New Bern Choice Neighborhoods January 15, 2015 Existing Conditions - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Stakeholder Meeting New Bern Choice Neighborhoods January 15, 2015  Existing Conditions  Survey Highlights  Next Steps

Existing Conditions  Data collection sources • Census and American Community Survey • GIS data from county and city • Conversations with city staff • Healthy Survey information • NBHA resident characteristics • Market studies (residential and retail/commercial)  Resident and neighborhood surveys • Resident survey complete (272 household respondents – 52% rate) • Neighborhood survey ongoing (84 respondents so far – 100 goal) What does the data tell us? How does it inform our planning efforts?

Demographics Trent Court/ Greater City of Craven Terrace Five Points New Bern Population 1,181 3,343 29,524 Race White 4% 7% 58% Non-White 96% 93% 42% Age Under 5 11% 10% 8% 5 to 17 27% 18% 15% 18 to 24 13% 12% 10% 25 to 54 33% 37% 37% 55 to 61 7% 10% 9% 62 and older 10% 13% 22% Average HH Size 2.26 2.30 2.25

Neighborhood Characteristics  40% of workers employed in education/healthcare or accommodation/food service sectors  Average median income in the neighborhood is $8,000 less than city  Poverty rate is 50% higher  21% of houses are owner-occupied , compared to 54% citywide  Over half of residents in some parts of the neighborhood do not have access to a car

Neighborhood amenities  Four parks (40 acres) and a recreation center are in the study area, and four more parks are nearby (10+ acres)  Neighborhood is underserved by retail and fresh food sources  Youth programming/recreation space is second-rated change residents would like to see happen (18%) What improvements can be made to existing amenities? What types of things are missing?

Neighborhood amenities – residents Most needed amenities include:  Grocery store (48%)  Large retail store (45%)  Doctor’s office/community health clinic (37%)  Laundromat/dry cleaner (34%)  Outside recreation space (34%)  Indoor recreation space (30%) Piggly Wiggly identified as most frequent source for food shopping (84%); only 18% of respondents go to Armstrong’s most often

Service Provider Inventory  24 of the 47 providers identified are within ten-minute walk (half-mile) of Trent Court or Craven Terrace  14 education providers identified, including early learning, after-school programming, and adult education Are these services useful? Which ones are missing? How do we increase utilization of services ?

Service utilization - residents Most recognized/utilized services include:  RCS- Religious Community Services (70%/19%)  Craven County Health Department (61%/10%)  MERCI Clinic (58%/3%)  YMCA Youth Programs (54%/4%)  Salvation Army Food Assistance (51%/11%) Very limited education utilization  7% enrolled in 2 or 4-year college  7% enrolled in job training/career advancement program 2 in 3 residents (68%) say they have no trouble accessing services

Neighborhood safety  Citywide violent crime rate declined from 2011 to 2013  Violent crime rate in neighborhood was four times higher than the rate citywide in 2013  23% of all crimes reported in the neighborhood occurred in Craven Terrace or Trent Court What can we do together to improve neighborhood safety?

Neighborhood safety – residents Mixed response about crime:  More than 1 in 4 residents (28%) think crime occurs frequently  While a comparable 1 in 5 residents (20%) say rarely Most residents feel safe in the neighborhood by day (95%) But 1 in 3 (30%) do not feel safe in the neighborhood at night 70% of residents have experienced crime  47% heard gun shots  43% sale and use of drugs  32% bullying  29% assault/physical attack  26% teenage violence  26% domestic violence

Source: RKG Housing Market Analysis

Housing stock  Average assessed value for all buildings in study area is $47,700  Average value for residential buildings in study area is $34,300  The citywide average value for residential buildings is $118,500  Better housing is top-rated change residents would like to see (23%) How can we improve the appearance of existing housing? What should new housing look like to fit the neighborhood?

Implications of flood hazards  Over half of the neighborhood is vulnerable to storms and flooding  Trent Court: 65% of land within flood zones  Craven Terrace: 28% of land within flood zones  Many vacant lots are located within flood zones in the northern part of area – federal money cannot be spent in flood zones  Vacant lots near Queen and Broad Streets are opportunities for new mixed-income housing and other uses outside flood-prone areas How can we increase resilience to flooding in future development?

Getting around - residents  Only 1 in 3 residents has a car  1 in 5 (22%) cited transportation as the top service needed right now  1 in 2 state that transportation is a very big or somewhat big problem  #1 barrier for parent participation in school  #1 impediment to youth participation in out-of-school time programs  #1 need for those with disabilities is better transportation options  Although more than ½ of households said they have no barrier to accessing quality affordable health care; 16% cited transportation is a barrier, second only to cost

Getting around- transit  CARTS operates weekday bus service with 30 to 75 minutes between scheduled stops  Buses stop at Trent Court and Craven Terrace 11 times during the day Does the bus go where people need it to? What are other barriers to using it? CARTS will be conducting a Needs Analysis to help define alternatives for future growth and expansion

Getting around - neighbors  Only 13% of respondents rode CARTS frequently  Reasons for not using CARTS included: • Don’t know the bus schedule • The bus doesn’t go where they need to go • The wait between buses is too long

Getting around- walking & biking  Sidewalks are lacking in most parts of the neighborhood  There are no street lights in Craven Terrace  Residents identified better street lighting as one of top- rated improvements to make neighborhood feel safer (42%) Where do people walk? Would they walk more with better sidewalks and lighting? Would people bike more if there were signs and marked lanes?

Survey highlights

Resident Survey  Priority improvements at Trent Court  Private back yards  Larger units  More attractive buildings  Priority improvements at Craven Terrace  Attractive landscaping  Playgrounds  BBQ pits/picnic area

Employment/ Financial Stability  Only 2 in 5 (38%) of adults are employed full or part-time Nearly half (48%) of households have earned income  1 in 5 (19%) of adults are unemployed/looking for work Biggest barriers: Transportation (46%), Affordable childcare (31%), No job experience (21%) 1 in 5 (18%) adults does not have a high school degree  1 in 3 (30%) of adults are unemployed/unable to work  Credit Repair: 2 nd most cited service needed right now

Health  37% of Heads of Household rate their health as fair to very poor ; 34% among Other Adults  High usage of Carolina East Emergency Room (34%)  Nutrition and physical fitness programs ranked third and fourth among the services needed right now  Lack of parks/playgrounds (11%) and lack of indoor recreation facilities (7%) ranked among top three barriers to being more physically active

Children and Youth Early Learning : 1 in 3 children under age 5 (31%) are not enrolled Special Needs: 14% of households have a child with special needs Parental Engagement : 1 in 5 parents (20%) never participate in PTO Out-of-school-time programs: Only 26% of households have children who participate • 56% of households have children interested in future participation • Biggest barriers: transportation (40%); lack of awareness (27%); schedule (20%)

Resident Survey Where do residents get information?  3 in 4 from the NBHA meetings/newsletters  3 in 5 from word of mouth (friends/neighbors)  1 in 3 from the Resident Association 15% participate in church groups/faith based organizations 3 in 4 want to participate in a CNI resident advisory group Residents value their neighbors  37% say neighbors are what they like most about the neighborhood

Ongoing Neighborhood Survey  Neighborhood and public housing residents are similar and share same concerns and priorities  Most respondents have lived in the community between 1-5 years (38%) or more than 20 years (30%).  Majority are satisfied/very satisfied with the Greater Five Points Neighborhood (70%) and believe that the neighborhood has remained stable/improved over the last year (80%).  What respondents liked most about the neighborhood:  An affordable place to live (73%)  Churches in the community (57%) 32