On September 5, HUD announced that it is awarding $4.8 million in Choice Neighborhood Planning Grants to six communities. The grants, funded through HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods program, will help local leaders craft comprehensive, homegrown plans to revitalize and transform neighborhoods.

Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals: replacing distressed public and assisted housing, improving the outcomes of people living in assisted housing, and creating the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods.

The six communities (and their co-recipients) receiving Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants are:

• Housing Authority of the City of Phenix City (City of Phenix, AL) – Phenix, AL
• City of Tucson – Tucson, AZ
• Urban Strategies, Inc. (Housing Authority of the City of East St. Louis, IL) – East St. Louis, IL
• Housing Authority of Baltimore City – Baltimore, MD
• Housing Authority of the City of Camden – Camden, NJ
• Marquette University (Near West Side Partners) – Milwaukee, WI

Three of the awardees will receive an additional $950,000 for “Action Activities.” The City of Tucson, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and Marquette University will use these additional funds to build momentum and attract additional investment.

For more information, see HUD’s press release.