1. Healthy Northeast
Initiative
Hartford, Connecticut
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Roadmaps to Health Community Prize Application
June 7, 2012

2. A Vision For a Safer, Healthier
and more Prosperous
Northeast Hartford

3. Healthy Northeast Key Collaborators
• City of Hartford • Donaghue Foundation
• Department of Health and Human Services • Connecticut Health Foundation
• Burgdorf/Bank of America Health Center • Conway School of Landscape Design
• University of Hartford College of • Ebony Horsewomen Children’s Program
Education, Nursing and Health Professions • Friends of Keney Park
• University of Connecticut • Hartford Catholic Worker
Center for Public Health and Health Policy • Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
• Center
Central Connecticut Area Health Education • Husky Sport
• Community Solutions • Hartford Housing Authority
• Saint Francis Primary Care Center • Journey Home
and Health Equity Center • Judah House
• Hartford Food System • Martin Luther King School
• Catholic Charities • NAACP
• Center for Children’s Advocacy • North Star
• Chrysalis Center • Northeast Neighborhood Partners, Inc.
• Community Health Center, Inc. • Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Zone
• Community Health Centers • Peacebuilders
Association of Connecticut • Salvation Army
• Community Health Services • Smith College
• Community Partners in Action • Three Generations Navaehn
• Community Renewal Team/Generations • United States District Attorney Office
• Center/Hartford Childhood Wellness Alliance • Urban Alliance
• Connecticut Community Care • Vine Street Blockwatch Group

4. By connecting vulnerable populations to the
supports they need, and strengthening the social
and economic fabric of their neighborhoods,
people can remain stably housed within the
context of their own communities

5. Northeast
Hartford
At $75,086, Hartford had the
highest per-capita GDP in
Downtown
2011 of the 200 largest
Hartford
metropolitan economies in the
world
Northeast Hartford’s estimated
median household income is
$20,389 and the neighborhood
has a poverty rate of 38%
Hartford Connecticut

6. The Northeast
Neighborhood
Population: 10,137
•Foreign Born 892: (8.8%)
•Black, Non-Hispanic: 8,039 (79.3%)
•White, Non-Hispanic: 142 (1.4%)
•Other Race: 30 (0.3%)
•Hispanic: 1,926 (19%)
Keney
Park
Keney Park makes up 40%
of the neighborhood

7. Community Asset Map
We mapped everything in the neighborhood that was not a house to determine what assets and
resources already existed in the neighborhood and where there were gaps.

8. Community Resource Database
We converted the information gathered on the map into a database of all existing
resources serving the neighborhood. We are partnering with Hartford Public Library
and Hartford Department of Health and Human Services to make the database a user-
friendly online resource for the whole neighborhood.

9. How do we address
Northeast Hartford’s
challenges and leverage
its assets for positive
change?

10. The Swift Factory
Swift
Factory
The remediated factory complex will be renovated to provide space
for light industry, entrepreneurs, artisans and food production,
creating 50 jobs and serving as a catalyst for economic development
throughout the neighborhood.

11. Five-Corners Farm
In partnership with Hartford Food System and Knox Parks Foundation, we
transformed the open space on the Swift factory site into an urban farm that is in its
second growing season.

12. Keney Park
Address
Swift Factory Redevelopment
Neighborhood
Conditions & Health
Issues Supportive
Housing
Strengthen the
Economic and Northeast
Social Fabric of Neighborhood Grow
the Community Create Residents Healthy
50 Jobs
Food
Integrated Health,
Employment & Social
Enhance Services
walkability and
physical Anchor Neighborhood
connections Revitalization
between
neighborhood
Build Partnerships
assets and Social
Connections
Interior of the Swift Factory

13. Parker Memorial
New Private Low- Brackett Park Community Center
Income Housing
•Construction has begun
•Open greenspace •Brand new multi-million dollar facility with
•New playscape and Gymnasium, Pool & Computer labs
for new homes on land
that was part of Brackett shelter slated for
Park construction
Westtland S
Wes land Stre
treett
e
Nelton Court
Exit Only
Public Housing Exit Only
Driveway
Driveway
•Recently torn down
•Will be replaced by 80
new low-income rental
units
4New entrance off of
Westland Street will add
activity to the street and
could connect to PMCC

14. Keney
Keney Churches Building a visible
public life in the
Park
Park neighborhood
Swift
Swift
Factory
Factory
Urban Hope
Urban Hope
Church
Church
5-Corners
5-Corners
Intersection
Intersection
Churches are a source
of social capital “We used to go to
services and
afterwards everybody
•23 churches in the neighborhood gathered in Keney Park,
•Already active communities the place to meet.”

15. Edge of
Park
Baseball Fields
h
•Active and • Cricket, baseball
visible from and basketball
the street are all popular
Swift
Factory
activities in the
park

16. Edge of
Park
The Simpson-
h
Waverly School
0
Swift
Factory
• 10 schools • Keney Park has a rich
within a half- biodiversity, and could serve
mile of the park as a valuable educational
resource.

