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Admi ni ster i ng the Demonstra tion Ci ti e s - Prog r am in Atlanta Io Ration a, le: Th e dra f t prepar e d by seve r a l age ncies in connec t ion wi t h ' the Mayor ' s Di rect or o f Gov ernme nt Liaison outlines th e go a ls and step s b y wh ich Atlanta c an participate in the rec e ntly passed Model Citi es o r Demonstration cities Act of 196 6. What this statemen_t neglects to outline is the methodology by wh ich these goals and programs are to be accomplished. i mpl emen t at ion of thi s p l an i s p erh aps it s mo s t Pl ans there are in abundan c-2. The c ru ci a l component . But the s k ill fµ l exe cution of such p l ans rema i ns the key to effective action. That Atlanta posses the fu n damen tal resources it needs t o meet the r equ iremen t s of the Demonstrat ion Cities Plan i s without doubt . li'Jnat i s r equ i re d is l ess t h e c reation o f nevJ me chan i s ms th a n t h e effecti ve h arness i ng and, where n ecessary , th e reor i entat ion of those v~ich a l ready exist. It is paramou nt that the es sential thrust of t he Demonstration Ci t ie s Program should be kept i n mind. It is essen-ia ll y designe d to ma};:e a socia l .tmr2ac-~ on a lo'.v- i n c ome neig-hborhood , brii ging together the tooJ s of both phys ic a l and socia l p l anning agenci es . As such t he coordination and implementation of the plan should begin with this end in mind and, accor dingly, build from this I base . �r -2- As such the plan c a lls f or an agency which carries both the c apacity and means for integrating social and physical pl ann ing functio ns . The only age ncy which is curre ntly geare d to meet this n ee d in t erms•of action is the Economic Opportun ity Atlanta Program. It .. EOA & Demonstration Cities: On at least twd bases , if not all thre e , the Economic .Opportunity Program is unique ly equ ipped to conduct the plan of attack out li ned in the dtaft statement. Th e plan c a ll s f or Ne i ahborhood Orqanization and Residen t Part i cipation. I n each of th e target neighborhoods del i neated for the Demonstration Cities Program, EOA has developed we llo rganized and func ioning neighborhood groups. Most of these h ave been active l y invo l ved in i nit i at in g p l anning act i vi tie s for th e Demonstration Cities Program. Thes e ne i ghborhood groups h ave made it possibl e for th e first ' real "grass roots " l eade r sh i p to partic i pate in pl ann i ng community lif e. Every aspect of the com.rnunity is dealt with, ·f rom employ- ment to education , housing to health, recreation and aging. Secondly, the plan c a lls for the improvement of Health and Welfare and the phys ic a l renewal of the area. In both i nstances local neighborhood committees have organized to survey needs and recommended programs. Thes e n eighborhood corrm1i ttees stand ready to make their contribution. �r ..., -_)- Fina lly , a s the Act is des i gne d t o b ri ng about t he c oordin a tion o f a g e n cie s in an a ll-out at tack o n the cond ition s of pov erty, the fr amework o f the Neigh bor hood Service Ce nter program is .s uch tha t a Te chn ical Advisor y Comm i t tee is organized to prov ide th i s adde d and much n eed e d r es ource . In review it can be shown that the Neighborhood Service Centers in the target,, Demonstration Cities Area provide a ready ma d e well-orga nize d f orum for "grass roots part i cip a tion,, .. a mechanism for attack and a base on which additional program effort c a n b e laid. Plan of Att a ck: III. I t is , howeve r , n o t the con t ent i on of EOA t h at its p resen t s tructure i s ent ire l y suffic i ent to mee t thi s t ask a l one . I ndee d, were i t not for the fact t hat ma ny agencies h ave made the ir serv i c es a v a ilab l e from the out se t wou l d it be p o ss i b le for EOA t o h ave r eached i t s p resen t st age o f evolu t i o n . far from t h e d es i r e d g o a l. Bu·t i t It rea li zes it i s i s o n the r i ght r o ad and h o pes t~ is l atest effort (Demon s trati on Ci ties ) will r e i nforc e i ts rol e and future. There are some areas o f n eed wh ich go b eyond th e pr esent str u cture and activities of t h e Neighbor h o od Serv i ce Centers. It r e ma in s on l y to outline some of these to indic ate the gaps which shou ld be closed with add itional programs and personne l. A. Prese nt a ctivities i nclude : 1. Emp loyment - j ob placement, counsel i ng referrals, tra{ning o pportun ities, e tc. �-4-- 2. Soci a l Se r v ice s - multi-purp os e n eeds (h e a lth, family coun se ling , d ay care , aging, 'etc. ) 3. Ed ucation - co~munity schools , adult e ducation , et c. 4. B. .• Housin~ - relocat i on assistance and h ousing i nformation Need Are as: 1. Economic infr a -struct ures - businesses le n ding in st i tution s, comrne r ical establishment , etc. 2. Social i nfra-str u c ·cure s- c ornmun i ty clu bs , r e cr eat i on h al l s , et c. 3. Physical i n f ra-s ·t ructures-road s, parks, e tc . I mp l ementation: I V. It i s r ecommend e d th a t t11e s e c enters which ar e loc ated in the Demon strat ion Ci ti e s Area should b e me rge d into a Demon st ration Ci t i es P l ann i ng Task Fo rce . As su c h t h ey would b e funded throu gh t he i nitia l plann i ng grant wh ile prov i ding servic es at the same time. These c en ers wou l d be adm i nistered by t he Mayor ' s o ff i ce u nder a Demonstrat i on Ci ties Pro j ect Offi c er who i s responsib l e to the Mayor. Al though o fficia l ly respons i ble t o t he Mayor , these centers would cont inue t o operate under t he ·admin i strative proc ~dures of the l ocal CAA. The local Cl\A, EOA, wou l d provide at l east o ne c oordinator from its office to that of the Mayor ' s Demonstrat ion Citie s Office. �-5- V. Eva luation: Unde r terms sti ll unwr it ten an e va lu a tion o f the Demo nstrati on Citi es Program, the Neighborhood Center. Pro gram and the coordination o f the s e act i v iti es wou ld be undertaken by a lo ca l educational i~s titution. Hopefully, this negoti a tion wou l d lead to a greater , sustain ed i nvo l vemen t of the academ ic c omrnun ity i n urb an p::cob l ems . I deally, At l cnta Uni vers i ty and Georgia St a t e College and/or Emory Un i versity cou l d fulf il l this n ee d. ..J �