by Lukas Dziatkowski
Neighborhood beatification is a serious issue that it often overlooked despite its grave importance. In many cities neighborhood beatification goes unaddressed because it is unlike societal issues such as hunger and crime that affect the public directly. However, even though community appearance does not affect the public directly, its indirect affect is just as important and its effects are just as severe. North Limestone CDC is a local non-profit organization with the mission of making the North Limestone neighborhood more livable. Through my work with North Limestone CDC I have begun to understand the imperative need for neighborhood beautification and the vast effects it has on the community. Neighborhood beautification and community involvement are crucial foundations of society and should be of greater priority due to the fiscal impact, benefits of unity, and importance of sustainability.
North Limestone CDC focuses on the issue of “livability.” Livability is essentially the way that a neighborhood and its environment meet the needs of its inhabitants. North Limestone CDC has pinpointed the ways that they believe will most benefit the North Limestone corridor of Lexington and make it more livable. Offering affordable housing, enhancing public space, coordinating cultural programming, and increasing access to social services are just a few of the ways that they are helping to improve the North Limestone area of Lexington (nolicdc.com). I have had the opportunity to work with Richard Young and the rest of the North Limestone CDC team and get a glimpse of what they are doing to improve Lexington. The projects that they have created have opened my eyes to the necessity of neighborhood beautification and community involvement as well as the reasons it is such a vital component of society.
The fiscal and economic impacts of neighborhood beatification are unavoidable. An attractive community attracts business investments and adds to home values, which is proven to bring more inhabitants (www.useful-community-development.org). The greater the number of inhabitants in an area, the more economic activity and the more consumerism there is, the more successful the businesses will be. It creates a cycle, where there is one there is the other, and where one succeeds, so does the other.
One way that North Limestone addresses the idea of fiscal and economic impact is with LuigART Makers Spaces. LuigART Markers Spaces is “an affordable homeownership and equity program designed around live/work spaces.” What North Limestone is doing is renovating around thirty shotgun style homes for longtime residents, artists and entrepreneurs. Figure 1 shows the deconstruction process. The image on the far left is of the house in its original condition and as we work our way right we can see the improvements that North Limestone CDC is making to this neighborhood. These homes will be sold for below market value to make them affordable for the North Limestone residents with hopes that there will be an increase of homeowners in the area. North Limestone CDC is also working to pass legislation that will allow artist to work and sell from there home, (which is currently illegal) allowing them to be more successful and self-sufficient (nolicdc.com).
Another way that North Limestone CDC is working to improve the economic condition of the North Limestone corridor is with their Northside Pride Coffee project. North Limestone CDC “partnered with Magic Beans Coffee Roasters to make Northside Pride Coffee.” 50% of the proceeds from Northside Pride go towards micro-grants that are available to anyone who lives in the North Limestone (Northside) area. These grants are for local entrepreneurs to help jump-start their business, or help out in anyway possible (nolicdc.com)
The major reason that community involvement is so important is because it leads to unity within the community. Societal participation leads to the implementation of policies and programs that can affect the quality of life within a community. A study was done in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania that examined the relationship between citizen involvement and the sense of community. Results showed that cities with greater citizen involvement had a much greater sense of community (http://swr.oxfordjournals.org). This seems like common sense but it is so often forgotten how much of an impact community involvement has. A major way that North Limestone CDC is working to improve community involvement is through their Night Market project. The Night Market is essentially a big street party (see Figure 2). There is music and food and drinks but most importantly, there are many local venders with booths selling their products to the public. Not only does this help local businesses both get their name out and contribute to sales but it also brings the community together (nolicdc.com). The appeal of the party side of the Night Market brings more than just people from the Northside community, this allows people from all over Lexington to contribute to the mission of North Limestone CDC as well as getting their name out there and raising awareness of the overall issue of neighborhood beautification and community involvement.
Neighborhood sustainability is simply making a neighborhood more environmentally sound. North Limestone CDC has placed a huge focus on neighborhood sustainability. The have set up programs such as community gardens, neighborhood clean up events, and lobbying for streetscape grants. They also incorporate sustainability into their LuigART Makers Spaces by making sure the houses that they build are energy efficient (nolicdc.com). North Limestone CDC is not the only organization that has this same goal in mind however. Organizations all over America have set up similar projects to help their neighborhoods as well. Rob Bennett, the executive director of the nonprofit Portland Sustainability Institute has started a project that will enable all neighborhoods to be powered by their own micro-solar or geothermal grids (grist.org).
North Limestone CDC has made it their mission to make the North Limestone corridor of Lexington more livable. Through their projects such as the night market, LuigART Markers Spaces, community gardens, and Northside Coffee, they are working towards their goal of the North Limestone neighborhood of Lexington, Kentucky. Thankfully North Limestone CDC is not the only organization that has placed a large focus on the importance of neighborhood beautification and it is, therefore, becoming a more widely known issue. With the help of such organizations more people will become informed about how neighborhood beautification can affect society in such a positive way and develop a passion for it just as I have.
