The Woodstock Institute, a Foundation grantee, recently released a report (PDF) showing that in 2007 alone, more than 35 percent of foreclosures in Chicago were filed on small multi-family properties. The report notes that in neighborhoods in the Foundation's New Communities Program, (link to NCP here) an average of 50 percent of the foreclosures are in multi-family properties, with some neighborhoods — including East Garfield Park, Pilsen and North Lawndale — experiencing foreclosures on small, two-to four-unit multi-family buildings of greater than 70 percent. The study underscores the extent to which tenants in these buildings are the silent victims of the foreclosure crisis, with many facing evictions or having to leave buildings in which services are no longer being maintained.
The Foundation supports efforts to strengthen communities for the benefit of individuals and families and for the positive contribution that such communities make to their cities and regions. Its primary focus is comprehensive revitalization of 16 Chicago neighborhoods through a partnership with the Chicago office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). The Foundation also awards a limited number of grants through initiatives on community safety, economic security and economic development; for documentation, evaluation, and communications; and for research on community dynamics.
The Foundation also advances community development on a national scale through its investment and involvement in Living Cities: The National Community Development Initiative, which channels funds from financial and philanthropic organizations and agencies of the federal government to support community development efforts in 23 U.S. cities. Living Cities also focuses on issues related to national urban policy.
MacArthur commissioned an evaluation of the progress of the New Communities Program in 2006. Read the evaluation.
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