Pine Creek Community’s Assessment and Development

Posted on | by Laureen
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Click Here To Order Now!

  1. Introduction
  2. Description and Overall Observations
  3. Analysis of Internal Community Resources
  4. Analysis of External Community Resources
  5. Summary
  6. References

Introduction

In order to develop a sustainable neighborhood, consensus organizers do not only need to be role models for residents but also active participants and evaluators of available resources; with the help of external and internal support, Pine Creek, a community in Madisonville, LA, can become a safer and well-developed community.

Madisonville, LA, is located near the Tchefuncte River and the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary (Steinmuller, Graham, White, McKee, & Mendelssohn, 2016). The community of Pine Creek is relatively new (4 years old) and is currently being built. More than one hundred residents live in the community, but as its development is in progress, more families are expected to move in. The majority of residents are families that consist of 30-40 years old individuals and their children.

Purpose and Goals

The purpose of the community analysis is to identify issues that residents need to address, locate resources (both internal and external) that can be used to resolve these issues, and evaluate whether a sustainable neighborhood can be developed out of Pine Creek. The goal of the analysis is to outline a plan for action and understand how issues identified in the community can be addressed by its residents.

Methodology

To collect data, the researcher used information published online, census data, and interviews with community residents. Twenty-four persons were interviewed or surveyed for the data collection. Different websites such as Pew Research Center, Sperling’s Best Places, and Town of Madisonville were used to gather information related to demographics. As the community is new, no historical records about Pine Creek exist yet. Community residents also could not provide historical data to the researcher.

Description and Overall Observations

History, Culture, & Characteristics Describe one fact about this neighborhood regarding the following areas: Describe something you would still like to learn:

Neighborhood history

A new community, four years old. The construction of some of the districts is still in progress. In some streets (e.g., one where I reside), the construction is completed on only one side of the street.
Neighborhood strengths: friendly members, block parties every month to get familiar with other (new) residents.
Challenges: construction trucks and construction-in-progress make it slightly difficult to navigate the neighborhood.
The neighborhood is still changing, new homes are being built, and new families arrive.

 The neighborhood is being built near the Tchefuncte River. How the neighborhood at the first stages of construction differs from its current state with regard to its quality and navigation.

Current residents

More than one hundred people currently live in it. Their age varies, from two weeks old to 65 years old. The majority of the residents are in their 30s or late 40s; there are also many children. There are not many older adults here.
An elementary school is located in the neighborhood.
Six homes are with African American families; all other residents are Caucasian.

 There are several families related to each other. What is the descent of the families present in the community? Are there any immigrants or second, third-generation immigrants?

Physical conditions

The vacancy rate is low, only very few houses are available. Houses are usually sold before the construction starts. Two homes are currently on sale as families have moved out from them. No renters in the neighborhood as renting is against the homeowner association rules (it might be present but kept in secret).
There are brick houses, trees, street lights, and a school.
There are a community pool and cabana.

 Several construction companies are present in the neighborhood; for example, Sunrise Homes and DSLD Homes provide quick move-in homes for sale. What other areas of recreation are planned to be built or are needed by local families?

Economic conditions

The unemployment rate is 5.9%. The jobs available increased by 1.13% recently (Sperling’s Best Places, 2017). People are occupied in construction (7.97%), manufacturing (8.13%), retail trade (12.04%), finance and insurance (9.36%), science and technology (14.34%), health care and social assistance (13.92%), educational services (9.20%) (Sperling’s Best Places, 2017). The median household is approximately $99,212 (Sperling’s Best Places, 2017).

The business district consists of local restaurants and retail shops that are apparently owned by residents. There seems to be no large employer in the area. Hospitals, shopping malls, and other large employers are located in the connecting city.

 Both 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages are available to residents of the community (Sperling’s Best Places, 2017). What is the educational background of the community residents? Are they employed accordingly, or are they low qualified/overqualified for the job? What was the unemployment rate at the beginning of the community construction?

Social conditions

I am familiar with people in the neighborhood, but it does not seem to me that residents know each other very well. Together with my husband, I participate in block parties and homeowner association meetings, where residents can get to know each other. Residents gather in a cul-de-sac for block parties. There is a sense of community as the residents aim to maintain a clean and friendly neighborhood.

 Elementary school might become a good start for art clubs and a local theater for children and students. What interest clubs do the residents want?

Political Conditions

The majority of residents are Republicans (Pew Research Center, 2017). Lousiana House District 77 is vacant; Senate District 11 is Jack Donahue; US Congress District 1 is Steve Scalise, and US Senators are Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy (Louisiana State Legislature, 2017). They are responsive to local concerns during election time.

 It appears that residents are not always comfortable discussing political views and local lawmakers. It would be interesting to find out from residents what policy changes they think need to be implemented to improve the neighborhood’s quality.

