CONSULTATION

SUMMARY STATEMENT

April, 1976

FIFTH CITY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

CONSULTATION SUMMARY STATEMENT

PROLEGOMENA

THE OPERATING VISION

THE UNDERLYING CONTRADICTIONS

THE PRACTICAL PROPOSALS

THE TACTICAL SYSTEMS

THE ACTUATING PROGRAMMES

CONCLUSION

This is a publication summarizing the

Fifth City Human Development Consultation which took place in

Fifth City, Chicago, The United States

April 11­17, 1976

organized by

The Institute of Cultural Affairs consultants


CONTENTS

Prolegomena 1

Part One: The Operating Vision 9

Plate 1: Operating Vision Chart 13

Part Two: The Underlying Contradictions 15

Plate 2: Underlying Contradictions Chart 17

Part Three: The Practical Proposals 27

Plate 3: Practical Proposals Chart 29

Plate 3A: Industrial Development 35

Plate 3B: Commercial Extension 36

Plate 3C: Physical Improvements 37

Plate 3D: Community Education 38

Plate 3E: Social Formation 39

Part Four: The Tactical Systems 41

Plate 4: Tactical Systems Chart 43

Plate 4A: Economic Foundations 61

Plate 4B: Community Resources 62

Plate 4C: Social Tools 63

Plate 4D: Involvement Channels 64

Part Five: The Actuating Programs 65

Plate 5: Actuating Programs Chart 67

Plate 5A: Actuating Programs Components 69

Program 1: Light Industries Project 70

Program 2: Automotive Service Project 72

Program 3: Commercial Development Complex 74

Program 4: Finance Services Center 76

Program 5: Business Management Association 78

Program 6: Neighborhood Environment Corps 80

Program 7: Community Housing Enterprises 82

Program 8: Neighborhood Safety Network 84

Program 9: Community Engagement Services 86

Program 10: Child Development System 88

Program 11: City Life Institute 90

Program 12: Urban Student House 92

Program 13: Social Activities Project 94

Program 14: Urban Agriculture Project 96

Epilogue 99

Plate 6A: 1 Year Budget Summary Chart 107

Plate 6B: 4 Year Projected Costs 108

Plate 6C: Project Funding Flow Chart 109

FHDP

ICA Consultants


PROLEGOMENA

I

THE LOCATION
FHDP

The Fifth City Human Development Consultation represents the acceleration of a comprehensive community development project by the people of Fifth City, a 40 block area located on Chicago's West Side in East Garfield Park. Fifth City is situated some four miles directly west of Chicago's Loop in an old and decaying ghetto area. The project involves both the social and economic development of the entire community. It was initiated some 13 years ago by local residents and staff members of the Institute of Cultural Affairs who together forged its form and substance. The present consult is an expansion and acceleration of the development which began at that time. The current intentions of the community people, as drawn together in the consult, are focused in three fundamental arenas: activating the local economy, intensifying community stability, and reshaping the local environment. This demonstration is further seen as a pilot project which can be reduplicated in urban situations across North America.

AMERICA

The United States is entering a new period in its history. This Bicentennial year marks a time when the American people probe, once again, their past and access anew the forefathers' impact in the light of the turmoil and creativity of the 70's. The 60's were years of frustration, anger and sinking morale as civil turmoil at home and increasing criticism abroad called into question traditional forms and cherished ideals. As the decade of the 70's unfolds, many recurring themes are gathering momentum in the nation's life: protection of the environment, honest government, fiscal responsibility, safety in cities and suburbs, discipline in education and increasing concern for the role of local man and local community. The public and private sectors alike have moved to undergird many kinds of locally generated plans for community reconstruction; powerful movements for rebuilding of minority neighborhoods claim large audiences and wide support. Those in our public and private life who are most concerned with refocusing national vitality and purpose are increasingly aware of the importance of the struggle for responsible change at the local level and the power of local man's voice. Significant recovery of vital community life in our cities would have an almost immediate effect upon the cities of the globe, each of which experiences, in its unique way, the common crises of urban life. Thus, local demonstration projects have profound significance for our globe at this moment in history.

