How to "fix" Winnipeg's North End

[balletomane]

Just meant for discussion, but how would you "fix" Winnipeg's North End.
Every city in the world has that neighborhood which tends to have a negative reputation, but these neighborhoods also tend to be the most tightly knit and have the most character, perhaps a symptom of alienation.

The North End of Winnipeg faces its challenges, and (not trying to paint a gloomy picture here), unless there is a change within the area and the city itself, I don't foresee the North End improving in comparison to the rest of the city. Small improvements in the neighborhood shouldn't be overlooked, but to the average Winnipegger, it is still perceived as being the most dangerous and unwelcoming in the city, and perception can make or break a community's success.

As the neighborhood continues to grow due to its affordable housing, the Aboriginal and immigrant population in this area will continue to grow. And as much as this is a blessing, the area will continue to develop distinctly from the rest of the city, and these often unfairly marginalized groups will continue to be alienated.

As much as the future seems brighter for Winnipeg, I worry about some of these inner city neighborhoods. Could we bring new meaning to the "donut effect", an attractive downtown and attractive suburbs, but the in-between neighborhoods forgotten?

Addressing violence in the North End:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...ence-1.3338067

North End History and Development:
https://canadiandimension.com/articl...pegs-north-end

State of the Inner City Report 2015:
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/si...%20WEB%202.pdf

State of the Inner City Report 2016:
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/si...eport_2016.pdf

Division in Winnipeg:
http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/docume...-1970-2010.pdf

Life Expectancy in Winnipeg neighborhoods:
http://globalnews.ca/news/2389752/li...-years-report/

"Food Deserts" and "Food Mirages" in Winnipeg:
http://uwinnipeg.ca/ius/docs/reports...y-in-brief.pdf

Spread of Income, Ethnicity and Languages in Winnipeg:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...ages-1.3050780

Winnipeg Concentration of Robberies 2012:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law,_g...me_in_Winnipeg

[JM5]

We can wait for the glacial pace of gentrification to take it's slow toll. I'm seeing signs of more investment in the area already. 1ajs can probably give you a rundown of all the change taking place, but it is a big neighborhood and problems run deep.

I beg to differ with you on saying that the North End is uninviting. It's a wonderful pre WWII neighborhood with great bones that could be an awesome place with streets lined with small businesses if it saw a significant turn for the better. A place like Lindenwoods will never have any such potential.

Of course, real fundamental change will likely need a tectonic shift in societal views and government policy, such as an end to trickle down economics that concentrate all wealth at the top in favor of supporting the working class to reorient towards opening small businesses. This will be made all the more difficult by the mass lump of rules, regulations and bylaws that drag the economy down and make entrepreneurship have start up and recurring costs that few can hope to afford and lead to an ongoing upward spiral of product/service prices which suck the wallets of those on the lower end of the economic spectrum dry.

Finally, the rift between the aboriginal community and the non-upwardly-mobile or liberal members of society caused by the latter's perception of paying for the former's privileges and the former's perception of having had their way of life and culture destroyed by the latter. Neither realising that it's actually 150 year old documents/thinking, divisive identity politics and profiteering by middlemen that are keeping them at odds.

Anyhow, the place is rebounding a bit already albeit at a snail's pace.

[1ajs]

the youth are the future invest in them and allow it to trickle into supports for the adults and such


anyhow fridays at 6 at the old city hall bell thats on selkirk and powers is a commjnity gathering that all are welcome to attend plz go!

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by JM5

I beg to differ with you on saying that the North End is uninviting. It's a wonderful pre WWII neighborhood with great bones that could be an awesome place with streets lined with small businesses if it saw a significant turn for the better. A place like Lindenwoods will never have any such potential.



Anyhow, the place is rebounding a bit already albeit at a snail's pace.

Don't walk alone at night in this neighbuorhood ever.

[biguc]

Put me in the camp that says it doesn't really need fixing. It has problems, sure, but those are outside the scope of "fixing" a neighbourhood. You can't wipe out a legacy of colonialism by any mechanism directed at one geographically constrained community.

Beyond that, its worst problems are widely overstated--it's not and never has been south side Chicago. The measures at community building and policing that we have taken are at least somewhat effective, and the north end at large is once again drawing new investment and population. It's a troubled area, but on a clear upward trajectory. In a sense, it's already fixed, it just needs time to heal and grow.

