December 15, 2005
Urban Planning students host
their first workshop to help Five Wounds/Brookwood Terrace set goals
Through presentations and feedback, the students from the Urban Planning department at San José
State University held the first of a total of three workshops to help residents of the Strong
Neighborhood define its goals for the next five years.
The 14 students in the Urban Planning department at San José State joined the
people of Five Wounds/Brookwood Terrace for the first of three workshops on Thursday,
December 15th to present the findings of their research and to gather feedback
from neighborhood residents. The students worked hard to study progress of the Strong
Neighborhoods Initiative action plan created in 2002 to address neighborhood goals.
They presented this information at the planning session to provide a background, announce
which goals had been completed, and ask residents to offer new ideas for future sites of
improvement.
The information that the students gathered was impressive. In the past five years,
eight of the top ten priorities have been accomplished. The City of San José
has spent $88.8 million on improvements identified by the neighborhood. Five Wounds/Brookwood
Terrace leads the other 18 Strong Neighborhoods in projects completed and its residents are the
first to begin work on the renewal of the agenda.
Among the projects which have been completed are the development of Selma Olinder Park,
street tree planting, creating a pedestrian–friendly zone at the business corner of
24th and William St., a plan for a new community center at Roosevelt Park,
addition of art in public spaces, limitation of alcohol sales, and continued development
of residential areas. Each of these items was labeled a priority by the Five Wounds/Brookwood
Terrace neighborhood in 2002.
22 neighbors came out for the workshop at the McKinley Neighborhood Center to learn and speak
out on behalf of their neighborhood. Their concerns deal with safer streets, education, crime,
gangs, graffiti, and topics surrounding health. What the students learned from this workshop
will be collected and passed onto the list of items on which residents will vote on May 20, 2006.
The next workshop session will be held on April 22nd, 2006 at San José
High Academy on 24th and Julian St. during CommUniverCity’s Day of Service
celebration. The students will be on-site again to present details on emerging themes and ask
for feedback and additions from residents.
