Wichita State University's Shocker Neighborhood Coalition is conducting a door-to-door survey in the surrounding Fairmount neighborhood to help better understand the needs of the residents.
The survey is part of the coalition’s overall community engagement efforts to help guide future development in the area. The campaign, launched by WSU’s Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs, is funded by a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to address health, social and quality of life issues.
Community liaison Daryl Carrington says the plan is to reach nearly 850 homes in the neighborhood.
"The citizens of Fairmount that we've talked to have been eager to engage. I would even say they are flattered by the insinuation that the university wants to be a better neighbor," he says.
Carrington says the survey will not only help determine how the residents in the Fairmount neighborhood interact with Wichita State, but also with community police officers and with one another.
He says Fairmount Park is already seeing an increase in activity with the opening of Wichita's first futsal court last month.
The survey is expected to be completed in January.
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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.
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