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• Management Information Serviee International City Managers' Association/ April 1969, Vol. 1 No. L-4 �lessons From the Model Cities Program To the growing number of local officials disen, chanted with the problems in federal aid for America's cities, the Model Cities program has been promoted as a radically improved product. President Nixon had been in office less than a week when his associates made it known that the Model Cities approach is to be "applied across the board to the entire system of federal services." The program was enacted in 1966, authorized by the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of that year. Since then, more than 150 cities and counties have begun the involved planning process to implement the program. Grants of $512.5 million are available for operation, plus $142 million for urban renewal within designated Model Cities neighborhoods. The goal of Model Cities is to coordinate all other urban programs ; focus them on areas of physical and human blight in selected cities; offer additional funding; and forge a partnership among local government, the neighborhood people to be benefited, and the private resources of the community. The process involves concentrating public and private agency programs on related problems of, say, housing, education, health, and employment. Toward this end, sponsorship was lodged with local government (city or county) and structure was loosely specified to meet three basic objectives: • To focus on a rational demonstration of results so that viable solutions to basic causes might have lasting, nationwide applicability. • To develop citizen participation structures to insure involvement of the people whose lives are affected by planning and implementation of planning. • To serve as a planning and coordinating rather than a service-delivery vehicle. This report was prepared for MIS by Paul R. Jones, Executive Director, Charlotte (N.C.) Model Cities Commission, and Chairman, National Model Cities Directors A ssociation; and by Barbara R. Bradshaw, Ph.D. , Research Director, Charlotte (N. C.) Model Cities Commission. 2 Through this new "total-attack" approach, Model Cities holds great promise to city administrators seeking to identify and overcome the persisting problems of our cities. Yet it must be cautioned that Model Cities is so far largely unproved in practice. The progra m remains, after three years of federal activity , rather vaguely defined, even in theory, and the first "operational grant" (as opposed to the initial planning grants) was awarded to Seattle, Wash. , only late last year. The program, however, has by now generated various strategies for shaping Model Cities, as evidenced by examining the voluminous applications submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since the initial application must describe the intended scale and depth of the full program to be undertaken by a Model City, a foundation has now been laid for preliminary discussion of Model Cities strategies that might be borrowed by other cities. This report briefly outlines Model Cities lessons that appear to be emerging from the program . �Patterns of Poverty and Neighborhood Deprivation HOUSING: Maintenance Costs Financing Costs Tax Costs Construction Costs Lan~ Costs Codes Absentee Landlords .ln-Mgration of

,~~ Disadvantaged Groups - Demand fo r lJJw Cost Housing lJJw Market Demand or Housing Improvements Out-Migration of Successfu l Fami lies & Individuals ~ JJ{_ lJJw Mai ntenance & Investment in Housing I lJJw Community ,t Organization & Leadership Substandard, ~ vercrowded & O Deteriorating Housing Ra~i:~j~d~~:nic ~ Lack of Observation of Communi ty Standaros Excessive Internal Mobility Poor Police Relations Cri me & Violence Inadequate Commercial Services Lack of Motivation; Drug Addiction Feelings of Frustration, - . . . . Alcnholism Powerlessness & Isolation ~ Juveni le Deli nquency Inadequate Community Medical, Education, Social, Legal Services & Faci lities _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,. • ,!_ SOC IAL PROBLEMS lJJw Participation in Community Affai rs Racial & Ethnic Concentrations Lack of Choice in Housing Lack of Avai labi lity of Credit "' Inadequate Public & Private TransjXJrtation Lack of Access to OpjXJrtunities Inadequate Public Information System Lack of Job OpjXJrlunities 1 Changing Production Methods Lack of LDw-Ski lied Jobs Available Job Restrictions from Union Practices, Industry Hiring Practices & Minimum Wages Poor Job Skills Il legitimacy Lack of Fami ly Stabi lity ECONOMIC PROBLEMS lJJw Income High Unemployment Hi gh Dependency High Debt & lJJw Savings Lack of On-The-Job Traini ng OpjXJrtunities lJJwWork Performance i,' Absenteeism HEALTH PROBLEMS High Illness High Infant Mortality LDw Life Expectancy EDUCATION PROBLEMS lJJw Educational Attainment High School Drop-Out Rates Poor Communication & Understandi ng Figure 1 - Reinforcing Relati onships in Cycle~ of Poverty S o urce: Developing a Program Focus As an indication of the new Administration's support of Model Cities, Mayor Floyd H. Hyde of Fresno, Calif., one of the program's strongest boosters, was named HUD Assistant Secretary for Model Cities. Th4s, the Fresno Model City application serves as something of a "model among models" in characterizing the central focus of the program. Here is a statement from the Fresno application that well summarizes the program focus of most Model Cities: "It is necessary for residents to become acquainted with the steps and processes necessary for assimilation into the mainstream of community life. Any Arthu r D. Little, Inc., Strategies for Shapi ng Model Cities (1967) , p. 35. broad and general program that will be set up in this depressed section must take into consideration the lag in our present social, economic, educational, and legal systems and institutions as they apply to noninfluential groups, termed often as indigenous. "A comprehensive program must recognize that in order to bridge the gap between the existing institutions and the poor there must be an attempt to bring the services to the people on a decentralized basis so that they may take full advantage of them, for often the helping services of existing institutions are removed from the deprived community, both physically and psychologically. "Therefore, a major need for this community is to remove the physical and psychological distance of 3 �Model City Objectives To Combat Poverty and Low Income 1. By decreasing the number of families now living in poverty. 2. By reducing the number of unemployed in the area. 3. By reducing the number of underemployed (those working only part-time or in jobs which pay too little). To Provide Better Housing and Better Environments 1. By making more homes available, with emphasis on low cost. 2. By providing families with a choice of decent homes in environments of their choosing. 3. By providing adequate housing to families requiring relocation, and by minimizing economic loss due to relocation. 4. By improving the physical appearance of Portland West, making it compatible with family living. To Provide Better Education and Proper Child Development 1. 2. 3. 4. By providing adequate school facilities. By increasing the quality of public education. By raising the level of educational performance. By providing educational opportunities for all children, including the handicapped and emotionally disturbed. 