Neighborhood Snapshot: Brownell-Holmes - FLINT
In 2015, the Brownell-Holmes neighborhood in Flint was selected to participate in the Building
Neighborhood Capacity Program (BNCP). Brownell-Holmes joins the second cohort of BNCP
neighborhoods in the following cities: Flint,1 Fresno, Memphis and Milwaukee.
Launched in 2012, BNCP is part of the
Administration’s place-based programming efforts,
which includes the Promise Zones and
Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. Recognizing
the power of place to influence access to
opportunity, BNCP seeks to catalyze communitydriven change in neighborhoods that have
historically faced barriers to revitalization.
BNCP Neighborhoods Build Capacity By:
Forming a Local Team of Residents and
Partners
Learning about Neighborhood Assets and
Challenges – Past and Present
Planning and Implementing Learn By Doing
BNCP focuses on building community capacity: the
Projects
knowledge, skills, relationships, processes and
resources that neighborhood residents, partner
Developing a Neighborhood Revitalization
organizations and city-level stakeholders need to
Plan
work together to achieve better results in public
safety, education, housing, employment and other key areas.
Highlights to Date

Recruited residents and partners to serve on the BNCP Neighborhood Advisory Council, which
represents all three BNCP neighborhoods in Flint and serves as the collective-decision making body
for the program. Additionally supported formation of Brownell-Homes Neighborhood Association, as a
way to identify neighborhood priorities and work together to address them.

Engaged residents and partners in a three-day training on Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design (CPTED). Applied CPTED principles to street tree and light assessment project, including
gathering data on tree obstruction of street lights, developing a plan of action for removal and
assisting the City in removal.

Connected residents with resources, such as promoting financial literacy through tax preparation
workshops, while engaging residents and partners to work together on longer-term projects such as
exploring design and implementation of community/police mini-station in the BNCP footprint.
Work in Progress

Working on a variety of Learn By Doing projects, ranging from increasing access to healthy food
through community gardening and aquaponics to reclaiming and restoring neighborhood parks as
attractive, clean and safe places to gather and play.

Gathering additional data and the story behind the data on neighborhood priorities—using varied
methods including neighborhood surveys and focus groups—to inform neighborhood plan
development.
1
Two other neighborhoods in Flint, targeted areas of Wards 1 and 3, participated in the first cohort of BNCP. All three
neighborhoods are currently working closely together on revitalization efforts in the north side of Flint.
www.buildingcommunitycapacity.org
February 2016
By the Numbers
Flint: Brownell-Holmes Population & Demographics
Brownell-Holmes
City
Population*
Census
Tracts
(Block
Groups)
Race
5,962
102,434
Tract 1, Tract 3 (All Block Groups)
African American
White
American
Indian/Alaska
Native
Asian
Pacific Islander
Other
Two or More
Races
97%
1.1%
54.8%
39.6%
0.3%
0.7%
0%
0%
0.3%
0.6%
0%
0.7%
1.4%
3.7%
0%
4%
100%
96%
12.9%
14.9%
38.4%
28.1%
47.6%
35.5%
40.4%
26.8%
16.2%
23.6%
Ethnicity
Hispanic or
Latino
White/NonHispanic or
Latino
Education
<HS Degree
HS Degree or
Equivalent
Economic Security
% Below Poverty
Line
Unemployment
Housing
% of Vacant
Housing Units
American Community Survey Data (ACS), 2009-2013
Key Players:
Neighborhood Advisory Council, which includes residents from all three neighborhoods, lead agency Metro Community
Development and neighborhood partners: Mott Children’s Health Center and Hamilton Community Health Network (BrownellHolmes), Wow Outreach and Our Savior Lutheran Church (Anchor Zone One), Genesee Habitat for Humanity and Foss Avenue
Baptist Church (Anchor Zone Three).
Cross-Sector Partners: Neighborhood Advisory Council, City of Flint, Flint Community Schools, Flint Housing Commission,
Mass Transit Authority, University of Michigan-Flint, Neighborhoods Without Borders, Flint Area Reinvestment Office, Ruth Mott
Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation,
Genesee County Health Department, Genesee Health System, Genesee County Department of Health and Human Services,
Genesee County Community Action Resource Department, Flint/Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mott Community
College Workforce Development, Legal Services of Eastern Michigan, Vernon Chapel AME Church, Crim Fitness Foundation
Community Education Initiative.
www.buildingcommunitycapacity.org
February 2016