Over the past ten years, we have helped local leaders launch 27 neighborhood revitalization projects across the country. We have an additional 50 projects in development. Given the nature of our work, we consider it critical to stay as informed as possible regarding the science and research in fields that can inform our practice. The … Continue Reading →
At the 10th Annual Conference of Purpose Built Communities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s President and CEO, Dr. Richard E. Besser, announced an investment of $6 million to advance the work of the Purpose Built Communities Network. Purpose Built Communities is a dynamic nonprofit that is building a national network with the goal of empowering … Continue Reading →
Based on the research and our own experience, we have concluded that it is neither reasonable nor sustainable to expect a school to outperform its neighborhood.
Just about every distressed urban neighborhood in America was once a healthy, thriving place; many the center of African American commerce and society. And almost every one of them had a highway built through the middle of it. It is just one of a series of mal-intended public policies that combined to engineer the distressed … Continue Reading →
Intergenerational urban poverty is intrinsically linked to place, and more precisely, to neighborhoods. We have learned is that poverty is effectively an inheritable attribute transmitted via ZIP Code.
Perhaps the most important lesson for us over these past ten years is that if we want to permanently eliminate intergenerational poverty, we need to address the root causes of the problem.
Public and private interventions over the past half century have helped to alleviate the effects of poverty, but they have done too little to address its root causes.
Since 2016, the Grove Park Foundation has been serving as the “community quarterback,” coordinating the efforts of residents and partners in a long-term, holistic revitalization effort. The Grove Park Foundation has raised more than half of the funds to leverage APS’s investment to construct the new K-8 school building for KIPP Woodson Park Academy and … Continue Reading →
After years of hard work and investment, the successes of the East Lake partnership gained national attention. Other communities asked for guidance on how to implement a similar approach, which eventually led to the emergence of our organization, Purpose Built Communities, which has now worked for a decade to help neighborhoods replicate the ideas tested … Continue Reading →
Purpose Built Communities and the Build Healthy Places Network have collaborated for many years. We are pleased to announce a new chapter of our relationship: our monthly e-newsletter will feature content shared by the Network. Dr. Douglas Jutte and the amazing team at the Network connect leaders and practitioners in the fields of community development … Continue Reading →