5. By encouraging more parent involvement in school policies and administration. To Provide General and Personal Social Services to A ll 1. By improving and expanding existi ng services and making them read ily available t o all residents, young and old. 2. By making preventive social services avail able to all. 3. By providing day care for all chi ld re n. To Provide Adequate Recreational Opportunities 1. By providing conveniently located fa cilit ies fo r outdoor recreation. 2. By establishing indoor fa cilities for cult ural and recreational programs. 3. By overcoming barri ers which preven t more extensive use of existing programs and facil ities. To Reduce the Crime Rate and Juvenile Delinquency 1. By directing attention t o t he specific conditions which cause crime o r cont ribute t o it . 2. By emphasizing crime prevention ; by t reating delinquency in its early stages. 3. By aiding in t he rehabilit atio n of potential and chronic offenders. To Improve the Health o f the Community 1. By increasing public understa nding of health needs and atti t udes. 2. By providi ng comprehensive, coord inated health services to children and ad ults. 3. By recruit ing mo re health person nel. 4 . By making health information accessible to all. Figure 2 - Statement of Objectives, Portland, Maine 4 these services by placing them in the deprived area, and in turn, making them easily accessible to all residents of the area . A related factor in the provision of these services on a decentralized basis is actual employment, whenever possible, of people from the area in both professional and subprofessional capacities. Such a provision in a program will tend to show the residents why they should strive to better themselves. Providing the training and work opportunities for as many people as possible will help to change the attitudes of others and motivate them to strive fo r improvement." Statements similar to this can be fo und in the applications of other Model Cities, thus evidencing that the program has helped focus official thinking on ways to break the patterns of poverty and neighborhood deprivation (see Figure 1). The key word here is "focus," fo r Model Cities is designed to zero in on specific objectives for a limited area of the city. In the program formulation stage, the earlier specific statements of objectives can be developed, the more effectively they can guide the program. Specific objectives (1) provide a focus for data collection and evaluation; (2) speed the process of program design ; • • (3) provide a basis for selecting appropriate projects; and (4) prevent the formation of vested interests in specific approaches. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES In developing a program focus, a city is confronted with a bewildering variety of possible approaches to and proposals for attacking patterns of poverty. No accepted criteria exist for choice among them. To produce a coherent, integrated program strategy, however, a city must have some method of selecting and relating program elements. Experience thus far suggests the usefulness of focusing on a critical process (e.g., in-migration of disadvantaged groups), opportunity (e.g., enhancing physical and social mobility opportunities), event (e.g., construction of a new highway through the Model City area), population group (e.g. , elderly couples), or resource (e.g., private industry). Illustrative of a well-prepared objectives statement is the list appearing in the application from Portland, Me., and reproduced in Figure 2. Note that this statement of objectives builds essen- • �• ,,, • tially around the patterns of poverty specified in the Figure 1 chart. THE "TARGET-AREA" APPROACH As stated earlier, Model Citites requires a geographic as well as a program focus. Selecting a limited area of the city as the target for the program has several advantages: (1) It maximizes program impact by avoiding the diffusion of effort and allowing projects that reinforce one ano.ther. (2) It increases the visibility of the program. (3) It promotes efficiency in the identification and evaluation of program results. Cities have chosen their "target areas" for the Model Cities program in different ways. Some have selected the neighborhoods with the most severe and the most intractable problems. Others have chosen areas in which problems are less visible and less difficult. The shape and composition of the areas selected also varies. No one kind of target area is suitable for all cities, but several factors generally influence target selection. The "typical" target area has experienced significant economic and social changes traceable to regional industrial growth and the migration this has set in motion. Important elements of the population, particularly low-income and minority migrants, have been unable to adjust with the shifts in economic activity . They have thus suffered reduced job, educational, and other opportunities; increased social disadvantage ; and, for welfare recipients at least, continuing dependency. Physical environment and social forces have combined to concentrate a high proportion of such groups in the target area. Here poverty, housing, and environmental deficiencies, ill health, and other conditions are the most acute, and inaccessibility has contribut ed to underutilization as well as insufficiency of public services. Despite the advantages of focusing resources on specific geographic areas of need, an important lesson emerging from the Model Cities program is that problems do not stop at target-area boundaries. Robert A. Aleshire, executive director of the Reading (Pa.) Model Cities Agency, notes: "Meanwhile back at t he metropolitan level, a very legitimate questio n arises. How can a program which strives for a high level of achievement for 10 percent of the residents of a city be effectively meshed wit h a metropolitanwide effort to strengthen the impact of regional interests? For example, the streets of a Model Neighborhood may very well form an important link in a regional network and constitute the lifeline of a central business district. Citywide and regional interests demand increasing st reet capacity. This means more land and more t raffic, both of which tend to be adverse to the goal of strengthening the residential nature of the neighborhood." Thus "a balanced effort recognizing the goals of the neighborhood as compared with citywide and metropolitan interests ... is certainly not beyond the responsibilities· of a Model Cities program," Aleshire observes. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SERVICE April 1969 - Vol. 1 No. L-4 Editor: Walter L. Webb Management Information Service reports are published monthly by the International City Managers' Association, 1140 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Copyright © 1969 by the International City Managers' Association. No part of this report may be reproduced without permission of the copyright owner. Subscription rates (including inquiry-answering and additional services) are based on population of subscribing jurisdiction and will be furnished on request. This report is intended primarily for subscribing jurisdictions above 25,000 population. Concurrent monthly reports, prepared primarily for jurisdictions below 25,000 population, are available from Management Information Service. UNIFIED PROGRAM ELEMENTS Just as patterns of poverty, frustration, apathy, and decay are mutually reinforcing, an effort focused on breaking these patterns must attempt to integrate all elements of the program. The effectiveness of any single project or activity can often be increased if it is associated with the effects of other program elements. Different projects can thus reinforce one another. For example: • The value of a health clinic can be increased if information about the services it offers and transportation to the clinic are provided. • Assuring that jobs are available for those with certain skills increases the value of a training program. • Increased home ownership can provide community leadership necessary for improving the neighborhood environment. Yet experience has shown that project items must be consistent or they may nullify each other. For example , public housing or school programs geared to the cultural transition problems of children from ethnic groups now in the area would be inconsistent with a program to attract middle-class and other racial and ethnic groups t o a target area. Attracting such groups is likely to require provision of singlefamily homes and high-quality educational facilities. On the other hand, projects designed to make a neighborhood attractive to outside groups may lead to increased rents and property values and thereby displace current residents. 