tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6337493758769155762024-02-19T03:29:34.306-06:00Community BeatNo single thing can make a neighborhood stronger and healthier. Effective community development – comprehensive development – takes many hundreds of things, and many people and organizations.Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-41385173080919584642010-10-08T08:54:00.004-05:002010-10-08T09:06:06.447-05:00Three more portals for Smart CommunitiesThe three Southwest neighborhoods in Chicago's Smart Communities program launched their portals yesterday, creating a wide new avenue for interaction among residents, businesses and organizations.They are works in progress, with some empty spaces yet to fill, but already the portals offer new stories and photos highlighting activities not easily found elsewhere on the web.Check them out:Auburn Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-66254644771794840812010-10-01T09:13:00.002-05:002010-10-01T09:19:25.053-05:00Peirce on DaleySyndicated state and local government columnist Neal Peirce's recent summary of Mayor Daley's legacy on the Citistates site will seem fawning to Daley's critics. There is only a brief mention at the end about patronage and corruption, and no mention at all about the privatization controversies that have plagued the latter part of the mayor's tenure, most particularly the parking meter fiasco. Ed Finkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520960177735872978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-56594205344102567992010-08-26T15:45:00.003-05:002010-08-26T15:57:48.145-05:00Preview: Humboldt Park Launches Its PortalIt's still a work in progress, according to the team that made it happen, but the Humboldt Park Portal, a day after its "soft" launch, looks pretty good to me. It features a nice selection of stories from various contributors and organizations, a packed calendar (Movies in the Park, Jens Jensen birthday bus tour, CeaseFire Late Night Run), and plenty of photos, directory listings and links to Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-15626822559085682192010-07-12T10:54:00.003-05:002010-07-12T11:11:37.711-05:00Take a Tour of Pilsen - by Video or PhoneWe've written here before about how neighborhoods are using multimedia tools to promote their work and their neighborhoods, but couldn't have imagined, even six months ago, how far the groups would come, and how fast.Audio slideshows are now available for 10 neighborhoods as part of the Chicago Community Showcase project, funded by the 2016 Fund for Chicago Neighborhoods and Boeing Company. The Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-48677784366289772772010-06-21T14:10:00.006-05:002010-06-21T14:30:36.781-05:00Front-Yard Signs Call Out Banks on ForeclosuresSouthwest Organizing Project (SWOP) is "naming names" of banks that are foreclosing on properties on Chicago's Southwest Side, where 7,300 foreclosures have been filed over two years in four area ZIP Codes. The bank names are prominently featured on yard signs that say "Deutsch Bank (or Citibank or JP Morgan Chase or Bank of America) failed this neighborhood through foreclosures."First Business Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-74089451926955049812010-06-16T09:39:00.008-05:002010-06-21T14:31:30.984-05:00Pro-quality Music Video from Crane High StudentsVery impressive!The music video below looks like something from a record-label's studio, but it was created and produced by 12 students at Crane Tech Prep High School in Chicago's West Haven neighborhood. The project was a joint effort between the students; their teacher "Gravity," owner of OOO Multimedium; After School Matters; and the Near West Side Community Development Corp."The idea was to Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-51312006161204037382010-04-28T14:17:00.005-05:002010-04-28T14:53:56.976-05:00South Chicago Does Green in a Big WayLots of communities and individuals talk about "being green," but few can show as much actual green activity as the former steel mill community of South Chicago, which in May will host 80 green-oriented events from habitat restoration and urban farming to tours, youth programs, cycling events and health activities. It's a structured month-long calendar put together by community organizations Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-49931566871455187762010-04-02T10:01:00.007-05:002010-04-02T18:57:45.621-05:00Neighborhoods Take the Offensive on Affordable Housing(Rendering of proposed building at 3230 W. Armitage Ave., from the Zapata Apartments web site)The Zapata Apartments development, three buildings with 66 affordable residential units and ground-floor commercial space, seems to a lot of people like a very good idea. Filling vacant spaces on and near Armitage Avenue and providing