Near South Planning Board is committed to improving the quality of life and promoting economic growth in its community by implementing urban renewal plans. The short-term goals are to promote, coordinate and oversee the development of the area, while planning and working towards the future. A major part of Near South Planning Board’s long-term objective is to develop strong schools, active and supportive residents, viable neighborhood retail and destination entertainment and services.
Keeping the arts alive throughout Illinois continues to be a major objective of an organization whose membership is comprised of businesses in the City’s Near South Side. Near South Planning Board (NSPB) aggressively focuses its efforts on promoting and enhancing the cultural and educational experience of children. This organization has been able to accomplish this, for the past twenty-nine years, by directing its public programming efforts on programs that strive for and achieve literary excellence for all.
These literary arts programs – Authors in the Schools (AIS), Harold Washington Literary Award (HWLA), and the Young Authors Program – have positively impacted the community in a myriad of ways ranging from educational enrichment to presenting to the public, both young and old alike, published Illinois writers and poets. The mission of NSPB’s literary programs is to promote the magic of books and reading, celebrate the joy of the written word, provide the added incentive and necessary tools to stimulate creative thinking, and bring an appreciation of the art of contemporary literature closer to the lives of the public through the organization’s year-round literary outreach programs.