V aCaNT LoTs adJaCeNT To good or F air QuaLiTY owNer-oCCuPied housiNg 33 5.20: ProPer Ties owNed BY NdNd iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 34 5.21: suggesTed shor T TerM deVeLoPMeNT siTes Tha T MeeT CriTerioN 1 35 5.22: suggesTed shor T TerM deVeLoPMeNT siTes Tha T MeeT CriTerioN 2 36 5.23: suggesTed iNTerMedia Te TerM deVeLoPMeNT siTes Tha T MeeT CriTeria 3 aNd 4 37 6.1: VisioN For The L YNdoN greeNwaY 40 6.2: duMPiNg iN a V aCaNT LoT aLoNg KeNTFieLd 41 List of Figures V 6.3: duMPiNg iN The rear Y ard oF a LoT oN The easT side oF KeNTFieLd, aLoNg sMiTh hoMes 41 6.4: areas where deTroiT ProJeCT CLeaNed uP duMPiNg, 2007 43 6.5: drawiNgs For a ProPosed PoCKeT ParK iN The L YNdoN greeNwaY 45 6.6: The greeNiNg oF deTroiT Tree PLaNTiNg 46 6.7: The ardMore gardeN iN deTroiT 46 6.8: PossiBLe LoCa TioNs For CoMMuNiTY gardeNs, LoT CLeaN-uP grouPs, aNd w aLKiNg grouP rouTes 48 7.1: eXaMPLe oF CoMMuNiTY sigN 50 7.2: PaVed CrosswaLK 50 7.3: resideNT CoNsTruCTed FeNCe iN V aNCouVer 50 7.4: siMPLe PiCKeT FeNCe 51 7.5: sigN iN ChiCago?s BurNhaM ParK 51 7.6: desire Pa Th iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 51 7.7: PossiBiLiTies For iMProVeMeNTs 52 7.8: MuraL iN PhiLadeLPhia 52 7.9: wiNdow Boards oN L YNdoN sT . 53 7.10: MuraLs iN souThwesT deTroiT 53 7.11: BiddY MasoN P arK 54 7.12: PLaCeMeNT For ar T aNd desigN sTra Tegies 55 8.1: PossiBLe sTruCTure For orgaNiZiNg 57 8.2: MaP oF PrioriTY For orgaNiZiNg BLoCK CLuBs 59 List of Figures V Towards a Brighter Future 9.1: souTheasT BrighTMoor ZoNes 63 9.2: PossiBLe Par TNershiPs For sTreNgTheNiNg souTheasT BrighTMoor 64 9.3: a VisioN oF a BrighTer souTheasT BrighTMoor 66 List of Tables X Towards a Brighter Future 4.1: sTra Tegies To iMProVe saFeTY 13 5.1: suMMarY oF sTra Tegies To sTreNgTheN eXisTiNg housiNg QuaLiTY aNd deVeLoP New housiNg oPPor TuNiTies 23 5.2: housiNg CoNdiTioNs iN souTheasT BrighTMoor 24 5.3: disTriBuTioN oF resPoNsiBiLiTies iN The deTroiT deP arTMeNT oF adMiNisTra TiVe heariNgs 28 6.1: sTra Tegies For iMProViNg eNViroNMeNT aL CoNdiTioNs 39 6.2: highLaNd ParK, MiChigaN, iLLegaL duMPiNg TasK ForCe MeMBers aNd TasKs 41 6.3: reasoNs aNd PossiBLe soLuTioNs For duMPiNg 44 7.1: sTra Tegies For Crea TiNg a NeighBorhood ideNTiTY 49 8.1: sTra Tegies For iNCreasiNg resideNT iNVoLVeMeNT 57 8.2: reCoMMeNda TioNs oN PrioriTY For orgaNiZiNg BLoCK CLuBs 59 9.1: shor T, iNTerMedia Te, aNd LoNg TerM aCTiViTies For souTheasT BrighTMoor 65 List of Tables X Towards a Brighter Future executive summary X Towards a Brighter Future suMMarY Towards a Brighter Future: A Plan for Southeast Brightmoor provides Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development (NDND) with strategies to strengthen housing and turn vacant land into assets. Brightmoor is a four-square-mile area in northwest Detroit. This plan focuses on a one-square- mile section in the southeast part of Brightmoor bounded by Fenkell St. to the north, Schoolcraft St. to the south, Burt Rd. to the west and Westwood St. to the east. Southeast Brightmoor is primarily residential and also includes two schools, several churches, parks, a community center and some commercial services. This plan includes strategies to maintain current investment while preparing for the future. BaCKgrouNd The population of Southeast Brightmoor decreased about 20% from 1990 to 2000. Southeast Brightmoor has a significantly higher number of children than the rest of Detroit, and many of these young people live in poverty. More than half the housing units are rented in Brightmoor, and about a third of the population do not have access to a vehicle. Single-family homes are the primary land use in Southeast Brightmoor, with many lots vacant. The neighborhood has a wide variety of housing, ranging from structures in good quality to those that need to be demolished NdNd iNVesTMeNT NDND has built over 200 new owner-occupied and lease-to-own homes since 1996 and is currently in the process of building over 45 homes in the neighborhood. NDND has made significant investment in the neighborhood already, and can begin to reuse land in creative ways. oPPor TuNiTies Several new initiatives are now underway in the Brightmoor area. NDND can build on these programs to both maintain current assets and further strengthen the neighborhood: ? The Next Detroit Initiative: The City of Detroit has targeted Brightmoor as a redevelopment community; with goals to decrease insurance premiums, reduce crime, improve housing stock and improve schools. ? Skillman Foundation: Over a million dollars worth of grants will be awarded for youth projects and services. ? Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): LISC has earmarked $25,000 for initial operating and planning support for the Brightmoor community as part of its designation as a strategic reinvestment area. TheMes, goaLs aNd sTra Tegies Three major themes guide this plan. NDND can reinforce its investment in the neighborhood through maintenance and small repairs. Second, the neighborhood can build on its assets--parks, new housing and funding opportunities--to encourage future investment. Involving residents in all aspects of the plan will help ensure its five goals, developed with input from residents and NDND staff, are reached: goaL 1: iMProVe saFeTY Residents should feel safe in their houses and in the neighborhood. Strategies to achieve this goal are: ? Demolish all derelict residential buildings within two years ? Discourage access to vacant commercial structures and property ? Incorporate crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) in NDND?s new developments and educate property owners on how to integrate these principles into their existing properties ? Improve outdoor lighting ? Initiate neighborhood watch groups and/or CB patrols executive summary X Towards a Brighter Future ? Enhance community-police relationships ? Remove stray and abandoned animals from the neighborhood ? Reduce dog fighting goaL 2: sTreNgTheN eXisTiNg housiNg aNd deVeLoP New housiNg oPPor TuNiTies All residents should have access to good quality homes. Targeting housing efforts could produce immediate benefits to existing homes. Strategies to achieve this goal are: ? For existing housing: o Focus home repairs to maintain existing good quality housing. For example, create a skill bank for residents to exchange services that would improve small maintenance problems o Create a citizens? code enforcement task force o Develop a renter screening service and find resources for landlords to repair properties o Encourage homeownership o Help homeowners acquire adjacent vacant lots ? For new housing development o Prioritize NDND-owned sites for development goaL 3: iMProVe NeighBorhood eNViroNMeNT . Residents should enjoy the recreational space in the neighborhood. A healthy, dumping-free environment makes open space an asset for the neighborhood. Strategies to achieve this goal are: ? Control illegal dumping ? Encourage the maintenance and use of Southeast Brightmoor?s natural environment ? Make Southeast Brightmoor ?green? by planting trees and community gardens and establishing urban farms goaL 4: Crea Te a NeighBorhood ideNTiTY Residents of all ages should be proud of their neighborhood and a shared identity. Residents can work together to make physical improvements to the neighborhood that can help create a sense of identity. Strategies to achieve this goal are: ? Establish a neighborhood name and logo ? Expand community design efforts ? Create a neighborhood arts program goaL 5: iNCrease resideNTs? iNVoLVeMeNT iN NeighBorhood All of the goals have a common theme of working together towards a stronger neighborhood. Residents should feel comfortable with one another and come together to address issues they find important. Strategies to meet this goal are: ? Organize the neighborhood ? Establish activities and opportunities for involvement iMPLeMeNT aTioN A phasing strategy recommends when activities could begin. Short-term strategies are the easiest to implement and can begin within a year; intermediate term strategies can be implemented in one to three years, while long-term strategies require the most effort and can be implemented within five years. In areas with higher quality housing, NDND can reinforce their current investment. In areas with lower density, NDND can build on current assets to encourage new investment. Successes from this plan can serve as a model for other parts of the Brightmoor area. Implementation of strategies involves partnerships. NDND and neighborhood residents can connect to the Skillman Foundation, CityMission, Brightmoor Alliance, LISC, the City of Detroit, and other groups and organizations. By recognizing the assets in the neighborhood and connecting with residents, NDND can move towards a brighter future. A brighter future for Southeast Brightmoor is a safe neighborhood. It is good quality housing and the opportunity for residents to own their homes. It shows Southeast Brightmoor free of illegal dumping, with parks and community gardens, and with a community name and identity. Chapter 1: introduction  Towards a Brighter Future Source: Planning and Development Department, City of Detroit; Michigan Center of Geographic Information; NDND. Figure 1.1: Brightmoor and Detroit Towards a Brighter Future: A Plan for Southeast Brightmoor provides Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development (NDND) with strategies to strengthen housing and turn vacant land into assets. The plan can guide NDND in their efforts to strengthen the neighborhood. Strategies can help residents and NDND identify and make the best use of assets in Southeast Brightmoor. Brightmoor is a four-square-mile area located in northwest Detroit, as outlined below in blue (see Figure 1.1). Brightmoor?s boundaries are Puritan St. on the north, Fullerton St. on the south, Telegraph Rd. on the west, and Evergreen Rd. and Westwood St. on the east. The shaded area in the southeast corner represents the focus area for the plan. hisTorY Detroit?s population increased rapidly in the 1920s. As the auto industry grew, entire neighborhoods were constructed to meet the new housing demand. Between 1910 and 1920, the population of the city more than doubled from 450,000 to 900,000 residents. Ohio native B.E. Taylor began building homes in Brightmoor in 1923 when the area was rural farmland and not yet part of the city. Taylor recruited people from Appalachian counties in Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee with promises of employment opportunities in the expanding auto industry. By the time the city of Detroit annexed Brightmoor in 1925, Taylor had built almost 4,000 new homes.1 The housing constructed in Brightmoor has proven to be difficult and costly to maintain. Much of Brightmoor?s housing was built before 1960 and a large proportion of the original Taylor homes remain 1 Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development. Informational Pamphlet, 1996. in varying condition. These homes, however, were intended to be starter homes as they could be constructed in as little as eight hours. Most sat on 30-foot lots and lacked indoor plumbing and heating. Detroit?s population has decreased significantly since peaking at about 1.85 million people in 1949.2 In 1999 roughly 950,000 people lived in the city. Currently, about 25,500 people live in Brightmoor.3 As the population in Detroit and Brightmoor declined, houses became abandoned, which left the city as well as Brightmoor with many vacant structures and empty lots. 2 US Census 1950 3 US Census 2000 Chapter 1: introduction  Towards a Brighter Future NdNd The nonprofit Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development, Inc., formed in 1996 to improve housing and develop vacant land in Brightmoor. Since then NDND has built over 200 homes. These new homes and lease-to-own arrangements have helped increase homeownership opportunities within the neighborhood. NDND also identifies economic development and quality of life issues as priorities. They work with community organizations on various projects that include resident involvement and coordination among groups in the neighborhood. NDND lends administrative and organizational support to the Brightmoor Alliance, a coalition of 33 organizations working in Brightmoor. NDND has worked with the urban design firm JJR to plan a one and a half mile greenway connecting Eliza Howell Park and proposed pocket parks along Lyndon St. to Stoepel Park. Construction will begin in spring 2007.4 oPPor TuNiTies This plan can capitalize on recent city and non- profit initiatives and new housing development by NDND. In 2006, Mayor Kilpatrick designated Brightmoor as one of two redevelopment communities as part of the NEXT Detroit Neighborhood Initiative (NDNI). NDNI strives to ?transform the city?s neighborhoods into vibrant areas for its citizens to work, play and live.?5 The city will overhaul each redevelopment community?s current land use strategy to address blight and abandoned structures. The city hopes to address four specific issues within Brightmoor: decrease insurance premiums, reduce crime, improve housing stock and improve schools. Additionally, the Skillman Foundation launched the Good Neighborhoods Initiative to ?promote healthy, safe and supportive environments for children, 4 Donna Erickson, phone interview, (March 22, 2007). 5 City of Detroit, www.ci.detroit.mi.us/, (accessed March, 2007) youth, and their families by working directly with concerned citizens and organizations in specific neighborhoods.?6 Brightmoor was selected as one of five target communities because so many children live in the area. Skillman will dedicate over one million dollars in grant money to fund projects at schools and churches and for youth groups in the Brightmoor area over the next nine years. Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) provides technical assistance, grants and loans, a resource library, and training and acts as an intermediary between local non-profit organizations and foundation resources. LISC designated Brightmoor as a strategic investment area that entitles Brightmoor to $25,000 for initial operational support for planning. LISC has promised significant assistance to help implement plans over the next three to five years.7 NDND has continued to develop new housing. In 2005, NDND completed its third 50 unit, low- income housing tax credit, lease-to-own project in the planning area called Brightmoor Homes IV. A new housing project with over 45 homes is in the construction stage, called Brightmoor Homes V. souTheasT BrighTMoor NDND identified Southeast Brightmoor as the plan?s focus area. Southeast Brightmoor is indicated by the shading in Figure 1.2.8 The area is bounded by Fenkell St. and Schoolcraft St. on the north and south and Burt Rd. and Westwood St. on the east and west. Smith Homes, a public housing complex built in the 1950s, is located between Evergreen Rd. and Stout St. Fenkell St. is a commercial strip that currently has many vacant buildings. NDND plans to relocate their office to the Guardian Bank Building on the corner of Fenkell and Burt, and a 6 Skillman Foundation, www.skillman.org, (accessed April 2007). 7 Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development. NDND Work Plan. 1996. 8 The name ?Southeast Brightmoor? was invented to describe the section of Brightmoor on which this plan focuses. new post office was recently constructed on the south side of Fenkell. NDND hopes to create a mixed-use, higher density housing development south of the new post office. Schoolcraft St., the service road for I-96, is particularly busy. While the plan?s strategies deal specifically with Southeast Brightmoor, the process and recommendations can be a model for the rest of the neighborhood. NDND hopes to concentrate its building efforts to reinforce the entire Southeast Brightmoor area. NDND believes that strengthening Southeast Brightmoor can act as a catalyst that will help the entire Brightmoor community. The following chapters lay out strategies for strengthening the Southeast Brightmoor neighborhood. Chapter 2 gives background on population, economic conditions, transportation, land use and housing in the area. Chapter 3 describes the plan?s overall themes and goals. Chapters 4 through 8 present strategies and short, intermediate and long term actions for achieving each goal. Where appropriate, chapters include maps that indicate where strategies can take place in Southeast Brightmoor. Chapters 4 and 5 show where and how to improve safety and strengthen housing. Chapters 6 and 7 present ideas on improving environmental issues and creating a community identity for Southeast Brightmoor. Chapter 8 provides ways to encourage resident involvement. Chapter 9 lays out how implementation of all of the strategies could take place and presents a vision of the future for Southeast Brightmoor. Chapter 1: introduction  Figure 1.2: Southeast Brightmoor Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Chapter 1: introduction  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 2: Brightmoor Today  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 2.1: Age Distribution in 1999 in Southeast Brightmoor Source: US Census 2000 While the previous chapter provides a broad history of Brightmoor, this chapter offers a more current description of Southeast Brightmoor and also indicates how it has changed in recent years. The chapter contains information about the neighborhood?s population, economic conditions, transportation options, land use, and housing conditions and compares these characteristics to those for all of Brightmoor and the city of Detroit. The information in this chapter provides the foundation for the goals and strategies of the plan. Population Southeast Brightmoor?s population has been declining. In 1999, 4,417 people lived in Southeast Brightmoor, compared to 5,422 in 1989. This 20% rate of decline is greater than that of Detroit or Brightmoor as a whole. Between 1989 and 1999, Brightmoor?s population fell by 13% while Detroit?s declined by 7% during the same time period.1 The implications of this population decline will appear throughout the plan in strategies that aim to fortify areas of Southeast Brightmoor that have not experienced as much decline and also in suggestions for using vacant land for purposes other than housing. As the neighborhood?s total population decreased between 1989 and 1999, the percentage of African-American residents living in the planning area increased. In 1999, 90% of the neighborhood?s residents were African-American. The ethnic 1 All US Census Bureau data refer to Census Tract 5436, Block Group 7; Census Tract 5437 Block Groups 1 through 4. These block groups cover Southeast Brightmoor but extend beyond the neighborhood?s bound- aries in certain areas. Therefore, the neighborhood statistics are close estimates and will include information about some people and housing units outside of the neighborhood. See Appendix A for a map of how census block group boundaries correspond to the neighborhood?s boundaries. make-up of the neighborhood will be an important characteristic to consider when implementing strategies for forming a community identity in Chapter 7. Young people also constitute a large proportion of Southeast Brightmoor?s current population (see Figure 2.1). In 1999 almost half of the population of the planning area was under 17, while less then one-third of Detroit?s population fell into this age category. Many of this plan?s strategies are designed to house, protect, and actively involve Southeast Brightmoor?s residents, including its young people. Income, Employment, and Transportation Just as population dropped in Southeast Brightmoor between 1989 and 1999, the number of households also decreased from 1,843 to 1,349. For these households, the average income in 1999 was $23,477, which is about $13,000 less than that of Brightmoor as a whole and $17,000 less than that of Detroit (see Figure 2.2). Similarly, Southeast Brightmoor has a high rate of poverty?particularly childhood poverty. In the Southeast Brightmoor neighborhood in 1999, the poverty rate for children 17 years old or younger was 59%, a 15% decline from the 1990 rate of childhood poverty. Brightmoor also saw a similar drop from 53% to 40%, as did the city, which decreased its childhood poverty rate from 53% to 35% (see Figure 2.3). This decline in poverty was most likely due to economic growth that benefited most of Detroit?s residents.2 Still, while economic statistics improved during the 1990?s throughout Detroit, they have worsened since 1999. Although no 2007 data for Southeast 2 Brookings Institution, Detroit in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000, November 2003. www.brookings.edu/es/urban/livingcities/detroit. htm, (accessed April 5, 2007). Brightmoor exist, the reader can infer that if Detroit?s poverty levels have risen, Southeast Brightmoor?s have risen as well. This plan takes into account the area?s lack of economic resources and attempts to focus investment in the specific places that will benefit the most from it. Southeast Brightmoor residents also lack access to vehicles. In the neighborhood in 1999, those living in 30% of the 1339 households had no access to a vehicle. This rate is an improvement from 1989 when Chapter 2: Brightmoor Today  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 2.3: Childhood Poverty Rates in 1999 in Southeast Brightmoor, Brightmoor, and Detroit Source: US Census 2000 40% of the 1834 households in the neighborhood had no vehicle. Brightmoor residents also realized an increase in vehicle access during the decade as the percent of occupied housing units with no vehicle access fell from 24% to 18%. Detroit?s rate of households without a vehicle also fell from 33% to 21% (see Figure 2.4). Rather than addressing transportation directly, this plan seeks to improve the quality of life within Southeast Brightmoor so that trips outside of the neighborhood will become less necessary. Land Use While cars remain the predominant mode of transportation in Southeast Brightmoor despite many residents? lack of access to them, the neighborhood has many assets within walking distance. Most of the neighborhood consists of single-family homes, and commercial buildings line Fenkell St. and Schoolcraft St. While some buildings along Fenkell St. remain vacant, other businesses and services continue to operate: the Brightmoor Coney Island, Checker Drugs, Thea Bowman Community Health Center, the Brightmoor Medical Center, and the Village of Shiny Stars Childcare Center. The neighborhood is also home to Harding Elementary School on Burt Road. Vetal Elementary is just outside of Southeast Brightmoor?s boundary on Westwood St. Additionally, the many churches in the neighborhood draw from within and outside the community and serve as places for people to get together. The John Smith Homes (Smith Homes), a public housing project renovated in 1995, has 156 housing units and a waiting list of people who want to move in.3 It is in the center of Southeast Brightmoor, and although a fence separates most of the Smith Homes area from the larger neighborhood, these residents can become active participants in the community. 