| The 400-block Oak Forest neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas is characterized by a declining housing stock, below-average incomes compared to the city as a whole, and rising crime. In an effort to revitalize the area, the COPC at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) is working with the city and four neighborhood associations who have formed a collaborative called "The Oak Forest Initiative." The neighborhoods - including Oak Forest, Curran Conway, HOPE, and Midway - have focused their activities on job training, development of an Oak Forest Community Development Corporation (CDC), fair housing education, leadership training, and technical assistance to neighborhoods.
The Little Rock Consolidated Plan identifies sections of Oak Forest, and the Enterprise Community (EC) to which it belongs, as either transitional or deteriorating. The plan outlines a number of actions designed to revitalize the area, including consumer education, technical assistance to CDCs and Community Housing Development Organizations, and a needs assessment for each of the city's neighborhood associations. The COPC's outreach agenda was designed to complement the Consolidated Plan by providing plan-sanctioned activities in a targeted area.
UALR has been involved in the EC for many years. A 1996 UALR-conducted community assets mapping project revealed that much of the EC is underserved by local public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Subsequently, more than 60 neighborhood residents and university employees participated in a process to establish the UALR Neighborhood Homework Center, which is operated in partnership with two local schools. In a separate project, university staff established a Neighborhood Leadership Training Program in 1996.
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