I’ve been spending a lot of time recently getting to know City Heights, as you might have noticed.
I’ve written stories featuring a Buddhist temple there, reported on an alleged Ponzi scheme targeting its Somali community, sat down for a Q&A with the director of a refugee resettlement agency and followed community groups trying to improve quality of life there.
A couple of weeks ago, I noted some of the interesting challenges facing residents in City Heights as they figure out how to handle an influx of philanthropic investment aimed at revitalizing the community. It’s an important issue I’m going to continue exploring in my reporting in my stories and on my blog.
If it interests you, too, be sure to check out an hour-long documentary airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. on KPBS. It’s part of a series called “California and the American Dream.”
From the film description:
“The Price of Renewal” examines issues of diversity, development and civic engagement as a single community (City Heights) struggles to rebuild a tattered and declining neighborhood. …
“The Price of Renewal” explores what is gained and what is lost as a community develops and improves itself through a partnership with public and private entities. What are the challenges of crafting a vibrant urban village from an ethnically, culturally and economically diverse population?
If you miss it tomorrow, you can catch it again on Thursday, at 3 a.m.
I received several e-mails from readers after running my story on City Heights philanthropy earlier this month. It’s clear that there’s a range of opinions on the direction City Heights should take as it tries to revitalize, and I’m looking forward to hearing what residents have to say.
So feel free to shoot me an e-mail with your thoughts, ideas or suggestions on where I should be looking or what I should be asking. What are the biggest issues facing City Heights? What interesting work are you or people you know engaged in there? What’s working and what isn’t?
Get in touch at adrian.florido@voiceofsandiego.org, or via Twitter @adrianflorido. Or comment on this post.
— ADRIAN FLORIDO