3 Smith Homes employee, phone intreview, (April 17, 2007). Figure 2.4: Households with no Vehicle Available in 1999 in Southeast Brightmoor, Brightmoor, and Detroit Source: US Census 2000 Figure 2.2: Average Household Incomes in 1999 in Southeast Brightmoor, Brightmoor and Detroit. Source: US Census 2000 Chapter 2: Brightmoor Today  Figure 2.5: Southeast Brightmoor Land UseSmith Homes is also very close to Southeast Brightmoor?s recreational sites. The Brightmoor Community Center provides many activities for residents including youth camps, elderly activities, and career counseling and treatment programs. The community center is just outside the planning area but is an important asset for the area?s residents. Additionally, Stout and Stoepel Parks provide residents with ample park space. Stoepel Park is the larger of the two and is a gathering place for more formal recreational activities like tennis, basketball, softball, and picnics. Stout Park has a basketball court and children?s play equipment, but, as one resident described, is more of a ?hang-out park.?4 The neighborhood?s large amount of vacant land is also an asset that NDND could develop for future housing or other open-space uses that strengthen the neighborhood as Chapters 5, 6, and 7 will describe. As Figure 2.5 shows, most of the land use in Southeast Brightmoor is residential. The following section examines this housing area in more detail. Housing Southeast Brightmoor had 1,573 housing units in 1999, which marked a 22% decline (from 2,034) during the previous 10 years. Brightmoor as a whole experienced the opposite trend. Between 1989 and 1999, the number of housing units decreased from 11,503 to 9,931.5 The plan proposes strategies for developing new housing as well as strategies to use vacant property as an asset to strengthen Southeast Brightmoor. The homes within Southeast Brightmoor are slightly newer than homes found in the rest of the city of Detroit. Figure 2.6 shows the median year that homes were built ranges from 1952 in one area to  See Appendix B. 5 US Census 1990 and 2000 Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Chapter 2: Brightmoor Today  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 2.6: Median Year Housing Built in 1999 in Southeast Brightmoor 1969 in another section.6 Homes within the rest of the city of Detroit were built, on average, in 1948.7 The plan?s strategies address where to create new housing as well as how to strengthen the quality of the neighborhood?s aging housing stock. Southeast Brightmoor has a lower homeownership rate than the rest of Brightmoor. Forty percent of Southeast Brightmoor residents own their homes compared to 49% of Brightmoor residents as a whole (see Figure 2.7). In addition, Figure 2.8 illustrates that homeowners have generally lived in the neighborhood longer than renters. On average, homeowners have lived in Southeast Brightmoor for eleven years, while renters have lived in the area for five years. Homeownership plays an important role in neighborhood identity, community involvement, and housing quality; and the plan?s strategies deal with each of these aspects. Nearly one sixth of Southeast Brightmoor?s housing units were vacant in 1999. Between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the vacancy rate within the neighborhood increased from 9% to 15%. Home vacancy rates increased in Brightmoor and the city of Detroit as well. Within Brightmoor, home vacancy increased from 8% to 10%, while vacancy in the city of Detroit increased from 9% to 10%. The plan?s housing strategies presents ways to reuse vacant homes to create affordable housing for the neighborhood?s residents. In 1999, median home value varied widely within sub-sections of Southeast Brightmoor. Figure 2.9 illustrates that median housing values ranged from a high of $54,400 to a low of $14,800. The median housing value within the city of Detroit is $63,600. Median housing value and household income define whether housing is affordable for neighborhood residents. The plan?s strategies outline methods for continuing to develop quality, affordable housing in 6 1952 in block group 7 of census tract 5436 to 1969 in block group 2 of census tract 537. See Appendix A for map of census block groups. 7 US Census 2000 Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND; US Census 2000. Chapter 2: Brightmoor Today  Southeast Brightmoor. The housing in Southeast Brightmoor is generally of good quality, although it varies within and between sub-sectors of the neighborhood. Chapter 5 provides a more de- tailed examination of the area?s housing quality. Southeast Brightmoor Today and the Neighborhood Plan Southeast Brightmoor?s population and housing characteristics provide the context for the follow- ing chapters and the plan?s goals. While South- east Brightmoor faces many social and economic challenges, it also has many assets upon which to build. It?s schools, churches, parks, businesses, and housing cvan support NDND?s existing efforts as well as provide a foundation for future commu- nity efforts that can strengthen Southeast Bright- moor. The next chapter will introduce the goals that guide this plan towards a better Brightmoor. Source: US Census 2000 Figure 2.8: Length of Residence for Renters and Owners in Southeast Brightmoor Figure 2.7: Homeownership in 1999 in South- east Brightmoor and Brightmoor Source: US Census Chapter 2: Brightmoor Today 0 Towards a Brighter Future Figure 2.9: Median Housing Values in Southeast Brightmoor in 1999 Source: Planning and Development Department, City of Detroit; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND; US Census 2000. Chapter 3: goals and Themes  Towards a Brighter Future Five goals guide this plan. Residents and NDND staff developed these during several meetings and discussions. The five goals follow: goaL 1: iMProVe saFeTY The absence of hazardous structures, more eyes on the street, and a controlled animal population can allow residents to conduct daily activities in a decent and secure environment. goaL 2: sTreNgTheN eXisTiNg housiNg QuaLiTY aNd deVeLoP New housiNg oPPor TuNiTies Improvements in housing conditions can encourage home ownership, improve living conditions, and reinforce investment in the neighborhood, all of which create an environment for the construction of new housing. goaL 3: iMProVe The NeighBorhood?s Na TuraL eNViroNMeNT A greener Brightmoor without widespread dumping can make residents healthier and the area more attractive, thereby improving the quality of life. goaL 4: Crea Te a NeighBorhood ideNTiTY Coordinated neighborhood design improvements and beautification efforts can help residents get to know each other and begin to be proud of where they live. goaL 5: iNCrease resideNT iNVoLVeMeNT iN NeighBorhood redeVeLoPMeNT eFFor Ts Participation in community activities can build trust and collaboration among residents as well as aid in the other development efforts throughout the neighborhood. Chapters 4 through 8, which are presented in order of priority, will detail the strategies involved in achieving these goals. Residents attributed the most importance to improving safety. Strengthening housing and improving the environment were given similar amounts of support, while the remaining goals received fewer votes. Chapter 9 will discuss how NDND and residents can implement the strategies for achieving these goals. Residents also considered other issues during the development of this plan?s goals. Creating a mixed- income neighborhood was proposed as a goal but did not receive as much support as other goals. Residents also showed concern for the condition of commercial properties. The chapter on improving safety incorporates this matter with recommendations for securing vacant commercial property. PLaN TheMes The plan addresses these goals in sets of strategies that reflect three general themes that reappear in each chapter. One of these themes is that reinvestment in Southeast Brightmoor can be most effective if it is concentrated in areas where an adequate level of investment already exists. For example, concentrating home repairs in areas where the housing quality is already strong is a high priority in Chapter 5, because it will provide more of an impetus for nearby residents to fix up their homes also. Once this reinvestment reaches a local threshold, it has a better chance of spreading throughout the entire neighborhood. Similarly, the second theme is to build upon the assets that already exist in Southeast Brightmoor. This plan approaches the large amounts of vacant land in the neighborhood with the understanding that much of it is not yet ready for commercial or residential redevelopment and could become a significant community asset if committed to other uses. Chapters 6 and 7, for example, recommend alternative strategies for the use of this land as green spaces or as sites where residents can express community identity. The third major theme in this plan is that Southeast Brightmoor can realize its goals more easily if it acts as a community. Each goal incorporates one or more strategies for involving residents of the neighborhood in community-wide efforts. Watch- groups, skill-banks, and art programs are some examples of this focus on resident interaction, and Chapter 8 directly addresses the need for community involvement. Chapter 3: goals and Themes  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 4: improve safety  Towards a Brighter Future Table 4.1: Strategies to Improve Safety Strategy 1: Demolish all derelict residential structures within two years Strategy 2: Discourage access to vacant commercial structures and property Strategy 3: Incorporate crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) concepts in NDND?s new developments and educate property owners on how to integrate these principles into their existing properties Strategy 4: Improve outdoor lighting Strategy 5: Initiate neighborhood watch groups and/or CB patrols Strategy 6: Enhance community-police relationships. Strategy 7: Remove stray and abandoned animals from the neighborhood Strategy 8: Reduce dog fighting Reducing criminal activity and improving safety enhance the livability of communities. Residents reinforced this notion by citing safety as their principal concern. Southeast Brightmoor residents are particularly worried about drug houses, stray animals, dog fighting, vacant structures, street lighting, and prostitution (see Appendix B). Residents also want programs for youth. Later chapters address youth activities. Further, the Skillman Foundation has launched a major initiative to improve conditions for children and youth in Brightmoor, and their efforts will complement the strategies this plan recommends. The following chapter outlines various safety improvement strategies (see Table 4.1). These strategies make the assumption that building upon existing assets, targeting efforts to specific areas of the neighborhood, and working together to bring about change could produce the most immediate benefit to Southeast Brightmoor. These strategies principally rely on citizen involvement for change. Strategy 1: Demolish all derelict residential structures within two years ? Short Term: Form a political advocacy group to pressure the City of Detroit, Wayne County, and other entities to demolish government-owned structures in Southeast Brightmoor. Structures situated near schools, high- traffic thoroughfares, and adjacent to parks can also be targeted for demolition. ? Intermediate Term: NDND and residents can work together to pressure city agencies to demolish all remaining derelict structures. ? Long Term: Maintain a task force to identify and press for the demolition of structures as needed. Vacant, open structures can shield and harbor criminals, and removing these nuisances can make a neighborhood safer.1 NDND?s initial efforts at improving safety could focus on demolishing derelict residential structures where people feel most vulnerable and where the program can have the most impact on reducing criminal behavior. An assessment of housing conditions identified 63 structures within Southeast Brightmoor that should be demolished (see Appendix C for assessment methods). Residents were particularly concerned that these structures create an unsafe neighborhood and believe that demolishing them can provide a safer living environment. NDND could form an advocacy group to pressure the City of Detroit and other entities to demolish derelict homes in Southeast Brightmoor. NDND could 1 The United States Conference of Mayors, Combating Problems of Vacant and Abandoned Properties, 2006. www.usmayors.org, (accessed February 3, 2007). Chapter 4: improve safety  Towards a Brighter Future provide a staff member to facilitate this group. This advocacy group could include community residents and public officials while utilizing existing political platforms such as the Brightmoor Alliance. This group would pressure the city, county and state authorities to demolish immediately the 16 government-owned derelict structures. Methods of advocacy could include an organized daily telephone campaign to the City of Detroit?s Building and Safety Department as well as letter writing campaigns to public officials and media outlets. Below are the criteria used to prioritize the demolition of structures (See Figure 4.1). ? Government-owned structures: Governmental entities (city, county, or state) own 16 derelict properties and should be considered first priority. In the wake of promises made by Mayor Kilpatrick and Governor Granholm to demolish abandoned structures, demolishing these government-owned structures should occur quickly.2 ? Privately owned structures near schools: Structures that are privately owned and near schools can receive second priority. Structures close to schools are of great concern to the City of Detroit,3 and their demolition can do a great deal to enhance the safety of youth, who are attracted to the empty, hazardous structures. ? Structures facing high-traffic throughways: These also can receive second priority. Demolishing derelict structures along major avenues of traffic such as Burt Rd., 2 Governor Jennifer Granholm, ?Michgan State of the State Ad- dress,? (February 6, 2007). 3 City of Detroit Information Technology Services, ?Southwest Detroit Elementary School Principal, Parents Partner With City to Tear Down Abandoned House,? in Next Detroit 2006 Annual Report to the Community (2006) 11. Figure 4.1: Prioritization of Properties to be Demolished Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Chapter 4: improve safety  Evergreen Rd. and Outer Dr., can enhance the public perception of the neighborhood. ? Structures in Westwood Park: The three structures in Westwood Park that need demolition receive second priority status, too. Westwood Park?s housing stock is generally in good condition, and demolishing these three structures can further reinforce that section of Southeast Brightmoor. ? Structures adjacent to parks: The structure adjacent to Stout Park received second priority status because its proximity to the park creates a safety hazard to children. The remainder of the derelict structures received third priority status. Many of these structures are in areas that are interspersed with vacant lots and not close to community assets such as high-traffic streets, schools or parks. NDND can identify and maintain a list of structures that require demolition as the need arises. NDND can then encourage the demolition task force to advocate for these structures? demolition. Strategy 2: Discourage access to vacant commercial structures and property ? Short Term: Post no trespassing signs on vacant buildings and property. ? Short Term: Inform property owners of the legal responsibility and potential consequences of property neglect. ? Short Term: Encourage residents to report dangerous building and property conditions. Vacant structures and lots open to trespass facilitate illegal activity.4 Well-maintained buildings and property are less likely to invite crime. Posting no trespassing signs on vacant buildings could be an effective and low cost strategy to discourage access to vacant structures. An individual, the police, or NDND could contact property owners for written authorization to enforce laws and ordinances against loitering and trespassing on vacant properties. A property owner?s contact information could be obtained through the Wayne County Registrar of Deeds at: Wayne County Register of Deeds 00 Monroe Avenue, Sixth Floor Detroit, MI 48226 Telephone: (313) 224-5850 Property owners could be persuaded to improve their properties if informed of the legal responsibilities and potential consequences of failing to maintain property. Temporary injunctive relief, temporary seizure of premises, permanent seizure of premises, and monetary damages are civil remedies that could be used to deal with properties harboring illegal activity. ?The district attorney, the police or private citizens can sue in civil court for abatement and/or financial restitution.?5 The Wayne County Prosecutor?s Office could provide assistance. Residents can contact the Prosecutor?s Office at: Wayne County Prosecutor 1200 Frank Murphy Hall of Justice 1441 St. Antoine Detroit, MI 48226 Telephone: (313) 224-5777 The Wayne County Nuisance Abatement Program is an additional resource. If the county deems that 4 The United States Conference of Mayors, Combating Problems. 5 Rana Sampson, ?Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes,? U.S. Department of Justice, www.cops.usdoj.gov, (accessed February 3, 2007). property is a public nuisance, neglectful owners must rehabilitate their properties or lose them. A public nuisance is an unreasonable interference with the public?s right to property. It includes conduct that interferes with public health, safety, peace or convenience. In the event that the county identifies property as a nuisance and the owner refuses to comply with the county?s requirements, the county can sell the property to someone who pledges to rehabilitate the property. Individuals can report violations to Nuisance Abatement at: Wayne County Nuisance Abatement Program Telephone: (313) 224-3235 E-mail: fixitupdetroit@yahoo.com The City of Detroit Buildings and Safety Engineering Department also responds to issues concerning the condition of buildings or land. Residents can contact the Buildings and Safety Engineering Department at: Buildings & Safety Engineering Department Coleman A. Young Municipal Center 2 Woodward Avenue, Suite 401 Detroit, MI 48226 Telephone: (313) 224-3235 NDND and residents could focus initial efforts to secure the properties on Fenkell St. Fenkell St. is centrally located in the Brightmoor neighborhood and has more commercial businesses and public transit routes. Fenkell St. is also more pedestrian friendly than Schoolcraft St. Once properties along Fenkell St. have been secured, efforts could be directed to improving safety along Schoolcraft. Demolishing derelict buildings and discouraging access to vacant structures and property could improve the neighborhood?s safety, but incorporating crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) concepts could reinforce these measures. Chapter 4: improve safety  Towards a Brighter Future Strategy 3: Incorporate crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) concepts in NDND?s new developments and educate property owners on how to integrate these principles in their existing properties. ? Short Term: Host community-wide CPTED workshop(s) in order to educate NDND, residents, property owners, religious institutions, and retailers on how the design of physical environment can influence safety and the perception of crime. ? Short Term: Incorporate CPTED concepts into NDND developments and encourage residents to integrate these principles in their properties. CPTED seeks to ?identify conditions of the physical and social environment that provide opportunities for or precipitate criminal acts. . . and the alteration of those conditions so that no crimes occur.?6 CPTED strategies include natural surveillance, territorial reinforcement, natural access control, activity support, maintenance, and target hardening: 1. Natural Surveillance creates environments where people can easily observe the space and activities around themselves. Potential criminal offenders are discouraged by the threat of apprehension. 2. Territorial Reinforcement uses landscape plantings, pavement design, gateways, and fences to distinguish private spaces from public spaces. 3. Natural Access Control decreases crime opportunity by denying access to crime targets and creates the perception of risk in potential offenders. Design of 6 Situational Crime Prevention, ww4.ps-sp.gc.ca/en/library/publi- cations/fact_sheets/situational/situatE.pdf, (accessed February 5, 2007). streets, sidewalks, building entrances, and gateways can indicate public routes and discourage access to private areas through the use of physical barriers. 4. Activity Support increases the use of the neighborhood?s physical environment for safe activities. Increased activity helps participants become part of the natural surveillance. 5. Well-Maintained Landscaping, Lighting, and other Features facilitate all CPTED principles. 