References:
Beautification of Your Community Matters. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://www.useful-community-development.org/beautification.html
Social Work Research. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://swr.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/2/109.short#cited-by
(2014, January 1). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://nolicdc.com
Livability reconsidered, locally defined. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/michael-kaiser/36805/livability-reconsidered-locally-defined
The next small thing: How sustainable neighborhoods could reshape cities. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://grist.org/cities/2011-11-29-the-next-small-thing-how-neighborhood-level-sustainability-effor/
Figure 2: http://nolicdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/nm_6.jpg
Figure 1: http://nolicdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/original1.jpg
Neighborhood beatification is a serious issue that it often overlooked despite its grave importance. In many cities neighborhood beatification goes unaddressed because it is unlike societal issues such as hunger and crime that affect the public directly. However, even though community appearance does not affect the public directly, its indirect affect is just as important and its effects are just as severe. North Limestone CDC is a local non-profit organization with the mission of making the North Limestone neighborhood more livable. Through my work with North Limestone CDC I have begun to understand the imperative need for neighborhood beautification and the vast effects it has on the community. Neighborhood beautification and community involvement are crucial foundations of society and should be of greater priority due to the fiscal impact, benefits of unity, and importance of sustainability.
North Limestone CDC focuses on the issue of “livability.” Livability is essentially the way that a neighborhood and its environment meet the needs of its inhabitants. North Limestone CDC has pinpointed the ways that they believe will most benefit the North Limestone corridor of Lexington and make it more livable. Offering affordable housing, enhancing public space, coordinating cultural programming, and increasing access to social services are just a few of the ways that they are helping to improve the North Limestone area of Lexington (nolicdc.com). I have had the opportunity to work with Richard Young and the rest of the North Limestone CDC team and get a glimpse of what they are doing to improve Lexington. The projects that they have created have opened my eyes to the necessity of neighborhood beautification and community involvement as well as the reasons it is such a vital component of society.
The fiscal and economic impacts of neighborhood beatification are unavoidable. An attractive community attracts business investments and adds to home values, which is proven to bring more inhabitants (www.useful-community-development.org). The greater the number of inhabitants in an area, the more economic activity and the more consumerism there is, the more successful the businesses will be. It creates a cycle, where there is one there is the other, and where one succeeds, so does the other.
One way that North Limestone addresses the idea of fiscal and economic impact is with LuigART Makers Spaces. LuigART Markers Spaces is “an affordable homeownership and equity program designed around live/work spaces.” What North Limestone is doing is renovating around thirty shotgun style homes for longtime residents, artists and entrepreneurs. Figure 1 shows the deconstruction process. The image on the far left is of the house in its original condition and as we work our way right we can see the improvements that North Limestone CDC is making to this neighborhood. These homes will be sold for below market value to make them affordable for the North Limestone residents with hopes that there will be an increase of homeowners in the area. North Limestone CDC is also working to pass legislation that will allow artist to work and sell from there home, (which is currently illegal) allowing them to be more successful and self-sufficient (nolicdc.com).
Another way that North Limestone CDC is working to improve the economic condition of the North Limestone corridor is with their Northside Pride Coffee project. North Limestone CDC “partnered with Magic Beans Coffee Roasters to make Northside Pride Coffee.” 50% of the proceeds from Northside Pride go towards micro-grants that are available to anyone who lives in the North Limestone (Northside) area. These grants are for local entrepreneurs to help jump-start their business, or help out in anyway possible (nolicdc.com)
The major reason that community involvement is so important is because it leads to unity within the community. Societal participation leads to the implementation of policies and programs that can affect the quality of life within a community. A study was done in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania that examined the relationship between citizen involvement and the sense of community. Results showed that cities with greater citizen involvement had a much greater sense of community (http://swr.oxfordjournals.org). This seems like common sense but it is so often forgotten how much of an impact community involvement has. A major way that North Limestone CDC is working to improve community involvement is through their Night Market project. The Night Market is essentially a big street party (see Figure 2). There is music and food and drinks but most importantly, there are many local venders with booths selling their products to the public. Not only does this help local businesses both get their name out and contribute to sales but it also brings the community together (nolicdc.com). The appeal of the party side of the Night Market brings more than just people from the Northside community, this allows people from all over Lexington to contribute to the mission of North Limestone CDC as well as getting their name out there and raising awareness of the overall issue of neighborhood beautification and community involvement.
Neighborhood sustainability is simply making a neighborhood more environmentally sound. North Limestone CDC has placed a huge focus on neighborhood sustainability. The have set up programs such as community gardens, neighborhood clean up events, and lobbying for streetscape grants. They also incorporate sustainability into their LuigART Makers Spaces by making sure the houses that they build are energy efficient (nolicdc.com). North Limestone CDC is not the only organization that has this same goal in mind however. Organizations all over America have set up similar projects to help their neighborhoods as well. Rob Bennett, the executive director of the nonprofit Portland Sustainability Institute has started a project that will enable all neighborhoods to be powered by their own micro-solar or geothermal grids (grist.org).
North Limestone CDC has made it their mission to make the North Limestone corridor of Lexington more livable. Through their projects such as the night market, LuigART Markers Spaces, community gardens, and Northside Coffee, they are working towards their goal of the North Limestone neighborhood of Lexington, Kentucky. Thankfully North Limestone CDC is not the only organization that has placed a large focus on the importance of neighborhood beautification and it is, therefore, becoming a more widely known issue. With the help of such organizations more people will become informed about how neighborhood beautification can affect society in such a positive way and develop a passion for it just as I have.
References:
Beautification of Your Community Matters. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://www.useful-community-development.org/beautification.html
Social Work Research. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://swr.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/2/109.short#cited-by
(2014, January 1). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://nolicdc.com
Livability reconsidered, locally defined. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/michael-kaiser/36805/livability-reconsidered-locally-defined
The next small thing: How sustainable neighborhoods could reshape cities. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://grist.org/cities/2011-11-29-the-next-small-thing-how-neighborhood-level-sustainability-effor/
Figure 2: http://nolicdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/nm_6.jpg
Figure 1: http://nolicdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/original1.jpg