The West Bank Community Coalition (WBCC) is the City of Minneapolis recognized neighborhood group for the West Bank/Cedar-Riverside area. The WBCC gives first-level input to the city government on housing, licenses, zoning variances, permits, development and other neighborhood issues.

 WBCC History
 Who Does the WBCC Represent?
 Membership
 Mission Statement

WBCC History:
The West Bank Community Coalition (WBCC) began its role as a neighborhood organization in 1971. At that time, the neighborhood was virtually threatened with extinction. The City of Minneapolis and powerful real estate developers had produced an Urban Renewal Plan that called for the demolition of all but one building and displacement of everyone who lived here. Out of this climate grew the Cedar-Riverside Project Area Committee (PAC).

The PAC represented the conviction that people of the community have a moral right to be part of the decisions made about their homes. The organization was so successful at mobilizing the community and challenging real estate profit interests that in 1981, the city revised the Cedar-Riverside Urban Renewal Plan based on extensive and detailed recommendations the PAC.

Between 1981 and 1993 the PAC provided the planning and political leadership that produced over $100 million of development activity including over 1500 units of affordable housing, extensive commercial revitalization and two major community centers: The People’s Center and the Brian Coyle Community Center.

In 1998, the Cedar-Riverside Project Area Committee, changed its’ name to the West Bank Community Coalition (WBCC). This name reflected a change in activity of the organization from grassroots housing redevelopment to “the official conduit for information and advice between the neighborhood -its residents, businesses, institutions and organizations- and the agencies and offices of the City, County and State.” The organization strives to reflect, inform and involve residents, business and property owners in the neighborhood. The WBCC is a nonprofit corporation under Minnesota Statute 317A. It is the official citizen participation group for the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

Neighborhood group participation and leadership is not always representative of the community. The WBCC has worked this year to increase involvement and participation of the diverse populations in the community. This multicultural outreach effort is essential for building the core capacity of the neighborhood organization. n October 2005 new multicultural leadership was elected to the board whose top priority was to make the Coalition an organization that is representative of the community it serves. The first step toward that goal was achieved in September 2006 when the neighborhood voted to change the WBCC by-laws which had limited representation from Riverside Plaza, where nearly half of the neighborhood’s population and most of the new immigrant households live, to just 2 out of 15 seats on the board of directors.

Who does the WBCC Represent?
The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is a unique place in the City of Minneapolis.

It is strategically located between the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis and the bluffs of the Mississippi River. It includes the West Bank campus of the University of Minnesota, Augsburg College, Fairview University Medical Center as well as numerous cultural and performance venues. Cedar-Riverside also has the city’s largest concentration of affordable housing as well as a population which is one of the lowest income and most diverse in the area.

According to 2000 Census figures, forty-five percent of people living in Cedar-Riverside are foreign born. Data provided by the City of Minneapolis based on the 2000 census show that more than 500 neighborhood residents speak African languages, more than 500 speak Spanish, and more than 500 speak Vietnamese. The 500+ category is the largest grouping in these data sets. The actual number of non-English speakers is likely far greater. Cedar-Riverside is not only a neighborhood of immigrants, it is a neighborhood of many different immigrant groups. The major population groups in our neighborhood are: Somali, Oromo, Ethiopian, Hispanic, Vietnamese and Korean

Along with the great diversity of cultures and languages in Cedar-Riverside are the very low incomes of its residents. Census figures show that the neighborhood’s median household income in 1999 was $14,337 compared with $37,974 for Minneapolis as a whole. That year, 42 percent of neighborhood residents, and 41 percent of neighborhood families with children under 18, lived below the poverty level.

Cedar-Riverside is a place of enormous potential and great challenges. The New American cultural groups are typically very grateful to be living in America and eager to participate in civic and community activities. The many languages, cultural practices, holiday schedules, methods of communicating/networking, and traditions of decision-making create challenges in bringing everyone together, especially given the scarcity of household and community resources, and competing demands for everyone’s time.

Membership:
If you live, own property, or own a business in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood you are a member of the WBCC.

WBCC Mission Statement:
The mission of the WBCC is to strengthen and celebrate the neighborhood by promoting connections between its residents, businesses, institutions, and organizations.  The WBCC is dedicated to preserving its neighborhood’s strengths, identifying and helping to address the neighborhood’s changing needs, and bringing positive improvements to all.