6. Target Hardening makes a site more difficult to attack and/or delays the success of an attack. CPTED concepts can be applied to both existing and new development. New construction, however, offers the most opportunities for applying these principles. CPTED concepts could be applied to single-family homes, neighborhoods, and institutional/commercial properties (see Figures 4.2, 4.3 and 4.5). The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) conducts basic and advanced educational workshops for individuals and organizations interested in the CPTED program. NDND, residents, landlords, retailers, and community organizations could use the CPTED workshop(s) to learn how the design and use of the environment can influence human behavior and reduce the fear of crime. Contact information for the NCPC is: The National Crime Prevention Council 1000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Thirteenth Floor Washington, DC 20036-5325 Telephone: (202) 466-6272 E-mail: trainings@ncpc.org The National Institute of Crime Prevention (NICP) is another training resource. Unlike the NCPC, the NICP conducts on-site training seminars. NDND could work with the NICP to host a community- wide training seminar. Community participants could also benefit from CPTED training by modifying their property or assisting others to improve safety. NDND can contact the NICP at: The National Institute of Crime Prevention PO Box 271767 Tampa, FL 33688 Telephone: (813) 294-9757 E-mail: info@nicp.net Each of the preceding action plans can be implemented in the short term. However, identifying specifically where improvements may best serve the neighborhood could be effective. Given that Southeast Brightmoor residents have limited access to transportation, initial efforts could be directed at improving safety along Burt Rd. and Fenkell St. because both streets are served by public transportation. Many Southeast Brightmoor residents do not have access to a car, which underscores the need for safe walking along Fenkell St., the area?s primary commercial corridor. The safety of the area?s youth is also a primary concern (see Appendix B). Places where children congregate such as parks, schools, and the Lyndon Greenway could be targeted for safety improvements. The area east of Kentfield St. -excluding Smith Homes- could also be targeted for initial safety improvements because it has the highest housing density. Because crime prevention strategies rely heavily on natural surveillance and resident involvement, these strategies in low-density areas can be more difficult to execute than in higher density areas where these strategies can have a more immediate impact. Once these areas have been reinforced, the area bounded by Outer Dr. and Kendall St. on the north and south and Burt Rd. and Kentfield St. on the east and west could be targeted for safety improvements Chapter 4: improve safety  Figure 4.2: Examples of Applying Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Techniques Single Family Homes Natural Surveillance ? Locate the front door so that it is visible from the street ? Situate the driveway so that it is visible from either the front or back door and at least one window ? Place windows on all sides of homes to provide visibility of the entire property ? Select landscaping that allows unobstructed views of entry points from other properties ? Light exterior doorways; however, avoid lighting doorways that cannot be seen from neighboring properties or the street Natural Access Control ? Use sidewalks and fencing to direct visitors to the primary entrance and away from private areas Territorial Reinforcement ? Delineate private areas from public space with landscape, sidewalks, and fences ? The building?s address should be visible from the street, and numbers should be a minimum of five inches high Maintenance ? Maintain shrubs to be less than three feet and keep tree branches trimmed to seven feet above the ground to maintain clear visibility ? Keep yard free of litter and trash ? Keep exterior lighting in working order Target Hardening Techniques ? Install double-cylinder dead bolt locks to interior doors that connect a garage to the interior living quarters. Keep the keys handy but concealed for emergencies. ? Locate door locks a minimum of forty inches from adjacent windows or glass if possible. ? Use single-cylinder dead-bolt locks with a minimum one-inch throw on doors used as primary ground floor exits and install three-inch screws into the strike plates. ? Replace any glass louvered windows with more secure windows. ? Install glass sliding door with the fixed position door on the outside and equip the interior sliding panel with a locking pin and one or two more locks. ? Equip all solid exterior doors with 180-degree door viewers. ? Periodically change the code to garage door openers and alarm devices. ? Store ladders, scaffolds, and other climbable equipment when not in use. Neighborhoods Natural Surveillance ? Locate recreational areas and schoolyards so they are visible from nearby homes and streets ? Avoid landscape and fencing that creates blind spots Natural Access Control ? Install sidewalks, landscape, and architectural features, such as gateways, to direct pedestrians to desired entrances Territorial Reinforcement ? Design properties and homes to encourage interaction between neighbors ? Post park rules at access points Activity Support ? ?Encourage a broad range of activities and people in the area while accounting for compatibility.? (e.g., community gardening and block parties) Maintenance ? Maintain public space free of litter and dumping. Keep landscape and plantings well manicured. Source: F. Fowler, and T. Mangione. ?Neighborhood Crime, Fear and Social Control, ? US Department of Juctice, 1982. Chapter 4: improve safety  Towards a Brighter Future because this area contains slightly less vacant land and less good quality housing than the area east of Kentfield St. Furthermore, Harding Elementary School is situated along the western edge of this area. Last, the area bounded by Kendall St. and Schoolcraft St. on the north and south and Burt Rd. and Fielding St. on the east and west and the area north of Outer Dr. could be targeted for safety improvements. Both of these areas have long stretches of vacant land, interspersed with residences that are generally in poor condition or should be demolished, making natural surveillance and resident involvement difficult. Figure .5 illustrates where safety improvements could be made in the short, intermediate, and long term. Strategy 4: Improve outdoor lighting ? Short Term: Provide outdoor lighting design assistance. Well-designed lighting can deter crime. Light orientation, contrast, glare, and source color are critical components of good lighting.7 The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) publishes a ?Recommended Practices? booklet that provides lighting guidelines for homes, roadways, parking lots, and other facilities. NDND can contact the IESNA at: 7 Donald Watson et al. 2003. Time-Saver Standards for Urban Design, New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Figure 4.3: Example of Poor Natural Surveillance The preceding home is also sited on a street corner; however, unlike the preceding images, the structure is oriented with its front door and windows facing the side street. Figure 4.4: Example of Good Natural Surveillance IESNA 20 Wall Street, Floor 17 New York, NY 10005 Telephone: (212) 248-5000 Time-Saver Standards for Urban Design also provides detailed, yet straightforward design recommendations. NDND could purchase this material for use by residents and property owners. NDND staff could also familiarize themselves with safe lighting standards in order to provide design assistance to residents, as well as incorporate safe lighting design in their developments. In addition, if residents or property owners feel that additional street lighting is necessary, they may seek assistance from NDND staff who have familiarized themselves with safe lighting guidelines. Alternately, safe lighting literature could be available at NDND?s office. The Public Lighting Department can be petitioned for additional street lighting. Residents can reach the Public Lighting Department at: Public Lighting Department 9449 Grinnell Street Detroit, Michigan 48213 Telephone: (313) 267-7256 Residents can access the Lighting Department?s protocol for requesting additional street lighting online at: www.ci.detroit.mi.us/Legislative/ ResourceGuide/L.htm#38_0. Strategy 5: Initiate neighborhood watch groups and/or CB patrols ? Short Term: Foster neighborhood watch groups and/or CB patrols. Crime prevention watch groups can help improve safety in the neighborhood as well as empower residents and reinforce relationships The home shown above is situated on a street corner. Few of the structure?s windows face the side street, thereby limiting the household?s ability to detect and dissuade criminal activity. Chapter 4: improve safety  within the community. (Please see Chapter 8 on community involvement on ways to initiate such organizations.) Watch groups are most effective when there are at least four to six residents on a block. Residents can make up a ?phone chain? and routinely converse with one another, reporting any suspicious activity they witness. One resident can be designated as the police department liaison and report crimes as needed. Neighborhood residents who might be apprehensive about directly contacting the Police Department can contact the police liaison instead. CB patrols allow residents to drive through the neighborhood and report crime through a radio network that is linked to a designated person who then contacts the police department. CB patrols can also receive small amounts of financial reimbursement from the City of Detroit for car mileage expenses. There are certain requirements that must be met in order to become an official Detroit CB patrol. Information on the criteria needed to create an official Detroit CB patrol can be found by contacting Larry Tomic with the City Clerk?s office. Citizens Radio Patrol Larry Tomic Telephone: (313) 224-1555 The Detroit Police Department recommends calling 1 (800) 609-7487 to join the Citizens Radio Patrol of Detroit.8 Strategy 6: Enhance community-police relationships. ? Short Term: Encourage residents to attend the monthly Detroit Police Department 8 Kids, Cops, Clean Official Website, ?Cops,? www.ci.detroit. mi.us/kcc/kcc_cops.htm, (accessed March 6, 2007). Community Relations meetings. ? Short Term: Advocate for more police patrols and better response times The Detroit Police Department is attempting to strengthen relationships with neighborhoods. NDND could encourage residents to attend the monthly Detroit Police Department Community Relations meetings. Residents can make law enforcement more effective by providing feedback and information to the police. NDND could capitalize on and strengthen the Brightmoor Alliance?s existing relationship with the Detroit Police Department Northwestern District Captain, Deputy Chief Walter Long. NDND could use this relationship to advocate for more police patrols and better response times. Establishing a community-police partnership demonstrates the importance of residents? working with enforcement personnel to address neighborhood concerns. Residents are often well aware of the issues facing their neighborhood. However, they may not know how to address these concerns. This point is illustrated by the prevalence of stray and abandoned animals in Southeast Brightmoor. Strategy 7: Remove stray and abandoned animals from the neighborhood ? Short Term: Inform residents of resources to handle stray and abandoned animals. Residents know that stray and abandoned animals pose health and safety concerns. Residents employ defensive strategies to handle animals. For instance, a resident stated that women often carry sticks with them to fend off stray dogs (see Appendix B). NDND and other community organizations could work with the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) and Detroit Animal Control to inform residents of the availability of resources to address stray and abandoned animals. The MHS and Detroit Animal Control respond to complaints about animals, including neglect or animal abuse. They also respond to animal emergencies and provide veterinary services, including vaccinations and spay/neuter services. Residents could also utilize the adoption, animal surrender, and lost pet assistance services provided by the MHS and Animal Control. Residents can contact the Detroit Animal Control at: City of Detroit Animal Control 3511 West Jefferson Detroit, MI 48216 Telephone: (313) 224-6323 Residents can contact the MHS at: Michigan Humane Society 26711 Northwestern Highway, Suite 175 Southfield, MI 8033 Telephone: (248) 799-7400 Adoption Center 7401 Chrysler Drive Detroit, MI 48211 Telephone: (313) 872-3400 Emergency Rescue Telephone: (313) 872-0026 Cruelty Investigation (313) 872-3401 Dog fighters often use stray and abandoned dogs as ?training bait.? Eliminating strays and abandoned dogs may limit this inhumane practice but would likely not discourage dog fighting. Chapter 4: improve safety 0 Towards a Brighter Future Strategy 8: Reduce dog fighting ? Short Term: Promote youth awareness in schools. ? Short Term: Inform residents about the legal risks associated with dog fighting. ? Short Term: Encourage residents to report dog fighting. Children are very susceptible to the dangers of dog fighting. Fighting dogs are conditioned to be aggressive. Southeast Brightmoor?s schools can take advantage of the Michigan Humane Society?s (MHS) humane education and nonviolence classroom programs. These programs are available for elementary and middle school children. Residents can contact the MHS?s director of humane education, Kim Korona, at The Michigan Humane Society Kim Korona, Director of Humane Education Telephone: (28) 799-700, ext. 127 E-mail: kkorona@michiganhumane.org NDND could inform residents about the legal risks associated with dog fighting. For instance, in Michigan, attending a dog fight is a felony offense. The Humane Society of the United States offers educational pamphlets and posters displaying the risks of dog fighting. NDND, community organizations, or individuals could ask the permission of local businesses and churches to post this material. The contact information is: The Humane Society of the United States 2100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 Telephone: (202) 452-1100 NDND could encourage residents to report dog fighting through community, school, and church bulletins. NDND, the Brightmoor Alliance, block clubs, schools, and religious institutions are also options that could be used to educate residents on the dangers of dog fighting. Residents can report dog fighting complaints to the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan Humane Society, or the Crime Stoppers Alliance at: Northwestern District Detroit Police Department (313) 596-5600 Michigan Humane Society (313) 872-3401 The Crime Stoppers Alliance (800) 773-2587 The Crime Stoppers Alliance offers an incentive to report crimes. Anyone providing a tip that results in a felony arrest is eligible for a cash reward up to $1,000. This chapter describes how NDND and residents can work together to bring about change and improve safety in Southeast Brightmoor. As previously mentioned, these strategies operate under the assumption that building upon existing assets, targeting efforts in specific areas, and working together to bring about change could produce the most immediate and sustained benefits in Southeast Brightmoor. The next chapter also assumes that concentrating efforts can generate immediate and sustained benefits in Southeast Brightmoor. Chapter 4: improve safety  Figure 4.5: Safety Implementation Guide Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Chapter 4: improve safety  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing opportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality and evelop New housing pportunitie s This chapter focuses on the steps that NDND staff members and Southeast Brightmoor?s residents can take together to reach the goal of strengthening the neighborhood?s housing. As resources are limited, this chapter assumes that targeting development efforts and funding to specific areas of the neighborhood could produce the most immediate benefit. Targeting efforts could produce a cumulative effect that is lost when resources and development are spread throughout the neighborhood. Targeted investment could create a cumulative effect that reinforces and sustains development and repair activity. Over time, as one owner repairs his or her home, neighbors could respond with repairs  G. Galster. 200. ?On the Nature of Neighborhood,? Urban Studies 38: 2-224. to their properties.2 In turn, as homeowners repair homes and NDND develops new property, the overall quality of the housing stock could improve. The strategies for reaching this goal are divided according to whether they pertain to existing homes or to future NDND development. The table below illustrates how the strategies apply to existing homes and new development. Southeast Brightmoor Housing Zones This chapter refers to subsections of the neighborhood as zones. Each zone has similar quality and density of housing within it. The 2 John Accordino, George Galster, and Peter Tatian. 2005. The Impacts of Targeted Public and Nonprofit Investment on Neighborhood Development: Research Based on Richmond, Virginia?s Neighborhoods in Bloom Program, Richmond, VA: Community Affairs Office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond lettering for each zone reflects decreasing housing density and housing quality; zone A has the highest density and most good quality housing, while zone E has low housing density and many poor quality homes. Figure 5.1 shows the zone boundaries and the following section describes each zone?s characteristics.3 Zone A covers the eastern section of the neighborhood from Evergreen Rd. to Westwood St. Residents refer to this section of the neighborhood as Westwood Park. Most homes in this zone are in good condition with few vacant lots. Adjacent land owners use many of the vacant lots as side yards. Stoepel Park forms zone A?s northern boundary. 3 Residents and NDND staff members helped to clarify the zone boundaries during an April 3, 2007, community meeting. The zone boundar- ies reflect housing quality and density as well as comments from that meet- ing. Table 5.1: Summary of Strategies to Strengthen Existing Housing Quality and Develop New Housing Opportunities For Existing Housing: Strategy 1: Focus home repairs to maintain good quality housing in zones A and B Strategy 2: Create a citizens code enforcement task force Strategy 3: Develop a renter screening service and find resources for landlords to repair properties Strategy 4: Encourage homeownership Strategy 5: Help homeowners to acquire adjacent vacant lots For New Development: Strategy : Prioritize NDND-owned sites for development Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Zone B?s boundaries are Smith Homes to Schoolcraft St. on the north and south, and Fielding St. and Evergreen Rd. on the west and east. Housing quality in zone B improves from west to east. Stout Park is in the southern part of the zone. Zone B?s housing density and housing quality are lower than zone A?s. Zone C contains most of the area in the center of the neighborhood. This zone contains slightly more vacant land and less good quality housing than zones A or B. Harding Elementary School sits on the western border of the zone, and the Brightmoor Community Center lies across the street just outside of the neighborhood. Zone D is bordered by Kendall St. and Schoolcraft St. on the north and south, and Burt Rd. and Fielding St. on the east and west. Schoolcraft St. serves as the access road for Interstate 96. Many vacant commercial buildings line Schoolcraft St., and the road?s busy nature inhibits pedestrian activity. Zone D?s housing stock is predominately poor quality with significant abandonment. Zone E is bordered by Fenkell St. and Outer Dr. to the north and south and Burt Rd. and Evergreen Rd. to the east and west. Long stretches of vacant land are interspersed with only one or two residences. Homes are generally in poor condition or should be demolished. sTraTegies For eXisTiNg housiNg Strategy 1: Focus home repairs to maintain good quality housing in zones A and B ? Short Term: Create a home repair skill bank. Figure 5.1: Boundaries for Zones within Southeast Brightmoor Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Condition Total Number of Homes Percentage of Total Good 758 69% Fair 54 4% Poor 2 % Should be demolished 63 6% Total 096 00% Table 5.2 Housing Conditions in Southeast Brightmoor Source: University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Figures 5.2-5.5: Examples of Houses Assessed in Four Categories good Fair Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Poor deMoLish Figure 5.6: Housing Conditions in Southeast Brightmoor Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007; NDND. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 5.8: Gutter Repair Needed Figure 5.7: Siding Repair NeededTargeted home repairs could reinforce neighborhood quality.4 Small problems can quickly become large issues that eventually lead to abandonment. Table 5.2 shows that 69% of the homes are in good condition, and only 7% are in poor condition or should be demolished.5 While housing quality is strong, residents report that many homes need immediate repairs. Residents felt that efforts needed to be made to ?repair existing homes? and to ?find resources for home maintenance.?6 Figure 5.6 illustrates that exterior housing quality varies throughout the neighborhood. Westwood Park contains 45% of the neighborhood?s good quality housing while very few homes remain in zone E and many should be demolished. NDND could use home repair programs and funding to maintain good housing quality within stronger sections of the neighborhood, particularly zones A and B. Residents confirm that Westwood Park is a very strong section of the neighborhood.7 Currently, 87% of Westwood Park?s 39 homes are good condition. Only six properties should be demolished. Figures 5.7 through 5.9 are examples of exterior home repair needs. Home repair funding is available through either the City of Detroit or the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The City of Detroit provides home repair funding through the following programs: ? Senior Emergency Home Repair Program ? Minor Home Repair Program 4 Galster, ?On the Nature of Neighborhood,? 2-224. 5 The housing assessment rated homes based on their exterior conditions. An internal housing condition assessment was not done. All ref- erences to housing quality only refer to the house?s exterior conditions. See Appendix C for details on how housing and lot conditions were assessed. 6 Skillman Foundation ?Good Neighborhoods? meetings, com- ments made by Birghtmoor residents. 7 Please see Appendix B for all resident comments. Figure 5.9: Window Repair Needed Figure 5.10: Percentage of Owner-occupied and Renter-occupied Housing Units in 1999 in Westwood Park Source: US Census 2000 ? Lead Hazard Remediation Program ? Landlord Rental Program: CHILD-HELP Lead Hazard Reduction Program The Michigan State Housing Development Authority provides low?interest, home repair loans through the following two programs:8 8 Please see Appendix D for a complete description of each city and state funding program and their requirements. ? Owner-occupant Property Improvement Program ? Non Owner-occupant Property Improvement Program As a general policy, NDND could first target home repair efforts towards owner-occupied Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Figure 5.11: Number of Housing Structures in Each Condition Category within Westwood Park Source: City of Detroit Assessors Department; City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. units because landlords that disinvest in their properties should not be rewarded. Furthermore, NDND could focus on maintaining housing quality in Westwood Park. Renter occupied housing units represent nearly half of the total housing units within Westwood Park (see Figure 5.10), but landlords appear to be maintaining high quality housing in this section of the neighborhood. 9 Figure 5.11 illustrates that little difference exists in the quality of renter or owner-occupied units in Westwood Park, although slightly more owner- occupied housing units are in good condition. Therefore, NDND could use strategies described in the following sections, particularly code enforcement and renter screening, to work with landlords to maintain high quality housing. NDND can involve residents in the home repair strategy by creating a home repair ?skill bank.? A ?skill bank? is a community-created resource that links home owners who have repair needs to someone with the skills to fix the problem. In effect, the bank?s assets would be the contact information for contractors and area residents who have particular skills. A homeowner who needed to repair a portion of his or her property could go to the bank and find the name and contact information for a neighborhood resident who could do the necessary repairs. The bank could also provide residents with reference information for contractors. NDND could help develop the skill bank?s assets in the following ways: ? Create a directory that includes information about local contractors and residents with home repair skills. Residents could access the list at the NDND office or over the phone. ? Host home repair classes offered by 9 Renter occupied housing units were identified by comparing the taxpayer?s address to the property address. A property was classified as a renter-occupied unit when the property address and taxpayer address were different. Detroit?s WARM Training Center10 The WARM Training Center will offer their classes in the Brightmoor neighborhood at no charge to neighborhood residents. These classes could improve residents? ability to make repairs themselves. Additionally, as residents? skills improve, the skill bank could include more local people. These residents could utilize their new skills not only to fix their properties but also to help their neighbors. Unfortunately, home repairs can be costly. While the skill bank could create more opportunities to find local residents to perform work, residents with housing problems still need to find a way to pay for those repairs. A ?time dollar? program could provide residents with a method for paying for repairs that does not involve cash. TimeBanks USA says, ?For every hour you spend doing something for someone in your community, you earn one Time Dollar. Then you have a Time Dollar to spend on having someone do something for you.? Residents earn time dollars by performing work for fellow community members, such as doing home repairs or even driving them on errands.2 Typically, each time 0 Please see Appendix E for information on WARM Training Cen- ter, its classes, and contact information  Time Banking Website. Time Banks Weave Community One Hour at a Time, www.timebanks.org, (accessed April 21, 2007). 