Neighborhood Councils

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Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. In the United States, such councils are active in Los Angeles, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, among other places.

To promote more citizen participation in government and make government more responsive to local needs, neighborhood councils often include representatives of the many diverse interests in communities, and often have an advisory role on issues of concern to them.

[edit] In Los Angeles

The vision of a citywide system of independent and influential neighborhood councils, and the creation of a city department to guide that process, was the centerpiece of a new City Charter that was approved by the voters in June 1999 in the City of Los Angeles, California.

Through the Early Notification System (ENS), neighborhood councils in Los Angeles receive notice of issues and projects that are important to them as soon as possible.

Neighborhood councils are supposed to be groups of people that, once certified by the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, elect or select their own leaders, determine their own agendas, and set their own boundaries. The goal is to make them as independent as possible from government so that they will have the influence and power to affect citywide and local decision-making.