2012 Neighborhood of the Year: California Heights

For years I have been a proponent of civic engagement as a way to build stronger and sustainable communities.  This year I learned of an organization called Neighborhoods USA.  They are “a national non-profit organization committed to building and strengthening neighborhood organizations. Created in 1975 to share information and experiences toward building stronger communities, NUSA now continues to encourage networking and information sharing to facilitate the development of partnerships between neighborhood organizations, government and the private sector.”  A neighborhood in my home city is the winner and I think they illustrate an excellent example of what a committed group of neighbors can do with a shared vision and determination.  They placed first in the Physical Revitalization category that enabled them to compete for the overall award which they won.  The neighborhood is a historic district that the group has worked tirelessly to preserve and restore.  The Neighborhood Association, led by my friend Join Royce, is another example of what an all volunteer organization can do to make life better for themselves and their neighbors!  www.calheights.org www.nusa.org