Neighbourhoods Program

The Neighbourhoods Program invests in selected neighbourhoods across Windsor-Essex experiencing economic hardship and reduced quality of life. The program aims to advance P2P’s strategic goal of strengthening priority neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhoods Program recognizes that neighbourhoods play an important role in quality of life and shaping the human experience. Neighbourhoods are the places where residents live, work, play and age. The Neighbourhoods Program focuses on improving the conditions within selected neighbourhoods in need by strengthening connections between and among residents, community organizations, business and local government.

Program Goals

To build resilient neighbourhoods and to improve residents’ quality of life. 

Key Neighbourhood Objectives 

  1. Activate resources 
  2. Empower residents 
  3. Generate social capital 

Selected Neighbourhoods (Social Planning Districts) 

The Neighbourhoods Program defines neighbourhoods as Social Planning Districts (SPDs). Social Planning Districts are geographic boundaries that are experiencing similar quality of life and have population sizes between 1,500 and 7,500. 52 SPDs have been identified in Windsor, and 45 SPDs have been identified across Essex County. 

Between 2025 and 2028, the Neighbourhoods Program will focus on the following at-risk and priority neighbourhoods:

Connected Community Approach 

The Neighbourhoods Program embraces and supports the important work of change-makers across Windsor-Essex County, including residents, community organizations, community leaders, businesses and municipal departments. The program adopts the connected community approach (CCA). CCA focuses on strengthening the connections within a community as the groundwork for making transformative change. CCA puts residents at the forefront of change-making, where residents play an important role in improving their local community.

The connected community approach includes the following elements: 

  • Community-based facilitator/community backbone organization (CBO) 
  • Neighbourhoods spaces 
  • A framework of ten (10) principles for unlocking a community’s potential: 
    1. Let values lead 
    2. Facilitate collaborative processes 
    3. Create connected communities from inside out 
    4. Learn together 
    5. Embrace the messiness 
    6. Prioritize equity and power-sharing 
    7. Build on everyone’s strengths 
    8. Work at multiple scales 
    9. Make community building visual 
    10. Build creative infrastructure 

To learn further about the connected community approach, please visit the following resources: