It is served by Rosa Parks Elementary School and the Charles Jordan Community Center, which hosts the North Portland chapter of the Boys & Girls Club.

The Villa was built to house the influx of shipyard workers who came to the area as ship production expanded in response to World War II.

[7] The shift in the 1970s has been attributed to changes in public housing regulations, persistent poverty, and the spread of heroin addiction.

[10] The Villa was then the site of the city's first known drive-by shooting in 1988, when local Crips leader Joseph Ray Winston was murdered at a park on North Woolsey Avenue.

[5] The strategy was widely regarded as successful, and was used as a national model for improving public safety in crime-stricken neighborhoods.

[16] The HAP cited substandard housing and infrastructure, as well as the street layout's inherently isolating effect on the neighborhood, as factors in the necessity for a complete rebuild.

[17] However, in comments about the plan, Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten told the Willamette Week, "there are human problems that no architect or urban planner in the world can design away".

Concrete and asphalt from old home foundations and street surfaces were salvaged and ground into fill material for structures and road bases in the new construction.

One point of criticism was the HAP's decision to list homes at market value while leaving apartments as the only subsidized option for low-income residents.

[13] The development has been described as a "public housing island" in criticisms alleging that the goals for community integration put forth by the HAP were never met.

[22] In contrast, the Portland Police Bureau released statistics that showed a much lower crime rate within New Columbia compared to the greater Portsmouth neighborhood, indicating that the development's reputation as the center of criminal activity was no longer accurate.

The team places a focus on connecting residents to social services and arbitrating issues between neighbors and family members.

Planners included a grocery retail space in the development, but its first two occupants, Big City Produce and AJ Java, went out of business.

Even after the opening of closeout chain Grocery Outlet in nearby St. Johns, Village Market reported growing sales.

[32] Many participating students incorporate their volunteer experiences and related learning into their college admissions applications and scholarship essays.