Neighborhood Connection: The GPI Pilot Project Takes Shape
Jeremy Valenta, Columbia City resident and community liaison for Pomegranate Center’s 2007 Gathering Places Initiative, has high hopes for his neighborhood: “I want to see people better able to imagine that great things can happen in our community and want them to know that we can drive this process.�
As the recipient of Pomegranate Center’s 2007 Gathering Places Initiative grant, Jeremy and his neighbors, part of the Sustainable Urban Neighborhood Collaboration, will receive $20,000 worth of planning and design services from Pomegranate Center to build a gathering place for their community. Initial planning meetings have been held, but the final shape of the project remains to be seen. “Pomegranate Center does not assume we can join a project and immediately determine the needs of the community members,� says Milenko Matanovic, executive director and founder of Pomegranate Center. “Our process, developed over twenty years, begins with a community gathering in which we facilitate the sharing of ideas and hopes for the future. Once we have attained a sense of what is needed, we use our expertise to create designs that address these needs.�
At this initial stage, we know that the residents of Columbia City and Hillman City are looking to better connect their two neighborhoods. The next step in the process – a series of community meetings – will determine the best ways to do that using Pomegranate Center’s Multiple Victories process.
To learn more about the Gathering Places Initiative or the 2007 recipient, email us at info@pomegranate.org