CHICAGO

Chicago, as the premier city of America's heartland, stands at a unique point in relation to the challenges facing the nation. She carries a heritage of economic power and vitality and bears the scars of urban poverty and racial strife. Pioneering efforts in human services, such as Jane Adams and Hull House, have marked her history. Signal local projects have made her famous -- Saul Alinsky and the Back of the Yards or The Woodlawn Organization. She has been an economic nerve center for decades -- Sandburg's "brawling hog butcher for the world."' Rail, highway, air and ship lines converge on her; mighty steel mills rise on her outskirts. Her streets and neighborhoods have produced artistic greats -- writers, architects, sculptors, painters and musicians. Others have traveled to her to erect monuments of human creativity. Her institutions of higher learning have been at the fore of academia. A tradition of harsh struggle and confrontation marks Chicago's political life; yet, the city boasts one of the most remarkable political organizations in the nation's history. Chicago is the "city that works." In spite of years of intense crisis and pain, her economy remains vibrant and healthy -- a testimony to bedrock stability. Over the years Chicago has been a port of entry for migrating Blacks and Latins, joined recently by Asians and American Indians. Today some 70% of her residents are non­White. Hence, the city's districts remain cauldrons of change as new arrivals roll into old ethnic neighborhoods. Rapidly shifting demographic patterns provide strong clues to future themes and needs. All told, Chicago is a microcosm of the nation. All the struggles, hopes, pains and joys of the American peoples are present in her streets. It would be difficult to find a more fitting location for a Human Development Project.

FIFTH CITY

Directly west of Chicago's central business district lies Garfield Park, one of a network of large public parks in the city. On the east side of the park is one of the older West Side residential districts, East Garfield Park. In years past the area was primarily a farming area populated by Germans and Norwegians. As the city grew, subsequent migrations brought Italian, Jewish, Irish and Polish Americans into the area. In the 1950's and 60's the migrations from the South brought large numbers of Blacks to East Garfield. As these families moved into new neighborhoods a White exodus to the Western suburbs occurred and with it the moving out of many essential services. In a few short years a radical change in the demographic character of the entire West Side has transpired. By 1965 East Garfield was over 90% Black; by 1970 it was virtually 100% Black. East Garfield was the scene of devastating destruction during the riots of 1968. Entire business sections disappeared as the anger and frustration of years of suffering burst forth. The trauma and despair of those months has slowly and painfully been replaced by a new resolve as the need for total reconstruction of community has become clear. Today, the people of East Garfield are clear that no magical solutions are at hand. Instead, one encounters in the neighborhoods of this area a willingness to begin at the bottom, on one's own block, and rebuild urban community. This new spirit is the promise of a new city in the years to come. Within this context the community of Fifth City is located.

BASELINE

Fifth City is a 40 block square on Chicago's West Side bounded by an expressway, a major thoroughfare, a city park and the CTA bus barn. Community organizations located in the area include a number of active block clubs. Three preschools, three elementary schools, one upper grade school, two high schools and one remedial school serve the community. Approximately 23% of the adults are functionally illiterate. Forty percent of the community's adults have high school diplomas. Model Cities projects located in the Garfield Service Center include the post office, the Illinois Employment Service, Youth Development, Family Needs, counseling services and a prenatal­well child clinic. There is also a community operated health outpost. Cook County Hospital is one mile west of the project. The majority of the 70 local businesses are food carry­outs, funeral homes, corner groceries and taverns. There is a new shopping center and mall in the center of the community which includes a grocery store, fast food service, dry cleaning and laundry facility and a currency exchange. Recreational facilities include five playlots and Garfield Park with its tennis courts, ball diamonds and conservatory operated by the Chicago Park District. Rehabilitation of 84 housing units has been completed. Fifty­nine more units are under construction. There are also 50 new low­rise public housing units and an elder's home. At this time there are 14 abandoned buildings and 64 empty lots. Fifty percent of the property is resident owned. Approximately 85% of the adult population receives some form of tax funded monetary support. A dramatic 19.6% drop in the crime rate occurred during the year 1975.





