tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16215348493082660032024-03-05T08:14:06.772-08:00An Urban UnderstandingWe live in a world that continues to urbanize, which makes it increasingly important to understand the urban environment and context. Through this blog, I hope to help people from all backgrounds gain urban understanding.Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-87711568575700704352011-10-04T11:38:00.000-07:002011-10-04T11:38:10.408-07:00Food Deserts and From-Scratch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Picture yourself: a 5th grader in your elementary school cafeteria. You inch up to the serving line, hold out your tray and, “plop.” What does the food look like on your tray? Is it crisp, fresh and colorful or gooey, dull, and pre-packed? From my experience, food from the cafeteria was more along the line of boxed mashed potatoes, frozen pizza, fried chicken nuggets and “smiley” fries. My mother often did me the favor of packing my lunch, but many children in my school were not as fortunate. In fact, with the food assistance program, students from low-income families were guaranteed cafeteria food on a daily basis. Finally, after years of low-quality lunches, some schools are starting to take a stand through the “from-scratch movement.”<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since obesity is a national crisis, it is interesting to note that obesity is a concentrated problem in urban areas. Limited access to fresh healthy foods is a major factor in increased urban obesity, as many communities are without access to a produce market or grocery store. Instead, corner stores and convenience stores are readily accessible with processed, boxed, and canned foods. These urban “food deserts” result in a lack of access to fresh, health and/or affordable foods. Despite the increased urban need, a New York Times article notes, “Schools with money and involved parents concerned about obesity and nutrition charged ahead, while poor and struggling districts, overwhelmed by hard times, mostly did not.” Yet again, budgets and income are determinants of access.<br /><br />Fortunately, there is a school that is breaking the mold. Greeley school district in northern Colorado, “where 60 percent of the 19,500 students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals… will make a great leap forward in cooking meals from scratch” (Johnson, 2011). It seems that despite other healthy food initiatives in Philadelphia, the school district is distracted by budget cuts. Just like Chef Ramsey says on his hit show, Kitchen Nightmares, there is a common myth that fresh foods cost more, and in fact, schools would be doing themselves a favor, budget wise, by moving to a “from-scratch” menu. However, when distracted, do we often see reason? <br /><br />Americorps is beginning to move in fighting against “food deserts” through their recent creation of FoodCorps- “a new national service organization that aims to fight obesity and diet-related disease through promoting school gardens and farm-to-school programs” (Walsh, 2011). With the from scratch movement and Food Corps, hopefully strides can be made, but as the federal government talks of cutting all funding for Americorps, it seems government budgets could be the end of these efforts. <br /><br />Resources:<br /><br />Johnson, Kirk. "Schools Restore Fresh Cooking to the Cafeteria."Education. NY Times, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/education/17lunch.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23>.<br /><br />Kelly, John. "House Approps Would Eliminate AmeriCorps, Increase Head Start Funding."Youth Today. American Youth Work Center, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://www.youthtoday.org/view_article.cfm?article_id=5047>.<br /><br />Walsh, Bryan. "Can FoodCorps Get America to Eat Healthfully? - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Times Health, 23 Aug. 2011. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2089995,00.html>.<span class="apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span>
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Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-62182400891531513052011-09-29T06:54:00.000-07:002011-09-29T06:54:02.784-07:00A Resource Squandered<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ageism: tendency to regard older persons as debilitated, unworthy of
attention, or unsuitable for employment (dictionary.com). The
population of older American adults (over 65) has continued to climb
over time, as health care and awareness for proper care has continued to
improve. In fact, by 2030 more than 70 Million Americans- twice the
number in 2000- will be 65 and older… older adults will comprise nearly
one in five Americans (The Maturing of Americans). Are we ready for
this population boom? Now that it has come to my attention, I realize
how neglectful towards the needs of older Americans. Most of my work
and efforts have been geared toward children and youth. In return for
this emphasis has been an unconscious disinterest in older adults. As I
examine myself and whats around me, I can see that many programs and
policies are designed to disregard the elderly over the young. How can
we serve older Americans?<br />
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Findings from<em> The Maturing of America: Communities Moving Forward for an Aging Population</em> report that the <strong>primary issues are:</strong><br />
• Finances and funding issues<br />
o Living on fixed incomes<br />
o Burden of property taxes<br />
o Financial fraud and predatory lending<br />
o Decreased government funding<br />
• Transportation<br />
o Cost of transportation<br />
o Unsafe sidewalks and crosswalks<br />
o Unreadable signage<br />
• Housing<br />
o Maintenance and repair assistance<br />
o Home modification for safety<br />
o Targeted service delivery (backyard trash collection, sidewalk snow removal)<br />
o Subsidized housing<br />
<br />
<strong>Recommendations include:</strong><br />
• Finances and funding<br />
o Relief programs for living costs<br />
o Tax relief programs<br />
o Increase fraud education<br />
• Transportation<br />
o More accessible and affordable public and private trans- vouchers<br />
o Signage and sidewalks made appropriate for all ages<br />
• Housing<br />
o Provide services meeting maintenance and targeted needs<br />
o Appropriate zoning laws to make modifications possible<br />
o Government funds for modification and increased access to subsidized housing<br />
<br />
Meeting these needs is certainly a way to serve older adults, but
does meeting a need always involving receiving a service? Can meeting
the needs of older adults involving offerings ways to contribute? How
can older adults serve other generations? Do we view older Americans as
assets, capable of offering valuable services to us? From 2005-2010
there has been an increase in volunteering and opportunities for
volunteering for older Americans. With increased free time, older
Americans are great resources for program assistance and volunteers!
Intergenerational activities are so important, especially as older
Americans have life experience and wisdom to share. Many times serving
older adults does involve giving a service but allowing them to serve.
This is both empowering and beneficial for all involved.<br />
<br />
Only 30% of respondents report having in place a process that
solicits input from older persons, and just over half that many (17%)
report having comprehensive assessments and strategic plans in place. (<em>The Maturing of Americans</em>).
