Harrison Neighborhood Association

                In the face of present day challenges and prospects for economic development, The Harrison Neighborhood Association has become a reactive entity, fighting for an inclusive system of resident involvement in the future of the community.

                Historically the Harrison neighborhood has been home to a rainbow of ethnic residents. Finnish, Jewish, African American, Hmong and Somali are just a few of the people that have called Harrison home at one point or another and often at the same time.

                Yet despite this rich cultural history, Harrison continues to face obstacles associated with many lower-income, urban communities. Health issues related to environmental degradation and high levels of poverty due to lack of economic investment or opportunity have become compounded by violence and a past of crime, drugs and racial discrimination. Harrison’s status as a “food desert” only adds to disparities in health and residents’ feelings of marginalization. In a community of low income commuters the closest grocery store is more than five miles away and nearby food options tend to be low in nutrition and high in price.

                More recently, developers began looking at the neighborhood as a potential money maker. Higher gas prices and easy access to downtown fueled the vision of a redeveloped neighborhood, one convenient for affluent Minneapolis business workers. Suddenly a neighborhood usually overlooked—a community repeatedly sidelined by government policy and practice—became newly visible. Once considered a more viable venture, Harrison began to be viewed as a corridor to the city’s main downtown attractions. Yet residents living in the neighborhood for years hadn’t been included in this plan of transformation.

                So in 2005, residents of the Harrison neighborhood began coming together to voice concerns about how the redevelopment of their north Minneapolis community would affect those already living there. Facing the old stigma that stereotyped the North side as undesirable to businesses and residential prospects alike, The Harrison Neighborhood Association was a product of a meeting of 100 residents who took pride in their community.  People who were happy and willing to finally have positive changes being made but also questioned who would direct this redevelopment and reciprocally, who would actually benefit from it.

                While it ensures that local businesses are in compliance with environmental regulations, The Harrison Neighborhood Association’s main aim is the creation of better lives for residents living in the community. Healthy communities are not just important on a small scale. Statistics show that states that have thriving, involved and hopeful communities are more likely to have high levels of educational success, stable families and offer a higher quality of life overall for its residents.       

                Through a system of accountability, Harrison simultaneously combats racism, poverty and the stigmatization of the north side as an unsafe, undesirable and unworthy investment, all of which lead to the marginalization of residents’ wants, needs, rights and opportunities. As an issue driven organization, Harrison focuses on promoting residents’ participation in the redevelopment process by addressing the challenging disparities in environmental quality, affordable housing, economic viability and individual health. Harrison has become a reactive entity, fighting for an inclusive system of resident involvement in the future of the community.

                The formation of various ethnic-oriented community groups has helped to foster a renewed feeling of community. Community garden plots and a much anticipated plan to develop a co-op have been implemented, contributing to the overall health and vitality of the neighborhood and the individuals who live in it. Four new businesses have moved into the neighborhood, showing an interest in being actively involved in the community and offering new possibilities at employment and youth internship opportunities.

            Residents are no longer like so many crabs in a barrel, fighting for the discarded scraps of the larger society’s successes. Harrison has trained residents to be community leaders, encouraging their direct involvement in the redevelopment process, and giving them a voice in decision making.