Our very first impression of Carver was not a pleasure – it was an abandoned, hollow and a backward neighborhood to VCU. However, if you take a few steps back, you will be able to recognize the other side of Carver, which are pretty attractive and unique points; architectural resources such as several different style of vintage houses and buildings, accessibility to convenient infrastructures based on VCU facilities, vivid personalities from each edge of the area and unboxed possibilities. Here are the possible solutions to make Carver a better place to build up future generations and a prosperous community.
Ongoing Solutions: Carver-VCU Partnership
The Carver-VCU partnership (http://www.community.vcu.edu/outreach/carver-vcu-partnership/) started in 1998. Its main purposes was to create a shared urban community with a commitment to improving the community’s quality of life including its health, community development, youth development, and community school and with a commitment to extending the experience of the community into the classroom and the university.
Education: It has been making a great progress on youth development but it was not a long enough plan because it is mainly focused on elementary school level of education. We recommend that it should be extended up to high school level, especially so VCU students can encourage Carver high school students to continue their education to college.
Regional Economy: VCU Art Department has contributed on economic part. It has two major university facilities; the Siegel Center at Harriosn and West Broad Streets, the Fine Art College in the east, which belongs to the VCU Art Department and those buildings are changing the atmosphere in Carver area. Moreover, with those constructions, newer businesses have provided such as printing, restaurants, refreshment stores, art supplies stores, etc.
Public Security: Even though VCU security and local police station are working hard, it is not still stable but a progressive movement; however once Carver makes progress on local economy, job opportunities, local landscape, it will get better.
Our Proposed Multi-Layer Solution
Proposal:
Carver suffers from high unemployment, low educational attainment, and low median household income. Policies that address these issues are essential to a revitalized community.
Goal:
As researched, the 2010 unemployment rate in Carver is 10.3%. As an initiative to reduce unemployment and create more jobs, individualizes have to have work skills or certain levels of education to obtain sustainable jobs. One-fourth of residents hold no sort of education, while the other quarter hold a high school diploma, indicating very low education attainment.
Reducing Unemployment & Increasing Education
We believe in order to have prosperous career opportunities, educational degrees or skilled certificates assists an individual greatly. Carver has the unique opportunity to be on the edges of the VCU campus, a school with a diverse student body and learning fields. We propose an extended Carver-VCU partnership that can help needed individuals attain skilled labor certificates through a ‘VCU Technical Center’. This idea is actually reality in the district of Henrico, where Henrico County Public Schools have the ‘Hermitage Tech Center,’ where in a student’s final years of high school they can choose to focus on attaining a certificate in a preferred field (Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Cosmetology, Barbering, Electricity, Nurse Aide, Culinary Arts, and more) to kick start them into the workforce.
The VCU Technical Center will offer that same opportunities not to students however, but to individuals of the Carver neighborhood who are attempting to get themselves out of poverty but do not have the educational fulfillment. The GRTC Transit System will be extended to the Carver neighborhood to allow a need of transportation. The VCU Technical Center will start with the Carver neighborhood, but can be extended as time progresses. This program can be a way for VCU to give back to it’s community, which allows the individual to give back to their neighborhoods as well.
Create Work
The VCU Technical Center will partner with various organizations, including the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority (RRHA), to insure success after the individual graduates from this 2 month certificate program. Those who certify in any fields of construction, will be hired by corporations to revamp the Carver neighborhood.
Redevelopment Carver
As witnessed personally, the Carver neighborhood needs new development to revitalize it’s community. There are many abandoned buildings, and those that are listed for sale/rent are in bad conditions as they are boarded-up and graffitied, including this listing:
Also empty lots are for sale for development:
Stimulating the Economy
With the newly skilled and hired individuals that went through the VCU Technical Center, these course graduates will apply their new labor skills to complete these redevelopment projects to redevelop Carver. Once the redevelopment phase is complete, these newly renovated houses won’t sit for long, as they will be targeted to nearby VCU students who are seeking housing. These houses contain ideal room availability for students.
Reducing Crime
With the integration of VCU students, these new residents bring a new vibe to the community, bringing diversity to the population as well as circulating new money into the neighborhood. With a new VCU community in these neighborhood, there will be an increase with VCU Police presence and monitoring, which in return helps to secure the overall neighborhood. This is proven to work, as in 1995-1999 there was a measured significant drop in crime as a result of VCU Police in the neighborhood, and the growth of their presence with continue to secure the area more.
Continuing Progress
Once the Carver neighborhood has increased in sustainability, the economy their will continue to circulate positively. Workers (who used to be uneducated and unemployed residents of Carver and attended the VCU Technical Center) who helped in the reconstruction do not go without work once the redevelopment is over. In partnership with the City of Richmond, these workers will have the opportunity to continue working under their employers in the upcoming baseball stadium project located in nearby Shockoe Bottom, continuing their work opportunity and increasing their work experience.
