The Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance is a nonprofit organization that creates and supports the alliances that make smart, sustainable neighborhood revitalization possible in the St. Louis region. RHCDA, together with its partners, works to uplift the entire region by improving the health and well-being of residents in St. Louisâs most distressed neighborhoods.
RHCDA was created in 1997 through a merger of the Regional Housing Alliance, a technical assistance center for nonprofits started at the University of Missouri, and the Technical Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit housing development consultant that specialized in restructuring troubled housing developments. From this legacy, RHCDA inherited a high degree of real estate development and finance expertise, a sizable real estate inventory, and grassroots connections. RHCDA has over ten years of experience working in distressed communities throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region as a technical assistance provider building the capacity of local community-based development organizations; a predevelopment lender; and a developer and development consultant.
In 2005, RHCDA began formally tracking neighborhood indicator data in an attempt to identify correlations between targeted intervention strategies in certain neighborhoods and the progress those neighborhoods were making. RHCDA now includes âOutcome Measuresâ training in most of its technical assistance work, introducing community leaders to neighborhood-level data and helping them utilize that data to achieve their strategic goals.
As RHCDAâs neighborhood indicator databases become more sophisticated, RHCDA is able to offer community leaders more complete information to aid them in their revitalization efforts. RHCDA also works directly with technical assistance clients to create asset maps and other materials that emphasize neighborhood strengths not always captured in traditional data sources. At the regional and state level, RHCDA is a community development advocate, working with policy makers to ensure that available resources are administered with decision-making based on sound data.
CURRENT AND PAST PROJECTS (RHCDA):
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Publishes printed annual neighborhood indicator reports for use by community organizations.
Is currently developing, in partnership with Washington University, a web mapping application to further distribute the data we maintain.
Is serving as a consultant to the St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department to aid the department in effectively utilizing their allocation of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.
Has provided hundreds of maps (including property information and community asset information) to aid in the planning of affordable housing developments in distressed neighborhoods.
Is the St. Louis community liaison for the National Community Stabilization Trust, which aids in the acquisition of foreclosed properties for redevelopment.
RHCDA has joined NNIP in partnership with four organizations: RegionWise at Saint Louis University, Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, Institute for Urban Research at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Washington University in St. Louis. All four partner organizations are dedicated to the success of the St. Louis region, and, because they are university-based, they are able to connect community leaders with faculty, students, and researchers committed to solving community challenges. RegionWise, the Public Policy Research Center, and the Institute for Urban Research are all applied research centers that provide access to and analysis of regional data sources. Washington University in St. Louis has partnered with RHCDA to provide technical assistance and aid in web GIS efforts to further democratize data within the St. Louis region.
COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS:
RegionWise
Saint Louis University
3550 Lindell Blvd., Rm. 320
St. Louis, MO 63108
http://www.regionwise.org
Public Policy Research Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
362 Social Science Business Bldg. (SSB)
One University Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63121
http://pprc.umsl.edu
Institute for Urban Research
Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville
Box 1246
Edwardsville, IL 62026
http://www.siue.edu/graduate/iur/
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
http://www.wustl.edu
