The Northside Planning Council (NPC) is a citizen-led coalition of 17 neighborhood associations and community organizations based on the Northside of Madison, Wisconsin. NPC's mission is to improve the quality of life for all residents of the Northside community by building community and by increasing citizen participation and voice in the issues that affect them. The Northside began as developments surrounding the Oscar Mayer meatpacking plant, which brought with it a high concentration of affordable housing and eventually an influx of minority residents. It was one of the first Madison neighborhood areas to show the strain of rapid urban growth and changing demographics when crime, violence, and drug traffic soared and living conditions in large apartment complexes deteriorated in the late 80's and early 90's. Cont...