Analysis of Internal Community Resources

Internal Community Resources With whom do you have a relationship now? With whom do you want to build a relationship?

Homeowners

The neighborhood is only four years old (subdivision), with no second-generation families. Homeowners are more often involved in neighborhood activities than I am. Many of them have children and participate in family-oriented activities. They feel the community is safe and family-oriented.

 I have developed relationships with several neighbors; they care about safety, their families, and comfort. With homeowners, most of them are involved in community activities; they care about safety and families too.

Renters

No renters; renting is restricted by neighborhood covenant.

 – –

Faith-Based Institutions

Pine Creek is an association that consists of all members of the neighborhood; it has a president and a secretary. The President receives complaints and concerns; the secretary sends out a monthly newsletter about internal and external events. All meetings are held at the community pool or cul-de-sac.

 The president and the secretary. They care about community members’ concerns and quality of life. Other members of the community. They mostly care about their families, safety, and good quality of life.

Business and Property Owners

No businesses in the neighborhood. A fire station is currently being built. There are locally-owned shops in the city, but they are not owned by community members.

 No relationships. It would be good to have a fine dining, fast food restaurant, a small grocery store, a gas station and develop relationships with owners.

Social Service Agencies

There are none.

 – –

Large Institutions

An elementary school located in the neighborhood (Lancaster). Many residents purchased homes because of this school. A school in the neighborhood allows parents to walk their children to school. One female from the neighborhood is emploed there as a teacher.

 I have developed relationships with several parents; they view the school as a good feature of the neighborhood. With the teacher. She thinks it is good that students do not have to visit a school in another community.

Community Organizations

The community organizer’s goal is to meet the needs of residents. More street lights and a better community entrance are discussed as “hot issues.” The neighborhood needs to be well-lit and attract more buyers, increasing community value.

 Community members. They want the neighborhood to be beautiful and safe, without crime. Former residents. They think the community has to be more comfortable and safer for adults and children.

Analysis of External Community Resources

External Resources What do they contribute? What could they potentially contribute?

Corporations

Large employers are the school systems and the City of Madisonville. No newspapers, television, or radio station. City employees are the police department, fire department, mayor, councilmen, and the town staff. Two banks in Madisonville: the Hibernia National Bank and First NBC Bank. No history of lending to Pine Creek yet.

 With some parents who are related to both schools. The school in Pine Creek and the school system in Madisonville’s interests are to keep the area safe, crime-free, well-lit after dark, and beautifully designed, which they work on. With teachers in the Madisonville school system. They, too, have safety concerns. Schools can contribute to the development of the plan regarding community safety for children.

Philanthropic Organizations

Josephs Joy, a foundation run by volunteers, helps families with children who have a life-threatening condition. No history of funding for community programs. It does assist families who have children with severe conditions. The Women of My Hope Inc. is a foundation that provides food, clothing, and money to those in need. No history of funding for community programs. United Way is located in Covington, 30 min. from the Pine Creek neighborhood. No funding for community programs.

 I do not have relationships with foundations, but they actively help families in need and raise concerns about food availability and safety. Relationships with Josephs Joy, The Women of My Hope Inc., and United Way would be beneficial in assessing the community and residents’ needs. Foundations could help address them if possible.

Government

There are a mayor and five city councilmen, all-male Caucasian. Council meetings are on every second Wednesday of each month (at 7:00 p.m.); the mayor’s court is on every second Monday (at 7:00 p.m.) (Town of Madisonville, 2017). Transcripts from meetings are published online. Madisonville mayor served ten terms and retired when he was 81 years old.

For state and federal representatives, view the “Political Conditions” section. Each of them serves a four-year term; all of them are currently Republican. Local town hall meetings are held for residents to voice their concerns and suggestions.

 No relationships so far. The government cares about residents’ satisfaction, quality of life, and city safety. It addresses residents’ concerns and uses their suggestions for management and improvement. Building a relationship with the mayor and/or city councilmen would be beneficial for the neighborhood. They could address the problem of safety, lack of social services, and a police department.

Large External Institutions

No universities in Madisonville, but there are several colleges and universities in the surrounding cities (Tulane University Northshore, Southeastern Louisiana University, etc.) that offer degrees such as nursing, social work, business management, accounting, etc. No special research or community programs are available in the community.

There are three hospitals in the neighboring city; University Medical Center is a charity hospital (located in New Orleans). Hospitals in the area have Medicaid eligibility works that assist low-income individuals. Hospitals that service Pine Creek accept indigent patients.

 No relationships with external institutions. They care about residents’ education, safety, health, and quality of life, providing services (educational and healthcare) that make them better. A relationship with hospitals serving Pine Creek could ensure better and more effective treatment. Universities could provide community-based courses and healthcare services to address health hazards in case if any are detected.

