Overwhelmed by The Plan? We're Breaking it Down!

The Updated North End Community Economic Development Plan is up for public review, as you’ve probably heard. We know it’s a lot to take in. The document is over 150 pages and includes enormous amounts of data. It’s the kind of thing that can be totally overwhelming, taken as a whole. So, we’re going to break it down a bit for you in a new series of bite-sized Plan morsels. 

Part 1:  Purpose and Vision

What is The Plan?

The North End Community Economic Development Plan is a blueprint for rebuilding the social and economic infrastructure of the community. In the North End, we envision thriving businesses; housing that is safe and affordable; jobs for all skill levels; arts, entertainment, and recreation for everyone; and systems in place to fully support the needs of residents during each stage of their lives.

It is a map for our mission:

Which is the road to our vision:

How is this different from other economic development plans?

There are a lot of things that make this different from other plans, first and foremost being that it is resident-driven, which means it was your input that helped us build it.

It is also Asset Based Community Economic Development. Here’s a comparison:

We are so used to hearing about what we lack, and focusing on those deficits, that we sometimes fail to realize that here in the North End we have a great deal of assets. For example, did you know that the North End is home to over 7,000 residents and 472 businesses?

NECIC’s work hinges on the community’s greatest asset – you. The rich diversity, talent, and willpower of North End residents is a strong building block for the future.

An asset map is a great tool for realizing the many amazing things we have to build upon in our community.
 

When a community focuses on deficits, it has nothing to build on. You simply can’t build on what isn’t there. However, by focusing on assets, we can see those building blocks fall into place, see improvements happening, and see the community coming together.