West Ridge Community Organization

WHAT WE VALUE:

Many of us chose to make this neighborhood our home because of its racial and cultural diversity, its high-quality public and private schools, and its distinctive mix of commercial, residential, and recreational spaces. In forming WRCO, we seek to maintain and augment these assets, especially though a focus on the areas of education and community planning and development. WHAT WE ADVOCATE:

We seek to provide a community voice in planning and development issues, including not only zoning requests but long-term development plans, lest piecemeal changes in these areas alter the distinctive character of our neighborhood. In the interests of preserving our racial and cultural diversity, we hope to maintain a balance between owner-occupied and rental housing. We also want to preserve, update, and augment our recreational spaces, which include some of the finest parks in the city. And we want to grow and revive our commercial corridors, making our neighborhood an attractive urban destination. We also seek to preserve the high quality of educational opportunities in the neighborhood by eliminating public school overcrowding, advocating for innovative public school curricular and outreach efforts, and encouraging greater cooperation between public and private schools. In a neighborhood that consistently attracts growing families, we also seek to create and augment youth opportunities, bringing together young people from diverse schools and backgrounds to work and play together. WHAT WE BELIEVE:

We regard community organizing as our civic responsibility. By organizing in our community, we believe we can act as a group to make it a better place, preserving what we value and advocating for what we need.