Hilltop Church hosted neighborhood meetings during the construction of the new community center in Friendship Park.

This planning process was initiated by the City of Wichita in its application and receipt of a Metro Community Capacity Building Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing. As one of the City's Local Investment Areas, the Hilltop neighborhood is eligible to benefit from programs that are designed to encourage homeownership, homeowner repair, and new construction. The planning team initially met with a core group of neighborhood representatives to discuss neighborhood issues. Subsequently, three neighborhood meetings were hosted by the City and the planning team to generate resident input to the plan. The result of this process is this neighborhood plan which has two components: (1) a Community Development Plan that identifies Neighborhood Goals, Recommended Actions, and Partnerships and (2) a Physical Development Plan that includes Physical Plan Strategies, Principles for a Physical Development Framework, Desired Framework, and Physical Plan.

At the onset of the planning process, participants were asked to use one word to describe the neighborhood as it currently exists. Responses are listed below: