This page provides more information about the redevelopment challenges in San Jose, CA profiled in our 2010 podcast series, Rebuilding Healthier Neighborhoods.
Place
San Jose
An overview of the history, demographics, and attractions of the nation's tenth largest city.
History
The Redevelopment Story
This newsletter tells the story of 50 years of redevelopment in San Jose, from the revitalization of the decayed and abandoned downtown to the commitment to community engagement and investment in residential neighborhoods.
San Jose 1975
This slideshow presents before and after photographs to illustrate how redevelopment physically transformed downtown San Jose.
History San Jose
This organization explores San Jose's past, both before and following an explosion of growth in the 1970s transformed an agricultural area into Silicon Valley.
Public Agencies
Strong Neighborhoods Iniatitive
SNI is a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization program that represents a collaboration between the City of San Jose, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, community members, business owners, and other stakeholders. Its focus is engaging residents in the redevelopment process, and is an example of effective, community-led revitalization. (For more information, see Strong Participation for Strong Neighborhoods.)
San Jose Redevelopment Agency
The agency is one of the best funded and most successful in California. At its inception, it focused on building the city's downtown and developing former farm land. Now it works to revitalize residential neighborhoods, build public facilities, develop and improve housing, and create jobs.
Santa Clara County Public Health Department
The health department works alongside the redevelopment agency to improve residents' health.
Additional Resources
The Trust for Public Land's Parks for People campaign helps government agencies and communities create and revitalize urban parks and open space. Its website features research that shows the benefits of more parks, as well as case studies and tools for park advocates. One such tool is Parkscore, an interactive map that allows users to identify parks and park inequities throughout California.
Park Access and Physical Activity
This research brief from University of California, Los Angeles, shows that California teens living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have less access to parks and are are less physically active than adolescents in wealthier neighborhoods.