Rhode Island

Cranston

Implementation Grant Winner

Like many suburban cities, Cranston is becoming more diverse. The OneCranston Initiative seeks to embrace this change and increase social cohesion among and between residents, with a focus on Cranston's growing low-income and minority populations. OneCranston aims to increase social and civic engagement among residents by uniting public, private, and nonprofit organizations in pursuit of common goals. It works to address important "opportunity gaps" for youth, increase access to employment and post-secondary opportunities, and ultimately address issues that contribute to persistent socioeconomic disparities in the city.

A photo of the front facade of Cranston City Hall in the Fall.

Steve Osemwenkhae/Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Problem

Cranston is becoming more economically and racially diverse. Between 2000 and 2015, the percentage of minority residents increased in every Cranston neighborhood, and the percentage of residents living below the federal poverty level increased or remained level in 82 percent of the city's 17 census tracts.

While the city grew at a 1.9 percent rate, the number of people of color living in Cranston doubled and the city's Hispanic and Asian populations grew by 187 percent and 65 percent, respectively. As the city changes, economic and racial disparities in income and education persist. Factors that create these disparities block access to opportunities for residents, slow economic growth and neighborhood renewal, and discourage civic engagement, particularly among the city's growing number of low-income and minority families.

Strategy

OneCranston is pursuing six strategies designed to increase social cohesion and reduce economic and educational disparities, including:

Identifying and engaging community leaders to build social and civic capital and solve problems
Improving partners' abilities to effectively communicate with their changing constituencies
Increasing out-of-school activities for youth
Addressing achievement gaps in third-grade reading scores
Better preparing and connecting low-income, minority residents to jobs and post-secondary school opportunities
Bringing diverse communities together to increase understanding among cultural and ethnic groups and improve their ability to address challenging issues that underlie socioeconomic disparities

First-year actions will primarily revolve around implementing the first two strategies. This will require significant community engagement and leadership development and will form the foundation on which the additional strategies can be executed in years 2 and 3.

Initial activities include implementing a comprehensive, evidence-based leadership development training for parents with school-age kids and establishing a community matching fund to make small grants to neighborhood-based volunteer groups. The initiative will also support community gatherings and trainings that bring people together and increase their understanding of the city’s diverse cultures.

Vision

OneCranston envisions a thriving and cohesive city where all feel they belong, and civically engaged citizens work together to build trust, fight exclusion, create opportunity, and work for the well-being of all.