Previous happenings @inCOMMONcd:
LISTEN: Panel discussion broadcasted on NPR:
InCOMMON Community Development and NPR’s panel discussion by incommoncd
- Tuesday, June 8th: The End of Poverty? SOLD OUT!
THANK YOU Film Streams, and our lovely panel; Annemarie Bailey Fowler, Chris Heuertz, A’Jamal Byndon, and Rev. Dwight Ford!
THANK YOU Omaha Community for coming out!
- May 27th: Neighbors United submits their application for 501(c)3!
- April 15: Why inCOMMON Endorsed VOICE’s “Transportation for All” Statement
(And Why We Think You Should Too!)…
VOICE recently released a statement urging Omaha to support a new transportation plan that would serve the needs of all of Omaha (in contrast to a recently released MAPA transportation plan that places emphasis on a $700-800 million beltway system). Because of our concern for “residents of our established neighborhoods, beneficiaries of our existing infrastructure, and stewards of our existing institutions,” inCOMMON believes it’s crucial we guard our community from further decentralization that would surely come from the instillation of a beltway.
“Every day we see the effects of a city decentralizing. We see police, fire, and snow removal personnel being asked to cover more miles on budgets that don’t keep pace; we see schools and hospitals forced to expand into the outer areas while balancing the renovation needs of aging campuses; we see new neighborhoods being built on last year’s farmland while families living in older parts of our city are frustrated by flooding sewers, aging bridges, and crumbling pot-holed streets. The likely consequences of the above compound into a significantly reduced quality of life for all who call this city home, particularly among already vulnerable populations.
Our metropolitan area needs a transportation plan that meets the following criteria (emphasis added).
· Features an integrated plan to spur new development in existing neighborhoods, nurture jobs near existing populations and progressively plan for more sustainable transportation.
· Limits the need to build new water, sewer, power and transportation systems while ensuring that existing systems are repaired, updated and continually maintained.
· Ensures sustained growth in parts of the city that suffer from a lack of quality education, jobs, and affordable quality housing.
· Supports existing efforts to reduce segregation along social and economic lines.
· Includes analysis and consideration of the beltway’s effect on the citizens already suffering from the lack of upward mobility and locked into a cycle of unemployment, poverty and crime.
· Prioritizes preserving existing farmland for future food production and protects the need for readily accessible open space.”
Voice Omaha
