Municipalized Neighborhoods in Milwaukee

Neighborhood Improvement Districts (NIDs) allow neighborhood property owners and residents in Wisconsin to form and manage special assessment districts in their neighborhoods. Modeled after Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), which were pioneered in the 1980s amid urban fiscal crisis, state legislation in Wisconsin expanded the model to residential​ areas in 2006. The BID model was highly successful in Milwaukee, but BIDs were limited in their ability to assess residential property. Thus, the NID law was initially envisioned narrowly as a way to expand the BID model into mixed-use commercial districts by allowing large, mercantile apartment buildings to be assessed as well.

Yet, today, most NIDs are located in purely residential neighborhoods. Milwaukee is the only municipality in Wisconsin that has NIDs, and is also the only municipality that allows single-family homes, duplexes, and small apartment buildings be included in NIDs. In fact, efforts to create mixed-use NIDs have been largely unsuccessful. How was the NID idea transformed from a tool for commercial development to one for neighborhood revitalization? How are NIDs used and understood by owners and occupants of residential property? What effects do they have on neighborhood identity and the social relations among different neighborhood stakeholders?

​My multi-method study of Milwaukee's NIDs seeks to understand how this form of urban governance fits into broader struggles over property relations, property value, and the meaning of "community." I draw on observation of NID meetings and neighborhood events; interviews with neighborhood residents, property owners, city officials, organizers, and advocates; video recordings of public hearings; policy documents; and and historical records.

If you are a resident or property owner of NID, or have otherwise been involved with Milwaukee's NIDs, please visit this page to sign-up to participate in the study. You can also find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about what it means to participate.