Browse By Policies & Programs

• Streets

  Potholes/Street Defects

  While streets in disrepair might seem like the least of an urban neighborhood’s problems, they contribute to a sense by residents of those neighborhoods that they have been forgotten by the government. Incomplete or inefficient road repairs also pose a danger to children and disrupt traffic and bus routes.

   

  Sidewalks

  Again, broken sidewalks are an everyday reminder that the city doesn’t care about a neighborhood, and limit the mobility of families with children and strollers as well as those with physical disabilities. Sidewalks can be strewn with litter, drug paraphernalia, graffiti and even evidence of violence, reinforcing the message that the area is unsafe.

   

   Trash and Recycling

  Some participants use the example of littering to explain a persistent “ghetto mentality”: people living in the “‘hood” have given up and don’t care about their surroundings because no one else seems to care about them. Those who try to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods are often met with overflowing trash bins and citations from the city for having trash cans out too long on the curb.

   

  Trees

  Trees provide fresher air and shade, and are often missing from low-income neighborhoods to the point where green spaces in the neighborhood are seen as suspect. Parks and green spaces improve moods and the well-being of children and adults, and children benefit from exposure to nature and safe places to play.

  Empty lots, Potholes/Street Defects, Sidewalks, Trash and Recycling, Trees