A PLAN FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR A GROUP OF LOCAL RESIDENTS WHO WISH TO CREATE A MORE WELCOMING NEIGHBORHOOD

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Building a welcoming environment is imperative in today’s society, especially as it comes with benefits for both the residents and visitors. For the residents, it gives them higher sense of security, relaxation and trust; while the visitor can also enjoy the same, together with other positive outcomes emanating from such a sound environment. This is the main reason why this community development plan was initiated, to create a more welcoming neighborhood. Everybody deserves to enjoy safety and relaxation in his or her neighborhood and this is exceptionally important for parents raising young children. Therefore, this plan details set goals and objectives, actions and actors, responsibilities, what needs to be done, time frame, financial involvement, and control measures to ensure that the objectives are attained. The plan is not stringent as it allows for necessary adjustments, but efforts should always be made to ensure that the neighborhood does not drift from its set objectives.

INTRODUCTION

Communal living is renowned globally as the right way to live. This is because it promotes unity, trust, and security in the neighborhood. However, this is not something that is generally obtainable in today’s society. People have become more individualized and self-centered as a result.In view of that, any initiative which promotes a welcoming environment for people is always advised. This is the main motivation for this plan, which is designed to create a more welcoming neighborhood. The plan starts with the goal and objective. As the goal is to create a welcoming neighborhood, it is further divided into specific and attainable objectives. This is followed by discussions about the expected outcome if the plan is successfully implemented and the actions that need to be put in place for successful implementation of the plan. Roles and responsibilities are also defined, dedicating certain activities to certain members of the neighborhood. The discussion also looked at the timeframe and expected costs. Essentially, the plan is designed in such a way that it can be implemented in any neighborhood seeking to create a welcoming environment for people.GOALS

AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of this community development plan is to create a neighborhood where people share a sense of community. These goals are further divided into the following objectives:

• To develop a welcoming neighborhood where people can feel secured, relaxed and desire to visit often.

• To improve coexistence between members of the community by living as a family and protecting the interest of neighbor.

• To eliminate all forms of racism, segregation and social vices; while promoting gender, race, sexual orientation, and religious equality among all members of the neighborhood.

• To advance the image of the country through recreational activities that encourage family members to spend time with each other and other members of the neighborhood. Expected Outcomes

If the above objectives are achieved, residents are more likely to feel secure and safe, having a lower fear of crime when compared to other neighborhoods with no sense of community. It is expected that people living in this neighborhood will be more connected, feel happier and healthier about their lives and more likely to recycle, vote and help others by donating blood and volunteering. Essentially, it will make the neighborhood better while personally helping the residents because:

• Member of the neighborhood will feel secured and safe raising their children there.

• There will be recreational facilities where families can meet and connect.

• Members will see it other as a family, looking out for each other especially in times of danger.

ACTIONS

This section discusses the actions that will be undertaken in order to attain the individual objectives above.

Engagement and communication — a neighborhood is a decision, and anyone can be a good neighbor. However, it all starts with a good initiative, and the rewards make it worthwhile. Therefore, the plan will start with a clear articulation of community development initiatives and concepts, where all members of the neighborhood can contribute as regards how they want it to be better. This will be followed by the development of local ownership and community decision-making, where generated ideas will be used to plan and initiate the community development program. Finally, the objectives will be communicated to all members from the onset, devoting tasks and providing room for regulation of activities that will help attain set objectives. There

will be a wide range of accessible, appropriately planned and maintained community infrastructure where residents and visitors can visit, relax and connect. This will include a central playground with a swimming pool and an open clinic for medical care.

Participation/activation: in order to support the community goal, individuals and clubs will need to contribute through effective participation and activation. This will also increase opportunities for positive social celebration and interaction within the neighborhood. Participation can also come in the form of community services, assisting in enabling the growth of the neighborhood by volunteering to serve in different areas.

ACTORS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

For this plan to effectively excel, all adult member of the neighborhood will need to participate in the. The reason for choosing adults is because they can provide guidance to their wards at home both through actions and descriptions, which they will transcribe and transfer across the neighborhood. Additionally, there will be financial involvements, and these adults are the ones that will eventually contribute towards such goal. It is expected that whatever benefit (monetary) generated through the community infrastructures will be used to support the entire neighborhood. However, the members of the neighborhood will be grouped into different categories and assigned specific tasks as discussed below.

