Early Action Projects – Short Term Tactics for Positive Long Term Changes

The Rosewood Choice planning process includes the identification of actions that could be implemented during planning to build support for the Rosewood Choice Neighborhoods Plan. There are several “early action” projects of note.

Capital Metro has engaged Rosewood Courts residents around transit education so that they can get to the grocery store and other important destinations most efficiently. It takes longer to get to the closest grocery store by bus than to more distant and better stocked stores due to the necessity of bus transfers. Capital Metro regularly reviews routes and has engaged Rosewood Courts residents to secure their input on possible neighborhood bus route modifications that will provide better service for transit riders. Rosewood Courts residents are considering applying for a bus route change in August 2014.

On March 2, 2013, Austin’s It’s My Park Day drew Rosewood Courts residents and HACA staff to participate in a Rosewood Park Clean-up and Boggy Creek Park Pavilion restoration; participation in the projects enabled HACA staff to establish contacts with Keep Austin Beautiful and the Austin Parks Foundation that were instrumental in initiating the Poquito Creek Clean-up in November 2013.

In collaboration with Blackshear Bridge, a community garden and environmental enrichment program at Blackshear Elementary School, and Keep Austin Beautiful, a local non-profit organization that provides resources and education to inspire Austin toward greater environmental stewardship, HACA teamed up to tackle a two-fold action project for the community. On November 16, 2013 Poquito Creek was cleaned up and litter was cleared on both sides of Rosewood Courts, and trees, shrubs and vegetables were planted at Blackshear Elementary School. Rosewood Courts resident volunteers worked side-by-side with HACA staff and other neighbors, which helped establish informal relationships and understanding.

One of the needs identified by Rosewood Courts residents at the initial planning meetings was a safer pedestrian crossing at Chicon Street, between Rosewood Courts and Salina Apartments. With the management office and community room for both properties located at Salina, Rosewood Courts residents need to cross Chicon regularly, between the two properties. Students traveling from Blackshear and Kealing schools must also regularly use this crossing. HACA’s project team began discussions with the Austin Public Works Department early in its planning process to determine possible safety improvements. Finding little support for this safety measure early on, the Rosewood Courts Resident Council has since established a relationship with the Public Works Department’s Neighborhood Partnering Program and plans to apply for a grant to implement traffic calming measures or a crosswalk in this area.

The Rosewood Courts Resident Apprenticeship Program was established to develop leadership capacity that could translate into improved opportunities for residents. This 10-month program, which began in January 2014, is training selected Rosewood Courts residents to become leaders so they can speak on behalf of the Rosewood Choice Neighborhoods Initiative and other important community issues. Participants are learning valuable empowerment and job readiness skills, and are building self-esteem and self-confidence that can be drawn upon to support them in future opportunities and endeavors. The fifteen leadership development trainings and the revitalization, historic preservation, affordable housing, neighborhood engagement and homeownership seminars that have been conducted with the apprentices to date have all been very successful. While Austin Interfaith plays an integral role in providing weekly leadership training as part of the apprenticeship, they have also begun to put their teaching into action with the residents – supporting residents to organize around relevant issues both on the Rosewood Courts property and in the community. Several participants have already gained the confidence and skills needed to secure employment or transition back into the workforce.