Ventura Westside & North Avenue Community

The Westside Community of Ventura is one of the most diverse and oldest areas of the city of Ventura. It is composed of a working class neighborhood defined by the City’s oil industry. The members are highly involved and are led by the Westside Community Council (Arroyo, 2006). However, with the decline of the oil industry business, the Westside area is undergoing various transformations to become a more livable community for it residents. It is also transforming itself so that it includes more cultural amenities and commercial and industrial jobs to stimulate growth and development.

Thus, the various revitalizing efforts have undergone various forms in recent years, with emphasis on a community driven process on a community driven process, which aims at capitalizing on the areas existing assets. Some of the efforts include the Westside Urban Design plan of 1999, The West side Economic Development strategy (2006), among others.

The park, Recreation and Community programs offer various benefits to the community. Research shows that these amenities offer social, personal and economic benefits. The City of Ventura’s Parks, Recreation and Community partnership Department in collaboration with the Ventura Police Activities League help disadvantaged by providing a proactive and positive approach to crime prevention as well as aiding them grow into productive citizens.

The residents of the Westside are willing to enhance the quality of life that is within their neighborhoods. To promote sense of place, preserve their cultural identity and foster connectivity, revitalization of the public realm and the redevelopment of industrial and commercial areas provide the highest design aimed to promote these factors (Arroyo, 2006).

Mobility is the ability of goods, individuals and services to move from one place to another. Effective and efficient mobility is crucial to social interaction, a vibrant economy and safety.  The various transportation enhancers aimed at promoting mobility in the Westside Community area include community gateways, improved connectors and public streetscape design. Thus, to achieve this, it is essential to encourage various models of travel through the provision of infrastructure for bikes, buses and pedestrians. The community has a goal to improve parking along Ventura Avenue for commercial business customers.

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