Clean Neighborhoods

NDNI ‘CLEAN NEIGHBORHOODS’ PROGRAM

 INTRODUCTION

 Neighborhoods in Detroit vary in condition. The distance between a well-maintained, stable area considered “safe” by residents can vary in the space of a few blocks or even less. This results in small “islands” of familiarity where residents feel they can interact and go about their daily lives. Like any urban environment (in America) in the past four or five years, the number of vacant properties in Detroit, Michigan has increased dramatically. Foreclosures in Detroit quadrupled since 2005, and this crisis accelerated abandonment and blight in a city dealing with long-term economic loss and population decline.  Suddenly the “islands” are smaller and connections decrease, as distant lending institutions and remote property owners replace the former committed neighbor and friend that used to occupy its space.

 The quality of property maintenance of residential structures has seen a subsequent decline. In spring 2008, Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative (NDNI) identified over 700 blighted and/or vacant residential structures that are public nuisances in six neighborhoods. In spring 2011, NDNI identified over 1,200 in the same six neighborhoods.

 The city of Detroit’s Building Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEE) has fought hard against this blight and neighborhood decline by aggressively boarding, condemning, and demolishing nuisance properties. The city has also worked with nonprofits and intermediaries to develop an organized communication strategy between neighborhood stakeholders and the city to target resources for boarding. In spite of these aggressive efforts, the economic conditions that have contributed to the increase in blight have taken their toll on local governments’ resources. Now, historically strong neighborhoods are seriously challenged and historically neglected neighborhoods are decimated.

 In an effort to improve neighborhood conditions and as part of NDNI’s neighborhood stabilization strategies, we aim to maximize BSEE’s ability to provide effective code education and enforcement for our neighborhoods of focus. We look to collaborate with community-based organizations to reconnect, empower and educate residents, improve neighborhood standards with visible results and coordinate efforts to maximize impact.

 The NDNI Clean Neighborhoods program incorporates clean up, blight removal and code education and, through community engagement, offers an environment for dialogue around neighborhood standards for city of Detroit residents.  As neighborhood conditions improve and the cooperative relationship with the city’s departments formed, we encourage citizen commitment and residential involvement in the maintenance and improvement of their quality of life.

Residents, block captains, street representatives and community-based organizations are intimately involved in their neighborhoods. We utilize their input and our mutually defined stabilization strategies to determine on-going work location priorities and to support neighborhood events with targeted blight removal and cleanups.

 For the pilot Clean Neighborhoods program, in summer 2009, NDNI and the East English Village Association (EEVA) coordinated with Educational Data Systems (EDSI) on a blight removal team for the Harper Avenue business corridor. After interviews and completed applications, an orientation provided training, work guidelines and safety parameters before launching the team of sixteen volunteers and two managers. That year and again in 2010, the pilot team disseminated code information, removed trash, painted graffiti and aggressively tackled overgrowth around abandoned residential and commercial properties.

 Concurrently in 2010, NDNI and EEVA developed “soft” enforcement tools that neighborhood level leadership could utilize to educate residents on neighborhood standards. These non-intrusive communications (doorknockers, reminder “tickets” and code information brochures) gave an opportunity to develop a dialogue between neighbors, remind residents of existing ordinances and convey the expectations of the association in terms of property maintenance and behavior.

 Beginning spring of 2011, new Clean Neighborhoods teams will launch in three additional neighborhood target areas. NDNI will contract with the Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit to train and employ Detroit residents to clean up commercial corridors and targeted residential areas through fall 2011.  NDNI Community Management staff is also coordinating with neighborhood leadership and organizational stakeholders to redevelop neighbor-to-neighbor connections and commitments, to extend and deepen networks and define Clean Neighborhood strategies tailored to their neighborhood.   

The leadership teams will recruit code “deputies” for an educational program combining panel discussions and small group workshops. Resources provided to those educated deputies include revised communication hangtags/ reminder tickets/books, waste cans and resource information to address violations. NDNI has also developed a relationship with Department of Administrative Hearings (DAH) in order to compare historical code ticket/infractions with data brought to bear from neighborhood reminders.  Analysis of old and new data will provide additional information for neighborhoods to identify block areas needing additional attention, outreach and subsequent enforcement.

The Clean Neighborhoods program dovetails with other NDNI initiatives and partnerships including Safety Management (improved neighborhood environments deter criminal activity), Home Repair and Weatherization (to assist homeowners unable to address blight or property maintenance violations and provide energy efficiency) and NDNI’s role as National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST) Area Coordinator/Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) partner (acquiring at-risk foreclosure properties in line with stabilization strategy to avoid property decline). Programs by city partners that complement our Clean Neighborhoods work include the DAH CARE (assistance for elderly and disabled), Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (MPRI) & educational partners (one-time/on-going volunteer crews), Community Legal Resources/Vacant Property Campaign (mini-grants and legal resources for class action nuisance abatement).

 PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

1.    Deepen and extend neighborhood association structures to ensure block level leadership, increased community engagement and volunteerism and to develop and environment for dialogue on differing maintenance values/standards.

2.    Provide multiple sources of education for residents and leaders on the city’s property maintenance codes, fines and resources.

3.    Provide tools and resources to empower residents to address blight and declining neighborhood standards.

4.    Improve communication between the city’s Buildings Safety Engineering and Environmental Department and Community Based Organizations (CBO), streamline complaints from four neighborhoods through bi-monthly reporting and map data to target enforcement efforts around highest priorities.

5.    Work with Community Development Corporation’s (CDC) to make code a priority in their neighborhood revitalization efforts.

6.    Explore and define the need for neighborhood-specific ordinances that reflect the historical nature and the current values of each neighborhood.

Specific tasks include:

·         Improve neighborhood aesthetics by removing litter and debris, graffiti, signs.

·         Bi-weekly cleaning of commercial corridors.

·         Weed and brush removal from vacant properties in target areas.

·         Maintenance of boulevard medians, neighborhood identification and landscaped areas, informational kiosks.

·         Coordinate an outreach campaign that utilizes existing neighborhood structure and communication tools, new media and interpersonal communication.

·         Coordinate neighborhood cleanups with bulk pick up by city of Detroit Public Works department.

·         Provide clean neighborhoods tools and literature to ‘neighborhood deputies’ and CBO’s.

·         Educate homeowners, renters and stakeholders on codes, fines and city process.

·         Identify ownership of all occupied and vacant homes and communicate property maintenance requirements to those owners.

·         Identify and report rental properties that are occupied but not maintained to minimum code standards.

·         Develop a process to send code and fine information to absent property owners and habitual violators of the sign ordinance.

·         Provide mentoring for individual owner-occupants to help them understand their responsibilities for maintaining their homes.  Assist, when possible, to make necessary repairs or refer to agencies that can provide assistance.

Morningside/East English Village

Seven Mile/Livernois (UDCA, Bagley, SFA, GWAC, PWA)

Grand River/Greenfield

NorthEnd/Boston Edison