17. Edge of
Park
Swift
Factory
Pedestrian Entrance at Love Lane
• Entrances are
not clearly
marked or
welcoming
• Dense forest and
undergrowth prevent
clear site lines and Pedestrian Entrance near Keney Pond
makes the park feel
more dangerous
Park Entrances

18. Edge of
Park
Gully Brook
Swift
Factory
•Illegal dumping •Park
occurs here and maintenance is
throughout the restricted by a
park limited budget

19. Edge of
Park
Keney Park Pond
House
Swift
Factory
• Keney Pond and West
Meadow are the most active
areas in the park
• New playground • There is no sidewalk so
• Swimming pool pedestrians entering
• Pond from the street are
• Summer camps forced to share the
driveway with cars

20. Guiding Principles for Safe Design
Taken from crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and
prospect and refuge design theory
•Natural Surveillance
• Visibility of others and visibility by others
•Control and Choice
• Known entrances and exits
• Ability to escape
•Legibility & Coherence
• Knowing where you are and where you’re going
• Familiarity & ability to read your environment
•Maintenance
• Public areas that are unmaintained invite criminal
behavior
• Devote resources fully to smaller areas and
expand only as more resources become available
•Territoriality
• Places need to “belong” to somebody. Care
shows ownership.

21. Pedestrian Entrance to Keney
Park on Edgewood Street
Observations: Recommendations:
•The entrance is unmarked •Create a managed forest edge with no
•Visibility is limited by underbrush near the trail.
vegetation •Add inviting signage that lets people know
•Not wheelchair accessible where they are and where the trail leads.
•Add a bench or plantings to formalize the
entrance and show that it is cared for.
•Add a curb cut for accessibility

22. Ho
lco
m
Gully Brook
b
St
re
et
Keney Park
Ebony Horse Women Keney Golf Course
Keney Pond
Lo
ve
et
Gr
re
L
St
an
ee
ne
d
e
Vi
nfi
oo
eld
W
w
ge
es
Ed
tla
Swift Site
nd
St
ree
t
Proposed Park Edge Greenway
•5 new pedestrian entrances • Moreinviting walking environment
than the street
•Pedestrians experience woods •Safer park = more people
while being visible from the street more people = safer park

23. Park Edge Greenway Parking Bike Lane Bike Lane Parking Sidewalk
Cross Section of Park Edge Greenway on Vine Street
Park edge on Vine Street Park edge on Vine Street

24. Why is Walkability Important?
People at the lowest end of the economic stratum are particularly vulnerable to
economic or social disruption
Access to supportive social and health services can be
the difference between a family or individual becoming
homeless or staying in their home
43% of households in Northeast
Hartford do not own vehicles
The people who most need services, frequently have
the most difficulty traveling to them.

25. Safe Pedestrian
Crossings
Clearly marked
crossings
Curb Extensions
•Make pedestrians more visible &
shortens walking distance
•Narrows street, causing cars to
naturally slow
•Expands right of way and provides
more space for trees, stormwater
infiltration or street furniture

26. Inviting Streets
•Lighting
•Trash Cans
•Bus Shelters & Benches
Add Street Trees &
Vegetation
•Studies in poor urban
neighborhoods have shown that
vegetation that does not block
visibility can actually reduce
crime and help residents feel
more hopeful about the future. Westland & Barbour Street
Kuo and Sullivan, 2001
Repair Sidewalks
•Degraded sections of sidewalk are
barriers to mobility
Main Street south of Battles Street

27. Keney Future
Swift
Park Homes &
Factory
Future Urban Street
Site
Farm Extension
Love Lane
Risley Street Parker Memorial
Earle Street
Community Center
& Brackett Park
Westland Street
Green & Residential
Corridor to Keney Park
•The 0.6 mile journey from the PMCC to Keney Park would be through green space and quiet residential streets.
•Crosses directly through the Swift Factory’s Urban Farm
•Avoids the higher traffic and criminal activity of Westland Street.
Keney Park Swift Factory PMCC

28. Vacant Lots
• Invite
crime and illegal
dumping
• Cause decreased
property values
• Costmoney for city to
maintain
• Foster community connections
& interactions
• Enhance ecological health of
neighborhoods
• Provide food and educational
opportunities
• Provide green space for passive
and active recreation
• Increase property values by as
much as 30%

29. ‘Green’ Strategies for transforming vacant lots:
Stabilize
Lots
•Shows that a
space is cared for
•Deters criminal
activities
•Increases
property values
•Enhances
ecosystem health

30. Green Strategies for
transforming vacant lots: •Community
Gardens
•Pocket Parks
Stabilize
Public Art
•Market Gardens
•Urban Farms Recreational Sites
•Nurseries

31. Potential Pocket Park
t
Swif
Plan view of
intersection
Vacant lot
•Highly Visible
•Centrally located near
Swift, in between
Keney Park and Parker
Center
•Low cost solution with
large impact
•Increases bus stop
safety and
neighborhood safety Vacant Lot on corner Garden & Westland Streets

32. In the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s:
In the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s:
“That intersection of Love Lane, Garden & Westland
Swift
Swift Street had all the conveniences, from a barber shop,
Factory
Factory Lasoff’s Bakery, a cleaners, and First National
Grocery (which later became a Stop & Shop), to a
shoe repair, kosher meat market, and Shvetz Home
Circle Grocery.”
5-Corners
5-Corners
Intersection
Intersection
5-Corners was once
a vibrant
commercial
intersection

33. Swift
Factory
5-Corners
Intersectio
n
Swift Site
The southernmost corner of the Possible Uses:
Swift site is a very visible,
prominent space that could be •Multi-use structure
transformed into a way-station or •Moveable furniture (hay
bales)
green oasis, as well as a •Farm stand
destination that could actively •Pocket Park
engage the community before •Outdoor movie nights
the building itself is renovated. •Performances

34. Building upon a Vibrant Northeast Hartford
These diverse ideas will contribute to an
ongoing conversation with residents about how
they envision their future