The City of Grand Rapids has designated 17 tracts in the city–mostly located west and south of downtown—as “Neighborhoods of Focus.” These zones are given priority in the distribution of government spending and programs.
The districts receive their designation on the basis of data presented in the Economic Inclusion in Grand Rapids report, which, originally published in 2016 and revised in 2020, sets out to track “progress toward economic inclusion in the [sic] Grand Rapids.”
NOFs were formed by the city, in partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation around 2016.
The Designated Areas
Though the neighborhoods are granted this designation based upon income, educational attainment, homeownership, wealth accumulation, and related social determinants of health, the City of Grand Rapids’ NOF policy is also guided by “ethnicity,” “race,” and the “gender identity or gender expression” of the involved residents, according to the city’s Demographic Statement.
The locations of the districts can be seen here.
The NOFs encompass part or all of the following neighborhoods: Alger Heights, Baxter, Black Hills, Downtown, East Hills, Eastern-Burton, Garfield Park, Grandville, Heritage Hill, John Ball Park, Oldtown-Heartside, Ottawa Hills, Roosevelt Park, Shawmut Hills, Southeast Community, Southeast End, Southwest, and West Grand.
According to official data from the Johnson Center, over half of the residents in the 17 districts are black or Hispanic, in keeping with the designation’s aim to “embed equity throughout government operations.”
Approximately a third of Grand Rapids’ total population–66,000 residents–lives within NOF districts. The poverty rate in the NOFs is around 30%, while the city as a whole is closer to 20%.
Specific Programs
The city uses the NOF designation to prioritize investments, policies, programs, and financial resources. Thus, rather than being a single program, the designation gives these areas in the city priority for special incentives and programs.
Programs include the targeted distribution of federal tax dollars to select groups, such as the appropriation of the 2021 CARES Act money to NOFs specifically.
Another significant program is the recently paused Emerging Developers Grant program, which the City of Grand Rapids administers through its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, a public entity that exists under state statute to facilitate the cleanup, revitalization, and redevelopment of blighted or obsolete properties.
The program’s function is to provide grants for predevelopment expenses needed to obtain site plan approval. It privileges less experienced developers in the grant distribution process.
Other NOF-targeted expenditures include free summer camps, youth and adult recreation, outdoor fitness, scholarships, and facility upgrades–for instance, MLK Park Community Center, Roosevelt Park Lodge. The zones are also eligible for equity-scored capital investments.
Residents of these areas also receive automatic 30% discounts on all Lime Bike and Scooter rides starting in an NOF.