2 Please see Appendix E for more information on TimeBanks programs. dollar program has a Time Bank Coordinator who manages the redemption process. The coordinator matches a person with a need to a neighborhood resident who has the necessary skill. Strategy 2: Create a citizen code enforcement task force Improving code enforcement could also increase the neighborhood?s housing quality. Residents stress that some homes are not maintained and that city departments do not pursue housing code violations issues in a timely manner. A citizen code enforcement task force could empower residents and NDND to improve code enforcement for both owner and renter occupied dwellings. The city of Detroit Department of Administrative Hearings could be a resource for the task force. The Department was founded in 2005 to handle property maintenance issues and remove blight.3 3 City of Detroit Department of Administrative Hearings, Detroit Anti- Blight/Code Enforcement www.ci.detroit.mi.us/dah/default.htm, (ac- cessed April 7, 2007). Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Property Maintenance Division Zoning Division Failure to obtain certificates of compliance Violations of special land use grants Failure to register rental property Change of land use without a permit Rodents Change of building use without a permit Inoperable vehicles Failure to maintain exterior of property Failure to comply with emergency orders Table 5.3: Distribution of Responsibilities in the Detroit Department of Administrative Hearings Source: Community Legal Resources, City of Detroit Department of Administrative Hearings The Department can issue up to $0,000 per day in fines for code violations, attach liens to property and prevent a violator from renewing his or her driver?s license.4 The Department has two divisions whose responsibilities relate to code enforcement: ? Property Maintenance ? Zoning Each division has separate responsibilities, as described in Table 5.3. 5 The Department of Administrative Hearings does not investigate complaints. Individual city departments investigate code violations.6 Instead the Department notifies property owners and subsequently fining property owners who do not fix code violations. The task force can get action on code violations by collecting information about the location and type of violation and providing this information to the Department of Administrative Hearings as well as the appropriate city department. The task force can also notify the local neighborhood city halls, who will then contact the appropriate department.7 The Wayne County Prosecutor?s Office Nuisance Abatement Program is another resource.8 Citizens can file complaints with the County about dilapidated properties, and the County issues a notice to the property owner. The property owner 4 Community Legal Resources, September 2006, Neighborhood Quality of Life: Addressing Nuisances, Code Violations and Other Condi- tions in your Community, www.clronline.org/resources/legal-lines/prop- erty/neighborhoodquality.pdf/view, (accessed April 20, 2007). 5 The Department of Administrative Hearings also includes the Illegal Dumping/ Waste Division. This chapter does not deal with dump- ing. As such, the table includes only the Property Maintenance and the Zoning Divisions because each deals explicitly with housing issues. 6 Community Legal Resources. www.clronline.org, (accessed March 2007). 7 Please see Appendix E for contact information and location for Northwest Neighborhood City Hall. 8 Please see Chapter 4 for the County Prosecutor?s Office con- tact information. must renovate, sell or demolish the property by a set date or the County will take the owner to court.9 If the property owner does not fix the problem, the County can seize the property and sell it at auction. The Jefferson East Business Association used the program to help revitalize the commercial corridor along Jefferson Ave.20 Recently, the city of Southfield, Michigan, increased community code enforcement through the Active Citizens Together in Our Neighborhoods (A.C.T.I.O.N) program. The A.C.T.I.O.N program works with neighborhood groups and volunteers to help enforce the city?s building code. Before the city issues a code violation, the community volunteers and neighborhood associations mail the property owner a note alerting him or her to the potential violation.2 If the property owner does not fix the issue, the city issues a code violation. Strategy 3: Develop renter screening service and find resources for landlords to repair properties ? Short Term: Share information among landlords for tenant screening. 9 Ben Lefebvre, ?Abate and switch: How a Wayne County program is changing the landscape of blighted Detroit Property.? Me- trotimes Online, 28 December 2005. www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story. asp?id=8670, (accessed April 20, 2007). 20 Ibid. 2 Julie Edgar. ?City plans cleanup effort: Enforcement of codes to increase.? Detroit Free Press. 1 April 2007. www.freepress.com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/2007040/NEWS03/7040065/005&template=printart, (accessed April 20 2007). ? Intermediate Term: Work with block clubs to build a network of homeowners, tenants and landlords to hold renters accountable for behavior and landlords accountable for property condition. About 60% of the housing units in Southeast Brightmoor are rental units. As shown in Figure 5.12, rental units are located throughout the neighborhood. Residents are concerned that renters have not been caring for their properties, which leads to blight. NDND and residents could work together to address these concerns, so that renters and rental housing help to strengthen the neighborhood. Developing a systematic renter screening program could help landlords find good tenants. Currently, a property management company provides NDND with renter screening. NDND?s property management company could share their screening methods with neighborhood landlords. Neighborhood landlords could also share screening techniques among themselves. By sharing information about past evictees or about tenants who have not maintained their apartments, landlords could avoid renting to some problem tenants. NDND could organize home owners who live near rental units, tenants within buildings, and neighborhood landlords to hold residents accountable for their actions. Block clubs could welcome new Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Figure 5.12: Distribution of Renter and Owner-occupied Housing Units in Southeast Brightmoor residents to the neighborhood and encourage them to participate in neighborhood activities. These actions could help to increase resident involvement but could also be used to make new residents aware of the neighbors? expectations for their behavior. (See Chapter 8 for more on block clubs.) Strategy 4: Encourage homeownership ? Short Term: Continue with NDND?s home- buyer and homeowner training program and refine the program by publicizing the benefits of homeownership. ? Short Term: Develop a partnership to offer financial assistance to potential homeowners. ? Long Term: Acquire and repair unoccupied, good condition homes. NDND could strengthen housing quality not only by helping landlords find quality tenants but by helping renters become homeowners. Homeownership can benefit both the homeowner and the neighborhood.22 Homeownership significantly helps residents with wealth creation.23 Additionally, homeownership injects new investment into the neighborhood and can increase resident involvement in community activities.24 Home-buyer and homeownership education could help current renters understand the legal, financial and maintenance responsibilities associated with buying and owning a home. Currently, NDND offers home-buyer counseling services to the residents. One-on-one financial counseling services and consistent follow-ups could help renters make an 22 Chris Bryant, et al. Creating a Neighborhood of Choice: A Neighborhood Plan for Grand Traverse, (University of Michigan Urban and Regional Planning Outreach Report, 2005). 23 Denise DiPasquale. 1990. ?First-Time Homebuyers: Issues and Policy Options,? in Building Foundations, ed. Denise DiPasquale and Langley Keyes. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 57-86. 24 Denise DiPasquale and Ed Glaeser, ?Incentives and Social Capital: Are Homeowners Better Citizens?? Journal of Urban Economics 45(1999): 354-384. Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities 0 Towards a Brighter Future Figure 5.13: Number of For-sale Vacant Houses by Asking Price in 1999 in Brightmoor Figure 5.14: Number of Renter-occupied Housing Units by Household Income Group in 1999 in Brightmoor Source: US Census 2000 Source: US Census 2000 appropriate decision about buying a home. NDND staff and local real estate professionals could provide these services. Home repair classes could also help residents understand how to maintain their new homes. Additionally, NDND could encourage residents to utilize training programs and classes offered by other organizations. For example, Detroit LISC has a Community Wealth Building Initiative program that matches affordable Community Development Corporation-produced homes with potential homebuyers. NDND could utilize existing community newsletters to publicize these efforts as well as church bulletins and the Brightmoor Alliance newsletter. These readily available and inexpensive methods could help to encourage residents to seek out other resources. Currently, many neighborhood homes are for sale. Figure 5.13 shows that in 1999 almost two-thirds of vacant, for-sale houses were listed for less than $50,000. Additionally, homes typically sell for much less than the asking price.25 These prices still may be too high for many of the neighborhood?s renters. In 999, the monthly cost for owner-occupied housing units in the neighborhood was approximately $700. Using 30% of household monthly income as the threshold of housing affordability, a household?s income should be at least $200 monthly, or, $25,200 annually, to afford a neighborhood home. Figure 5.14 shows that almost two-thirds of the renters in the whole Brightmoor area earn less than that threshold value. According to residents? feedback, it is reasonable to assume that the renters? income in Southeast Brightmoor is similar or even lower. As such, most neighborhood renters could not afford to own homes if they lived in the same quality housing as current homeowners. To enable low-income renter families to purchase 25 Mike Chateau, phone interview, January 0, 2007. homes, NDND could join the Detroit WOW (With Ownership Wealth). Detroit WOW works with bankers, Detroit LISC and other partners to help people bridge the financial gap between a home?s market price and the amount they could afford. The Detroit WOW working committee is a partnership of southeastern Michigan financial institutions, Detroit LISC, FannieMae, staff of the 3th and 4th U.S. Congressional District offices, affordable housing producers including non- profit community development organizations, homeownership counselors, realtors, and mortgage lenders. The Detroit WOW task force members provided over $50,000 in down payment assistance to 500 targeted homebuyers in 2005.26 Residents felt that vacant houses are a threat to the neighborhood. Currently, nearly 60 neighborhood houses are vacant. Yet, 37 of the vacant homes are still in good condition and another 32 units are in fair condition. Figure 5.15 shows where these homes are located. Out of all the 69 unoccupied houses in good/fair condition, NDND owns seven; a bank or a financial entity owns thirteen, the city of Detroit owns two, and the State of Michigan owns one. Figure 5.17 shows where NDND?s seven homes are located. NDND could initially focus on repairing the seven vacant, good and fair quality houses that they own in Westwood Park and zone B. Housing quality in these two areas remains quite good, and occupying vacant homes could help to maintain that quality and reinforce investment. Following this step, NDND could acquire and repair the three homes owned by the City, County, and State. Next NDND could acquire the thirteen houses owned by a bank These 23 homes could be either rented or sold. Strategy 5: Help homeowners to acquire adjacent vacant lots ? Short Term: Transfer or sell vacant NDND owned land to adjacent home owners. ? Intermediate Term: Assist home owners with acquiring government owned vacant lots Transferring or selling vacant NDND owned lots to home owners who are maintaining their property 26 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. ?De- troit WOW Wins Program of the Year Award.? www.cbcfinc.org/ Economic%20Development/WOW/detroit_wow_aug_06.html,(accessed March 28, 2007). Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Figure 5.15: Exterior Property Conditions of Unoccupied Houses Figure 5.16: Examples of Boarded Unoccupied Houses with Good and Fair Physical Structure could help to strengthen neighborhood quality. NDND owns two vacant lots adjacent to an owner occupied home in good or fair condition (see Figure 5.18). As a general policy, NDND could help owner-occupants who have maintained their homes acquire adjacent vacant lots. Homeowners who care for adjacent vacant lots improve neighborhood quality. Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 5.17: Locations of Unoccupied Good and Fair Quality Houses by Ownership in Southeast Brightmoor Figure 5.18: NDND-Owned Vacant Lots Adjacent to Good or Fair Quality Owner-Occupied Housing Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007; NDND. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Figure 5.19: Government-owned Vacant Lots Adjacent to Good or Fair Quality Owner-occupied Housing Overall, 3 government or NDND-owned vacant lots are adjacent to good or fair quality owner- occupied housing. NDND owns two and the City or County owns the remaining eleven (see Figure 5.19). In the intermediate term, NDND could help the other eleven homeowners acquire their adjacent government-owned vacant lots. sTraTegY For New deVeLoPMeNT NDND?s housing developments have improved the overall housing quality within the neighborhood and provided new housing opportunities. Site selection for future development will play an important role in reinforcing the strategies designed to strengthen existing housing. Targeted housing development not only creates new housing opportunities but also could help the neighborhood surpass the threshold levels of investment necessary to encourage other residents to invest in their properties.27 The following strategies describe criteria that NDND could use to prioritize which sites to develop for new housing. Each strategy aims to use future NDND housing development to create a cumulative effect that strengthens the entire neighborhood as well as housing quality. Strategy 1: Prioritize which NDND- owned sites to use for new housing development ? Short Term: Build on the 29 sites in zone A that meet Criterion 1 (see Figure 5.21). ? Short Term: Build on the 16 sites in zone B and around Stout Park that meet Criterion 2 (see Figure 5.22). ? Intermediate Term: Build on 32 sites in zone C and D that meet Criteria 3 and 4 (see Figure 5.23). 27 Galster, ?On the Nature of Neighborhood,? 2-224. Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 5.20: Properties Owned by Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development in Southeast BrightmoorThis strategy?s action plan recommends NDND develop new housing on specific properties based on five criteria. NDND is developing or planning to develop 60 sites in Southeast Brightmoor (see Figure 5.20). By using the following criteria to guide housing development, NDND?s work could further reinforce existing areas of strength. The following section describes each criterion and shows maps depicting short-term and intermediate-term housing development sites. Criterion 1: Lot is in zone A The sites in Westwood Park have higher priority than any other sites in other zones. Zone A has the strongest housing stock. Residents also hope to make Westwood Park a ?showpiece? for the whole neighborhood. Continuing to focus development in Westwood Park will reinforce the area?s existing investment and maintain high quality. Figure 5.21 shows the 29 sites that meet this criterion. Criterion 2: Lot is in zone B Zone B serves as transition zone between the good quality housing in Westwood Park and the less strong areas in zones C and D. New housing development in zone B capitalizes on the area?s proximity to Stout Park and Westwood Park. Figure 5.22 shows the 6 sites that meet this criterion. Criterion 3: Lot is near Stout or Stoepel Park or Harding Elementary School Parks and schools serve as neighborhood gathering places. Residents hope that the houses near these key areas are taken care of to ensure that children have safe and clean places to play. Criterion 4: Lot is located along major streets Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Houses along major streets present visitors and residents with their first impression of the neighborhood. Therefore, NDND could work on the available sites along the major streets to build new houses to strengthen housing quality as well as to improve the neighborhood?s identity. Lots along major streets have higher priority in zones C and D. Thirty-two sites in Southeast Brightmoor meet criteria 3 and 4. Figure 5.23 shows these sites. This chapter describes how NDND and residents can work together to strengthen Southeast Brightmoor?s housing stock. As mentioned in the introduction, this chapter assumed that targeting development efforts could produce immediate and sustained benefits for neighborhood residents and housing quality. Concentrating each strategy and action within specific neighborhood areas supports NDND?s past housing developments and also helps to reinforce future investments. Subsequent chapters describe how to address neighborhood environmental issues, create a neighborhood identity and involve residents in development efforts. The strategies in each chapter will work together with the housing strategies towards a brighter future for Southeast Brightmoor. Figure 5.21: Suggested Short Term Development Sites that Meet Criterion 1 Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department, Michigan Center for Geographic Information, NDND. Figure 5.22: Suggested Short Term Development Sites that Meet Criterion 2 Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Figure 5.23: Suggested Intermediate Term Development Sites that Meet Criteria 3 and 4 Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Chapter 5: strengthen existing housing Quality & develop New housing pportunities  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Towards a Brighter Future Along with improving safety and housing, improving the quality of the neighborhood?s natural environment frequently comes up as a concern for residents. In particular, residents notice a lack of action to deter dumping on vacant properties; they fear contamination of soil that prevents them from planting gardens and vegetation; and they notice poor maintenance of trees, lawns, and vacant properties in the neighborhood. The following chapter addresses these issues, recommending a variety of short term, long term, and intermediate strategies. These are also listed in Table 6.. Addressing dumping, dealing with soil contamination, promoting enjoyment of neighborhood natural areas, and encouraging urban agriculture reinforce efforts that are already underway in Southeast Brightmoor. These efforts include: ? The Lyndon Greenway- Through the development of the Lyndon Greenway, vacant corner lots on Lyndon St. will be developed into community gardens, with a butterfly plaza, new signage, and flowering planters.1 The greenway will connect several community landmarks: Smith Homes, a public housing project; Second  JJR Lyndon Greenway Plans Table 6.1: Strategies for Improving Environmental Conditions Strategy : Control illegal dumping Strategy 2: Encourage the maintenance and use of Southeast Brightmoor?s natural environment Strategy 3: Make Southeast Brightmoor ?green? by planting trees and community gardens and establishing urban farms Corinthian Baptist Church; the 85 year-old Warren G. Harding Elementary School; and the Brightmoor Community Center, one of only two ?settlement houses? in Detroit still in existence. The Lyndon Greenway is in the final design stages and construction will begin in May 2007 (see Figure 6.1). ? Children?s Play Areas- The Skillman Foundation is also working in Brightmoor to improve play areas for children.2 The work of block clubs, garden clubs, church groups, urban agricultural organizations, the Detroit Project, and NDND to organize volunteers within the Southeast Brightmoor neighborhood can improve the neighborhood?s environmental quality. Volunteers interested in environmental quality and neighborhood improvement could participate in a variety of activities, which this chapter will explain in more detail. The following are strategies for neighborhood residents and NDND to improve the environment: 2 Skillman Foundation, www.skillman.org (accessed March 2007). Strategy 1: Control Illegal Dumping ? Short Term: Form an illegal dumping task force. ? Short Term: Organize large-scale clean- ups in coordination with the Detroit Project (DP) for DP Day. ? Short Term: Identify and correct shortcomings in infrastructure and services that lead to people to dump in Brightmoor. ? Intermediate Term: Educate task force and residents on methods to reduce and prevent dumping. ? Intermediate Term: Create a neighborhood hotline for residents to report dumping. ? Long Term: Encourage landowners adjacent to frequent dump sites or other interested residents to use the dump site property constructively. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions 0 Towards a Brighter Future Illegal dumping in Brightmoor ranges from small bags of trash to entire houses and lots filled with yard waste, construction debris, motor vehicles, and household waste. Access to major roadways, Schoolcraft St. and Fenkell St., make Brightmoor lots easy targets for dumping. Figures 6.2 and 6.3 are examples of dumping along Kentfield, west of Smith Homes. The following section recommends ways to clean up and deter dumping in Southeast Brightmoor. The creation of a neighborhood illegal dumping task force can empower residents to affect change. An example of an illegal dumping task force from Highland Park, Michigan, is found in Table 6.2. As the task force grows, it could include elected officials, city staff, volunteer residents, elected residents of the community, and law enforcement officials. NDND already works with the Detroit Project, a University of Michigan student organization, to identify sites Figure 6.1: Vision for the Lyndon Greenway Source: JJR SmithGroup (Ann Arbor) for cleanup. NDND could partner with Focus: HOPE, or another organization that is part of the Highland Park effort, to help facilitate the organization of a task force modeled after the Highland Park Illegal Dumping Task Force. NDND can organize large-scale clean ups in coordination with DP Day. The task force can work to clean up previously recognized dumping sites through past years Detroit Project (DP) focus areas (see Figure 6.4). The DP works with NDND to identify cleanup sites in Brightmoor. The sites featured on the map represent general areas where Detroit Project members worked during the 2007 Detroit Project Day cleanup event.3 The Detroit Project already works in Brightmoor once a year to clean up dumping sites. NDND, neighborhood block clubs (discussed further in Chapter 8), or an illegal dumping task force could hold community action 3 Natalie Wowk, phone interview, April 9, 2007. days with a focus on dumping clean up and lot improvements more frequently than once a year. This initiative will also involve cooperation with local landfills that will accept the garbage. Identifying and correcting shortcomings in infrastructure and services could reduce dumping in Brightmoor. More money and labor are spent cleaning up dumping than deterring dumping in the first place.4 Understanding why people dump can help in identifying ways to prevent dumping. Furthermore, actions to stop dumping need to begin. Table 6.3 is a list of common reasons why people might dump in Brightmoor: Members of the Highland Park Dumping Task Force could educate the Brightmoor Illegal Dumping Task 4 Dept. of the Environment & Conservation NSW, Crackdown on Illegal Dumping - Handbook for Local Government - Consultation Draft, www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/2006468_illegaldumphbkcd.pdf, (accessed March 30. 