Running Head: Community Needs Assessment

Community Needs Assessment: Norwood Park

Name
Course
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Introduction

Norwood Park is one of the seventy-seven community areas of Chicago. A

notable detail about this neighborhood is the fact that it houses the oldest existing

building in Chicago. Additionally, the community area has smaller neighborhoods such

as Oriole Park, Union Ridge, Big Oaks, and Norwood east and west. Geographically,

Norwood Park covers an area of about 4.3 sq. Meters. This being my home community

several aspects make it a remarkable neighborhood in Chicago and America at large.

According to Ramsey (2004), there are always some challenges that are experienced in

any particular community. On top of that, these challenges and strengths change over

time. Here are the strengths and weaknesses that are faced by the Norwood Park

Community.

Firstly, in my research, I learned that the original group of people that settled in

this area was English farmers who settled on a small part of the land in the 1830s. Several

years later, Scandinavians, Poles, and Germans started to settle on this land. The first

person to settle on this land from Europe was Mark Noble who built a house that was still

standing in 2018. It is one of the oldest buildings in Chicago. A railway road passed

through the city in 1853. The first hotel was constructed in the area in 1868. The hotel

was constructed to attract tourists. However, this was unsuccessful. Later, there were

attempts to open a liquor store in the area, but that was ultimately blocked. The first

liquor store was opened in 2016, and it had many limitations. The road network of this

area is well distributed. Some of the ancient roads that have been improved over time

include Milwaukee Avenue, foster avenue, Harlem Avenue and Devon Avenue among

others (Encyclopedia of Chicago, 2019).

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Strengths

The area has a population of about 37000 people. More than 80% are whites,

blacks are about 1%, 4.2% are Asian, 11% are Hispanics and Latinos, and 2.2% are other

ethnic groups (Cmap.illinois.gov, 2019). Generally, most of the people who live in

Norwood Park are Serbian American. On top of that, there is a Serbian-American school

in the neighborhood which is there to help the citizen maintain the heritage and cultural

practices of the Serb-Americans. Other schools that are located in this community include

Union Ridge Elementary school, Norwood Park Elementary school, Garvy J Elementary

school, St Monica Academy and Oriole Park Elementary School. Taft High School is one

that serves the whole community for purposes of public education. Most people in this

neighborhood are police officers, firefighters, union workers, and teachers (Norwood

Park Historical Society).

On the other hand, people who live on this land have a way of life that is firmly

attached to the United States. For instance, they are always part of the Memorial Day that

always has a parade passing through the area. It is a day for honoring the people who

have served in the US Armed Forces. Notable residents in this community include John

Gacy Wayne who was an American rapist and killer, Terry Kath who was the founding

member of the music band Chicago and guitarist, Robert Hansen who was an FBI agent

given the task of spying Russian and Soviet intelligence services against USA (Havill,

2002) and Real Donner who was a rock and roll musician. The only medical facility that

is located near the neighborhood is the Presence Resurrection Medical Center. On top of

that, most people who live in this area are Christians, and there are several churches such
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as New Hop United Methodist church, New Life Norwood Park, and Windy City

Community Church.

A public library is also available in this area — the Oriole Park Library that is

located next to the Oriole Park Elementary school along Balmorals Avenue. The library

operates under the central Chicago Public Library. In 2009, Norwood Park Senior Center

was opened, and since then it has stood up to be a very imperative asset in the

community. The facility covers more than 7,000 sq. Feet in the area and has a capability

of housing more than 500 members (The Norwood Park Senior Center, 2019). The

facility operates in partnership with the City of Chicago Department of Family and

Support Services, Norwood crossing and Chicago Park District. Famous hotels and

restaurants located near Norwood Park include Renaissance Chicago O’Hare Suites

Hotel, Chicago Marriott O’Hare, Holiday Inn, and Spring Hill Suites. Summer camps are

widely found in these hotels. Also, a famous hot dog restaurant is located in the

neighborhood- it is one of the most illustrious in Chicago. Commercial and retail

activities are well distributed in the area. Some of them are found along Milwaukee

Avenue, others on Harlem Avenue and others on Higgins road. Generally, it is clear that

Norwood Park is a picturesque and quaint community that lives up to the original dreams

of those people who considered it an ideal suburb (Norwood Park Chamber of

Commerce, 2019).

Challenges

Firstly, it is evident that Norwood Park is a great neighborhood because it has

managed to give its residents most of what they need. However, there some challenges

that are faced by residents in this area. For instance, the number of public and private
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schools is low, and that is seen in the statistics that are provided about the number of

graduates- about 35% of the population in this region are the only ones who have

managed to graduate with bachelor’s degree and higher degrees (Cmap.illinois.gov,

2019). It appears that most people in this area leave the neighborhood and study in other

areas. If more facilities are developed more of them could manage to study in the area

and the number of literates could increase. Additionally, hospitals should also be

fabricated in the area. Hospitals are important because they provide employment to the

citizens. And because this is an area that is occupied mostly by middle class earners,

some of them could be working in such areas. When more hospitals are built in this

neighborhood, health care innovations will be introduced (Fels Institute of Government,

2009). The latter can help in the development of childcare centers and adult care centers.

A childcare facility should also be constructed in this region. Another challenge in this

community is the fact that there are no rehabilitation facilities and there are few police

stations. Rehabilitation facilities for drug addicts and wrong doers should be constructed

in the neighborhood or near the neighborhood.

Conclusion

To end it all, Norwood Park is a community that is small but one that has done a

lot in terms of development. It has numerous strengths and that is why people in this area

are able to live in harmony. People from different races and age groups are able to live in

harmony with each other. On the other hand, different people are able to learn the ways

and cultural practices of others via multicultural education (Ramsey, 2004).

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References

Cmap.illinois.gov. (2019). Cmap.illinois.gov. Retrieved 6 May 2019, from

https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Norwood+Park.pdf

Encyclopedia of Chicago. (2019). Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved 4 May

2019, from http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/

Fels Institute of Government. (2019). Fels.upenn.edu. Retrieved 6 May 2019, from

https://www.fels.upenn.edu/recap/posts/1071

Havill, A. (2002). The spy who stayed out in the cold: The secret life of FBI double agent

Robert Hanssen. Macmillan.

Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce. (2019). Norwoodpark.org. Retrieved 4 May

2019, from https://www.norwoodpark.org/about/

Norwood Park Historical Society. (2019). Norwoodparkhistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved 4

May 2019, from

http://www.norwoodparkhistoricalsociety.org/history/neighborhood.html

Ramsey, P. G. (2004). Teaching and learning in a diverse world: Multicultural education

for young children (Vol. 93). Teachers College Press.

The Norwood Park Senior Center. (2019). Npseniorcenter.org. Retrieved 6 May 2019,

from http://www.npseniorcenter.org/
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