Do older adults have a voice in our communities? When I consider my
own community, most of the population is either children or older
adults. There is potential for community organizing to bring members
together, empowering them through involvement in the process and
opportunities to connect with those from another generation. I am
encouraged at the possibilities of expanding programming to both meet
the needs and empower older Americans. Let’s take advantage of this
population’s ability to contribute and not squander it; this will
benefit not only older Americans but you and the people you serve.<br />
<br />
The Maturing of America: Communities Moving Forward for an Aging
Population. Rep. National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, June
2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.n4a.org/files/MOA_FINAL_Rpt.pdf>.</div>
Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-63460776071588874552011-09-21T07:09:00.000-07:002011-09-21T07:16:00.978-07:00Do Vouchers helps low-income families?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Pennsylvania seems heading towards privatizing education, and the push for vouchers is stronger now than it has been in the last few years. I grew up with 12 years of public education, and I felt that my education was one of good quality. While I do recognize that not everyone’s public education is of good quality, I am still not in favor of moving towards privatized education. My largest reason for this opposition is my belief that all children, regardless of background or circumstance have the right to <b>free, quality </b>education. While vouchers have been a proposed solution to improving education standards, it inevitably ends the right to free education.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwd2elGLw0YMmarxDujtqNtluYQxY4XA2AhigPssZeeS4rzDmc3NDbxMh_T48ryGlzr3IacLEn1kCo2afihQzjaOCNHruaZfNy5Df0F-7SsFa7AeeBYVynxIev4BOAJrHiKDN-rUVHNw0/s1600/Back+to+School.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwd2elGLw0YMmarxDujtqNtluYQxY4XA2AhigPssZeeS4rzDmc3NDbxMh_T48ryGlzr3IacLEn1kCo2afihQzjaOCNHruaZfNy5Df0F-7SsFa7AeeBYVynxIev4BOAJrHiKDN-rUVHNw0/s320/Back+to+School.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I first heard about vouchers as a college student, so I have no direct experience with them. This challenged me to research, especially with Governor Corbett’s ambition to pass a new bill providing more vouchers. In my research, I found what I suspected: They are not as beneficial to low-income families as is presented. The primary misconception about vouchers is vouchers will provide enough money for any private education. In reality, “The amount of money that a student would actually receive wouldn’t even be enough to afford tuition at most private schools” (Parker, 2011). If families pursue vouchers for private education, they will most likely need to pay the difference of the cost out of pocket. For low-income families and even many middle-class families, is this a realistic expectation?<br />
<br />
The average voucher per student is estimated to be around $7,000. Compare this to the average yearly cost of private institutions in the National Association of Independent Schools, which is $17,441 (http://www.nais.org/). Even if students receive other scholarships, families will inevitably be required to spend thousands of dollars a year to pay the difference. Most low-income families will not be able to afford this balance, so many children in low-income families will continue to attend public school.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAJWLwbSKllFZgtslmhUGHJOM5_1iZtv_-ukJ7bxxA3HL2ZVLkzjVgCn_E6G_zp2dEv5Xs_EW17-F379kwrtDHbHxQ3SpWtfQNejPLLk-5UqshpaK40PNFS5cUKleTttqa_s_-ygqWF4/s1600/Diverse+School.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAJWLwbSKllFZgtslmhUGHJOM5_1iZtv_-ukJ7bxxA3HL2ZVLkzjVgCn_E6G_zp2dEv5Xs_EW17-F379kwrtDHbHxQ3SpWtfQNejPLLk-5UqshpaK40PNFS5cUKleTttqa_s_-ygqWF4/s320/Diverse+School.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Since vouchers are generated through public funds, I think it is safe to assume that public school systems will receive less government funds as voucher money increases. As students begin to receive voucher funding, some will leave the public school system. Thus the funding will follow the student, leaving a larger gap in budgets for public education. Pennsylvania State Senator, Bob Mensch, argues, “public schools in fact will not be harmed by voucher spending, because the state’s funding will transfer with the student… Who is the funding to really benefit, the student or the school” (Stein, 2011)? In fact, if you look at his logic, it proves that public schools will be further harmed by this change, as revenues will transfer. If public schools were already receiving sufficient funding, this would not be an issue, but with insufficient budgets, it seems likely that problems in the public school will not improve. Instead of fixing the current system, state officials are pushing to invest in a new one. <br />
<br />
The biggest question I have is who will actually benefit from this bill? Intentions are presented as to help low-income families, but from the facts, I doubt these will be the families benefiting. While some students will be able leave “failing schools” A.K.A. urban, low-income, ethnic minority schools, most will remain in an even more underfunded school. The voucher solution does not leave room to see underfunding may be the reason for “failing schools.” Instead, state officials choose to give up on the system, which in fact will harm the majority of the people they are “aiming to help.” While I do not doubt this bill will benefit some, my question is, “who will benefit?” <br />
<br />
<u>Resources </u><br />
Parker, Daesya. "Students Say No to Vouchers." Philadelphia Student Union. Philadelphia Student Union, 23 June 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://home.phillystudentunion.org/PSU-Blog/students-say-no-to-vouchers.html>.<br />
<br />
Stein, Linda. "Pennsylvania's Voucher Proposal Stirs Local Education Debate - Thereporteronline.com." The Reporter : Serving North Penn, Indian Valley and Neighboring Communities. The Reporter, 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://www.thereporteronline.com/articles/2011/02/21/news/doc4d61f8a307320449699712.txt?viewmode=default>.</div>
Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-30080254503970613042011-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:002011-09-19T08:42:06.534-07:00Part Three: Dynamic Partnerships and Their Necessity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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From my experience in urban communities, most non-profit organizations are hesitant to create partnerships, especially non-profits providing a similar service. As government funding continues to decrease for human services and communities remain in decline, I grow increasingly confident that partnerships are the key to a thriving non-profit sector. <br />
<br />At the <i>Dynamic Partnerships: The Arts and Community Development workshop</i>, Megan Whilden made great points about why the partnership between the Storefront Artist Projects and Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development worked so well, but I was most impacted by her assertion that partnerships should highlight already present community strengths. <br />
<br />Some projects do not highlight present community strengths. For example, the creation of a community mural solely to improve a space’s attraction will not empower the community for real change. The motivation of any project will be evident to community members by who is involved in the project, the project’s theme, and access to the planning. When only outsiders are engaged in the project and community members have no part of the planning process, community empowerment will not happen. Instead, the project will communicate to community members that their community is: ugly, dangerous, insufficient, etc. <br />
<br />The more effective and empowering project involves collectively planning and promoting a design highlighting positive community attributes. Empowerment will happen when community members are engaged, in their areas of skill, to executive the project. In order to accomplish this, partnerships with other community organizations in these projects are important: they provide both unity and positive reputation. <br />
<br />I believe organizational partnerships help community members to see the broader picture in their community. When organizations begin to function together towards a common goal, it becomes one community. Competition breeds distrust, and community members can sense this distrust. If organizations do not trust one another, why should community members trust organizations working on a community project? In a project, positive reputation helps community members warm to new project and unity helps them feel comfortable enough to participate.<br />
<br />Non-profits resisting partnership are counterproductive and hurting their constituents. The best projects are those approaching communities from a holistic perspective: just like a person, communities have multifaceted needs. Community problems are usually much more complex than projects care to address. The simple route is indeed to say that a community is not thriving because of _______ (a lack of jobs, you fill in the blank), but providing just _________ (allowing a new factory to be built in the community, a one-dimensional service) does not provide the whole answer (community members with the skills they need or remove the obstacles they have to succeed in a newly obtained job, other problems below the surface will exist). When non-profits come together, they often are able to provide a more holistic project that successfully addresses the “whole” problem. <br />