2007). Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Figure 6.2: Dumping in a Vacant Lot Along Kentfield Figure 6.3: Dumping in the Rear Yard of a Lot on the East Side of Kentfield, Along Smith Homes Organization Task Office of Highland Park Weed and Seed coordinated the cleanup, submitted the grant proposal that generated a portion of funding for the project, and mobilized the community. Focus: HOPE, a civil and human rights organization in Detroit, facilitated the Task Force and provided meeting rooms for both meetings and press conferences. City of Highland Park provided equipment and manpower, modified its ordinance to facilitate prosecution of illegal dumpers, and provided public safety response to reports of illegal dumping. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality?s Waste and Hazardous Materials Division and Office of Criminal Investigations monitored the cleanup and hauling, arranged for tire disposal, arranged for installation of concrete barriers, obtained aerial photos of the sites, provided law enforcement assistance, and investigated dumping in the cleanup area. Converted a facility?s monetary penalty in a Consent Order to a Supplemental Environmental Project to provide hauling of cleanup waste. Wayne County?s Executive Office and Department of Environment provided on-site supervision and logistical planning and signage and arranged for landfill space and temporary barriers. Wayne County Prosecutor?s Office provided a $5,000 grant and drafted more stringent revisions to Highland Park ordinances. Wayne County Sheriff?s Office provided cleanup manpower in the form of supervised low-risk jail inmates. Michigan State Police assisted in law enforcement efforts. City of Detroit Police Department provided photos of the targeted dump sites and took Michigan Department of Environmental Quality staff up in their helicopters to obtain aerial photos. New Center Hauling, Detroit, provided waste hauling services as part of a Supplemental Environmental Project with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Waste and Hazardous Materials Division. Eastern Star Missionary Baptist Church coordinated community involvement, provided manpower to segregate scrap tires from other waste, and provided meals for the inmates. Texas Encore Materials, Romulus, accepted the scrap tires at no charge and processed them into asphalt, astro turf, and/or auto parts. Wayne County Road Commission provided temporary barriers to facilitate the cleanup. Michigan Department of Transportation provided permanent concrete barriers and offered street sweeping once the debris had been removed. Source: Excerpt from Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 2006, ?Highland Park Illegal Dumping Task Force - A Community Success Story,? www.michigan.gov/deq/0,607,7-35-332-04656--,00.html (accessed April 2007). Table 6.2: Highland Park, Michigan, Illegal Dumping Task Force Members and Tasks Force, residents, and police officers on methods for reporting dumping incidents. In addition, the Brightmoor task force can develop a procedure Brightmoor residents can use for deterring dumpers.5 In the future, the Brightmoor illegal dumping task force can provide the dumping training sessions. 5 Ibid. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Towards a Brighter Future Case Study: Highland Park, Michigan ? Illegal Dumping Task Force (excerpted from ?Highland Park Illegal Dumping Task Force - A Community Success Story?). Summary of Situation in Highland Park Economic hardship led to the decrease in police surveillance and the increase in illegal dumping. Without funding, a coalition made up of government, nonprofit, and community organizations came together to put an end to illegal dumping. Through hard work and cooperative efforts they prove that a community can make a difference and dumping is not acceptable in Highland Park, Michigan. Through their efforts more than 33 piles of garbage and two target areas have removed the problem of dumping. Highland Park?s Actions The task force efforts have resulted in: ? The clean up of two areas of unprecedented dumping and blight. ? The addition of video surveillance of the targeted areas and other strategic locations. ? An increase of surveillance from city, county, and state law enforcement agencies. ? The education of residents on how they could help identify vehicles and individuals if they witnessed dumping. ? The distribution of contact information when dumping is witnessed. ? The removal of 2,000 cubic yards of solid waste and ,800 scrap tires from the two targeted areas. ? The maintenance of tall grass. ? The placement of barriers at strategic points to discourage illegal dumpers from accessing the vacant streets. ? The education of law enforcement and the public in illegal dumping tactics. Results Results include the decrease in the amount of dumping seen in the area, the increase in the amount of education and training to deter dumping, and the ability to focus on different dumping sites as others remain garbage free. Residents who recognize dumping will need a resource for reporting these incidents. Creating a neighborhood hotline could provide such a resource. The hotline can gather resident data regarding the number and location of complaints. The neighborhood hotline should work in a partnership with the City of Detroit?s Department of Public Works illegal dumping hotline:  (800) 545-4948. 6 For example: Residents call the neighborhood hotline to report dumping. The person taking the calls for the hotline records the dumping activity to keep on file. 6 City of Detroit Department of Public Works, Illegal Dumping Hotline, www.ci.detroit.mi.us/dpw/services/illegal_dumping.htm (accessed March 2007) . After a series of dumping claims identify frequent dumpers, the information could be used to prosecute dumpers. Information about the location of dump sites and the kinds of materials dumped there is useful for organizing residents to monitor dumping sites and for educating residents about proper trash disposal procedures. NDND and Southeast Brightmoor residents can work to use previous and potential dump sites in a constructive manner. One method that residents could use is tree planting. Turning the site into an ?urban forest? will create the feel of ownership and care of the lot, and in addition the trees can interfere with the dumping of waste. One resource for tree planting is Greening of Detroit (see later discussion). Also, landscaping, gardens, lawn maintenance, signage, fencing, and art work are all uses of property that could deter future dumping because they create a sense of ownership and surveillance of a vacant property (see Chapter 7 for aesthetic enhancements in Southeast Brightmoor and possible sources of funding for them). Eventually, dumping sites could take on new uses such as community gardens, pocket parks, or sites for new construction (see below and Chapter 5 for more information on community gardens and new housing). For instance, the Lyndon Greenway already indicates pocket parks in vacant areas where dumping currently takes place. Strategy 2: Encourage the maintenance and use of Southeast Brightmoor?s natural environment. ? Short Term: Establish lot clean-up and maintenance groups. ? Short Term: Encourage resident awareness and use of the Lyndon Greenway. Source: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 2006, ?Highland Park Illegal Dumping Task Force? Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Figure 6.4: Areas Where Detroit Project Cleaned Up Dumping, 2007 ? Short Term: Participate in and build on the Healthy Environment Partnership?s pilot ?Walk Your Heart to Health? Program. Southeast Brightmoor?s green spaces can emerge as potential sites for gathering and recreation, but many of them need to be cleaned first. Initially, residents can work together to prepare vacant lots and parks for residents? use by forming lot clean-up groups. These groups can start on their own, or they can emerge out of the dumping task force or block clubs (see above and Chapter 8). However, dumping sites are not the only lots that are appropriate for clean-up efforts. Other sites with small amounts of trash or natural debris can also be targets for these groups, and they can focus on simple maintenance tasks like trimming overgrown trees and shrubs as well as picking up litter. Stout Park is already a popular recreation area, but it has the potential to be more welcoming if residents remove the litter that has accumulated there. This type of activity could be monthly or weekly to ensure that the park stays clean, and it also could involve local youth, who use the park and would directly see the benefits of their work. In other lots with more shrubs and trees, older residents with basic landscaping knowledge could teach young residents to trim branches and rake leaves. This effort would also complement Skillman?s initiative to enhance play areas for children in the neighborhood. The Lyndon Greenway, which was introduced at the beginning of this chapter, will greatly enhance the natural appeal of Southeast Brightmoor. Sources: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007; NDND. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Towards a Brighter Future Case Study: Lot Clean-Ups and Maintenance in Philadelphia A Philadelphia woman who lived near the deteriorated Carroll Park began picking up litter there every Monday afternoon, and other residents eventually joined her to help make the clean-up a regular community activity. Now the park remains a beautiful green space and community recreation area. Source: Harry Wiland and Dale Bell, Edens Lost and Found: How Ordinary Citizens are Restoring Our Great American Cities (White River Junction: Chelsea Green, 2006), 90-98. Reason Lack of easy access to waste collection sites because residents do not have the vehicles to transport the material. Solution Provision of monthly waste collection for large items and special pick-up. Reason Lack of storage available; other options seem inconvenient and expensive. Solution Provision of dumpsters using special fees in public areas for disposal. Reason Lack of community pride and community connection, especially with transient residents (less than three years residency in the neighborhood). Solution Provision of neighborhood events for neighbors to experience and enjoy the neighborhood. Reason Ease of access to major roadways. Solution Deterrence of access to frequent dumping lots through barriers will cause dumpers added time searching for new places to dump, thus increasing the likelihood of identification. Reason Lack of perception that dumping is wrong. Solution Provision of lectures about dumping and the effects of dumping at schools and at neighborhood meetings. Reason Lack of information about correct disposal procedures at places like the Community Center. Solution Provision of pamphlets with disposal information at the Community Center and at the NDND office. Table 6.3: Reasons and Possible Solutions for Dumping Source: Dept. of the Environment & Conservation NSW, Crackdown on Illegal Dumping NDND can take the following actions to encourage the use, appreciation, and continued upkeep of this new amenity: ? Encourage participation in the Greenway ?Kickoff Day,? scheduled for May 16th, 2007.7 This day can be a springboard for continued efforts to use and care for the Greenway. 7 Donna Erickson, phone interview, March 20, 2007 ? Host ?Walk-and-Talks? with NDND staff or local community leaders. In a Walk- and-Talk, local political or religious leaders would accompany a group of people while walking along the Greenway and discussing issues that are important to the neighborhood.8 8 Jennifer Huestis et al., Planning Detroit?s Conner Creek Gre- enway: Attracting Eastside Neighbors, (University of Michigan Urban and Regional Planning Outreach Report, 2006), 55. ? Plan scavenger hunts by hiding items throughout the Greenway and allowing children to look for them. This activity could adopt holiday themes: the Greenway could become ?haunted? on Halloween or hide Easter eggs in the spring.9 ? Form ?pocket park? adoption groups. A series of these small parks built on formerly vacant lots are the individual spaces that will make up the Greenway (see Figure 6.5). They will need sustained care, and local residents can work together to provide it. These park adoption groups would work like the lot clean-up groups and perform many of the same tasks, but their efforts would be concentrated in whichever specific pocket park they chose to adopt. In an effort to use the Greenway and promote exercise, the Healthy Environments Partnership is offering a 6-week pilot ?Walk Your Heart to Health? Program in the Brightmoor area. The purpose of the program is to increase physical activity opportunities for Brightmoor residents. 9 Ibid. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Figure 6.5: Drawing for a Proposed Pocket Park in the Lyndon Greenway Source: JJR Ann Arbor The six-week pilot program will begin in mid- June 2007 and continue through July 2007. The program?s goal is to sustain and increase opportunities for physical activity for Brightmoor residents. The proposed walking groups have the following benefits: ? Becoming opportunities for residents to get outside and enjoy the neighborhood?s natural areas. ? Providing residents with social support for physical activity. ? Calming residents? fears about walking around the neighborhood alone. 10 Although the walking groups will begin as an initiative of the Healthy Environments Partnership, this strategy recommends that residents continue 0 See Appendix B. the walking groups and recruit more neighbors to participate. Many of the routes for these walks will be concentrated along and through the Lyndon Greenway (see Figure 6.8 for a map of possible routes). For information about walking groups in Brightmoor, contact: Sheryl Weir Healthy Environments Partnership University of Michigan, SPH II 420 Washington Heights Ann Arbor, MI 4809 Telephone: (734) 65-2695 E-mail: ssweir@umich.edu Strategy 3: Make Southeast Brightmoor ?green? by planting trees and community gardens and establishing urban farms ? Short Term: Plant trees ? Intermediate Term: Plant and cultivate community gardens ? Long Term: Establish urban farms in Southeast Brightmoor As residents begin to control vacant lots and feel more comfortable going outside to appreciate them, these spaces will become assets and starting points for improving the neighborhood in many other ways. For example, mass tree plantings in Philadelphia have reduced crime and increased property values and community involvement.2 By working together and enlisting the help of Detroit?s many tree-planting and urban agricultural resources, Southeast Brightmoor residents can create and maintain green spaces throughout the neighborhood.  Sheryl Weir, phone interview, April 6, 2007. 2 Wiland and Bell, Edens Lost and Found, 86-89. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 6.7: The Ardmore Garden in Detroit Source: www.urbanfarming.photosite.com/Album0/ Figure 6.6: The Greening of Detroit Tree Planting Source: www.greeningofdetroit.com/connection.htm Since old, high-quality trees already line many of Southeast Brightmoor?s streets, this natural feature of the neighborhood could be enhanced by focusing tree plantings on reclaimed dumping sites to create small urban forests (see Figure 6.6), as discussed earlier in this chapter. The Greening of Detroit can assist with acquiring tree planting supplies and also work with residents to plant and maintain their trees. Examples of the organization?s previous projects and instructions for how to organize a community planting day can be found on their website. They can be contacted at: The Greening of Detroit 48 Michigan Avenue Detroit, Michigan 4826 Telephone: (33) 237-8733 Fax: (33) 237-8737 Website: http://www.greeningofdetroit.com Planting and cultivating community gardens can also foster community participation and environmental awareness while putting vacant lots to active use. Like wooded areas, gardens discourage dumping and enhance the natural look of the neighborhood. Gardens also provide opportunities for youth to participate in group activities and learn valuable skills. Additionally, gardens can provide residents with fresh food. A community gardening club, block club, or any of the other groups mentioned in this or other chapters of this plan can start a community garden. In this type of urban gardening, individual residents or groups of residents maintain their individual plots within a larger garden space and share responsibilities such as ?establishing garden rules, accepting and reviewing garden applications, making plot assignments, collecting garden dues (if any), paying water bills, and resolving conflicts,? and the gardeners could also elect one or two ?officials? to take a leadership role in the garden.3 Because community gardens require collaboration, they can help in organizing and community building while also making Southeast Brightmoor a ?greener? place. This activity could also serve as a way to integrate Smith Homes residents into the Southeast Brightmoor neighborhood since they do not have yards of their own in which to garden. 3 University of California Cooperative Education, 2003, Commu- nity Garden Start-Up Guide. celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/garden/articles/start- up_guide.html (accessed April 4, 2007). Community Gardening Resources can be reached at: Paul Betts 5565 Pomona Redford Township, MI 48239 Telephone: (269) 760-9656 E-mail: giantkillerpjb@hotmail.com Paul Betts, an urban farmer from nearby Redford Township, is looking into community gardening for the Brightmoor area. He knows the appropriate sizes for community gardens, ways to obtain materials inexpensively (such as using lumber from torn down houses to build planting areas), and he is currently working with Michigan State University to determine what food is most appropriate for urban areas such as Brightmoor. Mr. Betts also has strategies for making vacant lots suitable for gardening, and for involving local residents and school children in gardening activities (see Figure 6.8 for Mr. Betts? suggested sites for community gardens). 4 4 Paul Betts, interview, March 3, 2007. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Urban Farming Taj Sevelle, Executive Director and Founder 9785 W. 2 Mile, #537 Southfield, MI 48076 Telephone: (248) 388-4749 E-mail: info@urbanfarming.org Website: www.urbanfarming.org Urban Farming is a nonprofit organization that assists in all aspects of community gardening including site selection, planting, maintenance, and funding. Urban Farming is also the official charity of Atlantic Records and could be helpful in getting press coverage for successful gardens in Southeast Brightmoor. Along with tree planting, the Greening of Detroit also gives comprehensive assistance in community gardening and has a substantial list of projects across Detroit which can be viewed on its website. Detroit Garden Resource Program Collaborative Lindsay Turpin, Garden Resource Program and Urban Roots Coordinator Telephone: (33) 96-35 E-mail: lindsay_detroitagriculture@yahoo.com Website: www.detroitagriculture.org/garden_ resource_program.htm The Garden Resource Program Collaborative already encompasses 84 community gardens across the city, and for $20 per year, it provides community or school gardens with seeds, plants, and educational material?everything needed to begin a community garden. Additionally, each of its gardens becomes a part of its network, and the gardeners are invited to meetings of its local ?garden cluster group,? which can connect the Brightmoor gardening group to a support network of other nearby urban gardeners. Although community gardens typically provide food for the residents to use themselves, Southeast Brightmoor has enough land available for larger-scale urban agriculture if this activity becomes popular in the area. An individual or group of residents could use their gardening skills for more intensive urban agriculture and eventually sell their produce for profit in local farmer?s markets. One nearby market is the Grandmont-Rosedale Neighborhood Farmer?s Market, which has been running since 2006 in the parking lot of the Bushnell Congregational Church on the Southfield Freeway, twelve blocks to the east of Southeast Brightmoor. Southeast Brightmoor farmers could grow typical produce like lettuce and broccoli, or they could specialize in ?niche? produce such as sun-dried tomatoes in order not to compete with established local professional farmers who make a living growing and selling common fruits and vegetables.5 Urban Farming Resources Detroit Agriculture Network 200 West Parkhurst Detroit, MI 48203 Telephone: (33) 869-799, mailbox 3 Website: www.geocities.com/detroitag/ The Detroit Agricultural Network?s mission ?is to promote and foster urban agriculture and the sustainable use and appreciation of urban natural resources.?6 It serves as a social network which offers education and support to people interested in urban farming. Along with tree planting and gardening, the Greening of Detroit helps with more intensive urban agriculture. See their project ?Detroit?s Urban Farm at Romanowski Park? on their website. Farmer?s Market Resources can be reached at: Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation 5888 Archdale Detroit, MI 48227 Telephone: (33) 835-890 Fax: (33) 835-206 Website: http://www.grdc.org/index.html 5 Tom Goddeeris, phone interview, March 23, 2007. 6 Detroit Agriculture Network, www.geocities.com/detroitag/ (ac- cessed February 22, 2007). Locations for maintenance, environmental appreciation, and ?greening? activities Environmental strategies will be most effective in strengthening the Brightmoor neighborhood if they link some of the neighborhood?s main assets such as the Lyndon Greenway, schools, and parks. The following three ideas will help to promote these connections: ? The Greenway as a starting point: Focusing efforts near the Greenway will help to extend its appeal throughout the neighborhood. The ?Walk Your Heart to Health? pilot program will concentrate its routes around the Greenway, and lot clean-ups, tree plantings, and community gardens can also begin near the Greenway to start the process of spreading ?green? throughout the neighborhood. ? Safe walks to school and educational opportunities: Keeping clean and actively used lots near the schools will make the students? walks less threatening, and the proximity of community gardens will make environmental education efforts easier to establish and coordinate with both Harding and Vetal Elementary schools. ? Green linkages: Cultivating gardens in vacant lots along Stout St. will work to bring the Greenway to other parts of the neighborhood. This green ?loop,? 