5 �Thus, the interrelations of program elements must be examined carefully to assure mutually reinforcing objectives. The Model City application of Portland, Me., illustrates this principle through its statement of overall strategy : "Our overall strategy is three-fold: (1) to increase the purchasing power available to residents so that they will be free to make choices in the planning and conduct of their lives; (2) to improve the physical surroundings and cultural opportunities of Portland West so that the residents will have a variety of alternatives among which to make those choices ; (3) to promote the ability of residents to make those choices wisely and enjoy them happily." OUTPUT SCHEDULE A major dilemma of the Model Cities program is that of balancing long-range approaches that do not immediately show results with the necessity of engaging in projects with high visibility and early impact. Priorities must be made , and the support of the community as a whole and the residents of the model neighborhood in particular is often contingent upon visible results. Though early-impact efforts are primarily symptom-oriented, they are necessary if the more effective, cause-oriented components basic to the demonstration aspects of the program are to be implemented. Therefore , some resources must be allocated to early impact, high-visibility projects, but care must be exerted to insure that more lasting, less visible programs are also begun early and carefully evaluated in accordance with the Model Cities concept. Such projects as the development of vacant lots for playgrounds; repair of street potholes; improved street lighting; street numbering; painting of fire hydrants , utility poles, and fe nces; and pest extermination can all be quickly initiated at little cost. Yet such activities can help develop support required to undertake projects with more lasting significance. Initial programs need not have a physical in1pact , but they must be finely tuned to neighborhood grievances and special problems." For example, meeting demands for appointment of Negro policemen and firemen for duty in the ghetto - or the appointment of civilian police review boards or neighborhood councils for police relations - can be effective, some Model Cities have discovered. Other highly symbolic projects are those whose impact is of unmistakable benefit primarily fo r the target-area residents. Among such projects are: • Programs such as changes in administrative procedures in welfare and social service programs to remove restrictions, red tape, and degrading investigations and inquiries. • Programs to make absentee landlords responsible for repairs and maintenance . 6 • Financial aid, training, and m,anagement assist- ance programs to help small businesses in the area. • Provision of government information in the tongues spoken in the area and the use of bilingual personnel at key contact points. Focusing at the outset on such "immediateimpact" projects as these has been found helpful in overcoming initial resistance to "another all talk, no action" program - which is how many slum residents have come to view government efforts in their behalf. • RESEARCH AND EVALUATION In a demonstration effort, the organization structure must include a strong research and evaluation component. The lack of sound documentation has been a weakness in many other programs designed to alleviate urban problems. To be effective, such an organization structure must have fl exibility and engage in continuous planning so that research findings can impact on the direction of demonstrations and the search for effective solutions. By the same token , the research component must experiment with innovative techniques where indicated and be extremely cautious in the use of rigid experimental design. What is beneficial to a community often is not conducive to tightly quantifiable research results on a short-range basis, so that exploratory rather than experimental designs may fre quently be more fe asible. In this sense , research becomes " contemporary history" that provides a guide fo r evaluation of experience and consequences. 1 Quantifiable measures of various types should be used whenever possible to supplement and complement other approaches. The goal is evaluation on all levels to give the fullest possible picture of results of the demonstration. Dissemination of findi ngs should be an important component throughout to serve both educational and resource development functions. • Citizen Participation The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 states that there should be "widespread citizen participation in the program" including " ... maximum opportunities for employing residents of the area in all phases of the program and enlarged opportunitie s for work and training." Thus the law delineates "widespread" rather than "maximum feasible" participation (as was called for in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964) and also designates city government as the responsible administering agency. If structure and auspice determine function ( or as Freud stated more colorfully, "Anatomy is destiny"), this consideration has important implications for citizen participation. 1 The discussion of researc h by Marris and Rein is most helpful in gaining a perspective on the role of research in poverty programs. See Peter Marris and Martin Rein, Dilem mas of Social R eform (New York: Atherton Press, 1967). • �• • • Citizen participation has been interpreted if! a wide variety of ways depending on the orientations of the sponsoring agencies. In some instances, such as under the direction of many community action agencies, citizen participation has been used as a base of power to force local institutions to assume greater responsiveness to poverty areas. In other instances, such as under the direction of many relocation programs, citizen participation has meant largely the task of selling residents on acceptance of projects and programs that have already been planned for them. The Demonstration Cities Act approaches the problem differently . The Act sets forth a challenge to cities to incorporate citizen participation into local government in such a way that a new institutional form can be evolved that relates people to their local government in a cooperative fashion. Many critics, looking at this dual challenge to Model Cities to be a part of the local establishment and the emissary of the less privileged people for change, might feel that the inherent contradictions