Revitalizing London's Old East Village

Posted March 2005
by Lorna Heidenheim, based on interviews with Sarah Merritt & Michael Hannay

The Old East Village holds great historical significance within the City of London and is a community that embraces its rich diversity.¹ It is also an area in transition. In the mid-1980's, its suffered from a "compete breakdown in infrastructure ... as a result of [the growth of] suburban development and malls".² The employment structure in the area had deteriorated, years ago, because of the loss of manufacturing, industry and railroads. Also, most traffic now flows around the urban core, due to an increase in the number of cars and suburban development. For these reasons, the number of shoppers frequenting this commercial corridor has declined over the past two decades.

In 2002, the Old East Village Business Association (OEVBIA), launched an effort to revitalize the area's commercial corridor. Their work has included research, planning and implementing projects. It is building upon the work of previous efforts to build community capacity, such as "Picturing a Healthy Community", a project of the London Intercommunity Health Centre in 1994. Sarah Merritt, Manager of the OEVBIA observes, "It takes 10 years to rebuild infrastructure and create conditions by which community members can take on an initiative of this magnitude and scope".

Some of the issues identified during the course of this revitalization initiative were:

• The loss of value within the area.
• The absence of a community association to deal with community concerns.
• The need for more affordable housing to encourage more people to live in the corridor and thus to stop the population decline.
• An increase in the number of social services in the area, due to the lower rental rates and the proximity of clients. While increasing retail and commercial activity is the most important way to revitalize the commercial corridor, the project is trying to be socially inclusive and to seek solutions that benefit all groups.

The involvement of the Planners Action Team (PACT) is a key part of the initiative's success. The PACT is volunteer service provided by the Southwest Chapter of the Ontario Provincial Planners Institute.³ It includes ten planners with a broad base of expertise, and is chaired by Michael Hannay, a professional planner specializing in urban design. PACT has helped the community to develop a revitalization plan by responding to their concerns and creating a framework for that will create change. Community members took on many responsibilities and the process quickly expanded. Hanney observes that "the community showed a great deal of commitment to implement PACT's recommendations".

Regarding Pact's contribution, Merritt notes that: "sometimes to move forward we need people with status, commitment and a specific skill set to be involved from outside the community, as long as they listen to the community and community members are learning at the same time".

The goal of the revitalization plan is to "create a vibrant commercial corridor at the heart of an inclusive community where people live, work, shop and have fun."⁴ A variety of approaches were used to develop the plan. Community residents, business owners, politicians and service providers were consulted and thirteen focus groups were held. With support from the City of London, detailed maps were made to show the demographics, social and recreation facilities and economic characteristics of the area. A physical inventory of the buildings along the commercial corridor was also completed. According to Hannay, the maps revealed a real split along Adelaide Street, on the western border of the area. East of Adelaide St. there is less park space, people have lower education, there are more new immigrants, a higher density of social services and more single parent families. The ward councillors and others felt that the maps confirmed what they were seeing on the ground.

The revitalization plan addresses the underlying problems facing the corridor, not just the symptoms of those problems. It is a comprehensive plan that "thinks big" but advocates "steady, deliberate steps" toward improvement . PACT proposed 34 priorities for the Old East Village, clustered under objectives such as:

• Improving the desirability of the area to live and visit.
• Strengthening the connection between the community and the commercial corridor.
• Creating a village core within which revitalization efforts will be concentrated.
• Developing entertainment, recreation and arts opportunities

As of October, 2004, 14 of the 34 priorities listed had been, or were in the process of being, implemented and 17 were under review by the City of London.

The visible and invisible successes of the initiative include:

• securing funding to help implement the revitalization plan;
• steps towards developing and implementing affordable housing models;
• initiating partnerships to create and implement a comprehensive crime prevention program;
• beginning the process to obtain Heritage District Designation for the Old East Village;
• supporting the formation of the Old East Village Community Association;
• increasing community involvement and neighbourhood pride; and
• developing new knowledge as a result of professionals from different disciplines working together with business people and community members.

Having a good plan is vital to this type of neighbourhood revitalization effort. But, the most important ingredient for success in this case may be:

"the commitment of the community; residents, business and property owners, to work collectively toward a shared vision, which will require funding, long term programming, a shift in business practices and a cultural change in the way the Old East Village is addressed by all stakeholders"

Additional information about this ambitious initiative is available on their website: www.oldeastvillage.com

Footnotes:
1. www.oldeastvillage.com
2. Sarah Merritt: interview January 18, 2005.
3. Michael Hannay: interview January 24, 2005
4. Old East Village program brochure "How are we Doing? PACT Returns to our Village" Oct. 15, 2004