17 which leads away from and back to the main stretch of the Greenway along Lyndon St., will create a more interesting pathway which would link Southeast Brightmoor?s two parks (Stout and Stoepel) to each other and to Harding Elementary all by way of a green corridor. 7 Donna Erickson, phone interview, April 2, 2007. Chapter 6: improve Neighborhood environmental Conditions  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 6.8: Possible Locations for Community Gardens, Lot Clean-Up Groups, and Walking Group RoutesFigure 6.8 demonstrates each of these locations along with Paul Betts? suggested gardening sites. The site on Fielding St. just north of Schoolcraft St. holds the most promise for creating a positive impact on the neighborhood?s environment because of its proximity to Stout Park (a green space) and the relatively high concentration of homes surrounding it (more potential gardeners nearby). Additionally, the map shows NDND-owned lots and city-owned lots to demonstrate which sites within the environmental focus areas might be easiest to acquire to begin environmental efforts. Environmental Strategies as ?placeholders? for housing Finally, this garden-location strategy could work well with building new housing, recommended in Chapter 5, as gardens built on vacant lots near Stout Park and Harding Elementary could act as ?placeholders? to keep the land productive and free from dumping until construction is underway. These temporary gardens could simply be dismantled and even moved to other lots during non-growing seasons. If gardens become popular and need extra space, many city-owned vacant lots are adjacent to the NDND-owned lots and could be acquired to expand gardening efforts. Cleaning up and enhancing Southeast Brightmoor?s natural environment can turn vacant lots into a major community asset. Dumping, the most pressing problem in the area, occurs because vacant lots are easy targets. Once these lots become free from litter and dumping, residents can work on using them to improve the natural features of the area so that these lots become places where people can interact safely. The next chapter carries this idea further. Residents? working together to make physical improvements in a neighborhood can foster a positive identity that all people in the neighborhood can share. Sources: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND; Paul Betts; The Detroit Project; JJR Ann Arbor. Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Towards a Brighter Future A well-maintained natural environment is a major step in the process of creating a neighborhood identity, but this process also requires residents to work together to create other types of enhancements. An identity is a socially shared ?feeling? and a tangible part of the built environment, so residents can first decide on what kind of identity the neighborhood will have, and then create it. Accordingly, the strategies for this chapter begin with community dialogue, and continue with suggestions for turning this dialogue into physical improvements. The first two strategies focus on urban design, an activity that affects ?the physical features that define the character or image of a street, neighborhood, or the city as a whole,? and a third strategy focuses on public art. Strategy 1: Establish and display a neighborhood name and logo ? Short Term: Hold a series of workshops to brainstorm and develop a neighborhood name and logo. ? Intermediate Term: Create and place signs in Southeast Brightmoor.  City of San Diego General Plan, Urban Design Element, October 2006, www.sandiego.gov/planning/genplan/pdf/generalplan/ud0606.pdf, (accessed April 4, 2007). Table 7.1: Strategies for Creating a Neighborhood Identity Strategy : Establish and display a neighborhood name and logo Strategy 2: Expand community design efforts in Southeast Brightmoor Strategy 3: Create a neighborhood arts program Southeast Brightmoor residents say they feel ?disconnected? from each other and often do not know their neighbors (see Appendix B). Encouraging residents to come together for a common cause such as the task of choosing a name or designing a logo can help them identify with each other. NDND can facilitate this process by holding workshops for residents to brainstorm ideas for a creative name and logo based on the features they decide are noteworthy in the neighborhood. Once community members develop a name and logo, residents who are skilled in working with sign- making materials can lead efforts to construct and install the signs. Alternatively, they can purchase professionally made signs. These signs can distinguish neighborhood boundaries.2 Southeast Brightmoor residents could place the signs they make at areas of high pedestrian and automobile traffic near the boundaries of the neighborhood to indicate to neighbors, bus passengers, and motorists that they are entering a distinct place. Figure 7.2 shows 3 possible locations for welcome signs, but four or five would be an adequate number. Strategy 2: Expand community urban design efforts in Southeast Brightmoor ? Short Term: Partner with the University of Michigan?s Detroit Design Center to learn more about urban design. ? Intermediate Term: Use this knowledge to plan and implement additional aesthetic and functional improvements. ? Long Term: Collaborate with nonprofit design resources to develop large-scale landscape. streetscape, or master plans. The University of Michigan?s Detroit Community Design Center offers introductory design courses to high-school aged students and is planning to 2 Charles Dobson. The Citizens? Handbook: A Guide to Building Community, Community Image Making. December 2006. www.vcn.bc.ca/ citizens-handbook/2_0_image_making.html (accessed March 2. 2007). Case Study: The MorningSide Neighborhood Residents of the MorningSide neighborhood in Detroit came up with this new name through a community process in 995. They later purchased six signs created to display their name and logo at key entry points to the neighborhood. Source: Eric Dueweke, interview, April 25, 2007. Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity 0 Towards a Brighter Future offer evening design workshops for community organizers and leaders. These classes and workshops would teach the basic skills necessary for making neighborhoods more attractive and inviting places. An example of a potential workshop topic that could be useful for Southeast Brightmoor is streetscape design.3 Community leaders can learn about where to place trees, lighting, furniture, and signage to create safe and inviting streets. They could also 3 Craig Wilkins, phone interview, March 9, 2007. Figure 7.1 Example of a Community Sign Source: www.modeldmedia.com begin to think about and plan for various types of street and sidewalk improvements such as paved crosswalks and sidewalks to make this infrastructure more inviting for residents, especially on the Fenkell St. commercial corridor and near the neighborhood?s two parks and the Lyndon Greenway. Detroit Community Design Center Craig L. Wilkins, Ph.D., Architect 3663 Woodward Avenue, Ste 50 Detroit, MI 4820 Telephone: (33) 593-0906 E-mail: clwilks@umich.edu NDND and Southeast Brightmoor residents can continue to plan and implement additional aesthetic and functional improvements with the help of the University of Michigan Detroit Design Center or on their own. These additional improvements can take shape in the following ways: ? Fences: Residents can fence their own lots or work together to put fences around community gardens or recently cleaned dumping sites. For example, in Vancouver, 200 residents of all ages and all skill levels worked together under the leadership of two local artists to sculpt the 400 pickets that currently line a community garden (see Figure 7.3).4 Alternatively, fences can be simple structures, requiring the work of only a few people. These plain fences can also enhance the aesthetic quality of a lot and prevent dumping and littering (see Figure 7.4). Still, fences can detract from the appeal of a lot. Tall fences that nobody can see through, as well as chain links and barbed wire should be avoided. ? Signage: NDND and residents could expand the signage efforts discussed above to the interior of the neighborhood. These signs could give directions to the Lyndon Greenway, announce pocket parks or community gardens, or provide educational information about these natural features. Figure 7.5 shows an example of signage in Burnham Park in the Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhood of South Chicago. ? Desire Path: Vacant lots often provide convenient shortcuts. When people start using these shortcuts on a regular basis, a visible ?desire path,? begins to emerge in the grass to show this preferred route. By 4 Dobson, Citizen?s Handbook. Figure 7.2: Paved Crosswalk Source: www.stlouis.missouri.org Figure 7.3: Resident Constructed Fence in Vancouver Source: www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook/2_0_image_making.html Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Source: www.wildnatureimages.com Figure 7.4: Simple Picket Fence identifying these lots and adding fencing and signage along with landscaping, trees, and other vegetation, these paths can contribute more formally to Southeast Brightmoor?s overall aesthetic and environmental appeal. Figure 7.6 shows a desire path at the intersection of Kendall and Kentfield. This lot is also adjacent to Stout Park and owned by NDND, making it a prime candidate for design improvements (see Figure 7.7) The design improvements included in this strategy will help to support many of the other goals of the plan. Signage and paths can complement Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design initiatives discussed in Chapter 4 by indicating care and surveillance and making residents feel safe. This sense of security could also encourage community members to come outside and enjoy the Lyndon Greenway and community gardens introduced in Chapter 6, and all of these signs of care and activity in previously vacant lots can prevent illegal dumping. ? The University of Michigan Detroit Community Design Center: In addition to Source: www.hydepark.org Figure 7.5: Sign in Chicago?s Burnham Park Figure 7.6: Desire Path in Southeast Brightmoor its workshops and educational offerings, the University of Michigan Detroit Community Design Center can offer more comprehensive design assistance through graduate level studios that can focus Case Study: Design and Safety According to the Vancouver Citizen?s Handbook, ?Residents of the block-long Rose Street in Vancouver have hand-painted ?cat? signs that identify the street and ask motorists to slow down. Signs referring to kids playing also help to warn off street drug dealers who suspect the neighbourhood is full of hostile mothers.? Source: Dobson, Citizen?s Handbook. on topics within Southeast Brightmoor.5 Students would work with NDND and community leaders to address design issues throughout the neighborhood. This design center also offers professional 5 Craig Wilkins, phone interview, March 9, 2007. Source: City of Detroit Assessors Department, City of Detroit Planning and Development Department, Michigan Center for Geographic Information. Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Towards a Brighter Future services for smaller fees than for-profit firms would charge. The Center?s contact information is provided above. ? The Detroit Collaborative Design Center: The Detroit Collaborative Design Center?housed at the University of Detroit Mercy?is a nonprofit design office that offers year-round professional services to nonprofits at low fees. They can provide educational services similar to those provided by the University of Michigan Community Design Center, and they also lead participatory workshops with residents to help them discover neighborhood assets and develop plans and design strategies based on them.6 Detroit Collaborative Design Center Office: 107, Warren Loranger Architecture Building, McNichols Campus Director of Design: Dan Pitera Project Managers: Kelly Powell, Andrew Sturm Telephone: (33) 993-037 E-mail: piteradw@udmercy.edu Lastly, NDND?s future headquarters (the old Guardian Bank building) will be a convenient location for residents to come together to work on plans for improvements in their neighborhood. When NDND locates in the Guardian Building, the organization 6 Dan Pitera, phone interview, April 6, 2007. can use this space for community design workshops and education efforts led by either of these two design organizations. Strategy 3: Create a Neighborhood Arts Program ? Short Term: Start a community mural project. ? Intermediate Term: Create partnerships with established arts departments to develop workshops and programs for youth. ? Long Term: Engage residents in a community-wide project that celebrates the history and unique nature of neighborhood. A range of arts programs can encourage adults and youth to express themselves through public art projects. Residents voice concerns about the lack of activities for youth and lack of appreciation of history by a majority of residents.7 Workshops can promote art skills as well as increase interaction among residents of all ages. Collaboration among different age groups encourages trust and respect and develops a sense of community. For youth especially, participation in public art is a way to display that they are an important part of the community and, most importantly, is fun.8 Brightmoor residents can install attractive window and door boards on vacant and abandoned properties until they are demolished or rehabilitated. Larger cities such as Philadelphia use murals to distinguish smaller neighborhoods such as Chinatown from the rest of the city (see Figure 7.8). In Detroit, many 7 See Appendix B. 8 Seana Lowe (200) The Art of Community Transformation, Education and Urban Society, 33 pg 462 and White, Rob (998) Public Spaces for Young People: A Guide to Creative Projects & Positive Strategies pg 4 and 33, www.eric.org. (accessed March 2007). Figure 7.8: Mural in Philadelphia of the buildings in Mexicantown have become canvases to celebrate the residents? Mexican heritage. The imaginatively boarded-up house on Lyndon (see Figure 7.9) shows the impact small, relatively inexpensive artwork can have on the environment. Fenkell St. has many large commercial buildings with open walls visible to traffic. The brightly colored mural on the child care center on Fenkell identifies the use of the building and provides a cheerful interruption to the commercial landscape. Murals can be temporary until the building is put to other use or can remain as more permanent expression of identity. NDND can create partnerships with established community arts programs to develop workshops and programs for youth (See Figure 7.0). ? The University of Michigan School of Art and Design developed an after school art/ science curriculum for grades 3-5 for an elementary school in Detroit, and a similar program could be initiated in Brightmoor.9 9 Nick Tobier, interview, March 2007. Figure 7.7: Possibilities for Improvements Source: www.tti.tamu.edu/publications/researcher/v40n2/images/smart_ growth.jpg Source: Margaret Dewar Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Figure 7.9: Window Boards on Lyndon St. The curriculum includes activities for children to map their neighborhood with pictures of what is important to them and discuss why those places are important. Youth can begin to imagine how to care for the spaces that are meaningful to them. The summer is an especially good time to develop arts programs as students are out of school and the displays can be outside. ? The Brightmoor summer camp currently conducts arts projects outside Brightmoor. NDND could work with the camp arts director to develop projects that could be conducted at the community center that may be displayed in the areas in the neighborhood.10 ? The Skillman Foundation is currently putting together a comprehensive list of youth activities. The ongoing Skillman process to foster youth development in Brightmoor is an opportunity to find resources to begin community projects. 0 Summer camp arts director for 2007 is yet to be determined. Cassandra Burnes, phone interview, April 2007. Figure 7.10: Murals in Southwest Detroit Sources: www.insidesouthwest.com Neighborhood residents need to be identified who would be willing to facilitate community projects with established arts programs in the greater Detroit area. Residents expressed interest in starting arts programs during several community meetings, sign up sheets with contact information will be helpful in getting this underway. Neighborhood-wide projects can be accomplished in several ways. ? Historical projects: A project celebrating a historical figure or event could start through organizing people with local knowledge. Oral histories, library sources, and old newspapers can provide insight into the history of the neighborhood. Projects may start off small and, as interest grows, can gradually expand to include more residents. In South Los Angeles, a neighborhood rallied around preserving the history of Biddy Mason, a former slave who became well known for her activism in the late 1800s (See Figure 7.11). Projects could include historical placards to complement the greenway and create linkages between the pocket parks. ? Public art projects: Well-used open spaces in the neighborhood can act as showcase for different types of public art projects. Stout Park is one such area that could display these projects, as it is largely open and widely used. Some elements that have been effective in public art in other neighborhoods include benches and chairs that can be moved around, art that can double as play equipment and objects of different sizes. Figure 7.12 identifies potential places for the urban design and public art projects in Southeast Brightmoor. Several opportunities for funding exist that NDND could investigate further: ? Michigan Department of Transportation has funds for landscaping and other  Sign up sheets were distributed at the April 24, 2007 commu- nity meeting. NDND has the sheets with interest and contact information. Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Towards a Brighter Future beautification improvements such as street furniture, lighting, public art, and landscaping along streets, historic highways, and trails. NDND can partner with the city, or other eligible organizations to apply for funding for up to 80% of the cost of the projects. 12. ? The National Endowment for the Arts offers a fund specifically for neighborhoods underserved by the arts. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development.13 ? The Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs has several grants available for collaborative art projects. An artist in residence program provides for a resident to live and work in a neighborhood for several months and work with interested residents on a project of their choice. grants range from smaller planning grants of $500 to implementation grants of $7,000-$12,000. ? The City of Detroit has mini-grants of $4,000 available for events, workshops, programs, festivals and projects for students.14 ? Michigan State Housing Development Authority provides neighborhood preservation funds for beautification efforts that accompany new housing. Community design and public art can encourage residents to come together to change their everyday environment. Relationships that develop 2 MDOT Department of Transportation, www.michigan.gov/mdot (accessed April 2, 2007). 3 National Endowment for the Arts www.nea.gov (accessed April 5, 2007). 4 City of Detroit Department of Art and Recreation, www. ci.detroit.mi.us/culturalaffair/minigrants.htm (accessed April 3, 2007). during projects may result in a perception of a safer neighborhood as a whole. Residents of all ages can organize around a project that they feel expresses their identity. The next chapter offers strategies on involvement that could serve to advance the actions discussed in this chapter. Figure 7.11: Biddy Mason Park Source: Dolores Hayden, The Power of Place, (MIT Press: Cambridge, 997) 27. Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Figure 7.12: Placement for Art and Design Strategies Source: City of Detroit Assessors Department; City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Chapter 7: Create a Neighborhood identity  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 8: increase residents' involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 8: increase residents? involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment Many of the strategies in previous chapters advocate residents? participation in addressing neighborhood concerns. Organizing the residents of Southeast Brightmoor is important to the future direction of the neighborhood and will allow resident voices to be heard. Citizens in Southeast Brightmoor can organize in several different ways. They can organize over one block, a series of blocks along a street, or several blocks in a particular area. Sometimes citizens organize simply to get to know their neighbors, and other times they organize over a specific problem in the neighborhood. This chapter is broken into two parts: the first addresses ways to organize the neighborhood, including what NDND can do to coordinate and encourage resident involvement. The second portion recommends issues and activities around which Southeast Brightmoor residents can organize. Table 8. summarizes the strategies in this chapter. Strategy 1: Organize the neighborhood ? Short Term: Establish block clubs. ? Short Term: Create area associations. ? Short Term: Coordinate issues affecting all of Southeast Brightmoor. A definition of neighborhood organizing is ?bringing people together to define and make change.? One way to facilitate change is for Southeast Brightmoor to create resident organizations. NDND can guide residents? involvement and coordinate with other groups in Southeast Brightmoor to encourage resident organization. Figure 8. illustrates how potential resident organizations could be structured in Southeast Brightmoor. A block club is an organization of neighbors that is concentrated over a small geographic area, usually a single block or a group of blocks along a particular street. Through block clubs neighbors can communicate and identify the issues important to them.2 Residents in Southeast Brightmoor could deal with issues such as dumping, code enforcement, safety, and community gardens by establishing block clubs. The disadvantage to block clubs, though, is that many issues in Southeast  Xavier De Souza Briggs. ?Strategy Tool #4: Organizing Stake- holders, Building Movement, Setting the Agenda?, The Community Solving Project at MIT. www.web.mit.edu/cpsproject/images/organizing.pdf (ac- cessed April 22, 2007). 2 Charles Dobson. The Troublemakers Teaparty: A Manual for Ef- fective Citizen Action. