A Beautiful Day in the Center for Neighborhoods

Had Algore been elected in 2000, Mr. Rogers would have been Secretary of State..."Hello boys and girls, what a lovely day it is. Don't you think so? I do. Would you like some syrup with your syrup?"

From the Center for Neighborhoods, Our Work, Support:

Facilitation and

technical assistance

to help neighborhoods,

community

organizations and

public entities build

bridges, create

collaborations and

increase community capacity

I'm looking for the bridges. Collaborations and community capacity are mythical creatures. A street named Atwater crosses Rice. I don't know where the water it names is at, but if there is water, surely there is a bridge. Aha! There is more in their next window.

"All neighborhoods have developed ways to reach out to residents and recruit volunteers. The capacity to tap this energy and channel citizen engagement is often limited, however. Insufficient funding, the lack of skilled local neighborhood organizers, and a perspective that is often too parochial in nature can all work to hinder a neighborhood organization’s ability to fully engage its residents. The Center provides tools to help organizations overcome these barriers to participation."

"Zxspft blixt qpezrts!", say the aliens."Yes, but what work do you do?" says Spaceman Spiff.

Well, there is the Corridor Housing Initiative. " This year, the Center's Corridor Housing Initiative will facilitate a planning process that merges the community development priorities of neighborhoods and the City of Minneapolis and identifies viable sites for affordable housing development." Open the link and you get this:

Corridor Housing Initiative
Providing a framework for housing development

"The Corridor Housing Initiative is an exciting partnership among neighborhoods, city government, and a technical team of development consultants, design experts, and facilitators to connect market opportunities with neighborhood goals. Our goal is to support great neighborhoods as they explore housing choices for a mix of incomes and households, with access to transportation options, retail amenities, parks, and job opportunities.
The Corridor Housing Initiative reduces front-end costs for developers by providing community support for development through suggested development guidelines, neighborhood and City support for higher density development through zoning recommendations, and increased access to available City funding cycles."

"Zxspft blixt qpezrts". Or was it "Blixpft, qpsprxt sxzpwqts"?

By the way, every letter is a link opening onto more worlds' alien languages. There ought to be a notice above the door for any who enter there.