Communities of West Lakes
How do you create vibrant opportunities for under-resourced communities amidst prosperity initiatives for the broader city? As a new stadium was being built in Orlando, dedicated stakeholders asked this very question. The answer was the West Lakes Purpose Built Communities Collective Impact Initiative.
Together, Communities of West Lakes residents, Florida Citrus Sports, POLIS Institute, and Lift Orlando worked side by side to realize the vision of equitable revitalization by standing up a Purpose-Built Community in the heart of Orlando.
POLIS Institute led community engagement and surveying, created a shared measurement system, facilitated the collective impact’s progress, ensured direct investment into community resident leadership, and evaluated outcomes.
What Changed
Over ten years, the West Lakes Collective Impact Initiative built a $100M Purpose-Built campus, created the community-led West Lakes Partnership for ongoing resident leadership, and restored essential resources in the communities.
Among the initiative’s many successes are establishing a community-led revitalization entity, West Lakes Partnership; the rehabilitation of Lake Lorna Doone Park; the preservation of a civil rights treasure, Tinker’s Field; and ongoing improvements to the quality of life in the communities.
Every improvement in the Communities of West Lakes was made possible by the dedication of the collective impact’s partner organizations and the passionate, diligent participation of community residents who took the long journey of stewardship to revitalize their home.
Solutions Applied
- Impact strategy consulting
- Shared measurement system development
- Asset mapping and socio-demographic analysis
- Community engagement campaigns
- Yearly community surveys
- Convenings and visioning events
- Civic leadership training
- Community ambassadors and surveyors
- Resident-led nonprofit incubation
- Impact measurement dashboard
- Collective impact evaluation