Summary

Analysis of Mutual Interests

Mutual concerns among external and internal resources are residents’ safety, health, education, and the community’s well-being, as well as the lack of crime here. The school systems at Madisonville can provide training for teachers in Pine Creek. A potential collaboration between Madisonville schools and the elementary school in Pine Creek can be beneficial to them, making an exchange of ideas and employees possible. Universities can provide distance learning or training courses for future students.

Madisonville government can contribute to the development of Pine Creek by addressing the issue of lacking street lamps at one of its meetings. As there is no police department in Pine Creek, the community members can collaborate to create a neighborhood watch to keep it crime-free.

Potential Red Flags

As the external resources are mostly located in surrounding cities, it can be assumed that there is a certain lack of interest from them to the developing community. The small number of residents and the continuing construction of it can result in weak enthusiasm from external resources’ that might prefer to wait until the community is fully occupied and settled. However, the enthusiasm and readiness to act expressed by community members can decrease the influence of the identified red flags on the community.

Consensus Organizing Strategies

Ohmer and DeMasi (2009) point out that to develop strategies, residents need to create an “issues list” to identify the community’s priorities. The community’s strengths include residents’ enthusiasm, the presence of a neighborhood committee with a president and a secretary, the friendliness and readiness of residents to take action. The majority of residents expressed concerns regarding the lack of street lamps in the neighborhood, the safety of Pine Creek, and the clean state of the community pool. To address these issues, it is suggested to

  1. Create a neighborhood watch that will include all members of the community who are willing to participate in it to address potential crime issues such as theft, mugging, and other types of disorder
  2. Build relationships with Madisonville Government to keep the neighborhood crime-free in case if the watch will not be able to address some of the crime-related issues
  3. Connect with the homeowner association to discuss the problem of adequate lighting during night hours

The identified areas of need are important to the community as they are related to each other; without adequate lighting, the crime in the neighborhood might increase, affecting both children and adults and decreasing the community’s value and safety. Community pool, if not supervised correctly, can become a dangerous place for younger children, especially if the navigation in the streets is limited due to the lack of street lamps. The lack of a police department requires mobilization from residents to address other crime-related issues.

Next Steps/Work Plan

The first step is to establish the time for meetings with the neighborhood’s president and secretary. The second step is to assign roles to participants. The community members will be divided into three groups: Neighborhood Watch, Government Relationships, and Adult and Children Safety. Each of those groups will work on different issues described above. After their creation, the organizer plans to create a series of discussions to identify what relationships these groups might need to achieve their goals. The organizer also plans to supervise the groups and track their progress, becoming a mediator between them and the neighborhood’s president.

However, the community residents (the youth) are also highly active and can have leadership roles in the work plan as well. The third step is to address external resources, for example, the Madisonville government and philanthropic organizations, to share ideas with and learn from them about community changes that have already been implemented. The fourth step is to collect information about progress, results, and outcomes and compare them to the outlined goals.

Dissemination Plan

As the community is relatively small (approx. 100 individuals), it is suggested to use community newsletters. Community newsletters are used differently, for example, as means to address neighborhood crime and educate residents (Gill, Weisburd, Telep, Vitter, & Bennett, 2014). In our case, community newsletters will be used to disseminate the results of the consensus directly to residents. First, it will increase their sense of commitment. Second, it is more convenient due to the lack of newspapers or radio in the community. Third, it decreases the chance that some of the residents will miss out on the information (as it could be with a press conference, for example).

Fourth, community newsletters can target different stakeholders and contain information valuable for them (for example, each group will be interested in information about different outcomes, depending on their major goal, e.g., neighborhood watch or pool cleanness and safety). Additionally, it is possible to create a detailed report about the community’s progress to becoming a sustainable neighborhood to disseminate it to larger external stakeholders such as hospitals, major employers, and universities. If people see that the real change is happening, it is likely that even more individuals will be involved (Ohmer & DeMasi, 2009).

The report can also be used by the organizer and other community leaders to compare the community’s progress annually, noticing whether all areas of need are addressed adequately. Main points from the report can be included in annual newsletters to community residents to show them what progress has been made.

References

Gill, C., Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., Vitter, Z., & Bennett, T. (2014). Community-oriented policing to reduce crime, disorder and fear and increase satisfaction and legitimacy among citizens: A systematic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(4), 399-428.

Louisiana State Legislature. (2017). . Web.

Ohmer, M. L., & DeMasi, K. (2009). Consensus organizing: A community development workbook: A comprehensive guide to designing, implementing, and evaluating community change initiatives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pew Research Center. (2017). Datasets. Web.

Sperling’s Best Places. (2017). . Web.

Steinmuller, H. E., Graham, S. A., White, J. R., McKee, M., & Mendelssohn, I. A. (2016). A decadal-scale nutrient loading study in a coastal wetland: Impacts on soil microbial processes. Ecological Engineering, 97(2), 58-63.

Town of Madisonville. (2017). Departments. Web.

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Click Here To Order Now!