Lauer’s Park Neighborhood Plan
Between July 2024 and July 2025, the Lauer’s Park Neighborhood Plan brought together neighborhood residents, organizations, city government, and others to coordinate and catalog shared priorities for improving life for residents in the Northwest part of Reading. We will use this written plan to advocate and organize together for safer streets, quality affordable housing, good transportation, parks, local institutions, and more.
Following a year of research, discussion, and debate, our coalition has published the Lauer’s Park
Neighborhood Plan: A Community Plan for Northwest Reading, PA from Front to 5th Street and Buttonwood to Washington, 2025 Please have a look below
Friends and neighbors, please share comments and questions to LauersParkPlan@gmail.com or 862-955-2577 by September 22.
How We Made the Lauer’s Park Neighborhood Plan
Lauer’s Park School and GoggleWorks Center for the Arts are working to bring this neighborhood together, including residents, organizations, and city government.
Our plan features what people and groups are doing to make this neighborhood a happy and healthy place to live, study, work, and play, and a to-do list of what we want to work on next.
When we finish the plan in Fall 2025, we will use it to spread the word and work for things we want for ourselves and our neighbors: safer streets, affordable places to live, good food, fun parks, community spirit, and resident power.
& 3rd Street
Here are some of the activities we’ve been organizing since Fall 2024, including neighbor-to-neighbor conversations, student-led interviews, and building a model.
at 6th Ward Block Party, 9/21/24
at 6th Ward Block Party, 9/21/24
at 6th Ward Block Party, 9/21/24
city officials, November 2025
city officials, November 2025
& Buttonwood, Photo: Reading Eagles, Ben Hasty
Project Schedule
September–December 2024
- Neighborhood Arts Lauer’s Park students, teachers, and families collaborate with GoggleWorks teaching artists to study, document, and imagine our neighborhood through observations, interviews, drawings, and models.
- Finding Partners & Building Our Coalition through hang-outs, walkshops, zooms, porch conversations, yard signs, and tabling at other events to document and understand existing neighborhood agendas and projects.
January–April 2025
- Draft Neighborhood Plan by bringing together neighborhood agendas and projects brought up through Neighborhood Arts projects and coalition-building activities, emphasizing the shared goals and potentials to work in coalition. Share these draft conclusions with residents and organizations to discuss, criticize, and improve.
May–June 2025
- Complete Neighborhood Plan including priorities and next steps for funding and completing recommended initiatives.
July 2025 and beyond
- Neighborhood coalition uses plan to keep organizations coordinated; inform and organize residents; track goals; show government, investors, new residents and others what we want; and attract funding and support
Neighborhood Conversations and Project Events:
Upcoming:
October 3, 2025: Lauer’s Park Neighborhood Plan: Exhibit & Celebration
Past:
May 21, 2025: Family Photo Day
May 30, 2025: Lauer’s Park Neighborhood Congress with Barrio Allegría
January–April 2025: Porch Parties: Neighborhood Conversations
Resources
Project Partners
Convening Partners
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
Lauer’s Park Elementary School
Supporting Partner
Organizational Advisory Board
Alvernia University, Barrio Alegría, Berks County Community Foundation, Centro Hispano, Christ Episcopal, City of Reading, GoggleWorks, Habitat for Humanity of Berks, Helping Harvest, Lauer’s Park Elementary, Mt. Zion Baptist, Our City Reading, Penn State Berks, Reading Area Community College, Reading School District, Spak Group, and United Way of Berks County
Lead Resident Advisor
Guillelyn “Guilly” Medina
GoggleWorks Project Team
Juliana Delgado
Natalie Fenner
Levi Landis
Paola Mateo
Edvard Philipson
Tiana Zabala
Urban Design and Neighborhood Planning Support
HECTOR Urban Design: Jae Shin, Damon Rich, Eduardo Martínez
The Lauer’s Park Neighborhood Plan is supported by the Regional Foundation
Get in touch
Learn more and get involved by phone, text, or email!
(862) 955-2577
LauersParkPlan@gmail.com