<br />Partnership promotes unity, positive engagement, and holistic solutions in communities. When non-profits overcome their fears of partnership and need to compete, the result will be thriving organizations and communities. </div>
Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-16285810753690369162011-09-16T07:22:00.000-07:002011-09-16T07:24:15.095-07:00Part 2: Dynamic Partnerships and the Role of Art in Revitalization<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">While Pittsfield Storefront Artist project was not intentionally designed to promote economic development, the natural outpouring of their efforts was attracting businesses. It seems as if beautification of the space gave people motivation to return downtown. This is an example of how artists can become social entrepreneurs: those who create opportunities in their neighborhood while earning a living (SIAP, Cultivating “Natural” Cultural Districts). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArhm88dA7_DKBhG1BF7QeHYHo7XW0S00v-nkMtlf2o0pZaP_BAYWr_dsDcPWQYWHm6E9vscZ0_tvBNG7b_gZAvUXb-rEqrglWVhzLwkb76CAyLd5PaOVEi4byAWPJbOpFSG28vR-66HU/s1600/Storefront+Artist+project.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArhm88dA7_DKBhG1BF7QeHYHo7XW0S00v-nkMtlf2o0pZaP_BAYWr_dsDcPWQYWHm6E9vscZ0_tvBNG7b_gZAvUXb-rEqrglWVhzLwkb76CAyLd5PaOVEi4byAWPJbOpFSG28vR-66HU/s1600/Storefront+Artist+project.bmp" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Keynote speaker, Megan Wilden shared that one
challenge of partnership with artists/an arts organization is to encourage without destroying the purity of the art. In other words, when
involving art with community development, the focus must
always be creating art. The partnership between the City of Pittsfield and
artists seemed to reach an appropriate balance, because artists were
cultivated to continue creating art, not attracting businesses. Around
this premise, the partnership provided fertile soil, because in addition to the presence of art, a sense of
community was created among artists. I think this sense of community
was an added attraction for residents and businesses. </span><br />
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University of Pennsylvania’s Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP)
promotes a model of development integrating neighborhood residents with
regional economy and civil society through aiding a transition from
creative economy to creative society (Seifert and Stern, Culture and
Urban Revitalization). One way to achieve this is to create
opportunities for artists, amateurs, and residents to collide; artists’
centers are an effective opportunity for this collision to occur.
Artists’ centers provide the community open access to the arts, classes,
opportunities to mingle with artists and art lovers, mentoring, and
useful networks for resource sharing (SIAP, Culture and Urban
Revitalization). Artists' centers make it more about relationships than transactions; thus creative society rather than economy.</span><br />
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Practically, how do artist’s centers revitalize communities? Artists’
centers are so are embedded in the lives of community members that it
provides: youth development through classes and mentoring, increased
neighborhood safety through heavier foot traffic in the community, and improves local
economy, as more foot traffic leads revenue for local
businesses (Seifert and Stern, Culture and Urban Revitalization).
Moreover, stronger community relationships always generates greater community security among residents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqQVxWYKMXQLjc6TT1mCtrvhg5qs8SPxdjrzews3P-SgjXl_A1QYwTnZvrDUbezznLo0TOLEONg9gCDPag849W3yKzpVsnhgGWy5Qr6wyf42XqZQ9WXRcT-uGvUUL0Dnrd649ZpTqArQ/s1600/Graffiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqQVxWYKMXQLjc6TT1mCtrvhg5qs8SPxdjrzews3P-SgjXl_A1QYwTnZvrDUbezznLo0TOLEONg9gCDPag849W3yKzpVsnhgGWy5Qr6wyf42XqZQ9WXRcT-uGvUUL0Dnrd649ZpTqArQ/s200/Graffiti.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />Cultivating the arts through partnerships in local communities is very effective as the arts continue to become more open and accessible to the general population. The arts are powerful expressions of culture and experience, so it only seems natural that community revitalization engages art to empower community members and tell the neighborhood story. Increased access has also uncovered the presence of organic art in low-income communities through anything from graffiti, to rap and spoken word, to resident gardens. As stories are told, these organic artists are empowered to embrace their talent and use it towards personal, community and maybe even professional transformation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Resources:<br />Seifert, Susan, and Mark Stern. "Culture and Urban Revitalization: A Harvest Document." Social Impact of the Arts Project (January 2007). Web. 14 Sept. 2011. <http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP>.<br />Seifert, Susan, and Mark Stern. "Cultivating “Natural” Cultural Districts." Creativity and Change (September 2007). Web. 14 Sept. 2011. <http://www.trfund.com/resource/downloads/creativity/NaturalCulturalDistricts.pdf>.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
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Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-3117680634318449682011-09-14T08:22:00.000-07:002011-09-14T08:22:02.691-07:00Part One: Dynamic Partnerships and Pittsfield, Mass.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Last Thursday, I attended a workshop presented by the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations. Entitled Dynamic Partnerships: the Arts and Community Development, this workshop began with a Keynote speaker who shared her experience in a partnership between city government and the arts. Why are partnerships so important? In this three part Dynamic Partnership series, I will talk more about partnerships, and why they are important. To start, I will share the example given by keynote speaker, Megan Whilden.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />Megan Whilden is from the community of Pittsfield, Mass. Pittsfield is the largest city in Berkshire County and in the past, a center of thriving industry. Like so many East Coast cities, the decline of industrial business brought about general city decline. General Electric housed a large factory in town that employed about 10,000 residents. When it closed in 1977, the population decreased by approximately 20,000 people (General Electric / Housatonic River RCRA Site NRD Settlement, Mass.gov). Decreases in population were accompanied by the closure of many downtown businesses, which left downtown deserted. However, where residents saw failure, one artist, Maggie Mailer, saw potential. Maggie decided to initiate a movement that came to be known as the Storefront Artist Project (http://storefrontartist.org).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />As their website states, “Following in the footsteps of its nomadic tradition, the Storefront Artist Project continues to find vacant commercial spaces in Pittsfield for artists to use for temporary projects” (http://storefrontartist.org). For a period of 6 months, artists from around the local area began to occupy empty storefronts and display their artwork. The agreement between property owners and these artists consisted of: temporary use of the storefront, artists holding their own liability insurance, and artists paying utility costs, while there (Megan Whilden). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />Eventually, due to the success of the Storefront Artist Project, they partnered with the City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development to promote economic development. One project they began was 3rd Thursdays, a monthly event that provides evening access to downtown businesses and artists. As a result of the work by the City and artists, 50 new restaurants and businesses have opened (Megan Whilden). <br /><br />Resources:<br /><br />"General Electric / Housatonic River RCRA Site NRD Settlement." Mass.Gov. Energy and Environmental Affairs. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. <http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoeeaterminal>.</span></div>
Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-71404891159622822232011-09-06T09:15:00.000-07:002011-09-06T09:15:40.941-07:00Vacancy and Dilapidation Part 2: What can we do?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Philadelphia is a rich Mecca of
community development corporations (CDC) and community organizations, some
which have placed a great deal of effort into transforming vacant lots.<span> </span>One such CDC is <a href="http://www.nkcdc.org/">New Kensington CDC</a>, which was featured at this
year’s annual Flower Show.<span> </span>"From Blight to
Blossom" is the name of the exhibit, and its conception was the result of
a partnership between the New Kensington CDC and Philadelphia's <a href="http://www.phila.gov/ohcd/" target="_blank">Office of Housing and
Community Development</a>. Its intention, according to a press release
describing the project, is to "tell the story of an urban side-yard
transformed from a vacant lot into a garden" (http://www.flyingkitemedia.com/devnews/blossom0308.aspx).