Actors Designated tasksPlanning committeeThey are responsible for drafting a plan on how the initiative will be designed, created, and implemented. They will seek the consent of the neighborhood for any changes they wish to make to the initial plan. Implementation committeeThey are responsible for seeing that the plan is executed as detailed on paper. That is to say, they will oversee the construction of agreed facilities and how people relate to each other in the neighborhood. Control committeeTheir job is to make sure that all members of the neighborhood stick to agreed rules and regulations, and the overall objective of the initiative is never left in the dust. 

TIME FRAME AND DEADLINE

Overall, the initiative will be completed within a space of one year maximum, but the breakdown of time frame and justifications are detailed below.

First month – the first month will be used to engage members of the neighborhood on what the initiative is all about and what it is paramount in the neighborhood. Taking time constraints brought about by varied working hours, the engagement and communication phase is expected to last up to one month, allowing for adequate communication and gathering the views of all members of the neighborhood.

During this phase, the first step will be getting to know their neighbors. While it is never easy to find the courage to make new connections, once initiated, people tend to discover that it is easier after the first step. The initiative will not work without the full support of the entire neighborhood (or at least, majority of the neighborhood). Therefore, they will need to know each other and build necessary connections.

Second – fifth month – this period will be used to build all necessary infrastructure, such as the central playground for kids and clinic. The clinic might not be complete within this period, but the idea is that one of the residents will lease some space for the new clinic. Therefore, they might be no need to out-rightly construct a new one.  

Sixth month onwards – with the projects completed, everybody can now live together in harmony and peace, becoming an envy of other neighborhood.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

To achieve this unique neighborhood, the following will need to be accomplished.

A standard playground/recreational center – the goal is to promote communal living and, as such, it is imperative that this be made manifest in the infrastructure available in the neighborhood. This will be done by constructing a standard recreational center/playground where people from the entire neighborhood can come and connect, meet, and relax. Additionally, it will be one of the attractions for visitors, making them feel welcome whenever they come around the neighborhood. It should be located in a central area that can easily be accessed by residents, and it should be aesthetically designed. As

one of the main objectives of this initiative is for members to always watch out for each other, it is necessary that a medical unit be located within the neighborhood. It would reduce the stress of sourcing relevant medications while also providing residents with general care. Additionally, visitors can also benefit in the event that they need such care. The clinic will be leased to medical professionals who can house it with basic first-aid equipment, medications, and services. It will serve as a bridge between the neighborhood and the main hospital. At

least once per annum, members of the neighborhood will need to organize a mini-picnic or get-together event. This is to further promote and sustain the togetherness that is central to the objective of this initiative. New residents will be welcome, while old ones will have the opportunity to share ideas and time together. It's also a good time for families to get to know one another, make new friends, and strengthen existing bonds with grandparents.Additionally, it can be used to teach members of the neighborhood about new issues and events taking place in the larger society, such as sensitization and training programs.

Peace, security and relaxation – finally, with the accomplishments above, the main accomplishment will be a welcoming neighborhood that is known for its peace, security and relaxing atmosphere, one that people will envy and desire to live in.

RESOURCES

In order to attain this objective, both human and financial resources will be needed. For instance, significant financial investment will be made in building the central recreational center and equipping the clinic. The funds can be raised through the individual contributions of people living in the neighborhood or by seeking external funding. Whichever is the case, care should be taken to ensure that the facilities are used to generate money that will be used to repay the original source of funding. As a communal project, it is believed that people around can contribute their own tokens in different ways, enabling the project to cost less than it would have without their contribution. This can be done through volunteering to participate in building the recreational center, or by offering certain resources to ease the entire project. In any case, the decision to fund the project should be made optional to avoid issues arising from mandatorily sourcing money from residents. Since the overall objective is to create a welcoming neighborhood where people will have to pay in order to use the facilities, care should be taken to ensure that they are not being exorbitantly charged, as such would drift from the main goal of the initiative.

CONCLUSION

In today’s world that is filled with numerous challenges and social issues, communal living presents the right opportunity for people to unite and create a more befitting environment. However, such is not the case, especially in individualized nations (like Australia), where people focus more on their personal goals and desires. This is why certain preventable crimes occur in neighborhoods where they should naturally not be occurring, as people seem to apply an "I don’t care attitude" to issues and challenges being faced by their neighbors. In view of this understanding, this plan sought to develop a community development initiative that will be used to create a more welcoming neighborhood. It is mainly centered on communal living, where everybody is looking out for everybody and people help each other as a family. The overall objective, which successful implementation of this initiative aims to achieve, is to build a neighborhood that is safe, relaxing, and welcoming for both the people who live within and those who visit. In order to achieve this, the plan should be carefully and strategically implemented as detailed above, making adjustments where necessary but never drifting from the main objective.