November 30, 2023
  • 1493 Days left to achieve target

GO Neighborhoods

Creating Sustainable Communities

In 2009, the Near Northside was selected by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Greater Houston as one of two pilot sites for the Great Opportunities (GO) Neighborhoods program.  The vision for GO Neighborhoods is to create truly sustainable communities, good places to live, do business, work and raise families.

The program was a remarkable success in the Near Northside.  In 2010, the neighborhood published its first Quality of Life Agreement, which guided their community building work over the following five years.  Residents organized into GO Teams based on their areas of interest and priority, and Avenue facilitated meetings and creative partnerships between institutions and organizations that helped to address old problems in new ways.  The results were substantive.

In 2015, residents decided to review their progress against the plans outlined in 2010, analyze the data, and then enter into an updated Quality of Life Agreement to guide neighborhood planning and activity into the next five years.  This QLA 2.0 is actively being pursued by residents and stakeholders to engage people, create change, and leverage investment in the Near Northside.

 

“We envision that our community will be a safe and inviting place where all ages and income levels can live well in quality housing; a place with an outstanding educational system that nurtures every child until they achieve their goals in education and life; and a neighborhood where we all work together to build on our strengths to create a diverse, vibrant, and connected community.
‘The Near Northside will be a safe, fun place to live. Our community will be the incubator for small, family friendly businesses that add to the character of the neighborhood, while helping to build the wealth of our families. The Near Northside will be a place where young people have an abundance of educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities from which to choose and all residents are able to live healthy lifestyles.”