[JM5]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

Don't walk alone at night in this neighbuorhood ever.

No, you're right. Discretion is the better part of valour, although I have spent some there on my bike rides. Only once did I feel a bit on edge and l might have been overreacting. Stereotypical getting called out for looking at someone the wrong way type of situation. Guys I can handle, usually easy enough to diffuse the situation, but ladies can be more tricky.

[Urban recluse]

It needs investment.

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by biguc

Put me in the camp that says it doesn't really need fixing. It has problems, sure, but those are outside the scope of "fixing" a neighbourhood. You can't wipe out a legacy of colonialism by any mechanism directed at one geographically constrained community.

Beyond that, its worst problems are widely overstated--it's not and never has been south side Chicago. The measures at community building and policing that we have taken are at least somewhat effective, and the north end at large is once again drawing new investment and population. It's a troubled area, but on a clear upward trajectory. In a sense, it's already fixed, it just needs time to heal and grow.

Great post - couldn't agree more. Since meeting my fiancee, I've spent a lot of time in the North End (and West End), and it really changed my view of things.

[goldenboi]

https://www.walkscore.com/CA-MB/Winnipeg

Check out this "walkability" map of Winnipeg. I believe it's based on the number of businesses you can reach on foot within a certain amount of time. Interestingly enough, downtown is the most walkable, but this extends into the North End. I agree with other people in that the North End doesn't really need fixing anymore than other neighbourhoods in Winnipeg need fixing. And I worry that if we try to 'fix' it, we might actually end up causing more problems. It's walkable, it has character, it has plenty of commercial strips mixed in with residential areas. What needs fixing is the deep rooted segregation and stereotypes of indigenous people.

[balletomane]

Thanks for some of the input, I was curious to see how other forumers viewed our most notorious(?) neighborhood.
I will say that I don't believe that the North End deserves the bad reputation it gets, it has its issues but they are widely overplayed by those who don't live there. Whenever I have friends from out of the city visit, I have to remind them that the North End (and Downtown and Winnipeg in general) is a much safer city than what they hear. That being said, it does have a very different feel compared to most of the rest of the city, walking over the Arlington Bridge is an interesting experience, it feels like you are walking into a different, but special place.
I think the question is, will the North End ever experience the same quality of life as the rest of Winnipeg, and do they really want to? I'm not suggesting that the North End has an awful quality of life, but being seen at par with the rest of the city by other Winnipeggers is a challenge for that community itself, and if that day ever comes, it probably means that the neighborhood has lost that distinct culture of resilience and resistance.

[DirtWednesday]

The Bear Clan Patrol has had a tremendous effect on the NE. If anyone is going to change the North End for the better, and keep its character, it's going to come from within and that's what's happening. Now I'd like to see what's occurred in the West End with immigrants opening businesses to migrate northward and wake up Selkirk Avenue again in the form of small business and restaurants in particular.

[1ajs]

selkirk ave jas allot of buisnes's on it
real mix

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

It needs investment.

You would be surprised at how much is spent in that area, probably way higher proportionally on a per capita basis than any other part of the city, just because it's not bricks and mortar and concrete doesn't mean a ton of money isn't being spent!

Agree with the comment on the Bear Clan, one positive small step!

Immigrants with very little resources built up the north end, it has stagnated for the past 40-50 years and now there is hope that a new wave of immigrants can bring some prosperity and life back into the area, sure doesn't say a lot about those living there now does it!

[CoryB]

The challenge with the north end comes down to social issues and affordable housing. Most people in "good" neighbourhoods would be upset if Habitat or Manitoba Housing announced a development across the street from where they live. That attitude tends to concentrate vulnerable people in one area of the city. This makes is easier for criminal elements to target them and exploit them.

The issues aren't unique to Winnipeg and I doubt they will be fixable. Just look at how "fixing" the issues with the Main St hotels relocated the problem to downtown.

[balletomane]

The North End could face a very interesting future because of its large Aboriginal population and large visible minority population. Should each successive federal and provincial government ignore the conditions that so many First Nations people live in, the North End has the potential to be the epicentre of the next Aboriginal rights movement. Unless the government makes a serious attempt at implementing the TRC's recommendations, I think that the Aboriginal rights movements will become more common and more forceful. These people are still marginalized, but are finding their voice in politics even though the oppression they face today is different from two decades ago. Depending on the way a rights movement unfolds, they can create a positive change nationally but can also be to the detriment of a city, take the negative stigma around the recent riots in Ferguson, Missouri or in Baltimore, Maryland. A truly forceful and "game changing" rights movement in Canada should it ever occur could truly change the urban landscape of cities like Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon or Edmonton. I don't mean this in a negative way, and maybe it seems drastic to hypothesize but the potential is there.

