[1] The neighborhood is a part of the Southwest Gateway, an area that has traditionally been defined as being under-invested and having declining infrastructure.
[6] The neighborhood is majority Black (68.9%), with the remaining race demographics breakdown being 13.2% Hispanic, 12.7% White, 3.8% mixed, 1% other, and 0.4% Asian.
[7] The median age of people in this area is 30.5 years old, and 21.6% of residents speak a language in addition to English at home.
[9] The project will change traffic patterns in the Southwest neighborhood due to a new community grid road system that will be implemented as a part of the takedown.
The project "Visualizing 81," investigated the history of this neighborhood, and while many residents at that time felt it was a great place to live, newspapers referred to the construction of the highway as "slum cleanup.
"[11] The highway has been blamed for many of the struggles felt by residents today, and the new I-81 takedown project brings hope for a better future.
[13] One notable investment that was made in this center was in 2014 when they received $369,400 to fight gun violence from the New York State government.
[18] The program collaborates with the Cornell Cooperative Extension to employ local youth, while also creating a source for healthy food in an urban environment.