| Over the past 2 decades, the City of Ithaca, New York, has experienced a profound shift in its economic base from manufacturing and agriculture to retail, service, and education. As a result, many city families live in poverty. Due to the presence of both Cornell University and Ithaca College in this small city of 30,000 residents, the amount of Ithaca's tax-exempt property is significant and exacerbates its inability to meet many of the community's social and economic needs. Despite the efforts of the numerous social service agencies to ameliorate Ithaca's social problems, issues such child poverty, gaps in healthcare, inadequate housing, low school attainment, and the lack of marketable job skills, continue to plague the city. These issues are particularly evident in the Ithaca Flats neighborhoods of Southside, Northside, Downtown, and Titus Flats, which comprise the target area of Cornell University's COPC. Working with the university's Cooperative Extension office and Public Service Center, which coordinates Cornell's service learning activities, the COPC will address such issues as computer skills training, youth development, family financial management, brownfield identification, neighborhood livability, fair housing, lead-based paint hazards, access to food and healthcare, and leadership capacity building. COPC partners include the City Planning Department, the Housing Authority, the Urban Renewal Agency, the Ithaca Public Schools, the city police department, the Economic Opportunity Corporation, Catholic Charities, and the Southside Community Center.
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