 The city's first neighborhood improvement program set aside $2.56 million for Stop 6 Cavill Place, an east side neighborhood that had a 40% poverty rate. After taking a bus tour and hosting six community meetings, council members and staff learned which projects residents wanted most. Beginning in 2017, the city added more than 300 new street lights to make the neighborhood safer at night. City cameras installed at key locations helped reduce crime by providing police with evidence and leads. Vacant houses like this one had attracted vagrants or worse. In all, 20 dilapidated buildings were demolished, eliminating barriers for redevelopment. It is a godsend. The city is beautiful because we are seeing the development that has not been in ages. We have not had this kind of development for our community and for the people who live in our community. The city also cleaned up dozens of abandoned buildings and put them back on the market. The city added 278 tons of brush and trash from right of ways, trimmed or removed 373 dead and hazardous trees, and cleared more than 180 tons of litter and illegal dump sites. The city also installed 7,500 linear feet of new sidewalks, making it safer for children to walk to school. And dozens of new curb ramps allow residents of all ages and abilities to get around better. City center and park improvements included fresh paint, additional lighting, new playground equipment, benches and walking trails at neighborhood parks. The results? A 32% decrease in the area crime rate and a 126% increase in building permit values. That's more than $4.8 million of private investment. In many cases, stop six property owners returned to the neighborhood to build on lots that had been in their families for years. The closing and demolition of the 1950s era Cavill Place public housing project was a key factor in choosing stop six for improvements. Thanks to a $35 million federal grant, Cavill will be replaced with new mixed income apartments and retail spaces. Leveraging such outside resources for maximum impact has become a hallmark of the city's neighborhood improvement program. For 2018, the city identified the near south side neighborhood of Ash Crescent as needing help. Half of residents here lived at or below poverty level and unemployment was twice the Fort Worth average. The city allocated $2.7 million to help revitalize. Here there was no established neighborhood association, so crews went door to door inviting residents to a community meeting at a neighborhood church. Residents talked one on one with city staff, learning what was possible and asking questions. Then residents filled out written surveys and placed sticky dots to indicate what they needed and wanted most. Residents were also mailed to each home. Their top priorities, better lighting to prevent vandalism and other crime, and help cleaning up the neighborhood. They put the cameras up, they cut the trees, they cleaned up the alleyways, they mowed all the vacant lots and cleaned up, you know, picked up around the area. Well, I've seen more polices driving by and I've seen a lot of trash being picked up by the city. Before overgrown trees and brush made this street nearly impassable. Before and after city crews cleaned up illegal dump sites. Before and after demolishing substandard buildings to make way for new homes. Neighborhood services also helped 22 families apply for funds to repair their homes. More than $250,000 in federal money helped replace dangerous gas heaters, install air conditioning and treat lead based paint. But improvements were more than just physical. The city helped neighbors build community too. Neighbors met their mayor and council person at a walking town hall meeting followed by a community carnival where children played on an obstacle course built by volunteers, got fitted for new bike helmets, or just relaxed with free donated books. The city has done their part, but it's up to us to keep it up, you know, we can't expect the city to do everything. That can-do spirit led to creation of a new neighborhood association. With city help, neighbors organized and held their first litter cleanup and membership continues to grow. They're coming because they're interested. Once they hear about it, they see it's legit. I think it's becoming infectious, so it's growing. The results? An 18% drop in crime in Ash Crescent and a 300% increase in dollars invested in the neighborhood, including both new construction and remodeling of existing single family homes. In 2019, the city brought its neighborhood improvement program to the north side, setting aside more than $3 million for improvements to a one and a half square mile area. The Spanish language outreach was the key in this mostly Hispanic community. In addition to working closely with an established neighborhood association, the city used dual language flyers, videos, and Facebook posts to help draw more than 150 neighbors to a community meeting. Residents told leaders what they wanted most. I'm hoping they put more sidewalks up, more community parts. We have a three-year-old grandson, you know, we'd like to have him be able to go on the sidewalks and ride his bike. My husband is a soccer, he volunteers as a soccer team coach here. We could definitely use some lights for them to practice at night. Residents completed a written survey and voted with stickers for their top concerns. The results helped the city prioritize its work. Help with home repairs was one of the biggest needs. Most homes in the neighborhood are 50 to 100 years old. They were houses that were need painting, they were, you know, down to the bare wood. The city connected residents of 30 homes with grants for emergency repairs, protection from lead-based paint, and projects that made older houses more energy efficient. Other priorities included cleanup and safety. City crews trimmed trees and brush along more than 300 lane miles of neighborhood streets and contracted with an agency that pays homeless people to pick up litter. Code officers focused on education rather than tickets. Once residents knew the rules and understood the health hazards, most cleaned up their property on their own with no citations issued. City crews repaired damaged streets and sidewalks and replaced dead trees and right-of-ways. Electrical contractors repaired street lamps up and down a popular double boulevard that defines and spans the neighborhood. Residents also wanted information. Perhaps because of a language barrier or fear of engaging with government officials, many northside residents were unaware of city programs designed to help them. The city coordinated a series of well-attended workshops in both English and Spanish on topics such as crime prevention, property taxes, code compliance and more. Such workshops are now standard offerings when the Neighborhood Improvement Program moves to a new area. The results? The northside crime rate is down 23 percent while building permit values increased 67 percent. In 2020, the city chose Rosemont and designated $3.1 million for neighborhood improvements. More than 30 percent of Rosemont residents live below the poverty line and median income is about $36,000. Just a year earlier, residents formed a neighborhood association inviting English and Spanish-speaking neighbors to a Cinco de Mayo celebration. The event sign-in sheet revealed most residents used Facebook, so the association launched its own Facebook page and has enjoyed a high level of engagement, even during the pandemic. Las Familias de Rosemont, or Families of Rosemont, shares city info and surveys with members and even hosts city public meetings live on Facebook. I also want to thank the Las Familias de Rosemont Neighborhood Association for allowing us to be able to use our platform through Facebook Live to be able to reach as many neighbors as we can. That's how the city learned that substandard buildings were a big concern in Rosemont. The city identified eight hazardous and 34 substandard buildings and ordered demolition of those that could not be made safe. Illegal dumping was also a major concern. The city removed 158 tons from illegal dump sites and littered right-of-ways. The city also upgraded more than 250 neighborhood streetlights, adding midblock poles where needed for safety. Facebook is still underway, but results already show a 19 percent drop in crime. Building permit values are down 23 percent, probably because of the pandemic shutdowns. Rosemont was also the first neighborhood to benefit from an innovative program that extends the city's free public Wi-Fi signal into areas with little internet access. An installed on existing utility poles uses radio signals to relay Wi-Fi from community centers and other city buildings into the neighborhood. All five neighborhood improvement areas are now receiving the service, giving residents access to online classes, job applications and city services. Internet access is now one of several criteria for choosing new improvement areas each year.