For Release Friday, November 13, 2009
Citiwire.net
Regional and neighborhood efforts are typically viewed as opposite challenges. Regional initiatives focus on large-scale systems, while local initiatives are targeted, place-based and personal. Are these two distinct realities? Or two sides of the same coin?
After the federal recovery act passed, Kansas City-area Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II proposed creating a Green Impact Zone to intensify the impact of federal funds. The idea was quickly embraced, and efforts are now underway to bring a highly coordinated set of investments to a single, low-income neighborhood of 150 blocks and 8,500 people in the heart of Kansas City. It’s an area that has endured decades of disinvestment but it has assets including well-organized neighborhood organizations and proximity to universities and tourist districts.
Unexpectedly, Rep. Cleaver asked the Mid-America Regional Council--the metropolitan planning organization–to take the lead in coordinating dozens of neighborhood, city and community agencies to implement the Green Impact Zone. He turned to MARC because of our experience in supporting collaborative efforts, our work in relevant areas such as energy and transportation, and our ability to mobilize quickly and manage federal grants effectively. Read More