Urban challenges confront Makiki

[urbanguy]

Urban challenges confront Makiki

Makiki residents say their neighborhood is the best place to live in Honolulu, but admit the area has many of the social problems that come with being such a densely populated urban community: a lack of parking, too much noise and accumulated rubbish. A new group called Hui 'O Makiki is being formed by residents as a way to take on some of those issues and make Makiki an even better place to call home.

Donald Elliot, a volunteer at the Makiki Community Library, peers through one of the windows smashed by vandals last month.

"Makiki is an extremely dense community that is really a quite fascinating place," said Elisa Johnston, interim president of Hui 'O Makiki. "The people who are coming together for Hui 'O Makiki are generally longtime Makiki residents who treasure the diversity of the community, but are pained and frustrated by the deterioration that we see. Our little group is just starting out, and our focus is on general quality of life. We are inviting everyone to take part."

Makiki is in the area bounded by Punahou Street and Ward Avenue, and from South King Street to Tantalus and named for a type of stone Hawaiians used as weights for octopus lures. Makiki is comprised of four neighborhoods