At Home in the Park

What's the difference between a group of houses and a real community? Author Lola L. Lucas explores this question in <I>At Home in the Park: Loving a Neighborhood Back to Life.</I></P><P>Lucas chronicles the rebirth of Enos Park a section of Springfield Illinois just north of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Like many cities the area went through a period of urban decay before rebounding. The Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association (EPNIA) was largely responsible for this change.</P><P>Lucas's columns about Enos Park have appeared in the <I>EPNIA Banner</I> since 1992. With wisdom and wry humor she shows why it's worth the effort to reweave a neighborhood's social fabric in order for residents to once again enjoy their homes. Lucas writes about community policing ice cream socials neighborhood patrols and evening strolls on tree-lined sidewalks. Through the efforts of the EPNIA the citizens of Enos Park reclaimed their streets and loved their neighborhood back to life.</P>