II

THE CONSULTATION


AGENT
The Institute of Cultural Affairs is an intra­global research, training, and demonstration group concerned with the human factor in world development. It is a program branch of the Ecumenical Institute and is incorporated in the state of Illinois as a not­for-profit corporation. The Institute has headquarters in Brussels, Bombay, Chicago, Singapore, Hong Kong and Nairobi. In addition there are ICA offices in more than one hundred major cities serving 23 nations. The Institute's programs around the world are supported by grants, gifts, and contributions from government departments and agencies on the Federal, State, and Municipal levels and from private foundations, corporations, trusts, and concerned individuals.
ORIGIN
In 1963 common concern for the neighborhood drew together a group of community residents and staff members of the Institute. They began meeting weekly to grapple with ways of reversing the trends of deterioration in the neighborhood. They called their community "Fifth City" -- the decisional city. This name reveals the belief that their community would be different than the other four geosocial "cities" which make up the urban complex: the central shopping and apartment districts, the decaying inner city, the outer neighborhoods and the suburbs. They intended their community to be a sign of hope and possibility for cities everywhere. Out of these early sessions emerged a comprehensive design for redeveloping the community. The earliest implementing moves were the creation of a community preschool and regular community festivals. Over the years a number of programs have engaged all sectors of the community in the continuing struggle to create a human environment. Following the riots of 1968 the community entered a new phase in its journey -- the visible reconstruction of the socio­economic fabric. Now, some eight years later, on the heels of significant yet painfully slow advances there exists a new shopping complex, rehabilitated housing, and expanded preschool facilities. The time has come for major expansion and rapid acceleration. To this end Fifth Citizens invited the Institute to meet with local residents and conduct a week­long Human Development Consultation.

CONSULTATION
The Consult took place in Fifth City from April 11­17, 1976. The team of consultants numbered 160, 76 of whom were local residents. Another 250 residents were directly involved through interviews and conversations in homes, businesses, schools, agencies, and on the streets. Non­resident consultants came from more than 20 metropolitan centers in the United States and six other nations. International participants came from Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Marshall Islands, India, and the Republic of Philippines. Visiting consultants represented both the public and private sectors and attended the Consult at their own expense. The expertise represented by these people covered a broad spectrum of skills and experience. Specific professions included all aspects of education, several different sectors of the business community, a broad range of representatives from the medical professions, people in all levels of community planning and development, the construction industry, urban agriculture, and the dramatic arts. Fifth Citizens attending likewise represented a wide range of occupations and expertise: store managers, teachers, a professional painter, nurses, janitors, cooks and a retired bus driver.

DESIGN
This diversified group of consultants acted as a unified research body using methods of comprehensive community reformulation. First, the Consult charted the Operating Vision of the people of Fifth City. Second, they discerned the Underlying Contradictions which are blocking the realization of that vision. Third, they built a set of overall Practical Proposals for dealing effectively with the contradictions. Fourth, they created a set of Tactical Systems by which the proposals could be realized. Finally, they discerned the necessary programs which would allow the application of the Tactical Systems. The aim of the Consult was to assist Fifth Citizens in accelerating the expansion of the project and empowering its impact upon the neighborhood.