a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, the Zapata project Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-7490567899390449812010-03-26T12:44:00.006-05:002010-03-26T13:14:07.154-05:00Humboldt Park Takes Lead Role on TechLeaders in Humboldt Park are serious about bringing a digital culture to their community.One of five designated "Smart Communities" in Chicago – neighborhoods that just yesterday were awarded a $7 million federal grant for broadband adoption – Humboldt Park put together the video below to pitch for another special project, the Google Fiber initiative that will bring ultra-fast internet speeds to Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-90253840512286278952010-03-25T16:22:00.003-05:002010-03-25T16:39:49.444-05:00¡La Villita Cuenta! Video Pitches the 2010 CountLittle Village is serious about capturing all the public money it can. With a series of interviews of local leaders, it makes the case to residents that every person counted will make a big difference in how much money is allocated locally -- the equivalent over 10 years of another top-notch facility like Little Village Lawndale High School.The leaders repeatedly stress that Census data is Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-38945282428013718712010-03-01T11:33:00.003-06:002010-03-01T12:01:20.979-06:00The How and Why of Comprehensive DevelopmentHow does comprehensive community development actually get done? What's involved and how long does it take? How do politics, funding, and local rivalries factor in?Those questions and others will be the focus of a new web site launched Friday by the Institute for Comprehensive Community Development. A brand-new venture of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Institute is targeted to Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-44111947299590684552010-01-28T11:20:00.004-06:002010-01-28T11:55:39.252-06:00Big Boosts Coming for Neighborhood Small & Micro BizIn last night's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama pledged $30 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to community banks for small business loans. Chicago is ahead of the curve on this one, to a smaller tune. Last November, City Treasurer Stephanie Neely announced the city would devote $5 million of Skyway lease funds to a loan fund for microenterprises--business Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-36994985935739814222010-01-21T17:18:00.004-06:002010-01-22T14:23:41.099-06:00School-Community Partnerships for Extended LearningCatalyst Chicago just published a great set of stories on how Chicago might extend its abysmally short school day and year. The lead story shows how Marquette Elementary extended the day for its middle school students by one hour with money from Elev8.To add real time to the system would require a generous infusion of cash. District officials and local nonprofits like the Academy for Urban Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-67213915662524415642010-01-13T08:42:00.003-06:002010-01-14T03:29:53.141-06:00Stimulus, Neighborhoods and SchoolsA couple of recent news items from the Chicago Public schools related to stimulus spending have caught my attention. First, today's hot CPS story is the announcement of details about the district's $30 million, stimulus-funded plan to reduce youth violence. WBEZ's Linda Lutton did a good overall piece on it, which you can read or listen to here. Back in September when the plan was first announcedMaureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-8870264035838346332009-12-23T01:07:00.010-06:002009-12-23T15:05:37.210-06:00Broadband, Narrow MindsI've been on this Earth and around this town long enough that virulent sourness about what sounds to my ears like positive lifting up of poor people and communities of color rarely surprises me too much. Even so, I had a hard time swallowing the anger expressed in many of the comments following the Chicago Tribune's article about Mayor Daley's Dec. 21 announcement about the city's attempt to seekEd Finkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520960177735872978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-91634260532249152142009-12-22T12:40:00.003-06:002009-12-22T12:49:31.276-06:00Changing the Face of Science, One Neighborhood at a TimeI've blogged here before about the idea of community science workshops where neighborhood kids and families could go mess around, build rockets, and so forth. Earlier today my friend Gabrielle Lyon took the idea a few steps farther in an op-ed piece on the Huffington Post. Gabe is the co-founder of Project Exploration, which expands access to science byconnecting minority youth and girls with Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-6147207856771863342009-11-24T16:16:00.002-06:002009-11-24T17:01:03.940-06:00A Couple LinksI thought these