are too many and complex for success. Indeed, success is improbable unless the dilemmas are clearly faced and strategies for meeting the problems are carefully implemented to develop meaningful citizen participation. Perhaps the most important single issue of our time is that of the distribution of power. This issue has bred its discontents not only in the ghettoized inner city but also in sprawling suburbia, where the middle class exhibits growing disenchantment and feelings of disenfranchisement. This sense of powerlessness is, in large part, a fu nction of the complexities and growing size of mass society, but it is aggravated by the inability of our institutions as they now function to cope with these complexities and to improve the quality of individual life. As noted by the National Commission on Urban Problems: " In 1967, our metropolitan areas were served by 20 ,745 local governments, or about onefo urth of all local governments in the nation. This means 91 governments per metropolitan area - an average of about 48 per metropolitan county. If these units of government were laid out on a map, every metropolitan area in the count ry would look as if it had been 'nonplanned' by a mad man ." There are at least three fu ndamental problem areas where awareness must be constantly focused if meaningful citizen participation structures are to be developed. These are: the place of Model Cities in the local governmental structure; the role of Model Cities in the mo del neighborhood community; and the relationship of Model Cities to the state and federal levels. THE PLACE OF MODEL CITIES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE As a new arm within local government and having broad, often unrealistic and poorly specified responsibilities, the city demonstration agency is easily perceived as threatening to the older, more entrenched departments. It is well-documented that bureaucratic structures are resistant to change, and Model Cities is rightly seen as an instrument of change. It is often seen as another poverty program, associated in the minds of many with disruptions, confrontation politics, and demands that local governments presently are not capable of meeting. This association, along with vestiges of the Protestant ethic often reinforced by years of experience with the most disorganized element of the poor, leaves many administrators cynical about the capability of the citizenry to make meaningful contributions to the solution of complex problems. Further, elected officials see citizen participation as a potential threat to their own political structures and interests. A pessimistic view might well see that an approach such as Model Cities would harden resistance and complicate the development of new alliances between citizens and local government, particularly in cities where conflicts among decision-makers and between government departments are many and unresolved. The strategies to be used to insure that residents from model neighborhoods have a voice in the decision-making process will depend on the special circumstances of each city. The role of the citizen must be adapted sensitively and with an eye toward the future so that such involvement may become accepted during the life time of the program, enmeshed with the ongoing fabric of government. In a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the former Assistant Secretary for Model Cities and Governmental Relations, Department of Housing and Urban Development, called for: " . .. a policy under which projects or programs that significantly affect the model neigl1borhood area will not be approved unless they have first been routed through the CDA (city demonstration agency) and its citizen participation process, and have been approved by the chief executive of the City ( or county)." What was being recommended is dual responsibility between local government officials and the residents, but no concrete suggestions for accomplishing this end were offered. This is the characteristic of all the HUD guidelines dealing with citizen participation. Thus, because of the great diversity of local governments, implementation is left up to the particular urban governments with only vague, generalized federal guidelines. However, based on the broad HUD guidelines and t he above discussion, a few directions emerge that should prove helpful in thinking through the problems involved. • First, model neighborhood residents should be included from the inception on the decision-making commission or board that ca"ies recommendations for action to city councils or other local governing bodies. They should be elected in some democratic fashion by the residents and should be numerically strong enough on the policy-making body to insure that the aspirations of the residents for their own community are given careful consideration. 7 �• Second, residents should be continually involved on planning task forces working to develop and implement a comprehensive program for the model neighborhood area. Full and significant participation is a developmental challenge that in most instances will take time and considerable patience in searching out representative leadership and establishing working relationships between residents and others involved in the planning process. • Third, because of sponsorship by city government, it appears that advocacy planning should generally be avoided. This is a highly controversial matter, but if the goal is to institutionalize a structure within the framework of local government in which citizen participation will evoke greater flexibility and responsiveness, then the planning responsibility should remain directly within that structure rather than be relegated to planners exclusively accountable to residents' organizations. • Finally, the oft-used term "widespread citizen participation" should be taken to mean not only involvement of residents of the model neighborhood area but also of citizens from throughout the total metropolitan community. This should also be oriented toward encouragement of private initiative and enterprise of all types builders, business and financial leaders, voluntary organizations, and concerned citizens from all walks of life. There are tremendous untapped resources of concern and enlightened self-interest in our cities that must be activated if the Model Cities demonstration is to be effective. -In addition, it is only through this wide involvement that many local governments can begin to develop mechanisms for responsiveness, not only to the needs of people in the most blighted areas but also to the total populace. All of this is a gradual process that involves maintaining a delicate balance and continually instigating mechanisms for change. It is clear, however, that the Model Cities concept will fail if it simply assumes a militant stance as have many community action agencies under OEO. Model Cities must utilize the growing demand for greater responsiveness from local government to reform the structure from within , rather than just react to demands from outside. Thus, a primary goal is to develop greater sensitivity in government and local institutions. THE ROLE OF MODEL CITIES IN THE MODEL NEIGHBORHOOD 8 Facing toward the model neighborhood community, the Model Cities concept is beset by an equally difficult set of problems. Residents of blighted areas are generally discouraged and disenchanted, frustrated and even hostile. Years of experience with local government have taught them bitter lessons about lack of concern, false promises, bewildering bureaucratic