In addition to vacant lots, Fifth Ward is home to many vacant, tax delinquent, and poorly maintained houses. Though they are currently unattractive and even dangerous, they have the potential to be a valuable resource for the community. Some can be reused as-is or moved to a more suitable site and repurposed; others can be deconstructed for their constituent materials.
General Nodes
Maintaining a sense of community is partially reliant on the maintenance of spaces dedicated to social activities. These spaces exist less to motivate the activities themselves than to provide a feeling of security than can be lacking in more ad-hoc gathering places. More mundane concerns regarding protection from the weather are also important, particularly in a climate such as Houston’s which has lots of rain and high temperatures.
Conclusion
Fifth Ward has a higher rate of preventable diseases than many of its surrounding neighborhoods, and two of the major causes of health issues are obesity and lack of exercise. Providing spaces and equipment for physical activity is one of the most direct ways of addressing this problem.
Rally in the Fifth
Goals
Though Fifth Ward is home to a number of services; they are often sparsely located and provide difficulties for some residents to access. By creating a fleet of service-oriented trucks, these services can more directly target their potential beneficiaries, including the mobility-impaired.
Demographics + Services
Improving health in Fifth Ward cannot happen as a result of a single cure-all solution. Each of these strategies contributes to improving the health of Fifth Ward as a community as well as its individual residents.
SWOT
Strategies