<span> </span><span> </span>Instead of allowing blight to fester in
Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, New Kensington has viewed vacant lots and
abandoned homes as areas of potential beauty.<span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">What can be done with vacant
lots?<span> </span>One potential use of such space is
to create new affordable housing sites, the foundation upon which Habitat for
Humanity has built their organization.<span> </span>Other
possibilities include using the spaces for parks, community gardens,
recreational centers, and even centers of community art. <span> </span>Some projects such as <a href="http://www.nkcdc.org/land-use/vacant-land-management">New Kensington Vacant
Land Management Program</a> and Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s <a href="http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/maintenance.html">Community-Based
Vacant Land Maintenance Program</a> have dedicated their efforts towards
cleaning and creating parks and community gardens throughout the city.<span> </span><span> </span>While
the end result is transforming space, the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s
project partners with nine community organizations, including <a href="http://www.rwaphiladelphia.org/">Ready, Willing & Able</a> and SELF,
Inc. to employ individuals making the transition back
to work after experiencing drug addiction and homelessness.<span> </span>The <a href="http://muralarts.org/learn/restorative-justice">Mural Arts Restorative
Justice</a> program has also helped with these efforts by employing
ex-offenders in cleaning and transforming vacant lots.<span> </span>The great aspect of these projects is people
are given the opportunity to transform themselves through the process of transforming
the land.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZ2JjheeJ1ignjUW92Jp0daUdmUcbgFkQa9KsyTy69y4nZ9pQHqCA2kCdRoOp3C9GST-7oXTMiHKTh03EG8oF25NpD8LraZdyzav_r9U3yn6oyMVJtISa3fwH0GiTNN8Z9_bifxRp9BY/s1600/Village+for+the+Arts+and+Humanities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZ2JjheeJ1ignjUW92Jp0daUdmUcbgFkQa9KsyTy69y4nZ9pQHqCA2kCdRoOp3C9GST-7oXTMiHKTh03EG8oF25NpD8LraZdyzav_r9U3yn6oyMVJtISa3fwH0GiTNN8Z9_bifxRp9BY/s320/Village+for+the+Arts+and+Humanities.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The <a href="http://villagearts.org/">Village
for the Arts and Humanities</a> is another organization that has transformed a great
deal of space in North Philadelphia.<span> </span>On
their campus alone, they’ve transformed over 150 vacant lots into gardens,
green spaces housing collections of community art and a two acre farm.<span> </span>In this particular community, the Village for
the arts and Humanities has worked organically by recruiting the help of
community residents.<span> </span>As the <a href="http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/audience-development-for-the-arts/strategies-for-expanding-audiences/Pages/Philadelphia-Villiage-of-Arts-and-Humanities.aspx">Wallace
Foundation</a> states: “With
a phantasmagoria of mosaic sculptures, murals and gardens glimmering with giant
angels and creatures no zoo has ever seen, the Village offers vibrant testimony
to the role that art can play in bringing a desolate urban landscape back to
life and engaging youth and families in the arts.” <span> </span>As a result, neighbors are given the opportunity
to connect and build relationships, while working together towards a common
goal.<span> </span>In addition, the two acre farm has
given the community access to fresh and healthy food options.<span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span> </span>The <strong><a href="http://www.southwestcdc.org/community_development.html#Neighborhood-Beautification"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Southwest Community Development Corporation</span></a>
</strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">also
provides a community beautification project that includes a community
garden.<span> </span>One of the 2011 graduates from
the MA in Urban Studies, Regina Broomell-Young, assisted the Southwest
Community Garden by facilitating research investigating is it was needed in the
community: Her researched concluded that the garden was absolutely needed in
the community for both health and community organizing purposes.<span> </span></span></strong></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQMiQ0GamMr3FOqiYlycCGqeRKMdniOcCj7mMsR0a7N_9fSd4LSjRkJdfXL13vtTbGza7kzOU0_BgX_ahWwJ-r7HC5r3A724OOZNY4Ccj72CR32Qr9lNFPGi_5Hj23oxiO4bB7o59mRw/s1600/Walnut+Hill+Community+Farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQMiQ0GamMr3FOqiYlycCGqeRKMdniOcCj7mMsR0a7N_9fSd4LSjRkJdfXL13vtTbGza7kzOU0_BgX_ahWwJ-r7HC5r3A724OOZNY4Ccj72CR32Qr9lNFPGi_5Hj23oxiO4bB7o59mRw/s320/Walnut+Hill+Community+Farm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">While the potential for transformation is available to each of Philadelphia’s
40,000 vacant and abandoned properties, it is a large endeavor from start to
finish.<span> </span>Before starting, there is often
the task of acquiring land or permission from owners, which makes the process a
laborious one, especially in the cases of those lots privately owned.<span> </span>For those ready and able for the task, the
Philadelphia Horticultural Society has developed a guide entitled </span></strong><b><a href="http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/garden/vacantmanual.html">Reclaiming
Vacant Lots: A Philadelphia Green guide</a></b>. This guide not own
provides practical tips on gardening and landscaping but also highlights steps
for the project from beginning to finish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span></span>Steps include: </span></div>
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</span></span><ol style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Resolving Ownership Issues</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Mapping Community Resources</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Assessing Site Conditions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Developing a Site Plan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Outlining a Maintenance Strategy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Cleaning the Site</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Implementing Site Improvements</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Performing Ongoing Maintenance </span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">From start to finish, there is much to be accomplished in terms of
physical space, but let’s expand our view and see the potential in also lives
of community members. While funding has
been cut back for many of the above mentioned projects, hopefully they will be
able to endure and continue to impact this generation as well as many to
come. </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-45413461749444649672011-08-30T13:42:00.000-07:002011-08-30T13:43:24.957-07:00Vacancy and Dilapidation: Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXG9tqs4PEgFwlaWDPNLIVzJ8Vn8joo0z16BHF-yPW9oIX4ljA1v1n8_p9dxrOwLpzGB-kmu2c7apR3iAWtGeYNIMm2YsQnLblSEe8AlX96A7L9b_yR4BbFK5d_8M_u_ed2bnN8UYNP0/s1600/VL-4th-C-B-Moore-EN-BA-01-560x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXG9tqs4PEgFwlaWDPNLIVzJ8Vn8joo0z16BHF-yPW9oIX4ljA1v1n8_p9dxrOwLpzGB-kmu2c7apR3iAWtGeYNIMm2YsQnLblSEe8AlX96A7L9b_yR4BbFK5d_8M_u_ed2bnN8UYNP0/s320/VL-4th-C-B-Moore-EN-BA-01-560x350.jpg" width="320" /></a>Throughout the city of Philadelphia, as with many east coast cities, there is a large problem with vacant lots and dilapidated buildings. One of my first times in Philadelphia was to do a walk through of a neighborhood just east of Center City called Point Breeze. When you are walking the streets of Point Breeze, you can literally look down any road to the West and see a distinct line dividing the glamor of Center City’s high rises and condominiums from Point Breeze’s old row homes mingled with corner stores and vacant lots. