The University’s Office of Foggy Bottom/West End Affairs launched a new version of its neighborhood Web site earlier this month to make it more neighborhood-friendly, officials said.

GW created the Web site, www.neighborhood.gwu.edu, a year and a half ago to inform residents about campus development issues and to receive feedback on its plans. The new Web site, in addition to having campus development information, also includes a calendar, news, information about a 24-hour community hotline, a comments/concerns link and more general information about University events.

Michael Akin, GW’s director of Foggy Bottom/West End Affairs, said he led the initiative to redesign the site to make it more a more “neighborhood-friendly portal.”

“(It’s) more neighborhood-focused and is one of the many things that will continue to help community relations,” he said. The design of the new site also contains more neutral colors than the old site, which mostly featured GW’s school colors.

Akin said that a month before launching the new site, the FRIENDS group, a GW-sponsored community group consisting of about 75 residents, met to preview the Web site and help edit it. He said most of the feedback he has gotten so far has been positive.

Resident Abraham Avidor, a member of FRIENDS, said he is hopeful that “the Web site will improve community relations.”

“People will find the Web site to be a useful tool for their efforts to find out more about the University,” he said.

Resident Diane Tai said she thinks the site “is definitely more oriented toward the community.” She added that she was happy there is a “site that allows community members to voice their comments and concerns.”

-Lindsay Garfield