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Do suburbs have neighborhoods?

Who are we: The Community We Serve Community

Foundation for Greater Hartford

Founded in 1925 Serving 29 towns About 800K people

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Hartford is here

Hartford at the center, but declining population + increasing poverty

3Data via: CT State Data Center

Population growth in the suburbs

4Data via: CT State Data Center

Why do we care: concentrated poverty, rising poverty in suburbs

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What is a neighborhood?

No single definition– Focus on what the neighborhood contains,

not the boundaries

Two general types of definitions– State: ‘mutually exclusive and exhaustive’– Vernacular: locally driven and understood

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Hartford has neighborhoods

7hartfordinfo.org

Asylum HillBarry SquareBehind the RocksBlue HillsClay-ArsenalDowntownFrog HollowNortheastNorth MeadowsParkvilleSheldon/Charter OakSouth EndSouth GreenSouth MeadowsSouthwestUpper AlbanyWest End

Three towns in the urban periphery: do they have neighborhoods?

Enfield East Hartford West Hartford CT

Total estimated population 44,654 51,252 63,268 3,574,097

Total population, Income in the past 12 months below poverty level 7% 15% 6% 7%

Population 25 years and over, Less than high school diploma 11% 17% 7% 11%

Births, Weight under 2500 grams 6% 12% 7% 8%

Foreclosures, Rate (per 10,000) 29 63 13 23

Crime, Rate (per 100,000) 2,139 3,426 2,412 2,477

8http://www.ctdata.org/

Does the census see neighborhoods?

East Hartford Enfield West Hartford

East Hartford CDP Hazardville CDP West Hartford CDP

Sherwood Manor CDP

Southwood Acres CDP

Thompsonville CDP

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Town of Enfield contains four census-designated places

2,736 1,306 2,840

With much lower population density overall (people / square mile)

Do towns see neighborhoods?

Planning and zoning

Services

Revitalization / redevelopment

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West Hartford

East Hartford

Via town websites

West Hartford

Do public services see neighborhoods?

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Police

Fire

http://enfield.ct.gov

Do realtors see neighborhoods?

12http://www.zillow.com/

Sometimes?

Do communities see neighborhoods?Town Type Name Total Assets

Enfield Community & Neighborhood DevelopmentThe Enfield Community Development Corporation Inc. 0

West Hartford Neighborhood / block associations North Point Estates Inc 0West Hartford Neighborhood / block associations Westmont Residents Association Inc. 0

West Hartford Neighborhood centersThe Joyce D and Andrew J Mandell Greater Hartford Jewish Community 20,535,608

West Hartford Community & Neighborhood Development Citizens Network of the Capital Region Inc 0West Hartford Community & Neighborhood Development Home Design District of West Hartford Ltd 0West Hartford Community & Neighborhood Development Taiwanese Association of Connecticut 0

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nccsdataweb.urban.org, enfieldcdc.org

Do residents see neighborhoods?

14http://bostonography.com/

Why do we want neighborhoods?

“Purely local, customary practices…achieve a level of precision and clarity—often with impressive economy—perfectly suited to the needs of knowledgeable locals.

State naming practices are, by contrast, constructed to guide an official ‘stranger’ in unambiguously identifying persons and places, not just in a single locality, but in many localities using standardized administrative techniques.”

- James C. Scott, “The Trouble with the View from Above”

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