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The distinct lines of urban neighborhoods have always fascinated me, because there are two worlds bordering each other but few will pass between the two. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A 2010 article in Philadelphia Weekly reports that there were about 40,000 vacant lots spread throughout the city (Kase, 2010). There are many problems associated with vacant and abandon properties including declining property values in surrounding communities, loss of money to the city in unpaid taxes, neighborhood safety, illegal dumping, and overall neighborhood blight. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What has caused all of these vacancies? Some contributors have been the change from an industrial to more technologically driven society. Once more mechanic methods of industry and practices such as outsourcing took over, bustling centers of business became haunts, reminding many of “what used to be.” Also, rising costs of home ownership, declining property values, and rising foreclosure rates have contributed to this problem. As more people are unable to keep up with the rising costs of energy, taxes, insurance and repair, they are either forced out or abandon ship. Of the 40,000, about 12,000 properties are reported as being public owned, mostly as the result of foreclosure, I’d assume (Kase, 2010). Combine all these industrial and economic changes, and you are left with a literal mess in cities like Philadelphia.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjWtKuWvypFIXZr22oOKjmUadC85xXyPsf0y7z-SJkhsrZyhPh2XW1xEEFAfTsX1hklFXBIM1sja-ptXhW3tTRM_Y2uTXkeJltzFAlYsCC3z2yhuLs6TYoy5WftbUSsqWtB-8XX8ZMB0/s1600/Debris+of+Marquis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjWtKuWvypFIXZr22oOKjmUadC85xXyPsf0y7z-SJkhsrZyhPh2XW1xEEFAfTsX1hklFXBIM1sja-ptXhW3tTRM_Y2uTXkeJltzFAlYsCC3z2yhuLs6TYoy5WftbUSsqWtB-8XX8ZMB0/s320/Debris+of+Marquis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shot of vacant lot in Lucas' article</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">One woman reported to a Philly.com reporter that she has been living next to a condemned building for four years; the property has an overgrown back yard with a hole into the vacant home, which draws in drug users, children playing, and vermin like rats and roaches (Lucas, 2011). Needless to say this is both a public health and safety hazard for community members, especially children. Unfortunately, lots such as these contribute to a lack of city pride across Philadelphia, and Lucas’ article goes on to quote a resident that says neighbors and city agencies, “Just don’t care” (Lucas, 2011). The interesting question is, “Do they not care, or have they given up hope?” It is easy to understand why they feel hopeless, when they look around at land forgotten and abused. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sources: </div><div class="MsoNormal"> Lucas, Phillip. "Marquis of Debris: They're Sick of These Dumps." <i>Featured Articles from Philly.com</i>. Philly.com, 18 Aug. 2011. Web. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://articles.philly.com/2011-08-18/news/29900900_1_trash-pit-neighbors-drug-addicts>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Kase, Aaron. "The Ugly Truth About Philly's Vacant Lots | News and Opinion | Philadelphia Weekly." <i>Philadelphia Weekly | Local News, Reviews, Multimedia, Music, Real Estate and More</i>. Philadelphia Weekly, 16 Nov. 2010. Web. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/The-Ugly-Truth-About-Phillys-Vacant-Lots.html>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-88751681975529655852011-08-25T13:22:00.000-07:002011-08-25T13:29:13.674-07:00A Lack of Foresight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">While in my undergraduate program, I often studied issues related to urban poverty. After three years of avid study, I felt my research always pointed to this as a top cause of poverty: single parenting and specifically teenage parenting. While teenage pregnancy is an issues found in more than urban areas, statistics indicate that urban areas as the epicenter of this problem. Take Pennsylvania, for example. The city of Philadelphia has historically and still tops the state in pregnancy rates. The rate is calculated by the amount of pregnancies over the number of females ages 15-19 times 1,000, so the rate does not mean the rate is high just because there are more teens in Philadelphia than other places in the state. <br />
<br />
When I graduated, it was my desire to serve the single parent population, so I began working full-time at an organization that provided services including teen parenting workshops and special programs. I had the opportunity to meet with several teen moms, during my time working for this organization. I found that teen moms are taxed with a very heavy burden, often with little support. For some, parents will kick them out of the house, leaving mom and baby homeless. Also, there are a number of teen moms not support financially or emotionally by their “baby daddy,” but I will add that I seemed to see a lot of young men really trying to step up and be supportive. For teen moms, dropping out of school is often the only option, because they must work to support their child or children. All of this wraps up into a cyclic problem, as undereducated teen moms will continue to struggle financially in the future, because they lack the education to get stable and well-paying jobs. I’m not even going to get into the problems for children of teen parents. <br />
<br />
All in all, teen parents are in dire need of quality services providing the support they need to thrive. I had heard of the ELECT (Education Leading to Employment and Career Training) program when I worked in my first job, but I did not hear about the impact of their organization until I read a July article in the Inquirer. ELECT is a statewide program, but given the concentration of teen pregnancy in Philadelphia, it has always been the focus. Starting as primarily a service to provide teen parents with education and career support, it has evolved to provide medical, child care, transportation, and counseling referrals. <br />
<br />
According to the Inquirer Article titled Program for Pregnant Students has Unclear Future, “ELECT serves about 1,000 students, a dam against the joblessness and despair that routinely await unwed teenage dropouts… Nationally, only 40 percent of mothers who have children before age 18 go on to graduate. Many drop out in Philadelphia, too, though ELECT cites a high graduation rate. Last school year, among 403 students who met the criteria for graduation - completing course work and other requirements - 369 graduated. That's 91 percent.” Despite the success of this program, it seems that the state budget has determined this program less worthy than other items, and the summer program and middle school aged afterschool programs have been cut. The state of the main in-school program will depend upon the allocation of funds from the Department of Education and Public Welfare Offices.<br />
<br />
Considering the massive cuts in school budgets, I do not think the Department of Education will have a lot to spare, and looking at a breakdown of the 2011-2012 budget there are many cuts to Public Welfare spending. In researching for follow-up information on the state of ELECT, I have not been able to locate any information, but I am afraid that this will be another casualty of economic war. The shame really is, “The cost of teenage births to state taxpayers, in lost tax revenue, public health care, and children welfare runs $463 million a year” (Gammage, 2011). A lack of foresight seems to be the biggest problem that our state government is unable to overcome. <br />
<br />
