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Northside Collaboration

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NORTHSIDE COLLABORATION

Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce + Northside Main Street Program

The Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Northside Main Street Program lead the ongoing effort to strengthen the cultural, economic, and social vitality of the Northside. Their leadership guides investment, supports local businesses, and ensures that revitalization efforts reflect the priorities of Northside residents and entrepreneurs.

 

Community Design Fort Worth serves as a community partner, providing design support, research capacity, and facilitation that helps advance the Chamber’s and Main Street’s goals. Our role is to assist — not direct — by bringing additional tools and resources that reinforce the work already underway.

Together, this partnership anchors the broader Northside Initiative, aligning economic development, community engagement, and design strategies. As the Chamber and Main Street Program lead implementation of the ULI Northside Report, our collaborative work helps create a stronger, more resilient Northside — and offers lessons and models that can benefit older neighborhoods across Fort Worth.

Collaboration Background

 

The Northside Walk Along Surveys Initiative is a collaborative effort between Community Design Fort Worth, the Northside Main Street Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), and academic partners at Vanderbilt University.

 

This project implements a key recommendation from the ULI Northside Report, which called for deeper, community driven understanding of neighborhood conditions, lived experience, and resident priorities.

 

Walk along surveys are a nationally recognized method for documenting how people experience their neighborhood environment in real time. By pairing trained community members with researchers, the project captures insights that traditional planning tools often miss — safety, comfort, accessibility, social cohesion, and the small scale details that shape everyday life. This initiative is designed and conducted in partnership with the CAC, whose leadership ensures that the work reflects community values, priorities, and lived experience.

 

Major Timeline Items

  • Summer 2026: Project launch and CAC coordination

  • August–September 2026: Development of interview and Walk Along methodology

  • September 2026: Submission of methodology for Institutional Review Board (IRB) review

  • Fall 2026: IRB approval and training of community survey partners

  • Fall/Winter 2026: Walk Along interviews conducted across Northside

  • Early 2027: Analysis, community review sessions, and publication of findings

  • Spring 2027: Integration of results into Northside implementation strategies

 

Why IRB Review Matters

Because this project involves human subjects research, including interviews and observational walk along methods, the team is submitting the full methodology to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) for ethical review and approval.

 

IRB review ensures:

  • Participant safety

  • Informed consent

  • Protection of personal information

  • Transparent, ethical research practices

  • Community trust in the process

 

Working with the CAC is central to this process. Their involvement ensures that the research design reflects community priorities and that ethical safeguards are grounded in local context.

UPCOMING PROJECT ELEMENTS

Project Team

Dee Lara O’Neal

Northside Main Street Leader of the Northside Citizens Advisory Committee and Northside Main Street Program. Dee Lara brings deep neighborhood knowledge, long‑standing community relationships, and a commitment to ensuring that research and planning efforts reflect the lived experience of Northside residents.

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Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)

A community‑based advisory group guiding the project’s design, outreach, and implementation. The CAC ensures that survey routes, interview questions, and research priorities are grounded in community values.

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Dr. Brian Christens, PhD

Vanderbilt University Nationally recognized scholar in community psychology, participatory research, and neighborhood‑scale social dynamics. Dr. Christens leads the IRB submission and ensures methodological rigor.

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Randy Hutcheson, BA, MCP, CNU-A

Community Design Fort Worth Project Coordinator responsible for implementation, partner alignment, and integration of findings into the broader Northside strategy. Randy connects academic research, community priorities, and planning practice.

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Connection to the ULI Northside Report

This project directly advances one of the implementation items identified in the ULI Northside Report: developing a deeper, community‑driven understanding of neighborhood conditions through structured observation and engagement. The walk‑along surveys provide actionable data that will inform future planning, investment, and policy decisions in the Northside.

 

Additional Resources & Project Links

(New links will be added here as materials are published.)

Funding

(To be updated as funding sources are confirmed.)

  • Sid W. Richardson Foundation

    • $110,000 Grant for Effort

  • Northside Main Street Program

    • Grand Support and In-Kind Support

  • Northside Citizens Advisory Committee

    • Grant Support

  • Community Design Fort Worth

    • Grant Support and In-Kind Support

  • Vanderbilt University

    • Grant Support and In-Kind Support

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