Blue collar. Rough. Safe. Opportunity. Improving. Potential. Misunderstood. Revitalizing. Rundown. Old.
Those are some of the responses that University of Iowa students and faculty, with the assistance of Mason City officials, got back from community surveys they handed out to dozens of residents during community engagement events from the past several years. Residents were responding to a question in the survey that asked "What are five words that you would use to describe the North End Neighborhood?"
Of the 35 distinct words they got back, "misunderstood" might in fact be the most apt.
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When the Mason City Council got together last week for a work session to hear a sort-of finalized presentation of the "Healthy North End Neighborhood Plan," the product of two-plus years of extensive research at the state and local level, the idea of faulty perceptions came up again and again.
Thinking differently about crime
One immediate misconception, backed up by data, that Director of Development Services Steven van Steenhuyse pointed to during the meeting is that a six-month crime data report showed that crime was not any higher in the North End than the rest of the Mason City over the time studied.
North End crime research disputes perceptions
One bit of evidence found in a new neighborhood plan for Mason City's North End is that a six-month crime data report, which appears in University of Iowa research on the area, showed that crime was not higher any higher in the North End than the rest of the Mason City over the time studied.
Sadya Islam, a master's candidate in urban and regional planning at the University of Iowa who did a spatial analysis of crime in Mason City as a part of the North End studies, added that despite the findings there was still a negative perception that the area was "infected with crime."
Her work found that because of that lingering notion people were shown to be hesitant to buy property and didn't go as readily to area restaurants, which hampered economic benefits.
Islam also found that there wasn't any specific demographic variable impacting crime incidents, which means that the city focusing on alleviating poverty and unemployment rates could better mitigate the issue.
"They are both related as increasing job opportunity will help in reducing poverty," she wrote.
Resources to mitigate and revitalize
A second section of the North End Healthy Neighborhood Plan talks at length about all of the various resources that community members could utilize to improve the area.
From the jump, the researchers note that "A Community/Neighborhood Organization could benefit the North End by bringing neighbors together, encouraging communication and cooperation, and promoting neighborhood goals and ideals," which previous city councils have indicated as well.
One suggestion is to take advantage of Nextdoor which is a free private social network for use only within a neighborhood. It can be used to spread the word about neighborhood meetings or events, share news, or connect neighbors.
The researchers also noted that Mason City supports neighborhood organizations with a matching grant of up to $3,000 per year for neighborhood improvement projects or events such as clean-up events and building welcome signs. Other ideas included in the literature are: block parties, community gardens, tool lending libraries, youth tutoring programs and paint swaps.
And, as a bit of caution, the researchers did make it clear that a lot of changes, even in a relatively small area, are incremental.
"Building an organization is a process. It canʹt be done overnight. Be patient. Identify your priorities and build them step-by-step."
Pushing for changes
In the same work, researchers from the University of Iowa's Department of Public Health developed a plan for a North End-centered push to reintroduce people to the neighborhood. Entitled "This is the North End" the campaign helped develop messaging about the "historical and personal significance and beauty of the people and places in the North End."
"We plan on bringing interest back into the area in hopes it will stimulate more investment in time, resources, and efforts into making the neighborhood a vibrant and lively place to live and do business," Samantha Kloft, Katherine McCullough, Zoe Ribar and Grace Ryan wrote.
Blue Heron has been one of the businesses already in the area that has been steadily working to improve the surroundings.
Part of Vickie and Mike Lau's goal when they opened The Blue Heron in 2017 was that they wanted to be a part of the "North End revitalization in Mason City."
"We’re not scared of being on the North End,” Vickie said at the time. "The community has been so supportive of us."
In recent days, local resident Don Murl has painted an entire side of the building with massive freshwater birds and trees.
Murl said that a big part of his motivation in jumping on the offer in the first place is that it gave him his own chance to enliven the North End.
"One of the cool things about this, you really see the pride in the North End. It's crazy how powerful art is. It gets past all the stereotypes," Murl said.
Folks like the Laus and Murl aren't alone, though.
Those researchers working on the "This is the North End" campaign remarked that they had also developed meaningful relationships with representatives from Little Chicago, Burke’s Bar and Grill and Northwestern Steakhouse.
Strengths and weaknesses
The existing businesses, as well as the possibility for new businesses, was one immediate strength of the North End that the researchers discovered. As was its architectural appeal, its proximity to Highway 65 and the strong sense of community identity present.
The major weaknesses revolved around decaying infrastructure, no health services in the immediate vicinity for those without the aid of a vehicle, a lack of nearby grocers and the reputation that the neighborhood has in the rest of Mason City in terms of cleanliness and crime.
The city's turn
With the presentation from Tuesday night, the city council now has its turn to act.
Some of the areas that the work session -- including Mayor Bill Schickel, City Administrator Aaron Burnett and all six council members -- targeted were those related to transit, housing matters and public arts projects.
One idea van Steenhuyse recommended was that public transportation services could be expanded with longer hours and weekend services, which could help residents without vehicles get to doctors appointments and do grocery shopping.
Moreover, several city officials in the room said sidewalk maintenance was also a small but impactful part of community morale.
As for housing, an idea was discussed that rental license renewal cycles should go from five years to two years, which could help improve the quality of rental experiences.
Burnett remarked that both city in general and the North End in particular could benefit from a slight re-definition of the relationship.
"The city has taken a lot of efforts on things we can do for the North End, it needs to change toward what we can do with the North End."
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