Previous Quality Of Life Plan Accomplishments From Left To Right: New Martindale-Brightwood Branch Library, Grand Opening Of CDC, Kipp Legacy High School & First Graduating Class, 37 Place Community Center, Opening Of Frederick Douglass Community Center
Quality Of Life Plan Implementation Plan Process
Why a Quality of Life Plan
This Quality of Life Plan’s purpose is to serve as a comprehensive, community-driven roadmap designed to guide sustainable development and improvements in Martindale Brightwood over the next 5 years and aims to:
1. Identify and Prioritize Community Needs: Through extensive community engagement, this Quality of Life Plan outlines the most pressing issues and opportunities in Martindale-Brightwood across ten pillars
2. Strengthen Collaboration: By involving a diverse range of stakeholders, including residents, local businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, the plan seeks to further support collaboration and shared responsibility.
3. Provide Strategic Direction: The plan offers a set of actionable strategies and tactics for each focus area, providing a clear path forward for the community.
4. Promote Equity and Inclusion: The plan gives special attention to ensuring the equitable distribution of the benefits resulting from community development to residents, regardless of socio-economic status, race, or age.
5. Facilitate Investment: A well-researched and community-backed plan will attract public and private investment into the neighborhood for the implementation of identified strategies.
6. Measure and Monitor Progress: The plan includes key performance indicators and a monitoring framework to regularly assess the effectiveness of implemented strategies, thereby ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.
7. Celebrate Community Identity: Through the promotion of arts, culture, and local history, the plan aims to strengthen and celebrate the unique identity of the Martindale-Brightwood community.
The Planning Process
Over the past months, the Quality of Life Steering Committee has embarked on a journey of deep community engagement creating a collective vision of what Martindale-Brightwood can become in the next five years. The resilience and commitment of our community have been the cornerstones of this process. Despite the unprecedented communication challenges residual from the pandemic, the Committee successfully leveraged virtual platforms like Zoom and maintained active email correspondence to ensure every voice is heard. The insights and recommendations represent the efforts of hundreds of dedicated residents, business owners, organizers, and stakeholders, all united in their commitment to a thriving Martindale-Brightwood. Through planning sessions, town halls, and one-on-one meetings with residents, business owners, representatives of nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and elected officials, the process wove together diverse threads of Martindale Brightwood’s assets and aspirations to inform a plan for the future.
Current State Analysis
The community’s deliberation and discussion were informed through efforts to collect and disseminate data and information describing the current realities for Martindale Brightwood. Black Onyx Management began this analysis in late 2022 at the beginning of the formal planning process, and additional data was collected in 2024. This background data is instrumental in identifying the existing conditions, challenges, and opportunities within the community, forming the basis for strategic planning and intervention. Components of the analysis included:
Media narratives can significantly influence community perspectives and priorities. A Media Scan with a thorough review of local and regional news outlets, social media platforms, and other media sources illuminated the public perception and media portrayal of Martindale Brightwood.
Data collection & analysis, gathering demographic data from public sources, often available through SAVI, to understand the characteristics, socio-economic conditions, and other relevant trends for the population as a whole. Data was also provided by local partner organizations to identify assets and critical issues.
Stakeholder interviews with residents and stakeholder institutions providing qualitative perspectives on assets and vulnerabilities that are the current reality for the neighborhood.
Community Engagement
Perhaps the most critical element of a neighborhood quality of life plan is the engagement of the community, the many diverse people and the institutions that serve and represent them. Throughout the planning process, the leaders of One Voice Martindale Brightwood and the neighborhood associations actively prioritized the engagement of many different neighbors, and this priority was achieved. The Planning Process publicly launched with a Creators Conference in October 2022; a community Town Hall vision session in June of 2023; and culminated in a Quality of Life Town Hall in July 2024, with total attendance of nearly 300 people. In addition to these three major events a Planning Committee met monthly with sub-groups supplementing the Committee’s work, with this nexus of efforts consistently engaging a group of 20-30 people over the course of more than a year. Engagement opportunities for neighbors included participation in existing community meetings, topical focus groups, and small group discussions.
Quality of Life Planning Timeline
Spring 2022.
One Voice Martindale Brightwood initiates new Quality of Life Plan planning process, begins planning for Creators Conference and enlists volunteers.
Summer 2022.