[goldenboi]

Yeah the North End is pretty hemmed in by the rail yards on one side and the river on the other. I think we would see a vast improvement if we removed the rail yards. It would connect the NE to the rest of the city, allowing for less segregation. I don't think Winnipeg has the market to develop such a large plot of land right now, but I think it is inevitable that we do it at some point in the future.

Other than that, I agree that help must come from within. Many organizations are already working with the community, but we need more. I would encourage you guys to donate to one of the many charities in the North End. A lot of them do really great work. Main Street Project, Siloam Mission, Bear Clan, Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, etc. Anyone know of some other good charities that are sensitive to the community?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by goldenboi

I think we would see a vast improvement if we removed the rail yards. It would connect the NE to the rest of the city, allowing for less segregation.

How would improving the ground-level connections between the North End and the Centennial neighbourhood immediately to the south by removing the railyards change anything for the North End?

The North End probably has a similar number of regional/arterial streets in and out of the area as any other Winnipeg neighbourhood.

[balletomane]

The overall geographic connectivity the North End has with the rest of Winnipeg was more an issue a century ago when vehicles were far less common and the neighborhood was an ethnically distinct area.
As cool as it could be to see the CPR tracks moved elsewhere, I truly believe it would come with little benefit to the city or the North End. If that area became housing one day in the future, it would probably be filled with lower income residents simply because of the neighborhoods that surround it.
Realistically that area could be a nice urban park, but that doesn't solve the geographic issues that would still remain. I don't think we'll see the tracks removed, at least in our lifetimes. If the city wants to continue building new subdivisions it's a lot easier to continue building outwards where there is vacant land. Trying to attract young professionals to an area perceived as being crime-ridden by so many would pose a major challenge for any housing development in the rail yards.

[esquire]

The West End and Centennial rank as perhaps the most central, best connected neighbourhoods in all of Winnipeg. Amazing transit service. Yet they have their share of problems. Building a road would mean jack all for the area's social condition. The North End is not some isolated reserve without road access.

[balletomane]

In addition to my above post, I figured I should expand it a bit as to why the North End could be the centre of the next Aboriginal rights movement:

The Aboriginal People have long been Canada’s most marginalized and oppressed group in Canadian society, a legacy of the genocidal residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, the Treaties and many other atrocities committed upon them. For most of Canadian history, the Aboriginal People have remained silent, quietly passing on the learned conditions and atrocities of the past onto the next generation, while Canada also sat quiet on the issue. The Aboriginal People have let their collective voices been known before, however only three times did it really reach the national stage and did our politicians pay attention, these events including the American Indian Movement, the Oka Crisis and Idle No More.

A major factor to consider as to why the Aboriginal rights movements was not as widely known and successful as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States is geography. Where the African-American population is highly urbanized, centred in many American inner cities, the Aboriginal population is widespread, with the nearly half still living in remote reserves. As the Aboriginal population continues to urbanize, so will the population’s ability to gather cohesively, with Canadian cities becoming the centre for a growing Aboriginal rights movement. Aboriginal people are slowly once again finding their voice, and being the fastest growing demographic in Canada, it will only become more forceful in federal and provincial politics. What will become of cities with already large Aboriginal populations (~10% or more) like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina and Thunder Bay, will these movements be embraced by these cities or shunned? Looking at the response to recent protests in the United States like Ferguson, Missouri or Baltimore, Maryland, anything similar in Canada would certainly prove to be controversial and polarizing. How could such a movement change the landscape of the Canadian city, in the cases of some American cities, it lead to their long-term decline as race relations became an issue not only for those marginalized minority groups.

Should the federal government not make a serious attempt at implementing the recommendations of the TRC, the issue will only become further heightened and the chance of a real revolution more likely. Empty words and broken promises can only fool a person for so long, until they must act on their own, through whatever means necessary.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle33436120/

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...y-author-warns

Please not my above hypothesis is for discussion, not meant to paint a negative light in any way of the Aboriginal People.