IMPACT























REPORT

The Consult elicited a variety of responses from Fifth Citizens. Throughout the week individuals, groups and community leaders stopped in to ask questions and to participate in workshops. Many residents who participated full­time brought friends for particular sessions. A number of unemployed young men stopped by to learn whether the Consultation held any promise for the out­of­work. The entire week was charged with an atmosphere of expectation and determination. Numerous remarks indicated the Consult elicited deepened resolve and gave new clarity about the community's needs. One participant stated, "the Consult has given the opportunity to get a new look at what's on people's minds." Another suggested, "We're at a turning point­everyone knows it's time to move." Local leaders decided to take "Fifth City," understood as local man's decision to demonstrate human care, to the community. Throughout the week local school principals, social workers, businessmen and residents of adjacent communities were frequently present. Their interest bore further witness to the readiness of the community. Official representatives of municipal and Federal government agencies indicated the keen interest with which the project is being viewed. The visiting consultants not only injected fresh hope and new ideas; they were also deeply moved. One admitted, "The first day we were here someone said we were standing on sacred ground; I laughed. Now I know he was right." Another added: "Now I, too, am a Fifth Citizen."

The Consultation Summary Statement is the tangible product of the Consult. It is designed to reflect and interpret the research findings. The Prolegomena, or introduction to this document, provides an inclusive overview of the Consult. The document then delineates (in its five major sections) the five phases or methodological steps which shaped the design of the five days. The first section describes the Operating Vision out of which the people of Fifth City live. The second section is concerned with the Underlying Contradictions which locate the major deterrents to human progress in the community. The third illustrates the Practical Proposals which serve as a model for future operation in light of the discerned contradictions. The fourth presents the Tactical Systems which indicate the practical action necessary to initiate social change. The fifth draws attention to the Actuating Programs which focus the tactics and inaugurate at once the entire social and economic development plan. The Epilogue, with the local people in mind, then addresses the issues of personnel, systematic phasing, and financing the project.





III

THE PRESUPPOSITIONS

FORMATIONVirtually any local community provides the elements required for a human development project. In the past 20 years, the work of the Institute of Cultural Affairs in inner city neighborhoods, suburban towns, and rural villages across the globe has confirmed the fact that wherever there is local community, there is the readiness and the need for creative social change. There are five guidelines which serve as reference points in the formation of Human Development Projects. First, the selection of a community is guided by the understanding that the project is a demonstration of the possibility of comprehensive development in any local community. A project site has maximum demonstration potential when it is representative of other local situations, is visible, and is accessible. The use of effective social methods in widely diverse situations demonstrates the possibility of development in every local situation. Second, a potential location will be characterized by apparent hopelessness and the absence of community projects. The initiation of a project in the midst of visible human suffering dramatizes the possibility of dealing with human need. Third, both social and economic development measures are necessary to provide comprehensiveness and depth. When one dimension is emphasized at the expense of the other, superficial social change results. Fourth, both local and outside perspectives are required in planning a Human Development Project. The creative interplay of local and outside viewpoints assures the project of local authenticity and global relevance. Fifth, it is necessary to discern from the beginning the viability of the systematic replication of the pilot across a more inclusive geographical area. This provides a context for anticipating the demonstration power of the pilot and for projecting the acceleration required if the pilot is to function as a training base for replication forces.
ECONOMIC
Effective economic development at the local level rests upon five principles. First, the community must be imagined as a self contained independent economic entity whose development is a priority. Without this focus, attempts toward economic development are easily dissipated. Second, schemes increasing the flow of money into the community need to be devised. This can be done by increasing the production of raw materials and goods sold outside the area, by employing local residents, by enticing non­resident shoppers, by borrowing money and extending credit lines, by using state and federal funds, and in some instances by soliciting special cash grants and donations in kind. Third, as many externally injected funds as possible must be retained in the community as long as possible. This can be done by producing locally as many of the consumable goods and services as possible, by expanding local industry and business and by creating expertise on the local level. Fourth, the funds injected. and retained must be rapidly and continuously circulated within the local economic unit. This is most crucial, for money needs to turn over many times before it is exchanged outside the community. Fifth, although the community must strengthen its own economy, it must also function in harmony with more inclusive economic realities on the municipal, state, regional, national, and international levels.