unrelated links would be of some interest to the Community Beat community:* National syndicated columnist Neal Peirce of Washington Post Writers Group covered innovative methods to combat youth violence, with a nod toward Chicago's CeaseFire program. http://citiwire.net/post/1480/* The MacArthur Foundation has posted a video of Adolfo Carrion, urban affairs director for the Obama Ed Finkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01520960177735872978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-830362403395876962009-10-19T09:29:00.004-05:002009-10-19T13:10:32.617-05:00Marquette Students Tour the "Information Neighborhood"Tomorrow afternoon, Trib columnist Clarence Page will visit Marquette Elementary to talk with middle schoolers about the news business and why news is important. About 150 6th-graders have been gearing up for the visit by studying a curriculum developed by the News Literacy Project. Last week Chicago coordinator Peter Adams told me about one of their activities--exploring the "information Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-89571806545824524322009-10-02T12:14:00.006-05:002009-10-02T22:33:54.919-05:00Life After 2016Well, Chicagoans, by now you know we didn't get the bid. But take heart, we've made a splash on the world stage and we're still a great city to come and visit, or to be a tourist in your own town. Mark you calendars for October 10, when the Burnham Plan Centennial will sponsor a new round of community showcase tours.Our friend Mandy Burrell Booth at Metropolitan Planning Commission put it well, Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-29278991105012297212009-09-07T21:21:00.003-05:002009-09-07T21:35:09.252-05:00Bringing Retail to Underserved NeighborhoodsIn case you missed it, LISC/Chicago was featured in a September 1 WBEZ story about "retail leakage" on Chicago's South Side. YOu can check it out here. The lack of retail on the South Side is a well-known phenomenon; what isn't so well-known--and what LISC regularly points out--is that South Side and other city low-income communities have more spending power than suburbs full of retailers.The Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-17759545706215980842009-08-10T15:43:00.003-05:002009-08-10T16:15:54.698-05:00Gardens Take the Prize in Great Places ContestThe voting has just begun for the "What Makes Your Place Great" contest that Mike Quinlan alerted us to in an earlier post, but the winner – or rather a category of winners – is already clear from the 40 entries in the photo-and-essay contest. It's gardens, and I don't mean formal places like Millennium Park or any of the other very nice park spaces that people nominated.The "great places" that Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-27907070554900179872009-08-06T13:32:00.002-05:002009-08-06T13:35:29.081-05:00Growing Home on CLTVThere was a nice clip on CLTV recently featuring Growing Home's urban farm at 58th and Wood St. Check it out: Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-24222767461770005422009-08-04T15:42:00.004-05:002009-08-05T11:35:17.018-05:00Win a Free Bike!If you, like me, missed Open Streets last Saturday, you might still want to take your shot at winning a free bicycle. Bicycling Magazine will be giving away free bikes on August 14. To enter the contest, all you have to do is submit a very short essay about how a new bike could change your life. You can submit your essay here. Bicycling's Lois Moss sent a message today saying she had gathered a Maureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-42636420489387669622009-07-28T08:54:00.003-05:002009-07-28T09:12:16.350-05:00More Hoops in More HoodsWhile B-Ball on the Block is taking Little Village by storm, Back of the Yards is also getting in on the basketball action. Over at the Neighborhood Sports Chicago web site, Cristobal Martinez has a report with photos from last Friday night's action at 48th and Marshfield. This is the first year Back of the Yards has had a full-scale Hoops in the Hood Friday night basketball league with food, funMaureen Kelleherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06919817829347660556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-633749375876915576.post-89902926226208756122009-07-25T20:44:00.008-05:002009-07-25T21:33:50.080-05:00Youth Noise: B-Ball on the Block Is BackGot an email from Cesar Nuñez this morning turning me on to a $500 fundraising challenge for Beyond the Ball, the group that's using basketball and soccer to bring youth onto the streets on Friday evenings in Little Village and North Lawndale. BBall on the Block has been going for three years now and it's great to see that they're still innovating – adding soccer, for instance – and that they've Patrick Barryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12109856160393980550noreply@blogger.com5