In 2012, Ward 1 in Flint was selected as one of eight neighborhoods in four cities – Flint,[1] Fresno, Memphis and Milwaukee – to participate in the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program (BNCP).

BNCP is part of the Administration’s place-based programming efforts, which includes the Promise Zones and Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. Recognizing the power of place to influence access to opportunity, BNCP seeks to catalyze community-driven change in neighborhoods that have historically faced barriers to revitalization.

BNCP focuses on building community capacity: the knowledge, skills, relationships, processes and resourcesthat neighborhood residents, partner organizations and city-level stakeholders need to work together to achieve better results in public safety, education, housing, employment and other key areas.

Highlights to Date

  • Focused neighborhood revitalization plan on the priority result: We live in a safe neighborhood.Following the completion of the BNCP deliverable, Flint completed an expanded version of the plan, organized around the eight focus areas of the city’s master plan and informed by neighborhood surveys and focus groups.
  • Developed a Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC), bringing together neighborhood residents and partner organizations to serve as a collective-decision making body for BNCP.
  • Formed action teams to work on implementation of expanded plan, recruiting additional participation from residents, neighborhood organizations and cross-sector partners.For instance, the transportation action team worked with the Mass Transportation Authority to extend bus routes following a series of grocery store closings.
  • Engaged residents and partners in a three-day training on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. Now applying CPTED principles to design and implementation of neighborhood projects, including a boarding project to reduce blight. Project team has boarded 20 houses.

Work in Progress

  • Working on designing and implementing strategies that advance revitalization plan priorities.For instance, partnering with Our Savior Lutheran Church to develop a community garden and board 100 houses. Partnering with WOW Outreach and other partners to support neighborhood collaborationand offer a host of educational, recreational activities, mentorship opportunities and community involvement projects for youth, families and residents at WOW’s Neighborhood Action Center (Safe House and Kennedy Center.

By the Numbers

Flint: Anchor Zone 1 Population & Demographics
Anchor Zone 1 / City
Population* / 3,329 / 102,434
Census Tracts (Block Groups) / Tract 2 (1 -4), Tract 4 (1-3)
Race
African American / 87.1% / 54.8%
White / 5.7% / 39.6%
American Indian/Alaska Native / 1.26% / 0.7%
Asian / 2.8% / 0.6%
Pacific Islander / 0% / 0%
Other / 0.7% / 0.7%
Two or More Races / 2.4% / 3.7%
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino / 2.3% / 4%
White/Non-Hispanic or Latino / 97.7% / 96%
Education
<HS Degree / 20.8% / 14.9%
HS Degree or Equivalent / 44.4% / 28.1%
Economic Security
% Below Poverty Line / 40.1% / 35.5%
Unemployment / 44.9% / 26.8%
Housing
% of Vacant Housing Units / 37.3% / 23.6%

American Community Survey Data (ACS), 2009-2013

Key Players:

Neighborhood Advisory Council, which includes residents from all three neighborhoods, lead agency Metro Community Development andneighborhood partners:Mott Children’s Health Center and Hamilton Community Health Network (Brownell-Holmes), Wow Outreach and Our Savior Lutheran Church (Anchor Zone One), Genesee Habitat for Humanity and Foss Avenue Baptist Church (Anchor Zone Three).

Cross-Sector Partners: Neighborhood Advisory Council, City of Flint, Flint Community Schools, Flint Housing Commission, Mass Transit Authority, University of Michigan-Flint, Neighborhoods Without Borders, Flint Area Reinvestment Office, Ruth Mott Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Genesee County Health Department, Genesee Health System, Genesee County Department of Health and Human Services, Genesee County Community Action Resource Department, Flint/Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mott Community College Workforce Development, Legal Services of Eastern Michigan, Vernon Chapel AME Church and Crim Fitness Foundation Community Education Initiative.

February 2016

[1]Anchor Zone 1 (a targeted area of Ward 1 in Flint) is working closely with the Anchor Zone 3 (a targeted area of Ward 3 from BNCP’s first cohort) and the Brownell-Holmes expansion neighborhood.