SOCIAL
There are five foundational guidelines in the arena of social development. First, the project has a clearly delineated geographical focus. This concentrates energy upon a social unit small enough to be dealt with, thereby avoiding needless dissipation of effort. This geographical approach also helps to catalyze community identity. Second, all community problems are dealt with simultaneously. The complex interacting relationships of community life consign a partial approach to failure. Third, the depth human issue beneath all the underlying socio­economic contradictions is discerned and addressed. As this occurs, people are released to see the possibility of effective engagement in arenas previously considered impossible. Fourth, particular effort is made to involve all social and age groups in the task of recreating the community. Finally, social symbols are employed as the key to mobilizing community effort and occasioning profound transformation. Powerful symbols provide the basis for common effort in the daily practicalities of the project; thus, they can be the difference between social despair and creative engagement.

ACTUATION
The actuation of a Human Development Project involves the application of five guidelines to establish the support systems for effective implementation. First, the coordinated effort of both the public and private sectors is needed. The combined assistance of both sectors in the form of consultant services, funding, and material contributions provide sustained support for the project as a whole as well as its specific parts. Second, the widespread participation of community residents in the implementation of all the programs is necessary from the outset. This role cannot be performed by someone else if local community development is to occur. Third, the presence of a catalytic staff of consultants is necessary for a period of time to generate momentum for leadership development. Through training in practical methods the community's motivity and decision to engage in the human development task is sustained. Fourth, actuating agencies to oversee the social and economic development programs are required to ensure the coordination and direction of all implementation efforts in a unified thrust. Such agencies can take many forms but always represent a cross­section of the whole community, thereby building the cooperation vital to effective results in every program arena within a period of sic to twelve months. Although the acceleration and stabilization of leadership training and program implementation must be phased over a number of years, dramatic signs of socio­economic development are required during the first year. These demonstrate the actuation of a comprehensive plan and thereby serve to constantly broaden local engagement and build human motivity. These are the marks of effective development.





IV

THE APPLICATION
DOCUMENTThe body of the following summary document contains the detailed findings of the Consult. It is divided into five parts. Part I deals with the Operating Vision; Part II, the Underlying Contradictions; Part III, the Practical Proposals; Part IV, the Tactical Systems; Part V, the Actuating Programs. The first two paragraphs in each section explain the intent and the process of that phase of the Consult. Subsequent paragraphs discuss the particular findings of each phase. Each part of the document also contains one or more holding charts which illustrate specific aspects of the narrative and provide an overview for the entire section. The concluding section offers insights and recommendations about matters such as project funding, phasing designs, staff requirements, and replication possibilities and procedures.

PRACTICALITY
This summary report is intended to be a highly practical tool. It summarizes the results of the consultation research which provided an occasion for local citizens to focus their concerns, their hopes, and their dreams creatively on the task of reshaping community. This document, therefore, symbolizes the participation of the Fifth City people in practical decision­making about their future. In so doing, the report itself is the incentive needed for actuation of the project. The document will also function as an educational tool for rapidly training local leaders in the principles and methods of comprehensive community renewal. Finally, it serves as a handbook for all those who will work in Fifth City putting the model into effect and as a guide to those elsewhere who will replicate this Human Development Project.





