CD spins new info for neighbourhood appeal
A substantial proportion of European citizens live in segregated housing plans that threaten their quality of life. Local government and authorities do try to tackle these failing neighbourhoods but can only do so as effectively as the information they have at their disposal allows. Under the auspices of the EC-funded NEHOM project, a CD-Rom has been developed in which neighbourhood initiatives to improve the quality of life have been evaluated. These initiatives are derived from a number of European neighbourhoods and they have been included in the CD-Rom because of their applicability across Europe. The purpose of compiling such information was to build a database listing innovative and effective housing and neighbourhood initiatives affecting the community. It provides various functionalities by which users can usefully employ the information provided. First and foremost, the interactive CD allows for searchable criteria via both specific country and designated region of interest. One may also search the "Neighbourhood problems" section for solutions by entering the specifics of the problem itself. For example, entering 'safety' as one search string, may list various initiatives with proven results that have combated growing crime within neighbourhoods. Additionally there is a "Findings" section that lists lessons and recommendations from actual case studies. These do not complete the list of functions currently available and the developers are looking for further research and development support. The CD proffers itself as a viable tool to identify qualitative measures for assessing the relationships between housing initiatives and the quality of life in urban neighbourhoods.
