Brickville Map
Study the map of Brickville and the points of interest. Note the locations of different households, community institutions, and other landmarks. What does this geographic representation illustrate about the nature of Brickville, different people’s different experiences with the community, and assets that can be leveraged to meet the community’s challenges? What additional resources would you want to investigate to round out your understanding of Brickville?
Hover over the icons to find the identity of each landmark. Click on the icon for more details.
Elementary School
The school allows the CDC use the facilitates for after school and summer programs, such as summer camp, literacy, ESL, GED, and college preparatory classes.
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Head Start
Brickville CDC administers the Head Start program in Brickville. These services are funded by government grants.
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Parks
As part of the redevelopment, the plan calls for the destruction of many buildings, and development of new housing and commercial facilities, including some of the current public spaces such as these parks. While many have not been maintained and have obvious deferred maintenance, some residents lament that these spaces that are part of their history will be gone.
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New Life New Day Pentecostal Church
New Life New Day is run by Rev. Coats. He is an African-American faith leader who is strongly opposed to the development.
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Neighborhood playground
The Stone family and the surrounding neighborhood raised funds and convinced the city to dedicate this playground in memory of the children who died in the fire 20 years ago. The playground has fallen into disrepair. Originally, the family was going to contribute to a fund to add to the upkeep of the playground, since the city playgrounds are often in disrepair.
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Bethany Catholic Church
Bethany Catholic Church is run by Fr. Reinert, who is a White Catholic priest. He has provided many social and spiritual services to the community. He is supportive of the proposed development.
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Catholic Charities Community Center
The Catholic Charities Community Center provides a host of programs and services, to include meals for older adults, and recreation programs for all ages.
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Circle of Concern Food Pantry
The Circle of Concern Food Pantry provides free food to the community.
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Brickville Community Development Corporation (CDC)
This is the location of the social service agency at which you, the social worker, are employed. The Brickville CDC is a 35-year-old multi-service nonprofit providing a comprehensive network of educational, vocational, and community development programs for residents of Brickville. The agency serves approximately 4,000 children, teens and adults through more than 40 programs. On-site and neighborhood-based social, educational, and career services include: Head Start, after-school programs, summer camp, literacy, ESL, GED, and college preparatory classes, work readiness services, resident support, older adult nutrition programming, family programs for children and adults, and youth leadership programming. The CDC also develops and redevelops residential and commercial housing in the community. These services are funded by government grants and tax credit program, and contributions from foundations, corporations and individuals.
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Bricktown Boys and Girls Club
The Bricktown Boys and Girls Club provides after-school and summer programming for youth 5-18 years old.
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Universal Life Church (Jehovaha's Witness)
Universal Life Church is run by Rev. Blaze. He is an African-American faith leader who is also strongly opposed to the development.
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Your house
You have recently moved into Brickville after working at a community-based agency (i.e., Brickville Community Development Corporation) in the community for three years. Your primary role is to: 1) facilitate a youth leadership development group; 2) provide assessment and referrals for job training and employment with youth and adults; 3) provide case management services for youth in community; and 4) facilitate a safety and security committee for the neighborhood. You grew up in the same larger metropolitan area, but in the suburbs. You have a personal connection to the community situation, because you knew the developer, Logan Stifel, from your high school. You personally feel torn about the redevelopment plan - you can see the merits to both sides of the controversy. You are unclear about what is truly in the best interests of the community, although you believe that the residents need to more fully realize their power to affect change in their community.
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Home of Virginia Stone
This is the residence of Virginia Stone. Virginia Stone is the mother of David Whitley, an adolescent in the youth leadership program of Brickville Community Development Corporation, a community-based social service agency. Virginia fears she is going to be displaced as part of the redevelopment process. She is distraught, and verbalizes to you that she is afraid that she is going to lose her home. The home belonged to her grandmother, who died three months ago without a will, and the title of the house is legally unclear. Although relocation assistance has been promised by the developer under the redevelopment plan, she will be ineligible because she is unable to prove, without a legal title, that she owns the house. Virginia lives with and cares for her mother, who has lived in the house her entire life. Her mother is ill, and Virginia is afraid that moving will literally kill her mother. Virginia's daughter, two nieces, and nephew passed away in the fire 20 years ago.
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Estella Bradley
This is the residence of Estella Bradley, Virginia Stone's sister, who is a nurse. She and her husband moved away from neighborhood after the fire, at least partially due to the grief of losing their 3 children in a fire.
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Hospital
The hospital provides health services to the community. It is under-resourced, and is facing a challenging financial situation.
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Fire department
Although the Stone family believes that the fire was set (arson) by someone who was mad at their family, they question the lackluster rigor of the arson investigation and the lack of any legal justice in the case. The family also believes that the fire department was too slow in responding to the fire.
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Gas store
The businesses in the area are mostly locally owned and poorly maintained, including a few gas stores.
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Payday loan store
The businesses in the area are mostly locally owned and poorly maintained, including a few payday loan stores.
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Old ice cream store
As part of the redevelopment, the plan calls for the destruction of many buildings, including current community institutions, such as this old ice cream store. Some residents lament that these spaces that are part of their history will be gone.
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Brick Plant
Dating back to the early 1800s, the area has been a residential community for generations of African-American residents who are low-income. The major employer for the community was a brick plant, which gave rise to the name "Brickville" for the community. The facilities for the brick company are still standing, but have decayed and been looted to such a degree that the buildings are both an eye-sore and a public danger for the community. The developer wants to raze the brick factory, remediate the site for contaminants, and build new homes on the site.
CloseUnderstanding your neighborhood and surroundings
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Neighborhoods Brickville Plant Workers bought/rented
Dating back to the early 1800s, the area has been a residential community for generations of African-American residents who are low-income. The brick company recruited African-Americans from the south to move north to work in the brick plant, and built company housing for the workers and their families. Over the 170 years that the brick plant operated, some workers were able to purchase their homes, while other workers rented their homes from the brick company. When the plant closed down in 1973, company representatives told the remaining renters that they now owned their rented homes, since the company was going out of business. In fact, the titles were never transferred from the company to the families.
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Predominantly White neighborhood
To attain better housing, schools, and economic opportunities, many residents have moved away from the neighborhood. White residents of Brickville include persons who are low-income, as well as ministers and lay individuals drawn to the community by their faith to provide solidarity and assistance to the poor. Other White residents include urban pioneers and young professionals with an interest in buying inexpensive, dilapidated homes, and rehabilitating them both to inhabit and sell.
Town Color Key
- Business
- Support Organizations
- Schools
- Government Entities
- Residential
Explore the Sociogram
Review the community sociogram for Brickville to see sources of conflict and support