Source: Gammage, Jeff. "Program for Pregnant Students Has Unclear Future." Philly.Com. The Inquirer Digital, 19 July 2011. Web. 19 July 2011. <http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20110719_Program_for_pregnant_students_has_unclear_future_1.html>.</div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-29862035578011939752011-08-19T12:31:00.000-07:002011-08-19T12:34:20.601-07:00Peaceful Resistance and Community Organizing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazvhZKL-5nJ7uzPvVpTGxBGGqMadgXcW6lWy024YaiXy7qQUiM0jmp70lbAw-GfSYH9UtH_-W2ica-6Sgnlf7t-jPXcPkdxxmYdQrLORe4wj5L2pdH0HidCRQfLpfF6Cx2VxMh85y20Q/s1600/Anna_Hazare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiazvhZKL-5nJ7uzPvVpTGxBGGqMadgXcW6lWy024YaiXy7qQUiM0jmp70lbAw-GfSYH9UtH_-W2ica-6Sgnlf7t-jPXcPkdxxmYdQrLORe4wj5L2pdH0HidCRQfLpfF6Cx2VxMh85y20Q/s320/Anna_Hazare.jpg" width="302" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anna Hazare is a name that has been hyped through world news broadcasts for the last couple of months. Said to be working from a Gandhian influence, Hazare has been using similar protest tactics (such as peaceful resistance) to ensure government action against corruption. In terms of government action, Hazare’s movement to demand the institution of anti-corruption laws and now the creation of an anti-corruption agency. He has even instituted fasts-to-the-death. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When reading articles about Hazare, I was forced to question his comparison to Gandhi. Were they using peaceful resistance in the same way? I did not feel at peace about comparison of Hazare to Gandhi, especially his use of fasts-to-the-death. Hazare’s first was instituted with a condition that he would not eat until the government passed an anti-corruption bill. Primarily, Gandhi campaigned for India’s independence because of the injustices being committed against its citizens. He fought against injustices such as “untouchability,” alcoholism, ignorance and poverty. His fasts were motivated to fight these injustices and bring unity, never to demand independence from the government (<a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110621/jsp/opinion/story_14136304.jsp">http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110621/jsp/opinion/story_14136304.jsp</a>). Hazare’s specific demands upon the government through fasting does not reflect Gandhi in that it lends to violence, and some have argued is violent in and of itself. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When I read about Hazare’s fast-to-the-death, I was first struck with the potential this had to initiate violent retaliation. The public has indeed been energized by Hazare to stand up against government corruption, and he is now a national symbol. The fact that he is such a valued symbol to the people of India, makes me questions his tactics. What if he dies because the government does not meet his demands? I imagine it would cause chaos. Unlike Gandhi, Hazare has a very tangible opponent on which the people can reflect their anger, which amplifies the potential for violence. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">All in all, my point is that protest and peaceful resistance must be used carefully, as it can easily be distorted into riot. Consider the London Riots over an unprovoked police shooting. While citizens were impassioned for the right reasons, (the injustice of this incident) the result was destructive rioting. It seems the human psyche can easily cross the line to violence, when passion is evoked, so even if the intent is peaceful, the result can be violent. </span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How does this relate to the urban context? I have begun to think about peaceful resistance in the context of urban communities and its effectiveness in community organizing. Can peaceful resistance be used to bring awareness to injustices in our current climate? It was very effective in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movement, and a whole generation of African Americans were empowered to speak out against injustice and helped to change significant legislation. Could this work today? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-zgzTpgdGlIIWKnfnvxUf0v4WHGCtGRv3MRwkQ-ZjFQ-hlyWDmbPe3IzpNfnZJGk_eF7oKfW0313bmpOCchFBjO4WKY2r7lI2y82DhB2vX1R1wEigwJx8v6IYaLTMVVc4QdGt6EAvNow/s1600/flash-mob+Philadelphia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-zgzTpgdGlIIWKnfnvxUf0v4WHGCtGRv3MRwkQ-ZjFQ-hlyWDmbPe3IzpNfnZJGk_eF7oKfW0313bmpOCchFBjO4WKY2r7lI2y82DhB2vX1R1wEigwJx8v6IYaLTMVVc4QdGt6EAvNow/s320/flash-mob+Philadelphia.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As mentioned above, I think that it can be a very powerful tool, but it has to be used delicately. In the wake of flash mobs, not only in Philadelphia but in cities like Chicago and Germantown (MD), teens have been motivated to demonstrate their frustrations. While I am not sure the exact nature of their frustrations, I can imagine they might about: the educational system, police brutality, gun violence in their communities, parents having to work multiple jobs, blatant acts of racism, etc. In the absence of guidance, these youth started a movement to action that quickly turned violent, but if mobilized by someone with a vision, things could be different. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I believe that figures like Gandhi or groups of people like community development organizations can be necessary in guiding in peaceful resistance, but things can become dangerous when the focus is too concentrated upon the figure or group. There has to be a point where that figure or group can step away. This point must be when the community members are empowered to organize themselves. Along with empowerment, there must be a sense of unity binding the community together. Like Gandhi, I believe the point of resistance is point out a structural injustice and unify people towards finding a solution. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7049NfK3X4sLndOHNe6BFlHjW3dqJMCFC4D7hBdqWPNVgCD6boBxC47kmzYMdcPgvII1TOVrAQ8Lna-wfs2Zw6VmyGAR04rMCgpHKbtKjm_6D_vv0iTt8zdreCEEqYIcIEjbgmvHajQ/s1600/Philly+School+Protest.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7049NfK3X4sLndOHNe6BFlHjW3dqJMCFC4D7hBdqWPNVgCD6boBxC47kmzYMdcPgvII1TOVrAQ8Lna-wfs2Zw6VmyGAR04rMCgpHKbtKjm_6D_vv0iTt8zdreCEEqYIcIEjbgmvHajQ/s320/Philly+School+Protest.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I can picture protest and peaceful resistance being effective is many urban injustices. Thinking back to the spring, students in the Philadelphia school district I think formulated a very successful act of peaceful resistance with walk-outs at Audenried and West Philadelphia High Schools (<a href="http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-16/news/28538690_1_33d-and-tasker-streets-audenried-high-school-students-renaissance-schools-initiative/2">http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-16/news/28538690_1_33d-and-tasker-streets-audenried-high-school-students-renaissance-schools-initiative/2</a>). Student leaders mobilized students to come together at the School District building to show their resistance to the schools becoming Promise Academies. While officials and some parents were upset by it, I think that it was great example of peaceful resistance and students dealing with their frustrations in the productive way. <br />
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<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What do you think about peaceful resistance? </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Do you have examples of it being used in the urban context?</b></span></li>