mazes, and their own inabilities to control the events affecting their lives. To convince residents that Model Cities is a serious effort to develop participatory mechanisms when the political realities of local government dictate a gradual process is a difficult task. It is further complicated by existing community groups who are demanding rapid change and by the general community attitude that combines alienation and militancy into a dangerous combustible atmosphere. As within city government, a delicate balance must be maintained if the city demonstration agency is to be effective in the neighborhood. There are obvious actions that must be taken and some less obvious ones that must be given careful consideration. Perhaps the most obvious is the necessity of earlyimpact, high-visibility projects. As noted earlier, these are usually symptom-oriented, and an easy fallacy is to place too much emphasis on such projects to the detriment of longer-range more basic programs. Yet as a technique to gain support, show good faith, and begin the process of true citizen participation, early-impact projects are of great importance. They begin the process of breaking through the barriers of apathy and distrust and move th~ disaffiliated away from destructive-like militancy toward a more constructive willingness to consider other alternatives. Also fairly obvious is the in1portance of expediting tjl.at aspect of the act that calls for "maximum op-. portunities for employing residents of the area in all phases of the program and enlarged opportunity for work and training." Focusing on employment opportunities, on a broad scale has two major advantages: (I) It gets at one of the basic causes of poverty and opens avenues for mobility that remained closed in many past efforts at citizen involvement. (2) It alleviates some of the preoccupation with confrontation politics by moving somewhat away from an emphasis on mass social movements. To the extent that Model Cities programs can draw staff from among the residents of the model neighborhood, there is an increase in program support. Most important, however, is the necessity of experimenting with innovative approaches to employment opportunities and job-upgrading methods that will receive the support of both public and private spheres and move significantly in the direction of an adequate standard of living for all people. For instance, in the Charlotte , N.C., Model Cities proposal, concern is directed toward an adequate minimum standard of living as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, rather than focusing only on poverty levels. Therefore, programs have been developed that provide for "income assurance" incentives t o allow residents to take advantage of developmental opportunities on a " family career contract" basis that will eventuate in incomes adequate for entering the mainstream of American life. Also, economic and housing development corporations are being fo rmed that will allow for increased entrepreneurship among residents. • • • �CONDITIONS FOR COORDINATION The effectiveness of Model Cities as a coordinating vehicle is· dependent on a multiplicity of factors that will vary from one urban area to another. It is perhaps a truism to say that if some kind of workable coordination is not achieved, the Model Cities concept will have failed and the city demonstration agency will be only another of the many already fragmented projects being carried out in urban areas. The need for coordination is clear. Daniel P. Moynihan, chairman of the Council on Urban Affairs, has pointed out that as of December 1966 there were 238 different federal programs impacting on urban areas. In addition, both employment and expenditures have been increasing rapidly at the state and local levels. If the vast quantities of money and energy being expended can be brought together into a system - not systems - of developmental opportunities, past failures and the lessons we have learned from them can be translated into social innovations to meet the growing needs of urban complexes. The Model Cit!es concept is a logical alternative to further destructive fragmentation of local government. Implementation of coordinating mechanisms rests on a number of conditions within local government. There must be a recognition of the need for coordination on the part of key officials and administrators. Given the inevitability of resistance from some departments that view this as a threat to their interests, the recognition of the need must be accompanied by commitment from top officials to act to insure necessary linkage. Even with recognition and commitm~~t, successful coordination will depend on the capacities and capabilities of local leadership and the size and complexity of local governments. For instanc~, the idea of coordinating the 1,400 governments m the New York metropolitan area is a staggering notion. Obviously, selection criteria are needed to de~elop even minimal coordination of the most pertment agencies and departments. . Conditions necessary for coordination with orgaruzations not under the auspices of the local governmental body sponsoring Model Cities are similar to those above, but they involve some different problems and certain facets require more emphasis. Open communication channels are vital in securing cooperation and willingness to participate in building a coordinated system. This is also true of departments within the local sponsoring government, of course, but it is less difficult to establish such channels within an administrative structure than it is with organizations having no formal interrelationship. A further condition for success in coordinating with other agencies is a willingness to sustain continued efforts, often in the face of initial discouragement and even 10 influence with no formal structure and never tried to institutionalize coordinative mechanisms. CPI clearly aligned itself with governmental structure and, although much criticized for its lack of advocacy of the rights of the poor, was able to accomplish much because it had the backing of existing structures that became committed to policies of change from within. hostility from some groups who feel theatened by the new agency and its directives to bring about changes . The hard truth is that many programs have been oriented toward providing symptom-oriented services rather than working in a direct, cause-oriented framework. Many past and present service-orientation efforts have been, in effect, direct and indirect income maintenance programs,4 which are fraught with disadvantages associated with continuing d_ependency while lacking the advantages of offering developmental opportunities to break the cycle of poverty. Although it is obvious that many present programs are necessary while change oriented to basic causes is taking place, some programs that are now aimed solely at providing finger-in-the-dike indirect income maintenance and other services for the poor need to recognize that planning must begin early so as to redirect energies and restructure goals within a developmental framework. In one sense, many service-oriented efforts are institutionalized tokenism which, with·the availability of greater funds, has become an overabundant tokenism with little lasting impact on the cycles of poverty, blight, and decay. Problems o~ c~ordinati?n, then become more than merely establishing working relationships with existing structures but also involve developing mechanisms for establishment of new goals and redirection of emphasis. In many servicedelivery agencies