[Durham INC] NECD Livability Initiative Receives Innovation Award

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

News Media Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov 

Like: http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC

Follow: http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC   

 

For Immediate Release: May 23, 2012

 

 

Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative Receives Innovation Award

 

DURHAM, N.C. - The City of Durham and the residents involved in the
Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative have been nationally
recognized for their creative and resourceful practices in implementing
this community-led initiative.

 

The City of Durham received an Outstanding Achievement in Local
Government Innovation Award from the Alliance for Innovation at the 2012
Transforming Local Government Conference held last month in Kansas City,
Mo. 

 

The City, along with the other award recipients, was selected from more
than 70 applications from across the nation. The winners were chosen by
a multi-member selection committee consisting of city and county
managers from across the United States, Arizona State University
faculty, and Alliance for Innovation staff. The selection committee
looked for local governments that have shown dedication to stretching
and improving the boundaries of day-to-day government operations and
practices, implementing creative business processes, and improving the
civic health of the community.

 

The Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative, which is supported
by the City's Neighborhood Improvement Services Department, is a
community-driven collaborative functioning in partnership with the U. S.
Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and the
Environmental Protection Agency. The City's Neighborhood Improvement
Services Department, along with six other City departments, the N. C.
Departments of Commerce and Environment and Natural Resources, and
numerous local organizations have supported this community-led
initiative and the many projects stemming from these partnered efforts. 

 

The initiative is composed of four, resident-driven community schemes:
Coordinated Public Transportation; Economic and Workforce Development;
Multi-functional Green Spaces; and Safe and Healthy Environment.
Initiative projects have included the following:

*         Humphrey Street Beautification Project

*         Eastway Elementary Science Day and Summer Camps

*         Goose Creek Clean-ups

*         Bull City Cruisers Walking Club

*         Basic Energy Education Workshops

*         Community Urban Gardens

*         Bike Day

*         Bull City Urban Market

 

For more information about the Northeast Central Durham Livability
Initiative, contact Sheila Huggins, assistant director with the City's
Neighborhood Improvement Services Department, by email at 
Shelia.Huggins at DurhamNC.gov or visit 
http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/cb/nis/Pages/Northeast-Central-Durham.aspx

 

About the Alliance for Innovation

The Alliance for Innovation is an international network of progressive
governments and partners committed to transforming local government by
accelerating the development and dissemination of innovations. They seek
out innovative practices, challenge existing business models, exchange
knowledge, and provide products and services that help our members
perform at their best.  Together with their partners, the International
City/County Management Association and Arizona State University, they
promote excellence in local government and build a community of practice
in local government innovation. For more information, visit 
http://transformgov.org. 

 

About the Neighborhood Improvement Services Department

The City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services Department works to
preserve and improve quality of life conditions for Durham residents,
and to encourage active participation in neighborhood redevelopment and
public policy and decision making dialogue. The department is
responsible for enforcement of quality of life ordinances and state
statutes including the City's Minimum Housing Code; Nonresidential Code;
Weedy Lot, Abandoned and Junk Vehicle ordinances; and the State of North
Carolina's Unsafe Building Statute. The department's rapid responders,
known as the Impact Team, remediate non-compliant housing properties;
abate public nuisances, such as litter, graffiti, illegal dumping, and
abandoned shopping carts; and conduct neighborhood service projects. The
department's Community Engagement staff provides outreach and education
to Durham residents and community organizations. Guided by the City's
Strategic Plan, the department helps ensure that Durham has thriving,
livable neighborhoods by providing the highest quality of services to
engage and educate the community, eradicate blight, ensure safer
neighborhoods, and enhance neighborhood revitalization. For more
information, visit http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/cb/nis/Pages/Home.aspx. 

 

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