</ul></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-37377833038913472192011-08-15T09:04:00.000-07:002011-08-15T09:04:58.396-07:00Urban Gentrification of the Mind by Teyne Crum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Teyne Crum is an alumnus of the MA in Urban Studies program. Currently, she is the CEO and Lead Consultant for Beyond the Exterior. You can learn more about her organization at <a href="http://jonah.eastern.edu/ccgps/www.beyondtheexterior.org">www.beyondtheexterior.org</a>. She also writes regular articles for <a href="http://www.maxexpomag.com/">http://www.maxexpomag.com</a>, including this post:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our youth today are so bombarded with entertainment; the media seems to plague their minds with false images and unrealistic views of reality. Today’s youth are more likely to pick up a remote control,exercise their brains with video games, and watch music videos or television for hours at a time. In short, they are more likely to engage in activities that do not warrant reading or studying. Why is it that our youth know more about Hip-Hop artists, fashion trends, how to write and speak in “Ebonics”, understand sexual terminologies, and engage in these activities but, they do not know how to read or write a constructive paragraph. The truth of the matter is many youth have what may be termed “gentrification of the mind”.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The pivotal questions that puzzle me often are: Why is it not a shock when a 14 year-old becomes pregnant or impregnates someone? Why is it the norm for teens to walk into a local convenient store to purchase cigars, blunts, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages? Why is it the norm to see more and more teens walking around wearing the latest fashion: $100.00 or $200.00 pair of sneakers or boots, leather jackets that cost more than one’s monthly mortgage or rent? Yet, they can barely read or spell the name of these items they are flaunting. Is this not a sign of urban gentrification of the mind plaguing our youth and overtaking our communities?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to the Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, gentrification is defined as “the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary) This definition may be used to describe the mindset of today’s youth. The minds of our youth have been so overtaken by the materialistic ideals of the affluent that their spirit, hearts, and minds end up displaced. In effect, today’s youth exchange the image and trappings of wealth and the material world for their mental and spiritual development.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nevertheless, why point out the ignorance of our youth without acknowledging the parents who are promoting these habits. Unfortunately, there are too many parents who are recipients of welfare and use these benefits to create an illusion of wealth. They would rather spend someone else’s tax money on color flat screen high definition TVs, surround sound, (fake) Gucci or Versace handbags, boots, and jewelry. It seems to be normal to spend money from the government on marijuana and alcohol instead of putting food on the table, keeping one’s lights on, or even investing the funds into their child’s education. This behavior is taught and modeled in many homes and no one seems to care. The curse of poverty, lack of education, and enslaved mentality has become a curse passed down from one generation to the next.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mentality of our youth in this generation has been distorted time and time again. The Bible says, “My people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6a). The devil has placed blinders over the eyes of our young people. Although this generation did not experience slavery in the physical sense in the way of that our ancestors experienced it, they still have an enslaved mentality. They are stuck in a culture that is destroying their very being, self-image, self-esteem, future, and hope for their future. Recall for a moment the Israelites who were freed from Egypt out the hands of Pharaoh, entered into the wilderness to get instructions from God, and eventually cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. The Israelites’ journey through the wilderness was supposed to last for 3 days and 3 nights, not 40 years. However, the journey lasted for 40 years because of their disobedience and because the Israelites still had an enslaved mentality. Do the Israelites sound like this generation? How long will this generation stay stuck in this Urban Gentrified Mindset? Pharaoh was slave master to the Israelites, and sadly the Urban Gentrified Culture is the slave master of this generation.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In order for our youth to be freed from this bondage and their eyes opened, they need to understand there is more to life then following a trend. The Bible says, “What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself?” (Mark 8:36 Cont. English Ver.). Only if our young people believe in themselves and that they “can do all things through Christ which strengthen” us (Phil. 4:13), then perhaps they would strive to get more out of life.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The norm in this generation should be that a 14 year-old child graduates from high school with honors and then graduates from college by his or her 18thbirthday. The norm should be a child who is seeking to create a video game that educates and stimulates the minds of his or her peers instead of wasting their brain cells on violence and sexual explicit games. How about our young people striving to be the youngest politician, lawyer, doctor, or next engineer?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">People, please hear my cry, and educate our young people. Young people, please stop being lazy and read, do research, know where the things you are wearing come from, its meanings, and know your history.</div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-13700266749918784682011-08-12T08:36:00.000-07:002011-08-12T11:13:37.933-07:00Check out my Guest Blog! Racism: Past Evil or Present Foe?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Read my Guest Blog on Kurt Willem's blog The Pangea! Feedback is welcomed! <br />
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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thepangeablog/2011/08/12/racism-a-past-evil-or-present-foe-whitney-monn/<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">I am the type of person that often likes to begin “controversial” or “Taboo” conversations with those I am closest. In talking with one friend, we began to consider the strides of American society in terms of racism. I remember my friend commenting that despite great efforts of the civil rights movement and legislation changes, racism is still alive and well. While society is no longer able to label bathrooms and water fountains, if you simply take a close look, you can still that inequality has still used its massive hand to racial separate people. While I am very grateful for past efforts to ensure equality for all people, I believe that we still have a far ways to go, but unless we recognize this, things will only remain the same.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>A couple of weeks ago, the Urban League came out with an article entitle Urban League report finds growing racial disparities. Through research of unemployment, mortgage application approval, wealth, and income, the Urban League synthesized startling figures supporting my claim that racism still exists. Throughout the economic downturn of the last two years, it seems that no one has been exempt from feeling an impact whether that has been involving housing, loans, or employment. I will not claim that only racial minorities has been negatively effective by the economic crisis, data does show that some have been disproportionately been impacted.<br />
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Where is one place that we can see racism at work? In examining most urban areas, it is evident that neighborhoods are still very segregated. This can be proven by simply talking to a native Philadelphian who will recognize that there is both a “black and Hispanic” section of North Philadelphia. I am sure people could share this same story of neighborhood segregation across the country, but is it the only place we see segregation? <span id="more-3330"></span>In response to a Washington Post story on the Urban League’s findings, one reader comments that racism, as referenced in the article, is the inevitable result of obsession with race. The reader asserts that by addressing these issues we are giving life to racism. Idealistically, race, a much debated concept among theorists, is a term used to create divisions among people groups by their physical appearance that we should disregard, but to ignore the statistics pointing to certain inequalities among these created divisions does not end racism. We are living in a world produced by past decisions of government, using different methods to define groups of people, not just race but also class, gender, ability, etc.<br />
