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Residents Ready To Leave Area

Many cite negative aspects of the community in a survey.

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By Lenora Lake, Tampa Tribune correspondent

Published: February 13, 2008

UNIVERSITY AREA - UNIVERSITY AREA - More than 65 percent of residents who participated in the first phase of a community survey said they definitely would or probably would move from the University Area within a year.

A report on the survey, conducted by the Jim Walter Partnership Center at the University of South Florida, stated that people wanted to move to get better housing costs, better schools for their children, better stores and other facilities and to live in an area with less racial or ethnic tension.

A majority of the 230 people surveyed said they believe crime, drug dealing, drug use, public drinking, litter, broken glass and poor street lighting are problems in the area.

However, 39 percent of the respondents believed that the area would be better the next year, 34 percent believed it would be the same and 24 percent believed it would be worse.

Despite the problems, the survey showed that nearly 75 percent felt the police did a good job dealing with people in the area and were usually fair.

More than 65 percent rated activities at the University Area Community Center as valuable.

The Quality of Life Survey was conducted in 2006 and 2007 in two parts. Phase 1 was a "convenience" sample of 230 people at the University Area Community Health Center. The group was mainly black females whose highest level of education was a high school diploma. That report was released last month.

The other was a "random" survey of another 230 residents throughout the community at the residents' homes. That report is due soon.

The report was compiled by Chris Gibson, who has since left USF for another university, and William Blount, who has since retired. The Jim Walter Partnership Center is releasing the information, but Gibson and Blount are expected to complete the second report.

The survey was funded through a three-year federal anticrime grant, which has been extended by at least a year.

It was designed to make recommendations as to how the community should implement programs to fight crime.

Julian Garcia, executive director of the University Area Community Development Corp., said community leaders are looking at the results to see if whether the anticrime programs the corporation started are the best ways to respond to residents' needs.

Those programs include a business association, a faith-based coalition and after-school activities for children at risk.

Garcia said the results showing that more than 65 percent expected to move in the next year "is exactly why we did this survey. It shows the people's perception of what the neighborhood was."

He said community leaders' "next step is public relations — both inside the neighborhood and outside."

He said residents need to know how public facilities such as the health center and social services center and new private apartments offering low-income housing "will benefit them and how things have changed."

Jerry Miller, director of research of the Jim Walter Partnership Center, said the partnership wants to make use of the information to help others trying to work collaboratively to improve neighborhoods.

"The way we are using this is to put together a community handbook — a tool kit — to train other communities," Miller said.

Manny Rivero, the partnership center's executive director, said, "It is going to give us some directions to help other universities with high-crime areas adjacent."

Rivero said that although some of the information was collected about two years ago, "I feel it is the most accurate representation of the neighborhood.

"It would be outdated if it had been done in '89 before the huge population shift."

Since then, many Hispanics from Mexico, Central America and South America have moved to the community.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851 or llake@tampatrib.com.

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