there is a growing recognition of the need for restructuring of goals. Such recognition can prove invaluable when incorporated into planning for change. Looking introspectively for redirection and new mechanisms that fit present-day needs, however painful, can result in far higher cost-benefit ratios than are presently obtained. MECHANISMS FOR COORDINATION From the above, it can be seen that coordinative mechanisms are needed on two levels: ( 1) planning, which should be of sufficient magnitude to contribute to the creative development of the entire urban area; and (2) service delivery. In addition, both levels of coordination need to take place in at least five overlapping arenas: local governmental structures, state government, federal government, private agencies and services, and (perhaps most importantly because of previous neglect and great future potential) the private sector. Coordination Within the Sponsoring Governmental Structure. A look at the organization of almost any city government clearly reveals the vast fragmentation that exists. One of the most important goals of the Model Cities demonstration should be to implement the development of a municipal department concerned primarily with coordination of efforts. Fo~ effectiveness this department should not be JUSt 4Welfare is the obvious direct income maintenance service. Indirect income maintenance is provided in th~ form of such services as public health clinics, charity hospitals, free school-lunch programs, public housing, etc. • • �• • • another line department but should be directly in the office of the mayor or chief executive officer ( or whatever other governmental structure is pertinent) and should act as a coordinating vehicle through which all planning endeavors - local, state, and federal - pass. It should be governed by a policy-making commission or board composed of broad membership from various departments involved, as well as citizens representing the communities most directly involved, and should be responsible to local elected officials. This central coordinating department should be staffed by professionals involved in the various planning endeavors as well as specialists who can act as consultants to develop coordinated urban responsiveness to federal and state programs. The success of such an approach will be highly dependent on local factors such as the multiplicity of governing structures and their willingness to cooperate, but at least the approach would insure coordination within the local governing body that has responsibility for Model Cities and would serve as a demonstration in moving more urban municipalities toward consolidated government. Model Cities has a special role to play in working for the development of a coordinating framework within local government. In effect, such a department must represent a new type of administrative structure in which change is institutionalized through a system of social accounting based on ongoing problem analysis, long-range planning, and evaluation of existing efforts. As a demonstration project, the Model Cities program provides incentives to move toward incorporating the demonstration technique into much larger social experiments that emphasize flexibility and responsiveness to the needs of the people. While it is undoubtedly true that most issues today are national rather than local, the capacity of local governments to adapt national program approaches to meet specific local circumstances is essential if an attack on basic causes of complex urban problems is to be implemented successfully. In this sense, the Model Cities concept is much more than a short-term demonstration effort to alleviate the causes of poverty and urban decay, but rather a vehicle that can validate the need for local coordination and implement the development of an administrative structure to help insure sound development of the entire metropolitan area. Coordination With Other Organizational Structures. No coordinating administrative mechanism can assume or assure involvement of other governmental structures. As with private agencies and services, open communication channels and continuing efforts toward coordination must be maintained, but given the multiplicity of governing bodies there is no assurance of direct coordination. In one sense, this may be used to advantage, since social change can be facilitated by competition among organized structures to prove their capacities to respond to the needs of the citizenry. Developing coordinative mechanisms with other governmental structures and private agencies involves continuing efforts and a delicate balance between planning and service delivery. On the planning level, the task force approach has proved an excellent mechanism for bringing together professionals, residents, and citizens at large in a mutual endeavor to plan in a comprehensive, coordinated fashion. Such an approach opens up communication channels and ·· institutionalizes cooperative relationships. This task force approach should be reciprocal, making for Model Cities involvement in planning efforts initiated by other agencies. Such a philosophy should be incorporated in all metropolitan planning efforts. Political pragmatism undoubtedly will be a keynote in such task force approaches. Utilizing the lessons gained from experiences of such organizations as the Kansas City Association, cities should not attempt to structure formal coordinative mechanisms quickly, but should be geared to developing alliances and working relationships through which trust, confidence, and support can be achieved. On the service delivery level, formal and informal cooperative agreements specifying functions to be performed can do much to insure desired coordination. Service-delivery programs that are in no way dependent on the existence of Model Cities may well tend to resist efforts for coordination, and it is not realistic to expect immediate full constructive alignment of all such programs. However, continual evaluation aimed at the goal of increasing social accountability can serve as a coordinative mechanism of sorts and can prove of some value. If the basic causes of poverty and urban blight are to be successfully alleviated, an essential coordinative focus must be placed on the development of economic and human resources within the private sector. With major efforts made toward developing new opportunity structures for the underprivileged, particularly in income and employment (with obvious but complex relationships to education), there is a need to recognize that the emphasis of the private sector on outcomes rather than processes has an invaluable contribution to make. Model Cities program goals should aim at developing economic resources in the metropolitan area that can meaningfully offer employment opportunities with upward mobility potentials to the economically deprived. Considerable coordination in planning can be accomplished by a developing partnership of enlightened self-interest among business and financial interests, social planners, and residents of the model neighborhood area. Constructive alignment can be further enhanced by economic incentives to the private sector fo r participation both in planning and program execution. One matter that needs more adequate exploration is economic development, exclusive of employment, in blighted inner-city areas. Attention can be stimulated by incentives to invest in the economic development of model neighborhoods. This whole arena of private sector involvement is only beginning to be explored, and local governments