The Carver-VCU partnership (http://www.community.vcu.edu/outreach/carver-vcu-partnership/) started in 1998. Its main purposes was to create a shared urban community with a commitment to improving the community’s quality of life including its health, community development, youth development, and community school and with a commitment to extending the experience of the community into the classroom and the university.Education: It has been making a great progress on youth development but it was not a long enough plan because it is mainly focused on elementary school level of education. We recommend that it should be extended up to high school level, especially so VCU students can encourage Carver high school students to continue their education to college.
Regional Economy: VCU Art Department has contributed on economic part. It has two major university facilities; the Siegel Center at Harriosn and West Broad Streets, the Fine Art College in the east, which belongs to the VCU Art Department and those buildings are changing the atmosphere in Carver area. Moreover, with those constructions, newer businesses have provided such as printing, restaurants, refreshment stores, art supplies stores, etc.
Public Security: Even though VCU security and local police station are working hard, it is not still stable but a progressive movement; however once Carver makes progress on local economy, job opportunities, local landscape, it will get better.
Our Proposed Multi-Layer Solution
Proposal:
Carver suffers from high unemployment, low educational attainment, and low median household income. Policies that address these issues are essential to a revitalized community.
Goal:
- education program for Carver residents to become labor skilled
- to establish a pedestrian friendly residential environment within Carver
- reduce criminal activity and promote the safety of residents
- to strengthen community identity.
As researched, the 2010 unemployment rate in Carver is 10.3%. As an initiative to reduce unemployment and create more jobs, individualizes have to have work skills or certain levels of education to obtain sustainable jobs. One-fourth of residents hold no sort of education, while the other quarter hold a high school diploma, indicating very low education attainment.
Reducing Unemployment & Increasing Education
We believe in order to have prosperous career opportunities, educational degrees or skilled certificates assists an individual greatly. Carver has the unique opportunity to be on the edges of the VCU campus, a school with a diverse student body and learning fields. We propose an extended Carver-VCU partnership that can help needed individuals attain skilled labor certificates through a ‘VCU Technical Center’. This idea is actually reality in the district of Henrico, where Henrico County Public Schools have the ‘Hermitage Tech Center,’ where in a student’s final years of high school they can choose to focus on attaining a certificate in a preferred field (Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Cosmetology, Barbering, Electricity, Nurse Aide, Culinary Arts, and more) to kick start them into the workforce.
The VCU Technical Center will offer that same opportunities not to students however, but to individuals of the Carver neighborhood who are attempting to get themselves out of poverty but do not have the educational fulfillment. The GRTC Transit System will be extended to the Carver neighborhood to allow a need of transportation. The VCU Technical Center will start with the Carver neighborhood, but can be extended as time progresses. This program can be a way for VCU to give back to it’s community, which allows the individual to give back to their neighborhoods as well.
Create Work
The VCU Technical Center will partner with various organizations, including the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority (RRHA), to insure success after the individual graduates from this 2 month certificate program. Those who certify in any fields of construction, will be hired by corporations to revamp the Carver neighborhood.Redevelopment Carver
As witnessed personally, the Carver neighborhood needs new development to revitalize it’s community. There are many abandoned buildings, and those that are listed for sale/rent are in bad conditions as they are boarded-up and graffitied, including this listing:
 |
| http://www.trulia.com/property/3138821315-Single-Family-Home-Richmond-VA-23220 |
Also empty lots are for sale for development:
 |
| http://www.trulia.com/property/3138625970-Lot-Land-Richmond-VA-23220 |
With the newly skilled and hired individuals that went through the VCU Technical Center, these course graduates will apply their new labor skills to complete these redevelopment projects to redevelop Carver. Once the redevelopment phase is complete, these newly renovated houses won’t sit for long, as they will be targeted to nearby VCU students who are seeking housing. These houses contain ideal room availability for students.
Reducing Crime
With the integration of VCU students, these new residents bring a new vibe to the community, bringing diversity to the population as well as circulating new money into the neighborhood. With a new VCU community in these neighborhood, there will be an increase with VCU Police presence and monitoring, which in return helps to secure the overall neighborhood. This is proven to work, as in 1995-1999 there was a measured significant drop in crime as a result of VCU Police in the neighborhood, and the growth of their presence with continue to secure the area more.Continuing Progress
Once the Carver neighborhood has increased in sustainability, the economy their will continue to circulate positively. Workers (who used to be uneducated and unemployed residents of Carver and attended the VCU Technical Center) who helped in the reconstruction do not go without work once the redevelopment is over. In partnership with the City of Richmond, these workers will have the opportunity to continue working under their employers in the upcoming baseball stadium project located in nearby Shockoe Bottom, continuing their work opportunity and increasing their work experience.
