What will YOU do this year to make your neighborhood a better place?

Cleaning up an alley in Riverside

Sometimes, the prospect of making yet another New Year's resolution to improve your body/brain/drinking habits/self-image can get little depressing (especially if this isn't the first time you've made the identical vow to get your act together).  That's why this post really caught our eye.  Instead of focusing on yourself (after all, this may be as good as you get), why not make a resolution to improve your neighborhood instead?

Initiatives like the Build a Better Block program or, closer to home, Springfield's own Preservation SOS project, prove that committed individuals working together can do amazing things to make a difference in their communities. Whether it's vowing to plant some trees, or helping an elderly neighbor complete a much-needed home-improvement project, or making the commitment to volunteer at your local non-profit (hint hint), there are a million small things we can each do to ensure that Riverside Avondale remains a Great American Neighborhood.

This year, RAP has a couple of resolutions, too: We want to expand our experimental crime watch program, find funding for a master transportation plan to ease traffic problems, give our local independent businesses a boost though the GoLO initiative, and debut a revamped Design Review process that is a friendlier and more helpful experience for all involved.

Okay, now it's your turn. What will you do?