The following article and podcast originally appeared on the City of Spartanburg Citizen News Blog.
Nowhere in any community redevelopment expert’s notes will you find “bring a medical college to your neighborhood” listed as a strategy to spur a holisic rethinking of an area plagued for decades by depopulation, decaying housing stock, concentraitions of generational poverty, and lack of investment, but on Spartanburg’s Northside, that’s exactly what happened.
On this second part of the City of Spartanburg’s Northside Rising podcast series, the hosts are taking a look back at how public investment, private philanthropy, and sustained community engagement came together to create the most ambitious community-led neighborhood transformation initiative in Spartanburg history. Listen below for more, and be on the lookout for more from the Northside Rising series!
Want to listen to the City of Spartanburg podcast on the go? You can find it on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher or search “Spartanburg City News” in your favorite podcast app. Theme music provided by Spartanburg singer-songwriter, David Ezell.
Note: Later this year, the Northside Development Group will mark its 10th year since it was founded to be a land bank to guide development and protect the community’s interests on the Northside. The NDG partnered with the Northside Voyageurs, Northside residents and the City of Spartanburg to launch the Northside Initiative, the most comprehensive neighborhood revitalization effort in the city’s history.
Prepared by the City of Spartanburg.