New Communities Program

The New Communities Program (NCP) is a long-term intensive initiative to support the comprehensive development of 16 Chicago neighborhoods.

Funded largely by the MacArthur Foundation, which has already invested $21 million into the program and committed another $26 million over the 2007-2011 period, NCP seeks to rejuvenate challenged communities, bolster those in danger of losing ground and preserve the diversity of areas in the path of gentrification.

The methodology, borrowed from a similar program operated in New York’s South Bronx in the 1990s, centers on the development of a Quality-of-Life Plan under the supervision of a local “lead agency” selected by LISC in each of the neighborhoods. Significant funding is then provided to the agency or other organizations in the community in furtherance of the Plan.

Ambitious by design, NCP supports a panorama of enterprises in the communities, including those related to housing, commercial and retail development, employment, health care, parks and recreation, child care, educational quality, the arts and community security.

Learn more at www.newcommunities.org

For more information, contact Chris Brown, cbrown@lisc.org or 312-422-9555.