1 of 13

Write now Article Tools

The title, "How to keep your neighborhood safe and welcoming," presents a bit of a problem. Welcoming others poses a safety issue, unless you are discriminating in whom the neighborhood welcomes.

In life, there is no real safety, only the perception of safety and security. Some neighborhoods are safer, and some are less safe. The difference is whom they welcome to their neighborhoods.

Welcoming slumlords to purchase houses in a neighborhood, rent to anyone, and let the property's appearance deteriorate welcomes less safe tenants to the neighborhood. I think the title meant to make visitors feel welcome, and residents feel safe. To that, some neighborhoods have chosen gated communities, where visitors are only admitted by invitation.

I live in a neighborhood where it could have gone either way, just as I bought my home. There were two movements occurring at once:

Option 1. Neighborhoods, feeling fearful, were beginning to put restrictions on residents, adopting more legal militant postures, and installing gates for protection. Neighborhood Associations were popping up all over the city and passing rules, which restricted residents rights in exchange for more "security".

Option 2. Investors for rental property were buying older homes. In my neighborhood, when I bought, I was the youngest resident in the area. Most of the residents were old, the houses and the park were neglected, and the Neighborhood Association had no support. I volunteered to serve on the Association Board, and went door-to-door, meeting my neighbors, asking them questions, addressing their concerns, and representing their needs to the Association.

I asked for the support of many to try to make our area more pleasant, and received enormous support, for which I am still grateful. We came together as a group, and helped older residents clean their yards, paint their houses, and attacked the neglected park. We policed for dog excrement so kids could play in the park. We replaced broken tables and park benches; we re-surfaced the tennis courts and put up new goals on the basketball courts. We replaced the playground equipment. We chopped weeds and landscaped neglected areas. It was a lot of work. We did it, together, with the help of the City, whom we petitioned.

Property values increased over the next five years, and as older residents began to put their houses up for sale, young families bought them, not absentee landlords, as had been the trend, previously. I would knock on the doors of new residents

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about How to keep your neighborhood safe and welcoming?
We want to hear your view. Write now!