TRUNA is more than a place to live—it is a connected network of neighborhoods shaped by shared spaces, walkability, and community involvement. Located near East Carolina University, downtown Greenville, and the Tar River, TRUNA brings together students, renters, and homeowners in everyday neighborhood life.
Greenville's Neighborhoods Shape How the City Lives
Neighborhoods are the foundation of Greenville. As the city grows, its long-term success depends not just on development or infrastructure, but on how well people who live here—homeowners and renters, long-term residents and students—are connected to one another and to the places they share.
The Tar River/University Neighborhood (TRUNA) reflects this reality in a very tangible way. Located near East Carolina University, Downtown Greenville, the Tar River, and the Town Common, TRUNA is not defined by a single housing type or demographic. It is a collection of neighborhoods and shared spaces where people with different lengths of stay and life stages live side by side, using the same streets, parks, and public resources.
A Neighborhood That Includes Homeowners, Renters, and Students
TRUNA has always included a mix of owner-occupied homes and rental housing. Many residents are long-term homeowners. Many others are renters, including a significant number of ECU students who choose to live within a residential neighborhood rather than in isolated student housing.
One of the best-known areas within TRUNA is College View, a neighborhood that illustrates how this mix works in practice. College View's walkable streets, mature trees, and proximity to campus make it appealing to families, university employees, and students alike. The result is a neighborhood that feels lived-in and active throughout the year, rather than seasonal or transient.
TRUNA's perspective is straightforward: students are residents and neighbors. They contribute to the daily life of the neighborhood, use its public spaces, and share responsibility for its condition. A healthy neighborhood near a university depends on communication, clear expectations, and mutual respect—not on drawing lines between who "belongs" and who does not.
Shared Public Spaces That Anchor Daily Life
The Town Common as a Community Living Room
The Greenville Town Common plays an outsized role in how TRUNA functions day to day. Although it is a city park, its location makes it feel like a shared front yard for the neighborhood. Residents walk there for exercise, meet friends, attend festivals, or simply spend time along the river.
Students use the Town Common in the same ways—running, relaxing, gathering with friends—often alongside longtime residents. That overlap matters. It reinforces the idea that TRUNA is not inward-looking or exclusive, but deeply connected to Greenville's civic and cultural life.
City information about the Town Common is available here: https://www.greenvillenc.gov/513/Greenville-Town-Common
The Tar River Greenway as Everyday Infrastructure
The Tar River Greenway is another defining feature of TRUNA living. For many residents, it is not a destination but part of their routine. People use it to walk or bike to campus, travel downtown without a car, exercise, or clear their heads at the end of the day.
This is especially meaningful in a neighborhood with a student population. The Greenway provides a safe, car-free connection between housing, campus, and public space, while also serving long-term residents who value walkability and access to nature. It is a shared resource that quietly supports health, sustainability, and informal social interaction.
More about Greenville's Greenway system can be found here: https://www.greenvillenc.gov/499/Greenville-Greenways
Living Near ECU Means Shared Responsibility
Proximity to East Carolina University shapes TRUNA in important ways. Residents benefit from access to ECU's cultural events, lectures, performances, and institutional stability. At the same time, living near a major university requires ongoing attention to how a neighborhood functions.
TRUNA's approach is not to oppose students or rentals, but to encourage shared responsibility. Noise, property maintenance, parking, and safety affect everyone, regardless of whether someone owns a home or plans to live in the neighborhood for four years or forty. When expectations are clear and communication is open, coexistence works better for everyone involved.
This is where neighborhood engagement matters. Students who understand the neighborhood they live in tend to be better neighbors. Long-term residents who view students as part of the community are better positioned to address concerns constructively. TRUNA exists to support that balance.
TRUNA's Role Within Greenville's Neighborhood Landscape
Greenville is made up of neighborhoods with very different patterns of development. Some are suburban and car-oriented. Others are newer and more uniform. TRUNA is distinctive because it combines a central location, historic housing, rental diversity, and immediate access to major public spaces.
The City of Greenville recognizes neighborhood associations as important partners in community development and provides resources to support neighborhood engagement and communication.
TRUNA's ability to participate in those conversations comes from its inclusive structure. When renters and students are part of the dialogue, the neighborhood's voice is more representative and more effective.
Why an Inclusive Neighborhood Association Matters
The Tar River/University Neighborhood Association works to strengthen the neighborhood by improving communication, representing resident interests, and encouraging participation across housing types. Membership and involvement are open to homeowners, renters, and students who want to be informed and engaged.
Neighborhoods near universities are most successful when they invest in relationship-building rather than division. TRUNA's ongoing work reflects that understanding. The goal is not uniformity, but cooperation—recognizing that people with different experiences and timelines can still share pride in the place they live.
Choosing TRUNA Is Choosing Connection
People who choose to live in TRUNA often do so because it offers more than proximity. It offers connection—to campus, to downtown, to green space, and to one another. Whether someone lives in College View, near the Town Common, or along a Greenway corridor, they are part of a neighborhood where daily life happens in shared spaces.
TRUNA continues to evolve, shaped by homeowners, renters, and students who all call it home, even if for different lengths of time. That diversity is not something to manage around—it is something to build with.