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, 2003). Table 8.1: Strategies for Increasing Resident Involvement Strategy : Organize the neighborhood Strategy 2: Establish activities and opportunities for involvement Brightmoor need more resources and wider participation than a single block can provide. Currently at least two block clubs are active in Southeast Brightmoor: the Plainview Block Club Association and a block club that covers the small blocks of Minock St., Auburn St., and Westwood St. between Lyndon St. and Stoepel Park (see Figure 8.2). The Plainview Block club has six members and, according to President Jackie Evans,3 is a remnant of the Westwood Park Neighborhood Association that started in the early 990s.  Jackie Evans, phone interview, April 4, 2007. Figure 8.1: Possible Structure for Organizing Southeast Brightmoor Chapter 8: ncrease residents? involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts Chapter 8: increase residents' involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts  Towards a Brighter Future NDND could encourage block clubs to form on all other blocks to strengthen resident involvement in the rest of the neighborhood. Neighbors would then turn to block clubs when they have an issue or concern on their block. Organize the Neighborhood The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) in Roxbury, Massachusetts, is a good example of residents? organizing in a neighborhood. DSNI participants offer the following recommendations:4 ? Conduct your organizing campaign first ?to engage and energize residents? to ensure their involvement in neighborhood planning. ? Involve residents in all planning activities for the neighborhood. Don?t make decisions for them. ? Organize around a positive vision ? Make organizing fun. ? Being comprehensive means that vision comes first and then projects have to fit into those standards. ? Identify and achieve ways for residents to gain power, control ? not just involvement but decision making. ? Combine short-term ?wins? with long-term change. This advice can be a guide to help the residents organize themselves into block clubs and help NDND with the coordination of such clubs. Create Area Associations Many issues do not affect just a single block but can affect many blocks in an area. Once residents establish block clubs in Southeast Brightmoor, they 4 Beth Williams Pryor, et al.,Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Roxbury, MA, ?Advice from the Field,? in On the Ground With Comprehensive Community Initiatives Program Profile. www.knowledgeplex. org/showdoc.html?id=6429 (accessed April 2007) may want to pool their resources through an area association of block clubs. An area association could serve as the organization that handles issues specifically related to organizing the neighborhood, whereas NDND may not always have the staff or resources to devote to organizing and managing block clubs on a full time basis. The Westwood Park Neighborhood Association once covered a large swath of blocks between Evergreen Rd. and Westwood St. Block clubs in this larger area may be able to coordinate their efforts in a renewed Westwood Park Neighborhood Association. Some of this reorganization may already be occurring. Kathy Aska, a neighborhood resident and staff member at City Mission, held a meeting in March 2007 to determine resident interest in coordinating activities in the larger Westwood Park area.5 NDND could work with Ms. Aska and City Mission to coordinate citizens and block clubs in the Westwood Park area. After NDND establishes block clubs in the areas of Southeast Brightmoor besides Westwood Park, they could then coordinate these clubs into an area association similar to the Westwood Park Neighborhood Association. These areas may need housing reinvestment before enough residents exist for resident organization, as discussed in the prioritization section below. Coordinate Issues Affecting Southeast Brightmoor Residents may also desire to coordinate their efforts in all of Southeast Brightmoor through NDND at the same time that block clubs are forming. NDND could have a staff member or volunteer who lives in Southeast Brightmoor as the point person for this coordination. NDND could then act as a link between the residents and larger organizations and represent neighborhood interests to the City of Detroit and Wayne County to ensure that Southeast 5 Kathy Aska, phone interview, April 9, 2007 Brightmoor residents? voices are heard on issues affecting them. Coordination with other organizations involved in the neighborhood may also be desirable. These include: ? The Skillman Foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving homes, schools, and neighborhoods for children. Their Good Neighborhoods Initiative works with parents of schoolchildren in Brightmoor and may be a good resource for finding parents who want to be involved. This can be especially useful in Southeast Brightmoor since such a large percentage of the population is school-age children. ? City Mission is an organization dedicated to meeting the ?educational, physical, and spiritual needs? of the neighborhood. According to their website, the four pillars of City Mission are Education, Leadership, Family, and Community.6 City Mission has expressed an interest in building the community of Southeast Brightmoor through organizing residents and by living and participating in the neighborhood. NDND could coordinate their efforts with City Mission to encourage resident involvement in the neighborhood. More information can be found at www.city- mission.org. ? The Brightmoor Alliance has many ties to the neighborhood through the efforts of various churches and other organizations located in Southeast Brightmoor. The Brightmoor Alliance may be another place to receive support on residential involvement, and they may have recommendations on leaders who can help organize certain blocks. 6 City Mission, www.city-mission.org, (accessed April 2, 2007) Chapter 8: increase residents' involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts  ? MOSES is a non-profit that organizes concerned citizens through faith- based organizations in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs. MOSES provides leadership training for organizing and has the goal to influence ?neighborhood concerns, such as community reinvestment and safety.? 7 Within Southeast Brightmoor the Greater Southern Missionary Baptist Church located at 13624 Stout Street is affiliated with MOSES. NDND could use the influence and resources of MOSES to help organize and train leaders within Southeast Brightmoor. More information about this organization can be found at their website, www.mosesmi.org. Prioritize NDND Resources This section makes recommendations for the order in which NDND could focus neighborhood organization to make the best use of its resources under existing financial and administrative constraints. NDND could concentrate their first efforts on resident organization in the areas of Southeast Brightmoor where the most people live. Figure 8.2 shows three chronological recommendations for neighborhood involvement: short-, intermediate-, and long-term. In the analysis of Southeast Brightmoor the area with the densest housing is located in Westwood Park. This area is a strong candidate for the establishment of block clubs because most of its housing is intact, and City Mission has already expressed an interest in organizing in this area. This area is labeled ?short term? and is where NDND could focus their efforts on resident organization within the next year. The area between Burt Rd. and Evergreen Rd. has some concentration of housing density, but overall much of this area is lacking the people needed for resident organization. This area is labeled ?intermediate.? 7 MOSES, www.mosesmi.org, (accessed April 22, 2007) NDND may want to encourage new block clubs in this area in the next one to three years after new NDND housing is completed and new residents move in. Finally, the area in Southeast Brightmoor with the lowest housing density is between Fenkell St. and Outer Dr. The recommendation for this area is ?long term? because the area needs more people before block clubs could be established. Resident organization in this area may be possible in three to five years when NDND completes new housing development. Figure 8.2: Map of Priority for Organizing Block Clubs Short Term Westwood St. Minock St. Auburn St. Lyndon St. (Eastern Portion) Evergreen Rd. Heyden St. Vaughan St. Intermediate Pierson St. Braile St. Patton St. Fielding St. Stout St. Burt Rd. Kentfield St. Long Term Blocks between Outer Dr. and Fenkell St. Strategy 2: Establish activities and opportunities for involvement While the previous section of this chapter provided recommendations for establishing organizations for resident involvement, the following section will elaborate on specific issues that NDND and Brightmoor residents can use as a foundation for organizing, increasing involvement, and strengthening the neighborhood. Residents may organize over issues that affect their block or neighborhood. Previous chapters provided recommendations for strategies that involve residents? participation in achieving various goals of the plan. The following section summarizes Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Table 8.2: Recommendations on Priority for Organizing Block Clubs Chapter 8: increase residents' involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts 0 Towards a Brighter Future these strategies and provides suggestions for how to implement them, with block clubs as the building blocks for implementation. ? Form a code enforcement task force with NDND: The task force could empower residents and NDND to improve code enforcement for owner and renter occupied dwellings. Through the task force, residents can insist that the City and County pursue housing code violations in a timely manner. Residents state that abandoned homes are a safety hazard. Residents can elect representatives from each block club and area association in Southeast Brightmoor to serve on the task force; an NDND staff member can serve as the task force?s liaison between the City and County and residents. ? Initiate a neighborhood watch group partnership: Residents could elect a leader in the neighborhood to serve as liaison for reporting problems (such as illegal dumping and dog fighting) to appropriate officials. Residents voice concerns about environmental problems. NDND could encourage residents to establish a neighborhood watch group where representatives from block clubs and area associations participate in addressing problems. The representatives could report to an NDND staff member, who would contact appropriate City or County officials for further action. The Brightmoor Alliance, NDND, MOSES, and Skillman Foundation are possible partners for implementing this strategy because they demonstrate a vested interest in making Brightmoor a safer neighborhood where residents are more active in addressing problems. See Chapter 4 for more information on community policing and neighborhood watches as methods for improving safety and dealing with environmental problems. ? Create a ?greening? task force: Residents mentioned the need for ?green? elements in Brightmoor. Residents can create a tree-planting task force with help from organizations such as The Greening of Detroit, which provides technical assistance for neighborhood organizations, church groups, block clubs, and schools that want to use tree planting as a means of beautifying the neighborhood. Residents of block clubs or area associations can be responsible for tree-planting. After completion, the Lyndon Greenway with its pocket parks will facilitate the greening of Brightmoor (see Chapter 6), and block clubs may work on projects for maintaining it. NDND may be able to assist in funding tree-planting and other greening initiatives. ? Initiate a community gardening program: Residents of Brightmoor can use vacant land for planting flowers, fruits, and vegetables in order to beautify the neighborhood, prevent dumping, and provide food for residents. In the short term, NDND may provide initial funding to interested residents who would like to create a community garden, or they may apply for grants to do such work, making the residents managers of the project. Block clubs or area associations could share a large area of vacant land and establish a community garden. Alternatively, block clubs can use one or more vacant lots on their respective blocks and transform them into a garden for the block club?s use to grow food or flowers. ? Create arts opportunities for vacant and abandoned buildings: Residents could use art (such as creating murals, or decorating windows and doors) to beautify vacant and abandoned structures until the city rehabilitates or demolishes them. Murals and other arts projects also provide an opportunity for youth to get involved in making a change in the community. Block clubs could compete in designing murals for vacant structures. Area associations could meet to prioritize structures that block clubs could decorate. NDND, Communities in Schools, and the Skillman Foundation may provide residents with technical assistance for such initiatives. See Chapter 7 for more information on use of murals and art to beautify the neighborhood. While these recommendations address specific issues within the neighborhood, other strategies for encouraging resident involvement are more general, and focus on activities and events. These include: ? Summer block club or area association parties: Residents can elect members of the block club to perform specific tasks, such as managing food, planning the event, and coordinating preliminary meetings. Bi-annually, block clubs in Brightmoor can coordinate so that each association in the neighborhood can come together for a large event in Stoepel or Stout Park. This event could be even larger, since adjacent neighborhoods, such as Rosedale Park and others in the Grandmont Rosedale area, also use Stoepel Park. NDND could connect with other organizations in nearby areas, such as the Rosedale Park Improvement Association or Minock Park Community Association. ? Semi-annual fundraising event: Residents can coordinate semi-annual fundraising events where proceeds could support some aspect of improving the neighborhood. For instance, block clubs or Chapter 8: increase residents' involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts  area associations could have car washing campaigns, where they offer motorists passing along major streets (such as Fenkell St.) inexpensive car washes. Neighborhood car washes or gas stations could provide resident organizations with property and/or materials for washing cars. Block clubs or area associations could use proceeds from the car washing for such improvements as tree planting, community gardening, or purchasing a gateway sign to make the neighborhood distinguishable to passersby. ? Basketball or other sports tournaments: Residents state that youth like to play basketball. Due to safety concerns, they are usually confined to the areas in front of their homes. Residents can volunteer to coach youth in the neighborhood at various sports, leading up to a community- wide tournament, where residents from different parts of Brightmoor can compete for an award. Residents could also contact nearby neighborhood groups for possible neighborhood competitions. Residents may contact City Mission and the Skillman Foundation for assistance with such an initiative. City Mission runs various sports clinics, including football and basketball clinics, as part of a summer program for youth.8 ? Semi-annual ?community clean-up? with the Detroit Project: The Detroit Project is a University of Michigan student-run service organization specifically dedicated to working with schools and community organizations in Brightmoor and in  The mission of the Skillman Foundation?s ?Good Neighborhoods Initiative? directly aligns with this strategy, as it provides grants for neigh- borhood grassroots organizations that wish to provide cultural, sports, and service opportunities for youth. For more information on the Good Neighbor - hoods Initiative, visit: www.skillman.org/gn.asp. NDND could potentially assist residents in applying for the Good Neighborhoods Initiative grant, or NDND could directly provide financial or resources support for the creation of youth sports events. Southwest Detroit. Some activities the Detroit Project organizes include: tutoring and mentoring students, working on abandoned lots, tree planting, painting murals, and registering voters.9 With the Detroit Project, residents could come together to participate in beautifying Brightmoor through engaging in tasks such as trash pick-up and landscaping. Residents mentioned the need for solutions to address the issue of vacant lots and dumping. Residents could be involved in site and project selection for DP cleanup. They could organize teams to help the students in projects on their block. Other, ?social committee? residents could work with students to organize a celebratory resident/student party at Stoepel Park at the end of the day. This chapter covered organizing as a means of encouraging resident involvement. Residents express their desire for change. NDND, the Brightmoor Alliance, City Mission, and other organizations in the neighborhood can use this opportunity to make connections with residents who want to make a change, and together they could work on an action plan. The next chapter will discuss ways to implement strategies to improve the Brightmoor neighborhood. 9 For more information about the Detroit Project, visit: www. thedp.org/brightmoor.html, or contact The Detroit Project at (74) 65- 7307. Chapter 8: increase residents' involvement in Neighborhood redevelopment efforts  Towards a Brighter Future Chapter 9: implementation  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 9.1: Southeast Brightmoor Zones Sources: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; University of Michigan housing assessment, Feb.-Apr. 2007; NDND. This chapter discusses implementation of this plan in Southeast Brightmoor, emphasizing the action plans from the five goals that are part of this plan. TheMes Three themes run through this plan for Southeast Brightmoor: achieving goals by acting as a community, building on existing assets, and reinforcing investment. Strategies and recommendations throughout the plan echo these themes, with the idea to make Southeast Brightmoor a brighter place for all. Reinforcing Investment NDND has made a substantial investment in housing in Southeast Brightmoor, and that investment should be reinforced. Figure 9. breaks Southeast Brightmoor into zones, with zones A and B having the most good quality housing and the highest housing density. The recommendations of this plan, such as creating a home-repair skill bank, aim to reinforce investment in these zones in order to maintain the good quality housing that exists. The plan also recommends targeting new housing investment in these zones and in zone C to reinforce what already exists. Building on Assets to Encourage New Investment Southeast Brightmoor has many assets to build on to encourage new investment in the neighborhood. These assets include Stout and Stoepel Parks, new housing completed by NDND, neighborhood-based organizations such as City Mission, and funding opportunities from the Skillman Foundation, LISC, and NEXT Detroit. The recommendations and strategies of this plan encourage Southeast Brightmoor to use their assets to strengthen the neighborhood. Achieving Goals by Acting as a Community Many of the chapters make recommendations to encourage resident participation and involvement, such as a community-police partnership and an illegal dumping task force. Residents can improve Southeast Brightmoor if they act together, since many people making their voices heard and dealing with important issues are stronger than just one or two people. PhasiNg oF aCTiViTies Strategies throughout this plan can be carried out on a short-term, intermediate, and long-term basis. The phasing recommended in this plan is based on when a strategy can begin to be implemented, but not when a strategy will end. Most, if not all strategies in this plan will need long-term follow-up for them to be effective. Short-term activities are easiest to implement and could begin within a year?s time. For example, Southeast Brightmoor could implement an illegal dumping task force within a year. People have already expressed interest in this action at the community meetings held in spring 2007, and the principal need is the organizational effort to coordinate the task force. Intermediate activities require more effort and more coordination among various groups, and they may need additional funding. Intermediate activities could be implemented in one to three years? time. An example of an intermediate activity is to demolish all derelict residential structures within two years. Many of these buildings can be demolished sooner than two years. Residents will have to pressure city agencies, however, to come to Southeast Brightmoor and demolish all of the buildings. Since this could take up to two years, this is an intermediate activity. Chapter 9: implementation  Towards a Brighter Future Figure 9.2 Possible Partnerships for Strengthening Southeast BrightmoorLong-term activities require the most effort. These activities require long-term coordination among various groups and dedication from NDND and neighborhood residents to succeed. Long-term activities could be implemented in three to five years? time, although some strategies may take more than five years to complete. An example of a long-term strategy is the urban agriculture recommendation from Chapter 6 of this plan. Urban agriculture is a long-term activity because of the large amount of land needed for a project, the need to build up participation by neighborhood residents for such an activity, and the need to find an outlet for the produce. Table 9. summarizes the short-, intermediate, and long-term activities for each goal in this plan. Par TNershiPs NDND and neighborhood residents have much opportunity to forge partnerships with different groups in Southeast Brightmoor, including the Brightmoor Alliance, City Mission, the Skillman Foundation, the City?s NextDetroit program. Both the Skillman Foundation and the City?s NextDetroit program have announced funding opportunities for Brightmoor. The following chart illustrates the partnerships that may be helpful as NDND and residents strengthen Southeast Brightmoor. Chapter 9: implementation  Table 9.1: Short, Intermediate, and Long Term Activities for Southeast Brightmoor Strategy Short Term < 1 yr Intermediate Term 1-3 yrs Long Term 3-5 yrs Improve Safety Demolish all derelict residential structures within two years X Discourage access to vacant commercial structures and property X Incorporate crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) concepts X Improve outdoor lighting X Initiate neighborhood watch groups X Enhance community-police relationships X Eliminate stray and abandoned animals from the neighborhood X Reduce dog fighting X Strengthen Housing Quality and Develop New Housing Opportunities Focus home repairs to maintain good quality housing in zones A and B X Create a citizen code enforcement task force X Develop a renter screening service and find resources for landlords to repair properties X X Encourage homeownership X X X Help homeowners to acquire adjacent lots X X Prioritize NDND-owned sites to build new houses X X Improve Environmental Conditions Control illegal dumping X Encourage the maintenance and use of Southeast Brightmoor?s natural environment X Make Southeast Brightmoor ?green? by planting trees and community gardens and establishing urban farms X X X Create a Neighborhood Identity Establish and display a community name and logo X X Expand community design efforts in Southeast Brightmoor X X Create a neighborhood arts program X X X Increase Residents? Involvement in Neighborhood Redevelopment Organize the neighborhood X X X Establish activities and opportunities for involvement X Chapter 9: implementation  Towards a Brighter Future Sources: www.extension.umn.edu; www.bb-environment.org/community_projects.htm; www.tedmatlak.com/; www.images.google.com/ imgres?imgurl=http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/Auburn-BlockClubSign.