need 11 �to place high priority on utilizing the very talented and result-oriented capabilities of private business, manufacturing, and financial resources. In summary, then, coordination is an ongoing process that will face many difficult problems. Complete success cannot be expected and is, in fact, probably not even desirable. However, significant coordination at both the planning and service-delivery levels must be achieved to insure the success of the Model Cities demonstration and the development of long-lasting mechanisms to increase local problemsolving capability. The twin strategies of utilizing formalized mechanisms of coordination where possible and building informal networks of mutual cooperation should be applied with a realistic understanding of what can be done now and what can be developed in the future. Perhaps the most important contribution the Model Cities approach has to make is to demonstrate that coordination is an essential component for coherent, creative growth of metropolitan areas . Implications for All Cities City Manager Graham W. Watt of Dayton, Ohio, has succinctly summarized the implications of the Model Cities program for all cities: "Immediately, it would seem that the Model Cities program forecasts several basic implications of importance to all communities. Inevitably, we shall see increased decentralization of public services. Cities will, with increasing frequency, establish branch city 12 halls, neighborhood service centers, store-front police offices, etc. "Second, we will see growing application of a philosophy of compensatory services - we must prepare to design our public service programs specifically to meet the unique and particular needs of each of the neighborhoods within a city. "Third, we shall witness a much greater degree of participation by citizens in the identification of neighborhood needs and in the design of public responses. This will require of each of us a reorientation of our traditional criteria of success, for in the future we must accept to a greater extent than ever before the concept that participation by citizens is a desirable end product of our efforts." Over and above significant movement toward alleviation of defined problems, the Model Cities concept can be utilized to establish a framework on the local level that can increase the responsiveness of the vast institutions of government. Potentially, the Model Cities concept can be translated into concern about the quality of individual life - not only for the poor, but for all inhabitants of and participants in urban complexes. As a demonstration project, Model Cities is searching for ways to improve the quality of American life through local decision-making processes in a coherent, rational fashion. This concept and the mechanisms that can be developed during the limited lifetime of the program will be, perhaps, Model Cities' greatest contribution, by establishing within municipal governments movement toward clearly defined goals and ongoing response based on sound resear~h and social accountability. • • • �• Appendix Employment and Education Strategies for Model Cities • • Most Model Cities officials agree that deficiencies in employmen t (i.e., jobs) and education (i.e., training to get jobs) are major causes of other troubles that beset the residents of deprived urban neighborhoods. A man with a job, which in tum depends on being educated for the job, achieves through his earnings the purchasing power to make free choices about the conduct of his life. As a supplement to the general discussion of Model Cities strategies covered in this report, this appendix presents specific examples of Model City approaches to providing employment and education opportunities for the underprivileged. The appendix in large part is based on a discussion of these topics that appears in Survey of Model Cities Applications in Northern California, prepared by the consulting firm of Sedway/Cooke and published by the University of California Extension, Berkeley (1968). Thus, many of the examples are from cities noted in the study. Other example°s are taken mainly from Model City applications submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Developmen t. It should be cautioned that the examples cited are illustrative only. The cities mentioned do not necessarily represent the best examples of projects cited, but rather reflect information available to MIS. Indeed, since the Model City application is simply a proposal, some projects may never actually be attempted by the specific city mentioned or may already have been abandoned. Employment Strategies Many employment proposals of Model Cities seem to be based on ground already broken by recent and on-going programs. Thus, job and income projects may be largely premised on existing skills centers, Neigh- borhood Youth Corps, Job Corps, and similar antipoverty programs. A few involve continuation of experimental projects. Employment proposals include the following: • Creation of jobs as a direct or indirect result of the Model Cities program. Residents would be hired as part of the agency or local citizen staff as community workers, research assistants, home improvemen t consultants, and similar subprofessional employees. Oakland, Calif. , would include payment to local leaders for their effort in attending to community affairs. Residents would be trained and employed in clearance, rehabilitation, construction, and housing project management and maintenance. New Haven, ·c onn., would focus attention on part-time jobs, a relatively undeveloped phase of employment, designed principally at three groups - family heads with underpaying full-time jobs, mothers with only half-days to spare, and in-school youths. • Increased job resources and upgrading. Applicant cities would search for new jobs in existing public and private establishments. Aside from a continuing inventory of vacancies, this would include a reexamination of public and private programs for possibl e new jobs and careers; of civil service requirements to see how present jobs could be upgraded, or where new positions designed for low-income and minority groups might be added; and of policies and procedures of employment services to make any necessary revisions (e.g., to put more emphasis on the trainability of low-income workers vis-a-vis other conventional standards). This also includes proposals for hiring residents as police cadets; interns; and aides to teachers, social workers, and health workers. In Seattle, Wash., some $75,000 of its Model City funds will go for a community renewal corporation, operated by residents, with city contracts to beautify the neighborhood. Dayton, Ohio, has been particularly active in efforts to attract Negro recruits for the police department. Other fun ctions for which deprived residents are being recruited include health, welfare, community relations, and automotive equipment maintenance. Detroit, Mich., also has been conducting extensive and successful efforts to attract the disadvantaged into city employment in these same categories. Richmond and Pittsburg, Calif., would appoint job development specialists. • Small business development. Aside from encouraging commercial and industrial establishments to locate in or near the model neighborhoods, a variety of means would be explored to help residents establish businesses as their main occupation or to supplement their incomes. Oakland, Calif. , would tap federal aid resources to establish small business development (or investment) companies to help residents create individual