SHREVEPORT, La. — The City of Shreveport is moving into the next phase of its Block by Block initiative, focusing on major improvements in the Highland and Mooretown neighborhoods.
 
The program, launched more than a year ago by Mayor Tom Arceneaux, aims to address blight, improve infrastructure and revitalize neighborhoods one block at a time.
 
During phase one, the city conducted cleanup sweeps, held community meetings and collected data to identify neighborhood priorities. City Attorney Marcus Edwards told the Shreveport City Council the effort removed more than 810 tons of litter, collected more than 5,000 discarded tires and included more than 300 volunteers.
 
Now, the city is shifting its focus to targeted improvements in Highland and Mooretown.
 
Arceneaux said the neighborhoods were selected as a pilot program to help the city learn what works before expanding the effort.
 
"There are some tougher areas of the city. We didn't really want to start with areas where we might actually not succeed," Arceneaux said. "It's best to have a pilot program so that you have a place to make your mistakes and have your successes."
 
The city plans to invest between $2.5 million and $3 million into projects in the two neighborhoods.
 
In Mooretown, the city plans to renovate the former Mooretown Elementary School, turning the cafeteria into an event space and classrooms into affordable senior housing. Work is also underway to improve the Mooretown Community Faith Garden.
 
Highland improvements include sidewalk repairs, additional crosswalks, new street signs and upgraded lighting.
 
Arceneaux said resident input helped determine the projects, which will be funded through existing city resources.
 
"The funding is kind of cobbled together from funds that were available in other places," Arceneaux said. "These are things that were already allocated in the budget, but they may be going in a slightly different place than they were allocated initially."
 
While Highland and Mooretown are the first neighborhoods to receive larger investments, city leaders said the long-term goal is to expand Block by Block across Shreveport.
 
Arceneaux said future cleanup sweeps will continue citywide, but property owners could now face citations for violations of city property standards.
City leaders are encouraging residents to maintain their properties as the initiative continues.

Originally published on ktbs.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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