The South Ellerbe Creek Greenway area neighborhood, Durham, North Carolina : an action-oriented community diganosis : findings and next steps of action
Creators: name: Gilkey, Melissa
name: Johnson, Morgan
name: Ferguson, Becky
name: Levine, Jennifer
name: Faurot, Kim
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2004

description: The following document describes the methods and results from an Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD) conducted in the Greenway area of Durham, NC in the spring of 2004. This informal neighborhood is a residential area of downtown Durham and is bounded by three active neighborhood associations: Old North Durham, Trinity Park, and Duke Park. Interest in increasing Greenway residents’ participation in civic life, as well as concerns about crime and housing in the area, prompted Old North Durham’s president, Richard Mullinax, to initiate the AOCD process through the UNC School of Public Health. It was his hope that by investigating the area, a better understanding of community goals and future directions might be established. With the guidance of Mr. Mullinax, five students from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education collected primary and secondary data concerning the Greenway area as well as Durham as a whole. Students strove to gain an understanding of (1) what it was like to live and work in this area of Durham, (2) who key leaders were, and (3) how the area was viewed by others. Towards this end, the team interviewed community residents, surrounding neighborhood association members, and service providers in order to identify strengths, concerns, and goals. An analysis of the team’s data revealed five primary domains: sense of community, crime and safety, housing, the Greenway trail, and youth. With the help of an advisory committee composed of Greenway area residents and members of the surrounding neighborhood associations, the team identified specific themes which were then presented to the larger community and service providers for discussion. These themes were: (1) Greenway residents want to know their neighbors better; (2) renters, landlords, and neighbors need to know their rights and responsibilities; (3) residents need to increase awareness of and participation in citizen safety initiatives like Partners Against Crime (PAC) II; (4) residents want to increase safety for children in the neighborhood; and (5) people want to feel safer using the Greenway Trail. At a well attended community forum, community members and service providers discussed these themes in small groups facilitated by the student team, and devised action steps for them to carry out. Above all, forum participants expressed a desire to continue discussion through subsequent meetings. Importantly, the student team identified several strengths that will serve the Greenway neighborhood well in its future endeavors. First, the team recognized several community leaders in the neighborhood, who, on an informal, block-by-block basis help to organize and protect residents. Second, residents and neighbors enjoy the central location and walkability of the Greenway area, and feel interest in this area will increase as revitalization of downtown Durham continues. Third, residents and neighbors appreciate the diversity of the Greenway area neighborhood, both in terms of ethnicity and in terms of housing. Finally, residents and neighbors enjoy the natural space provided by the Greenway Trail and Ellerbe Creek. These sources of pride within the community provide the basis for change. Action steps from the forum recommend that service providers and neighborhood association members continue to encourage and support the informal community networks established in the Greenway area neighborhood. Please see page 41 for a complete list of recommendations. Although residents did not express an interest in creating a formal neighborhood association, they were vocal in their desire to increase communication among themselves as well as collaboration with surrounding neighborhood associations and with service providers like the police and housing departments. The student team hopes that this report will provide supporting evidence and direction for encouraging cooperation among residents, neighborhood association members, and service providers.