or cooperative businesses, encourage demolition and rehabilitation workers to form their own contracting firms, and provide for the development of "mom and pop" stores. New Haven, Conn., proposes creating with the Chamber of Commerce a small business assistance office in the model area, staffed by retired businessmen, to provide technical and financial assistance to small businessmen. �In Rochester, N. Y., the Eastman Kodak Company has proposed a plan aimed at promoting formation of independent, locally owned businesses in Rochester's inner city. Suggested businesses include such industries as wood product manufacture, production of vacuum-formed plastic items, ,camera repair service, and microfilming of public documents. The company itself would also serve as a potential customer for some of the products and services of the new businesses. K,odak also has agreed to provide training as well as production and marketing advice and consultation to the enterprises suggested in the plan. • Comprehensive training and employment services. Cities· would expand or continue expanded programs and facilities for "outreach and intake," testing and evaluation, counseling, training, and placement and job-upgrading services. In an effort to raise the education level and increase employment opportunities for model neighborhood residents, Waco, Tex., proposes to use the facilities and resources of the James Connally Technical Institute of Texas A & M. Located on a former Air Force base, the Institute will provide temporary housing and total family training for some families and vocational training and retraining in 60 separate fields. Training periods from three months to two years will coincide with construction and rehabilitation of housing in the model neighborhood, so that families who live on the base during training will return to upgraded housing. The city also envisions using a massive public works program as a major in-service training device. Cincinnati, Ohio, officials recognize that it does little good to provide employment to an individual if nonjob--related problems interfere with his work performance. As a consequence, an "employee diagnostic center" is to be set up as part of the Cincinnati pilot city program to assist people in solving such nonjob-related problems as drinking, poor health, family sickness, and marital difficulties. Similarly, disadvantaged youths in the Oiicago, .J/1., Jobs Now program receive instruction in how to understand oneself, others, the community, and the world of work and money management. Richmond, Calif. , mentions a "Youth Tracking Program" that would trace the patterns of employment, education, marriage, military service, etc., of youth aged 16-21 years to determine their problems and aid in their education and employment. • Subsidies. Pittsburg, Calif. , would provide a maintenance allowance for breadwinner trainees and a "training stipend" for underemployed trainees, in addition to payments for day care, transportation, and clothing under its current vocational rehabilitation project. Oakland, Calif., would examine the possibility of subsidizing transportation for area residents employed or wishing to · be employed in the suburbs if transportation costs are found to be an inhibiting factor. • Education Strategies As with employment programs, proposals in education appear to be based on conventional and innovative approaches that are already current. Proposals usually include the following: • Broadened and intensified curriculum including adequate programs and facilities for both preschool and adult education. . Among these would be compensatory education programs, "motivational" education and day care of nursery-aged children, and job- or home care-related courses as well as basic courses for adults and prospective employees. New Haven, Conn., proposes creation of • • �a "center of innovation" in which preschool through second-grade students could be grouped in small units of 15 children, and selected teachers could be given the opportunity to develop and implement new forms of organization, new teaching methods, and new curriculum. Outside resources could be used, and the center could become a base for the training of teaching staff aides and community workers who could carry new approaches into the classrooms of regular schools. Richmond, Calif. , contemplates an adult education program that would help mothers train their children from infancy. • Team teaching, ungraded classes, reduced teacher-pupil ratios, tutoring, and new technology. As the typical inner-city teacher ordinarily comes from a middle-class background, it is important that he be ex posed to life in the model neighborhood. Hartford, Conn., therefore proposes to renovate suitable structures or to construct new dormitories in the model neighborhood so that teachers and educational personnel employed in the neighborhood can reside there. Hartford also proposes establishing a "tutoring corps" drawn from college and high school students, including paid indigenous tu tors and regular teachers. Oakland and Richmond, Calif., contemplate a departure from the singleclassroom, all-subject-teacher format and would also utilize new technological teaching devices (closed circuit T.V. , computers, video tape, teaching machines, etc.). • Racial integration. Hartford, Conn., proposes these steps in pursuing · its strategy for integration: (1) Substantial expansion of intercommunity compacts for schooling model neighborhood children in suburban schools. (2) The construction of "middle schools" for which sites have been selected. They would be situated so as to draw together pupils from widely diverse social, economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. (3) Establishment of a series of child development facilities physi~ cally related to existing schools and so located as to bring together preschoolers from widely diverging social, economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. • Facilities and physical plant. Aside from proposals to repair, expand, or modernize the physical plant, some cities are examining the development of educational parks as a major alternative to decentralized facilities. Pittsburgh, Pa. , "plans to establish five large, comprehensive, strategically located high schools that will serve all the children of the model neighborhood along with children from the entire city. The new high schools, to be called "The Great High Schools," would be the fust truly comprehensive and fully integrated high schools in the country. Their very size, each enrolling 5,000 to 6,000 pupils, would enable enriched curriculum offerings including over 100 separate vocational-technical programs. Berkeley, Calif., is contemplating the establishment of "middle and satellite" schools to implement the educational park concept. Experimental facilities are also proposed to be built into model schools. The basic thru st of proposed programs, both in employment and education, seems to be - fust, determine all possible or conceivable resources, then "deliver the inventory." Present services would be made more comprehensive in terms of the types of assistance provided and the opportunities offered; They would then be focu sed and extended to the clients, through the decentralization or "local centralization" of service facilities. Many cities thus come close to proposing junior civic centers as the main symbolic vehicle for their programs. �What you get by subscribing to Management Information Service • 1. Inquiry Service. 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