Indianapolis Near Westside

In 1996, the IUPUI campus administration began conversations with community leaders from the Near Westside community to mend fences and begin discussions about the development of a long-term partnership between the campus and the community. The campus is located on land which used to be a thriving neighborhood and some of the residents are still unforgiving about the university take over.  Over the years, this partnership has developed into a strong link to this neighborhood and has been successful in helping community members to begin to see the university as an asset and as a part of the community rather than an adversary.  This partnership continues to be strengthened and yields benefits for all of the partners involved. 

In 1997 and 2003, the partnership received a Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) grant from the HUD Office of University Partnerships which has helped to diversify the variety of initiatives the campus and Westside Cooperative Organization (WESCO) have engaged in together.  These have included: educational policy and programming, organizational development, economic development, health education and promotion, financial literacy, and predatory lending education. 

Because of our engagement with the Great Indy Neighborhoods Initiative (GINI) and our long-term relationship with George Washington Community School (GWCS), we have expanded our partnership to include the all of the Near Westside and West Indianapolis neighborhoods.  This expansion includes the Mary Rigg Community Center and the West Indianapolis Development Corporation, Daniel Webster School 46 ; and William Penn School 49.

Click here for a quick visual of some of the key Near Westside Community Landmarks!