On behalf of One Voice, Edna Martin Christian Center issues RFP for a planning facilitator. Selection of Black Onyx Consulting in September 2022.
October 2022.
OVMB hosted the Creators Conference on October 29, 2022 with more than 100 people in attendance, marking the launch of the Quality of Life planning process.
November 2022.
Recruitment and first meeting of QoL Plan Committee, meeting monthly through November 2023.
Black Onyx begins media scan, data collection, and stakeholder interviews.
March 2023.
Black Onyx presents an initial report to the QoL Committee.
April 2023.
Committee identifies nine Pillars of QoL Plan and organizes sub-groups for Pillars. Subgroups meet parallel to the full committee.
June 22, 2023.
Town Hall Discussion engaged over 80 neighbors residents in the Quality-of-Life Planning process, where they shared their vision and priorities for the future of Martindale Brightwood.
November 2023.
Development of vision and goals for each Pillar. Full Committee decides to add a tenth Pillar, recognizing the importance of Youth Engagement.
January through May, 2024.
Implementation planning to detail Strategies and Action Steps for each Pillar.
March 2024.
OVMB begins QoL Town Hall Planning.
July 27, 2024.
Quality of Life Town Hall at the new Frederick Douglass Family Center introduces the Quality of Life Plan to over 100 residents and stakeholders. Recruitment of volunteers for implementation begins.
Fall 2024.
Anticipated presentation of Martindale Brightwood Quality of Life Plan to City of Indianapolis for certification.
Vision and Purpose
Residents envision Martindale Brightwood as a thriving, inclusive community that prioritizes their well-being. Residents aspire to strengthen the social fabric of their communities through initiatives that encourage engagement and cooperative action by neighbors and youth. Access to equitable, affordable housing represents an overwhelming and immediate concern in the community. Environmental justice initiatives must correct past contamination while ensuring healthy land, water, and air in the future. Programs focusing on education, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and youth development are also crucial, as they believe these programs will empower youth and adults to promote long-term economic stability. They desire more spaces for cultural activities, where people of all ages and backgrounds can gather, share experiences, and build strong, supportive networks. They seek enhanced greenspaces and recreational areas that promote physical activity and offer families culturally reflective environments for socializing and relaxation. Improved infrastructure, including greater street illumination, pedestrian-focused safety features, and accessible public transportation better connects the neighborhood to the surrounding city. Additionally, residents emphasize the need for local healthcare facilities, mental health support services, and wellness programs, as well as healthy food, to be readily available and affordable, fostering a holistic approach to health.
Ultimately, the vision for the Martindale-Brightwood community centers on creating safe, vibrant, and nurturing environments that cater to the diverse needs of all residents, ensuring a high quality of life and a strong sense of belonging. This iteration of the Martindale-Brightwood Quality of Life Plan (QOL) details a plan of action for all MB stakeholders (residents, businesses, faith and community organizations, elected officials and community supporters) to make this vision a reality. The enclosed plan represents the manifestation of that charge. It is the product of a multi-year journey engaged by committed neighborhood residents and stakeholders aligned around the goal of ensuring agency over the neighborhood’s future. The plan identifies ten key pillars determined by the collective as essential components for a vibrant, thriving Martindale Brightwood where all can reside, work, learn, worship, and play, with those Plan Pillars encompassing:
Arts and Culture | Economic Development | Education | Environmental Justice | Health & Wellness | Housing & Infrastructure | Neighborhood Engagement | Public Safety | Workforce Development | Youth Engagement
See more details for each pillar under individual tabs.
The plan recognizes the complexity of implementing actions along the ten pillars. However, the implementation effort includes goals, strategies, and actions to be engaged throughout this plan’s 5-year time frame. Lead partners understand their responsibility for implementing strategies and other organizations are in line to support actions. While identified “pillar leads” and partners will drive and hold to account efforts engaged under the plan, the plan is intentionally forward-looking, recognizing the neighborhood’s continual and accelerated evolution. As trends emerge, this collective will monitor progress and incorporate adjustments over the plan’s duration, as deemed beneficial.
“We are Martindale-Brightwood, and this is our vision to enhance the quality of life in our community over the next five years. As we present the Martindale-Brightwood Quality of Life Plan, we invite everyone who reviews this Plan to consider how they may contribute to implementing the proposed strategies and join us in turning this vision into a lasting reality for generations to come.”
– Kenya McMillen, President, One Voice Martindale Brightwood.
