Since the early 1900s, neighbors in Grand Rapids have been forming associations and alliances in order to encourage unity and preserve unique cultures and traditions. Some of these associations have created traditions such as street fairs and neighborhood watches in order to create pride and pool resources. As is common among cities, many neighborhoods in Grand Rapids began as ethnic communities. Polish and German immigrants settled on the West Side and the Dutch on the East Side.

The Creston neighborhood was one of Grand Rapids’ first neighborhoods to create an organization. The Creston Citizen’s Association was formed in 1906 for neighbors and businesspeople in the area. Little is known about associations that existed between the time of The Creston Citizen’s Association and the emergence of many neighborhood associations in the 1970s.

During the 1970s neighborhood associations flourished. President Nixon worked to build a stronger relationship between neighborhoods and the federal government. In Grand Rapids, neighborhood associations such as Eastown Community Association and Garfield Park Neighborhood Association were formed by neighbors concerned about the declining appearance and increasing crime in their neighborhoods. Heritage Hill Neighborhood Association also formed during this time to advocate for the preservation of historic structures threatened by urban renewal. The Madison Neighborhood Association and Belknap- Lookout Neighborhood Association were formed by ACORN, a national organization. These neighborhood groups formed by ACORN eventually broke away from ACORN to form their own neighborhood associations.

Since the 1970s many more neighborhood associations have formed in Grand Rapids. Some of these associations such as the Madison Area Neighborhood Association and the South East End Neighbors have gone through rough times. Many organizations have broken up and reformed as boundaries and causes shifted. Creston Neighborhood Association is an example of this as they absorbed the North End Neighborhood Association.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson initiated a Model Cities Program, which was intended to bring a working relationship between the federal government and neighborhoods. The program struggled to keep up with the relationship, which frustrated neighbors all across America. President Richard Nixon became aware of this frustration and signed the Community Development Act of 1974. The legislation came into place under President Gerald R. Ford. This legislation was intended to revive the idea of Model Cities in America. President Ford consolidated the funding from numerous neighborhood projects to create CDBG (Community Development Block Grants).

Grand Rapids involved its citizens in the legislation and received numerous CDBG grants. Stocking, Belknap, Baxter, Madison, Roosevelt Park, John Ball Park, Eastown and Heritage Hill were among the many neighborhoods who received these grants. These neighborhoods each formed a Target Area Council to oversee the grant money in the neighborhood.

Common projects for the Target Area Councils in Grand Rapids included home repair, alley paving and lighting, tree planting, park beautification and crime prevention. Many of these Target Area Councils helped to gain interest in neighborhood organizations and were either absorbed into or helped to create neighborhood associations once the projects were completed.