Blog: Nikki Schippel

It would be an understatement to say that neighborhood revitalization efforts would be impossible without support from a cohesive and determined group of local residents and business owners. Quite frankly, the idea of revitalization wouldn’t reach the lips of local politicians if it weren’t for neighborhood residents and local grassroots organizations rallying together for a common goal.

The question is, “How do neighborhood leaders and grassroots organizations lead a successful revitalization effort in a very diverse community?”

While I may not have all the answers, I can recommend a style of engagement that helps break down barriers that inhibit communication between residents, including differences in race, ethnicity and income-level.

I have never run into a person that wasn’t interested in creating jobs, keeping a roof over their head and putting food on the table. I also haven’t met anyone disinterested in improvements that make their neighborhood and roads safer for their kids, or finding ways to kick back and enjoy the people in their lives that they love the most. 

I like to assume that these values transcend worldwide, but communication is key.

Cross-cultural differences certainly exist—and thank goodness! However, communication between residents increases when we remember that, despite our differences, the most fundamental human needs are the same regardless of where you come from or how much money you make. In creating conversation and showing compassion toward those elements of the human condition, communication and trust will likely increase and neighborly bonding will follow.

Much of my internship at Westside Alliance tends to be conveying a mouthful of information to the business owners and their employees. Whether I need to tell them about new developments regarding the road diet or clean ups, convince them to attend an event, a workshop, or to fill out a survey, or would like their window space for an advertisement, I have found my message goes much further if I first inquire about their day or catch up on what was going on in their lives last time I stopped in. The relationships I’ve formed as a result of this personal engagement give my work purpose.

I have found in my experience as an advocate for place-making along the Saginaw corridor, that if you want to connect with every resident in a neighborhood, you need to deliver your message by hitting on the needs and answering the concerns of each individual or group. If the point is to convey information in a way that garners support, you need to break down the technical terms and definitions and tell residents exactly why something matters to them.

And there isn’t a resident not worth reaching out to. After a low turnout rate at the first Design Lansing meeting for the Saginaw/Oakland corridor, I was told to organize groups throughout the entire Westside. As a result of our effort to reach the entire community, we achieved more than an 80 resident turnout. The groups provided a face for the information and residents were able to ask questions about the meeting and the proposed corridor changes in a way that pertained to them.

Methods of instigating communication and bringing residents together can include affordable family events and youth-based projects such as creating public art, performing community service, or creating excitement in local schools with a garden program.

The 2008 Westside Summer Fest drew an incredibly diverse crowd of 5,000 people. This day of family and friends truly celebrated community and diversity, and according to the Lansing State Journal, helped move the neighborhood beyond its negative reputation from the past—a community-driven improvement in itself! The Westside neighborhood also engaged young people by asking them to create an update Westside mural.

The ideas behind successful revitalization efforts, as I have seen so far from my internship and life experiences, is to increase communication and interaction between members of the community, and to remember that every single citizen counts in moving an idea forward—not just those that read the newspaper everyday.