PART ONE

THE OPERATING VISION

I

VISIONThis first task of the Consult consisted of objectifying the Operating Vision of the future shared by the people of Fifth City. Such a vision for any people is never totally explicit. It is woven through their hopes and fears, their frustrations and yearnings. It is concealed in their stories and social structures and is suggested by their style, symbols and dreams. All of these are deeply a part of who they are and what they hope to become. Although such a vision may be initially unconscious, it represents a community's attitude toward itself and its destiny. Only when the vision is made manifest and a community consciously stands present to it, can local community development occur. The process of objectifying this vision in a formal model is lengthy because of its initially latent nature. This is explained in part by the fact that no community alone can grasp its own vision. It was only when the subjectivity of the local residents of Fifth City was confronted by the objectivity of the guest consultants that the Operating Vision of the community emerged.
PROCESSIn order to discern this local vision, the consultants were divided into five teams and spent a whole day in the field becoming generally familiar with the community. In addition to the overall survey, each team was assigned to investigate closely a specific aspect of community life -- industry, business, services, social development and education. The teams covered the entire 40 blocks, conversed informally with local residents, visited local shops, surveyed community facilities and were given hospitality by local residents in their homes. Through these activities, consultants were directly or indirectly in contact with a significant percentage of the local residents. Workshop sessions were then conducted by each team to exchange reports on the hopes and desires of the community as discerned by the consultants. Finally, the 96 pieces of data from the five teams were ordered in the basic categories of the present model. Plate 1 gives rational objective form to the Operating Vision that exists in the under standing of the people of Fifth City. It was in relationship to this model that the underlying contradictions could be discerned in the subsequent phase of the Consultation.
RESULTS The Operating Vision Chart (Plate 1) is the result of the first phase of the Consult. Its three major sections indicate the overarching dimensions of the vision of the people of Fifth City. Section A, Toward Activating the Local Economy, points to the people's belief that the development of foundational sustenance is the key to their future as an economically self sufficient community. Section B, Toward Intensifying Community Stability, reflects the desire that the needs of all the people be met through the services and institutions available within the community. The hope for strengthening relationships with outside organizations and creating special structures to meet particular community needs is also expressed here. Section C, Toward Fashioning Local Environment, articulates the community's vision of improved neighborhood surroundings including family housing and functional community space. This section also holds the anticipation of new construction, rehabilitation, maintenance and beautification. The chart is divided into seven master categories within which there are twenty­four components. These are then further subdivided into a total of 96 individual items, each representing a facet of the Operating Vision of Fifth Citizens. It is in these that the practical substance of the vision is held. Two of the seven master categories deal with Basic Services, Comprehensive Education and Essential Care. Two others deal with Local Commerce and Economic Engagement, signs of a revitalized local economy. The last two deal with Community Housing and Urban Space, aspects of a refashioned environment.


II
ECONOMY






A major theme emerging from the Consult is the desire of Fifth City to activate the local economy by capitalizing on its economic potential and releasing that power within the whole community. The community, which is primarily residential, sees resident owned stores and businesses as crucial to a revitalized local economy. The people envision investment and credit services which deliver their full economic power. The frustration of high unemployment brings the concern for economic engagement. They wish to utilize the skills and human power already present in relevant and challenging employment. They hope to draw small industry to the community as a sign of economic vigor, while planning at the same time for the major industry that over the years would provide access to growing financial capacity.
STABILITY
After more than a decade of local community efforts in many arenas the people of Fifth City specifically called for the intensification of community stability. Fifth Citizens clearly envision concrete structural support for providing the community with comprehensive education, basic services, and essential forms of care. They desire immediate signs of increased citizen security, expanded health care, adequate public utilities, and coordinated urban services. Furthermore, the residents of Fifth City see the need for essential care structures to mold local co­operation in strengthening community identity and cultural life, in supporting elder citizens and in intensifying youth activities. However, the primary yearning reflected by the people of Fifth City was for the practical education necessary for responsible citizen involvement. The community saw the importance of enlarged preschool opportunities, basic education for adults through continued learning opportunities and functional training, and community­wide educational support for quality schooling. It is this intensification of community stability that will signal the social integrity of urban reformulation with the community development of the decade ahead.
ENVIRONMENTFifth Citizens see that their local environment requires physical development. Residents desire housing adequate to the basic needs of all families, a vision which involves rehabilitation and construction projects and improvement efforts by the owners. In addition, many property owners envision creating means of facilitating ongoing maintenance of property with the intent of both prolonging its functional life and creating aesthetic orderliness. The whole area of land use is one which captured the deep yearning of the people and called for the transformation of vacant lots into gardens and recreational facilities. Indeed, the landscaping and upkeep of all property by Fifth Citizens was considered important particularly as it might allow the people to perceive the physical space as a symbol of their own caring and their own sense of being a community.

This is not the entire document. Contact ICA CentrePointeS for further information.