Neighborhoods First
Aspiring not just to improve places - but to improve lives.
Neighborhoods First is a comprehensive approach to neighborhood revitalization that uses an innovative planning process – quality of life planning - as a central tool for improving San Diego neighborhoods. It is guided by three principles:
- Comprehensiveness: Neighborhood dynamics are complex, with issues and
challenges inextricably woven together. With Neighborhoods First Quality of Life
Planning, the social, economic and civic fabric of a neighborhood is planned and
developed hand-in-hand with physical development. By addressing neighborhood
challenges and opportunities in a strategic, coordinated, and comprehensive
fashion, Neighborhoods First looks to catalyze sustainable neighborhood
improvement.
- Stakeholder Driven: Neighborhoods First adheres to an abiding
conviction that neighborhood residents are experts on the challenges facing
their communities. Moreover, these same residents, when provided an opportunity
and the appropriate resources, are best-positioned to chart the course for a
better future.
- Action Oriented: Neighborhoods First maintains a keen eye toward implementation - identifying tangible projects that are guided by a collaborative vision, achievable in the near term, and accountable to a responsible party committed to seeing it through. Accountability is coupled with access to resources like early action grants, technical assistance and loan financing to inspire action.
San Diego LISC is launching Neighborhoods First as a pilot initiative in two San Diego neighborhoods: Logan Heights/Memorial, and Colina Park. The two neighborhoods receive the following support from San Diego LISC:
- Operating support and LISC Americorps members to provide staffing at neighborhood organizations for the Neighborhoods First planning and implementation efforts.
- Professional consultants with urban planning and facilitation expertise to guide the quality of life planning process.
- Early action grant funds to seed visible and short term projects
- Access to LISC’s $55 million loan pool, providing flexible funding for real estate development projects.
- Technical assistance to advance quality of life plan projects.
In Logan Heights/Memorial, the Neighborhoods First initiative will be led by MAAC Project and Justice Overcoming Boundaries (JOB). In Colina Park, the Neighborhoood First effort will be led by City Heights CDC. Known as "convening agencies" in the respective neighborhoods, MAAC Project/JOB and City Heights CDC are responsible for convening diverse neighborhood stakeholders to participate in the Neighborhoods First initiative.
The two pilot neighborhoods are described briefly below.
Logan Heights and Memorial:
The Logan Heights and Memorial neighborhoods have been traditional enclaves for some of San Diego's ethnic and minority communities. Originally home to a sizable African American community, Logan Heights and Memorial are now more than 85 percent Latino. Cultural appeal, relatively affordable housing, and proximity to jobs and transit lured thousands of Latino residents back to these neighborhoods after the disruption and displacement caused by the construction of the Coronado Bay Bridge in the 1960s. However, comprising 10 percent of the population, the African American community
maintains a significant presence in these neighborhoods, with many traditionally
African American churches serving as important institutions in the area.
Long an affordable enclave for working class families, the affordability and cultural identity of these neighborhoods are again at-risk. Located a stone’s throw from downtown’s Petco Park and subsequent East Village redevelopment, market pressures are marching swiftly toward these neighborhoods, threatening the way of life for longstanding and lower-income residents.
While COMM22, a planned transit-oriented development, promises to bring more than 200 affordable homes, an employment center, bank branch and community-serving retail uses to the neighborhood, there is more work to be done. With Neighborhoods First, Logan Heights and Memorial residents will be challenged to envision and strategize a future where longtime residents are able to participate in, and benefit from, the new opportunities and new investment headed its way.
Logan Heights and Memorial Target Area | ||
| Population | ||
| Population | 14,190 | Up slightly since 1990 |
| Population 18 years old and under | 40% | Compared to 24% in city |
| Racial/Ethnic makeup | 86% Latino 10% Afr. Amer | Steady since 1990 |
| Foreign-born Population | 45% | |
| Housing | ||
| Housing units | 3,699 | Steady since 1990 |
| Owner-occupied housing | 28% | Steady since 1990 |
| Overcrowded units | 49% | |
| Income/Other | ||
| Households below poverty level | 34% | Down slightly since 1990 |
| Median household income | $22,907 | 54% less than city-wide median |
| Households with no vehicles | 29% | |
Sometimes referred to as Little Mogadishu due to a large Somali community, Colina Park is much more diverse that this moniker reveals. In fact, the Latino, Vietnamese and African business names along University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard reveal the truly multi-cultural population enveloped between its commercial spines.
Indeed, Colina Park is a neighborhood where many new Americans get their start. Relatively affordable housing, extended family networks, and cultural connections attract immigrant families looking to establish new lives in a new country. While Latinos are Colina Park’s largest ethnic group, East African and Southeast Asian immigrants have established sizable communities here. However, statistics and anecdotes reveal a neighborhood viewed as a stepping stone, not a place to grow roots.
Meanwhile, recent affordability strains have caused more and more people to crowd into Colina Park’s already crowded units – a stopgap measure likely to have exhausted its limited capacity. In fact, the recent population explosion in Colina Park stands in contrast to relatively modest housing growth (28% versus 2%). In Neighborhoods First, Colina Park residents will be challenged to envision the neighborhood’s future role – whether a stepping stone, a place to grow roots, or both – and to devise the strategies to achieve that vision.
Colina Park Target Area | ||
| Population | ||
| Population | 13,711 | Up 28% since 1990 |
| Population 18 years old and under | 40% | Compared to 24% in city |
| Racial/Ethnic makeup | 50% Latino 21% Asian 16% Afr. Amer. | |
| Foreign-born population | 54% | |
| Housing | ||
| Housing units | 3,945 | Up 2% since 1990 |
| Owner-occupied housing | 5.0% | Steady since 1990 |
| Over-crowded units | 53% | |
| Income/Other | ||
| Households below poverty | 43% | Up 14% since 1990 |
| Median household income | $18,151 | 60% less than city-wide median |
| Households with no vehicles | 32% | |
Neighborhoods First is funded in part by a grant from the Ariel W. Coggeshall fund; The San Diego Foundation Community Endowment Fund; and the Border Philanthropy Partnership Fund of The San Diego Foundation.