| The University of Vermont (UVM) is located in Burlington, a city of 38,000 residents in the northwestern portion of the State. The university's Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) is focusing its activities on the Old North End (ONE) of Burlington, a neighborhood developed in the 1800s that now makes up the HUD-designated urban Enterprise Community (1994) and the Enterprise Zone Strategic Planning Community (1999). The ONE is a physically distressed area that is plagued by poverty, high unemployment, an inadequate housing supply, and a deteriorating infrastructure. However, it also has an extremely active citizenry, with more than 500 residents playing an active role in civic associations that are working to improve the neighborhood and influence city goals, policies, and budgets. COPC activities concentrate on building effective, reciprocal, and sustainable community partnerships with the city of Burlington and community residents and organizations. These partners are building the capacity and effectiveness of citizen associations, developing strategies to ensure that university decisions have a positive economic impact on the city, and opening up Burlington's suburbs to housing for low-income people.
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