City Manager's Neighborhood Impact Initiative

Program Inception

 
The "City Manager's Neighborhood Impact Initiative" program targets low and moderate income neighborhoods for improvements.  The Lower Belvidere neighborhood is the current focus of the Neighborhood Impact Initiative program.
 

Goals


The Neighborhood Impact Initiative utilizes interdepartmental strategy and existing resources in a selected neighborhood each year aiming at a concentration of improvements that will improve the physical environment, enhance public safety and enrich the quality of life in core neighborhoods.
 
 

Neighborhood Selection


Candidate neighborhoods are identified using various data including public safety statistics, foreclosure rates, infrastructure needs as well as CDBG eligibility.

Previous Impact Initiative Neighborhoods:

Centralville: 2010
Lower Highlands: 2011
Back Central: 2012
Pawtucketville/Acre: 2013
  
 

Funding


A comprehensive, concentrated use of funds is designed to leverage other public and private investments and to create substantive and sustainable change.
  • City Budget and Capital Plans
  • Community Development Block Grant Program
  • State Chapter 90 Program

Project Departments


Project departments and areas include:
  • Business assistance and best retail practices incentives from Economic Development
  • Coordinated public safety attention from Police and Fire
  • Enhanced code and health inspections with Development Services
  • Public park improvements Parks Department
  • Street and sidewalk reconstruction by Public Works
  • Streetscape enhancements by Public Works

Project Elements


Some elements the project seeks to include are:
  • Business sign and facade design assistance and grants
  • Cultural and historic highlight
  • New green spaces/"islands"
  • Park playground, sports facility and passive recreational space improvements
  • Street and sidewalk paving
  • Street banners and planters
  • Traffic signal upgrades
  • Tree plantings