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.newcommunities.org/news/articleDetail. asp%3FobjectID%3D277&h=20&w=260&sz=26&hl=en&start=8&tbnid=hY7rwNviO86NYM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblock%2Bclub %26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D0%26hl%3Den; www.uic.edu/depts/engl/engled/block4.jpg; www.frozentropics.blogspot.com/2005_08_0_archive. Figure 9.3: A Vision of a Brighter Southeast Brightmoora VisioN oF The FuTure The title of this plan is Towards a Brighter Future. Southeast Brightmoor has the residents, assets and opportunities to make a brighter future for the neighborhood a reality. This brighter future includes resident participation to deal with issues important to the neighborhood. It includes the formation of block clubs, crime watches, and an illegal dumping task force. It includes partnerships with neighborhood organizations and outside groups such as the Skillman Foundation. Of course, it also includes NDND?s continuing work and investment in Southeast Brightmoor. The brighter future for Southeast Brightmoor means the neighborhood is safe for people living there. It means good quality housing exists and people have the opportunity to purchase their own homes. The brighter future also means Southeast Brightmoor is free of illegal dumping, has parks and community gardens, and has a community name and identity. All of these changes are not easy and will take time and effort. But the results will make a brighter Southeast Brightmoor for all. appendices  Towards a Brighter Future  Towards a Brighter Future appendix a  aPPeNdiX a: souTheasT BrighT - Moor us CeNsus 2000 BLoCK grouP BouNdaries Source: City of Detroit Planning and Development Department; Michigan Center for Geographic Information; NDND. Figure A.1: Southeast Brightmoor US Census 2000 Block Group Boundaries appendix a 0 Towards a Brighter Future appendix B  aPPeNdiX B: resideNT s? C oMMeNT s FroM C oMMuNiTY MeeTiNg s, FeB- ruarY aNd aPriL, 2007 Safety Issues ? Increase police patrol and use unpredictable police patrols, especially around medical clinics and new development. ? Citizens? watch in patrol area is also needed. ? Improve and maintain good street lighting. ? Use security guard to check on houses. ? There is an elementary school on Burt. The area around the school should have the highest priority to be taken care of. ? South of Lyndon, there are really bad houses close to the school. They need to be demolished immediately since they are so close to the school. ? Get children to after school programs safely and find things for kids to do. ? Advertise recreational opportunities. ? Safety: programs for children to get them involved in activities. ? Speed limit signs. Cars speed through neighborhood. ? Vacant drug house on Plainview near Lyndon has been there more than 2 years. No lights in front of house, children pass there every day. People bring cars there, stop and use bathroom. ? Address stray animals in the community. ? There is illegal dog fighting all over the place. People dump and kill those dogs after fighting. Housing Issues ? The City should make a list of those vacant commercial buildings and find out who owns each building. They should take those vacant buildings and do something with them. ? Tear down vacant and abandoned houses, both commercial and residential. ? Improve code enforcement. ? Give the property owners opportunities to take over adjacent vacant lots. ? Redevelopment on vacant commercial lots, especially for the part between Stout and Kentfield along Schoolcraft. ? Seek rehabilitation grants or other funding for homeowners so as to enable those people with limited income to do repairs on their homes. We need information on getting some financial help in household improvement and repairs on my house. ? I am mainly concerned about my property values which have been declining because of the adjacent abandoned homes. ? Zone A has good housing stock and should be the focus of our plan. You should build good houses on A to make it a showcase for other parts of the neighborhood. ? Scattered new housing in the neighborhood would not be attractive enough to bring people to come as long as there is bad housing nearby, because no one wants to come to live next to a burnt-down house. ? Renters should be screened more strictly because they do not take good care of the properties and it?s hard to end the lease because they were mostly long-term ones. The adjacent property values were affected negatively by them because of the dumping issues and others. ? Some blocks have block groups to supervise the behavior of the renters, but most are not working now. ? A program should be set to teach those renters how to keep up the houses. ? Who should enforce regulations with renters? City? Landlords? ? People are paying too much for rent. ? Foreclosure prevention through counseling or finding money. ? Tax relief. ? Before developing land and getting vacant land, houses on the land should be taken care of first. ? How will you find landlords that just walk away from their properties? ? Have a skill bank to know what skills neighborhood people have. (Could use MSU Extension students or Home Depot) ? Some home owners can help others with housing improvements on windows, doors, grass, etc. Give older young men something to do to help with housing conditions for the elder and low income people. ? We need to bring in residents from other areas. Environmental Issues ? Environmental testing of soil contamination needed. ? Problems with sewage system. ? At least do some landscaping/gardening or make community gardens on those vacant lots. ? Clean up the street litter. ? Lot clean ups- this could give jobs to kids or use people doing community service. ? More frequent trash pick-up on commercial properties. ? Stop dumping. We need a practicable process/enforcement to get rid of dumpers. ? Encourage people to report dumping (a number to call with a reward). ? Organize block clubs doing clean-ups. ? There is no way anyone would ride a bike in the neighborhood; people are not ready for the Lyndon Greenway yet. ? Problems with trees ? downed branches, roots, worms. ? Need education about trees. ? Better contact with city- need a liaison with the community. ? Ideas for alleys that are still here. ? Exterminate rats and mice that are in vacant houses and lots. appendix B  Towards a Brighter Future Identity Issues ? People are disconnected from each other. I don?t know people. Talk to people. ? Lack of neighborhood history. ? We need to have some social events to get people to know each other, such as neighborhood picnics to meet your neighbors, or holding regular community meetings?possibly bi-weekly. ? Stoepel Park is the place for lots of activities including basketball, baseball, football, etc. We used to have concerts in the park on Friday nights. The tennis court was underutilized, and people walk their dogs in the court. ? Stout Park is the place for ?hanging out?, especially for young people and teenagers. Kids play softball there. People are using it more since they now have a screen there showing the Pistons games. ? Neighborhood businesses are not up to par. You don?t want to shop there. ? Fenkell is more like a business district than Schoolcraft is. We used to see movies there. The new post office is nice, but the surrounding neighborhood is bad; it needs upgrading. Fenkell needs more activity. ? Schoolcraft is more like an industrial area, just a place where people get gas and pop, serving the highway. ? Transportation is an issue. No connections for those without cars. ? The most heavily used roads are: Fenkell, Schoolcraft, Evergreen, Lyndon, Outer Dr, Burt. ? There should be a new shuttle bus running in the area along Fenkell, Schoolcraft, Evergreen and Lyndon to get people to places on Fenkell and to major bus lines. Currently, bus stops on Fenkell are more used than others in the area. ? We need another library in the neighborhood. There used to be a library at the corner of Burt and Fenkell, but it changed into a police station long ago. A library would provide a place for education and gathering. ? We need a recreation center in the neighborhood. Currently there is only one community center in the whole area. The two parks can only accommodate outdoor activities, but kids have no indoor places to play in. A YMCA for kids or maybe just a recreational center with swimming pools and other facilities would work well. Involvement Issues ? Create a network of neighbors or a block group for us to work together. ? Discover skills and talents or profession so that we can help each other. ? Keep people informed about what is going on in community. ? More neighborhood meetings. ? Distribution of community newsletters periodically. ? Let people know about the housing and zoning codes that will affect them. ? Religious institutions in community ? what are they doing? Other General Comments/Suggestions ? Improve the job market. ? We are eager to see some actual work done in the neighborhood. ? More flyering and publicity about this plan are needed. ? Please invite someone from the city to come to the final presentation of this plan. appendix C  aPPeNdiX C: assessiNg siTe use aNd housiNg CoNdiTioN The condition of residential structures and their sites were evaluated, as were vacant lots where some use was evident. Vacant properties lacking an apparent use were evaluated when dumping had occurred. Each site was photographed and its condition evaluated through the use of a standard form (see Figure C. and Figure C.2). The form has five sections. In Section I, the uses of the site were determined. In Section II, the condition of the site itself was assessed. These two sections apply to every property. According to the primary use of the site determined in Section IA, the surveyors continued to examine the site conditions in one of the three following sections III, IV, and V. Section III only applies to housing structures; Section IV applies to parking lots; Section V applies to vacant sites. For housing, six criteria were used to evaluate the external condition of structures: building frame/ structure, roof/chimney/gutters, windows/doors, siding/paint, porch, and garage. Each of these elements was then evaluated and determined to possess major, minor, or no problems. Based on the conditions of all of these components and a scoring system, a structure was rated as good, fair, poor, or critical. Houses that looked structurally sound and well maintained and did not have more than one major problem were rated as ?Good.? Houses that had three or more minor problems and no more than one major problem were rated as ?Fair.? Houses that had two or more major problems were rated as ?Poor.? Houses that had major structural problems (for instance, they were leaning or had fire damage) and should not be lived in were rated as ?Critical,? to be demolished. appendix C  Towards a Brighter Future Figure C.1: Property Survey Rating Form (Front) appendix C  Figure C.2: Property Survey Rating Form (Back) appendix C  Towards a Brighter Future appendix  aPPeNdiX d. CiTY oF deTroiT aNd MiChigaN sT aTe housiNg deVeLoPMeNT auThoriTY hoMe reP air PrograMs The City of Detroit Resources The resources described below were excerpted from the city of Detroit Housing Services (www.ci.detroit.mi.us/plandevl/housingservices/default.htm). Please refer to that webpage for the most up to date information about city resources. Senior Emergency Home Repair Program This program provides emergency home repair funding assistance for low- income senior citizens and physically disabled seniors. The maximum grant award is $2,000. Applicants must meet the following guidelines: . At 65 years of age or older and/ or physically disabled and 55 years of age or older 2. Very low- income 3. Own and occupy the home that will be repaired 4. Must not have received a prior rehab/ repair grant from City programs Grant funding can be used to repair the following issues: ? Furnaces ? Plumbing ? Roofs ? Electrical systems ? Structural repairs Ineligible repairs include: ? Windows ? Carpeting ? Kitchen cabinets ? All household appliances ? Plaster, drywall ? Concrete work ? Any item that is ?Lead Based Paint? related and would require a risk assessment Minor Home Repair Program The Minor Home Repair Program provides a one-time-only grant/ forgivable loan to low-income home owners to correct health and safety conditions and to eliminate lead- based paint hazards. Grants can be up to $5,000 per property or $24,950, if lead-based paint is present. Homeowners must apply through a Sponsoring Community Organization that has received Community Development Block Grant funds. Applications are available each year from October through December. Participants must show the following seven items to participate in the program: . Proof of income 2. Proof of homeownership 3. Proof of property insurance 4. Proof of paid property taxes 5. Proof of occupancy 6. Picture identification Eligible properties must meet the following conditions: ? Single- family dwellings ? Located within the targeted boundaries of a Sponsoring Community Organization ? Structurally and economically feasible for repairs Eligible home improvements include: ? Roofs ? Furnaces ? Plumbing ? Electrical ? Structural ? Porches ? Lead hazard remediation Lead Hazard Remediation Program The Lead Hazard Remediation Program identifies and assists low- income, owner- occupants with children under six years of age, especially children with elevated blood lead levels. The maximum funding award is $24,950. Funding must be used to perform repairs associated with lead hazards and correct serious code violations. appendix  Towards a Brighter Future Landlord Rental Program: Child Help Lead Hazard Reduction Program This program assists landlords, particularly those whose tenants include children under the age of six, remediate lead based paint hazards in their properties. The program targets exposed children in single and multi family rental dwellings consisting of  to 4 units. Tenants must meet HUD income eligibility guidelines. The maximum funding is $24,950 per unit. Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Resources The resources described below were excerpted from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority Home Improvement webpage. (www. michigan.gov/mshda/0,607,7-4-5505---,00.html). Please refer to that webpage for the most up to date information about state repair funding resources. Owner- Occupant Property Improvement Program (PIP) Loan A person may qualify for a PIP loan if they meet the following criteria: ? Own or buying a 1- to 24- unit property ? Reasonable credit risk, demonstrate an ability to repay the loan, and meet MSHDA?s underwriting criteria ? Improvements are permanent and will protect or improve the unit?s basic livability or energy efficiency Borrowers may take up to 20 years to repay the loan. Lack of equity is not a factor when a loan is under $25,000. A 2% origination fee ($00 minimum) is financed in the loan amount. This fee is not out of pocket. Table D.1 listed the maximum loan amounts per property based on the number of units per house. Table D.1: Maximum Loan Amounts Per Property by Housing Structure One Unit $50,000 Two Units $50,000 Three Units $75,000 Four to 24 Units $00,000 Source: Michigan State Housing Development Authority, www.michigan.gov/mshda, (accessed April 2007) The bank, savings and loan association, credit union and/ or the community agent where owner-occupant applies for the loan will decide if he or she meets? the MSHDA PIP Loan guidelines. Applicants? gross annual household income cannot exceed $69,800. PIP Loans have a 4% to 8% interest rate based upon the following gross household income guidelines in Table D.2. Table D.2: Interest Rates of PIP Loans by Household Income Household Income Interest Rate Up to $6,999 4% $7,000 to $29,999 6% $30,000 to $69,800 8% (6% in some cases) Source: Michigan State Housing Development Authority, www.michigan.gov/mshda, (accessed April 2007) The Annual Percentage Rate will be higher depending upon loan amount and origination fee. If the cumulative loan to value of property ratio is below 80% and MSHDA PIP loan is at least $0,000, the loan interest rate would be 6% instead of 8%. Loans above $7,499 are secured by a mortgage on the property. Proof of ownership, such as a quitclaim deed, must be traced to a recorded warranty deed. First Independence Bank is an approved local participating lender. Their contact information is listed in Table D.3 below. MSHDA?s Community Development office can also help locate a bank. The office can be reached at (57) 373-974. Table D.3: Contact Information of First Independence Bank Contact Person J. Diane Dixon Address 44 Michigan Avenue, Detroit MI 48226 Phone Number (33) 256-8446 Fax Number (33) 256-8444 Source: First Indepedence Bank, www.firstindependence.com/index.html, (accessed April 2007) Non- Owner Occupant Property Improvement Program (PIP) Loan A person may qualify for a PIP loan if he or she meets the following criteria: ? Own or buying a 1- to 24- unit property ? Reasonable credit risk, demonstrate an ability to repay the loan, and meet MSHDA?s underwriting criteria ? Improvements are permanent and will protect or improve the unit?s basic livability or energy efficiency appendix  Borrowers may take up to 20 years to repay the loan. Lack of equity is not a factor when a loan is under $25,000. A 2% origination fee ($00 minimum) is financed in the loan amount. This fee is not out of pocket. Maximum loan amounts per property are the same as listed in Table D.. There are no upper income limits for borrowers, but the gross rent on each unit, including the average for heat, water, and electricity, cannot exceed MSHDA?s rental limits for the community during the first year of the loan term. The rent limits for the City of Detroit are listed in Table D.4 below. Table D.4: Rent Limits for the City of Detroit 0 Bedroom 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 Bedroom 4 bedroom $728 $829 $991 $1,185 $1,223 Source: Michigan State Housing Development Authority, www.michigan.gov/mshda, (accessed April 2007) All loans, regardless of the loan amount, are secured by a mortgage on the property. Title insurance is required and is an ?out-of- pocket? expense. The interest rate is a fixed 8 percent. The annual percentage rate (APR) will be higher depending upon loan amount, origination fee, etc. The preliminary documentation needed to apply for a PIP loan includes: ? Completed MSHDA Credit Application, which can be obtained from lender or community agent ? Proof of the number of units in structure, if the building contains more than one unit. Examples of proof include: photocopy of local property assessor?s card or rental license ? Current pay stubs for the most recent four weeks ? Previous federal and stat income tax returns, including W-2 forms and all schedules. Generally, owner- occupied housing requires one year, while non0- owner- occupied requires two years of returns ? Photocopy of hazard (homeowners) insurance policy page showing limits of coverage ? Written estimates from state licensed contractor(s) or written estimates from supplier(s) on their company?s letterhead appendix 0 Towards a Brighter Future appendix e  aPPeNdiX e. hoMe reP air TraiNiNg aNd Code eNForCeMeNT aNd sKiLL BaNK resourCes Warm Training Center The Warm Training Center?s mission is to ?promote the development of resource efficient, affordable, healthy homes and communities through education, training and technical assistance.? WARM offers free basic home maintenance classes year round in city neighborhoods Typically, WARM teams up with a local neighborhood organization and hosts the classes at a local library or recreation center. Home repair topics include: ? Understanding how your house is built and works ? Basic carpentry ? Basic electrical repair ? Basic plumbing repair ? Painting and drywall repair ? Saving money by saving energy ? Outdoor maintenance and landscaping ? Green building and healthy homes The WARM Training Center?s contact information is: 4835 Michigan Avenue Telephone: (33) 894-030 Fax: (33) 894-063 E-mail: info@warmtraining.org Northwest Neighborhood City Hall Information The resources described below were excerpted from the city of Detroit Mayor?s Office of Neighborhood City Halls. (www.ci.detroit.mi.us/nch/default.htm). Please refer to that webpage for the most up-to- date information.  WARM Training Center, Our Mission, www.warmtraining.org, (accessed April 26, 2007). Neighborhood City Halls (NCH) are located throughout the city. Each office serves as a link between the Mayor?s Office and the community. NCH serves as an advocate for residents seeking services from City departments. According to the City?s website, ?Neighborhood City Halls distribute information for other City departments as well as special community events, such as town hall meetings, the Angels? Night Anti- Arson Campaign, and other citywide activities of interest to the community at large. NCH also assists block clubs and community associations in organizing and planning neighborhood events. NCH interfaces with businesses and community groups in building strong relationships to promote positive, productive neighborhoods.?2 The Northwest Neighborhood City Hall serves the Southeast Brightmoor area. The contact information is as follows: 980 Grand River Contact Person: Ms. Stephanie Young Telephone: (33) 935-5322 Fax: (33) 935-4433 Time Banks The following information was excerpted from the TimeBanks USA website (http://www.timebanks. org). The TimeBanks USA website provides extensive information about how to organize a local time bank. Please refer to the website for the most up-to-date information. The first step towards forming a time bank is gathering the residents who would be interested in the service. NDND could organize this process or the residents could organize themselves. The initial start up cost is minimal. TimeBanks USA provides a step-by-step manual for $49 that describes how to organize residents, hire a time bank coordinator  Mayor?s Office of Neighborhood City Halls, www.ci.detroit. mi.us/nch/default.htm, (accessed April 26, 2007). and create a redemption process. The TimeBanks USA website provided the following examples of work that can be exchanged in a time dollar network: Home Repair ? Car Care ? Carpentry/Construction ? Electrical ? Garden & Yard Work ? Painting ? Plumbing Help at Home ? Child Care ? Cooking & Sewing ? Hair & Beauty ? Housekeeping/Chores ? Pet Care ? Respite Care ? Miscellaneous Community Activities ? Community Service ? Clean Up/Recycling ? Fundraising ? Special Projects Arts, Crafts, & Music Classes ? Crafts ? Entertainment ? Lessons ? Photo & Video ? Theater Transportation ? Errands ? Local ? Long Distance appendix e  Towards a Brighter Future ? Medical ? Train/Bus/Airport ? Worship Education ? Advocacy ? Classes/Workshops ? Computers/Technology ? Languages/Translation ? Personal Finances ? Tutoring/Mentoring TimeBanks USA provided the following figure to illustrate a hypothetical redemption process. This figure illustrates how a person could redeem a time bank dollar. Figure E.1: Hypothetical Time Dollar Redemption Process Source: TimeBanks, www.timebanks.org/neighbor-to-neighbor.htm appendix e