Neighborhoods
Read more about the article Shadow Wood residents endure short-term construction disruption for long-term gainsLuke Cooper
Traffic accumulates outside of the Shadow Wood Mobile Homes on N. Market St. on Sept. 11. This has been the usual seen on N. Market Street due to utility construction, creating a bottlenecked road where drivers wait for the direction of traffic to alternate.

Shadow Wood residents endure short-term construction disruption for long-term gains

The former two-way road is temporarily a one-way, with drivers waiting for their turn to cross on either side of a traffic signal. Streets intersecting streets like Bradley Avenue and Bellefontaine Street have been closed off completely. Because of this, residents have had to inevitably traverse through traffic build-ups created on the road just to enter and exit their community.

Continue ReadingShadow Wood residents endure short-term construction disruption for long-term gains
Read more about the article Hedge Road residents prep for relocationRoss Brown
Trash bags are piled at the curb in front of a house on Hedge Road that has recently been vacated. The City of Champaign is seizing 46 properties in the neighborhood for the addition of a drainage area. Photo taken Wednesday, October 9, 2019.

Hedge Road residents prep for relocation

Only one house on the north side of Hedge Road has been demolished. Several more have been vacated recently, with the rest still being occupied. Yet by 2022, all of the 46 properties on the three-block section are scheduled for demolition and purchase by the City of Champaign, in order to make way for a drainage pond to be built between Hedge Road and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.

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Read more about the article Clark Park continues to fight against building of giant houses
Clark Park Neighborhood in Fall 2018. Residents are fighting for ordinances to regulate the sizes of big homes, which are unaligned with standard houses in the neighborhood. City Council voted against the text amendment regarding zoning ordinances at the Oct. 15 meeting. Photo: Mike McMillen.

Clark Park continues to fight against building of giant houses

In the ongoing battle over the construction of big homes in the Clark Park Neighborhood, there have been some victories for the residents: one is the limits on the size of garages that will reduce the size of the homes.

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Read more about the article Wilbur Heights residents stuck in industrial “hodge-podge”

Wilbur Heights residents stuck in industrial “hodge-podge”

The neighborhood was zoned “light industrial.” This ordinance prohibited any resident from making any substantial repairs to their home. This was over 45 years ago. Today, despite news articles and the efforts of James and his former colleagues, Wilbur Heights remains a “hodge-podge” of residential and commercial properties.

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Read more about the article Champaign duo use after-school program to reduce violence in one low-income neighborhood
Satellite view of Countrybrook Apartments/Google

Champaign duo use after-school program to reduce violence in one low-income neighborhood

The apartment complex tucked into the 2500 block of West Springfield Ave. in Champaign, Illinois, has been home to multiple fatal shootings over the last decade. The most recent shooting took the life of a 21-year-old Scott Roth on May 5, earlier this year, according to Champaign Police Reports.

Continue ReadingChampaign duo use after-school program to reduce violence in one low-income neighborhood

Garden Hills residents continue to deal with flooding as they wait for city solutions

Garden Hills, originally a suburban subdivision outside of the city limits, is one of the largest neighborhoods in the city of Champaign, made up of over 1,000 homes. The neighborhood currently deals with many problems including gun violence, poverty, excessive amounts of vacant homes, lack of street lights and major flooding issues.

Continue ReadingGarden Hills residents continue to deal with flooding as they wait for city solutions
Read more about the article In-Town residents successfully alter zoning regulations
Bea Pavia by an apartment building on Elm Street in Champaign that was built despite protest by neighbors on Thursday, March 14, 2019. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

In-Town residents successfully alter zoning regulations

Residents of In-Town, a part of Champaign that prides itself on its vibrant diversity, rallied together against possible zoning developments last fall. After nearly two years of meetings and advocacy, the residents, specifically the members of both the Old Town and Washington St. Neighborhood Associations, successfully negotiated a set of conditions with the City Council that new developers must abide by when building in the In-Town District of Champaign.

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Read more about the article Zoning debate leaves Clark Park homes at risk
Amy Thoren's front yard of her home February 21 in the Clark Park neighborhood. Thoren's home experiences basement flooding, requiring five water pumps to counteract. Photo by Dylan Tiger.

Zoning debate leaves Clark Park homes at risk

From all corners of her home’s basement in Clark Park, Amy Thoren combats flooding with four active water pumps. If rainfall or drainage issues…

Continue ReadingZoning debate leaves Clark Park homes at risk