SITE OVERVIEW ♦ SAN ANTONIO | TEXAS
Target Area: Eastside Choice Neighborhood • Population: 5,000
Fiscal Agent: San Antonio Housing Authority
Research Partner: Trinity University, Urban Studies Program
Crime Concerns: Gang-related violence
BCJI Funding Year: 2012 Planning & Enhancement
Neighborhood Profile
The Eastside Choice Neighborhood is a community that is historically distressed and underserved. Racially and ethnically, the neighborhood is one of the most diverse in San Antonio, with significant numbers of African Americans and Hispanics present. This composition has been changing for several decades and the neighborhood has only recently become majority-Hispanic. The adult population in the target area has one of the lowest educational attainment rates in Bexar County: 44 percent of the population has not received a high school education, compared to 18.5 percent for the county as a whole. In a real estate inventory, one-third of all housing in the neighborhood was found to be uninhabitable and approximately one-quarter of all surveyed parcels were either vacant houses or undeveloped lots. Additionally, only five Eastside businesses have been built or renovated from 2007 to 2012. Crime is also a major concern with the violent crime rate for the patrol district for the target area averaging about three times the overall rate for the City as a whole. Gang activity and gang-related crimes are of particular concern in the community.
Planning Process
The San Antonio BCJI effort was distinctive in that it was co-located with both HUD Choice Neighborhood and Department of Education Promise Neighborhood grants, and it is situated in a Promise Zone – all part of the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Iniative.. Drawing upon those efforts as well as community engagement under the Choice and Promise efforts, the San Antonio BCJI project focused the attention of a broad coalition of partners on diagnosing and addressing root drivers of crime in the Eastside community.
The BCJI team wrapped up the planning phase in June 2014 after more than a year of analysis of crime data, surveys about perceptions and quality of life, CPTED audits, and relevant evidence-based practices from other jurisdictions.
Implementation Strategies
San Antonio implementation activities emphasized:
- Collaboration to address hot spots through a “Crime and Drug Free Zone” and focused deterrence approaches;
- Investment in addressing blight and other physical disorder, with a focus on engaging residents in beautification efforts such as clean ups, tool sharing programs and gardening initiatives; and
- Implementation of workforce and restorative justice programs, particularly for people with drug and substance abuse problems.
Over the course of implementation, the BCJI team leveraged resources from the various place-based initiatives to implement projects with a long-term goal of reduced crime and increased community cohesion. A notable project was the launch of the Resurgence Collaborative in the Eastside neighborhood as a direct outgrowth of BCJI planning findings. Research partners highlighted that probationers hailing from the Eastside had a higher revocation rate than in other parts of San Antonio, much of which could be attributed to large numbers of administrative violations. Foremost among these was missed appointments, due in large part to difficulty in reaching probation offices via public transport. Individuals often faced the choice of making either work or an appointment. The Resurgence Collaborative brings Bexar County Adult Probation officers to the Eastside community and co-locates service providers in the Barbara Jordan Community Center to serve adult probationers and their families. An opening ceremony was held in May 2015. Results have included drops in probation revocation and enhanced cross-agency collaboration to support the Eastside community.
Featuring this Site
- Read about how San Antonio BCJI leaders cleaned up a hot spot, employing the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
- Watch this video to learn about the Resurgence Collaborative’s work with people on probation and their families in San Antonio
This web site is funded in part, through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).