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Here is a question: How is this reflected in American churches? There are many churches that are considered traditionally ___ churches; you fill in the blank. Many churches are divided by race. Martin Luther King Jr. commented once that Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week. Is this an injustice? Are churches segregated? Are racially monolithic churches “right, ”or are multi-cultural churches “right”? I think this is a worthwhile conversation to have.<br />
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There are many schools of thought about multi-cultural churches, and one I think of is that Spenser Perkins and Chris Rice reflected in their book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Equals-Racial-Healing/dp/0830822569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313128391&sr=8-1" target="_blank">More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel</a>. Through this book, Perkins and Rice seek to share how racial reconciliation can happen through: Admit, Submit and Commit. This is a great resource to explore the idea of racial reconciliation in the church context.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Perkins and Rice talk about the importance of people of various races finding a safe place to bring about reconciliation, which can happen in a multi-cultural church. As a Christian, I firmly believe in the importance of reconciliation, not only with God but with other people, which to me means across racial lines. Thus, I firmly believe in intentional multi-cultural churches (particularly in communities that are multicultural), which not only look multicultural, but have those of all races in leadership and the culture of all represented in the service. Why? I believe this is important in creating a safe place, harboring relationships where we can admit our own struggles and prejudices, submit to one another in love, and commit to deep relationships where reconciliation can happen. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">However, this should be a conversation, on-going, so I encourage this to become a dialogue.</div>Conversations on issues such as these are healthy within churches and among professing Christians. I deeply appreciate the program for which I work, the <a href="http://www.eastern.edu/academic/ccgps/ssc/urban/index.html" target="_blank">MA in Urban Studies</a>, where students from a variety of backgrounds meet to talk about issues of justice including racial reconciliation. Through talking about these hard issues, solutions can be found, which inspires change, real change!<br />
</div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-84917266898921627902011-08-05T14:04:00.000-07:002011-08-05T14:04:02.615-07:00Flash mobs and a Culture of Senseless Violence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=8284188">Flash Mobs</a> <b>Why?</b> I have been hearing about this teenage trend for over a year now, and I am still struggling to understand why. Flash mobs have become a growing problem in cities throughout the US, especially in Philadelphia. Once just a form of performance art, how have they become such a violent demonstration? The first contemporary flash mob recorded was in 2003 when people organized a group to flash in a New York Macy’s. In reading several articles and blog posts, the only common conclusion that it seems we have reached is that there is a link between technology and this phenomenon. With primarily teenagers, flash mobs are organized through the internet and communicated by social media and texting. Technology has become the vehicle for organizing these violent events. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91FRon9vCOkGC1itPT5FMUSQ4c0bVq9h-3sU31zJtD9khHuHWXZcBswhB8nGnyWK7Vm-hImgKqgUu5F1AeLkG3nd_mS4dNzC6YZ8KBBHSlaN-yfIAjVqhMFSM9ZuNH2COXF-zJbZTu-A/s1600/flash-mob+Philadelphia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91FRon9vCOkGC1itPT5FMUSQ4c0bVq9h-3sU31zJtD9khHuHWXZcBswhB8nGnyWK7Vm-hImgKqgUu5F1AeLkG3nd_mS4dNzC6YZ8KBBHSlaN-yfIAjVqhMFSM9ZuNH2COXF-zJbZTu-A/s320/flash-mob+Philadelphia.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In pondering why, there are some thoughts that I have collected. Being a teen in the 90s, I watched my generation be enamored by senseless danger and violence. Between the evolution of slap stick comedy to programs like “Jack-A**” most of my peers would daily intake these movies and shows, desensitizing their minds to violence. Media has only taken this trend and continued to evolve its violence and senselessness to be fed to a new generation, at even younger ages. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another trend that I think has contributed is internet viral videos through Youtube. Young people today are given access to popularity not just in peer relationships but in the greater society on Youtube. Fame is now available to anyone with the an amazing or outrageous home video. They can easily become a music sensation like Justin Beiber or become the most talked about video in the world, simply by positing to Youtube. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My last thought was about advertising's recent increase in the use of flash mobs in commercials and movies. A popular cell phone commercial shows a throw-back performance art flash mob organizing, and the movie Friends with Benefits includes a scene with a flash mob. As the news and other media continue to highlight flash mobs, I wonder if it has moved youth to continue engaging them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flash mobs make me angry, especially when I see the victim bruised and beaten for simply being in walking the streets. I intrinsically abhor violence, especially in the general public, so I admit; I do not understand the draw it has for young people. Maybe I never will, but I guess solutions are more important than understanding, at this point. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvUtPqE_pMP93QeH9K94wC-Kooq93LQJgEbsXVA4oKMqiWYlrG2POlYPX8GicSfBToKZ102nEIb47xPUK4McNj4jkx2H-UzlGs77pYz9SYOAh2AAixYDIEcOczsGme4o9uPpnw32gakw/s1600/PYPMBoard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvUtPqE_pMP93QeH9K94wC-Kooq93LQJgEbsXVA4oKMqiWYlrG2POlYPX8GicSfBToKZ102nEIb47xPUK4McNj4jkx2H-UzlGs77pYz9SYOAh2AAixYDIEcOczsGme4o9uPpnw32gakw/s320/PYPMBoard.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Philadelphia city officials have announced they intend to promote legislation and action to oppose the current youth culture promoting flash mobs as fun and without consequence. I wonder if our generation can address this issue and create any positive change. The greatest influence in a teen’s life is their peers, so I do believe that the greatest change agent has to be young people. In searching the internet, I was fortunate to find one group of teens speaking on the national scale to oppose flash mobs. The <a href="http://phillyyouthpoets.org/" target="new">Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement</a> is a group of teens coming together to create poetry, speaking out against the challenges they face and the things they want to see change. Watch CNN's coverage of the Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement <a href="http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2011/07/07/intv.brave.new.voices.cnn.html">at this link</a>. Spoken Word and art is powerful methods of creating change, and it was encouraging to see these young people use it for their good and the good of others. The <a href="http://www.eastern.edu/academic/ccgps/ssc/urban/arts2.html">Arts inTransformation</a> concentration in the <a href="http://www.eastern.edu/urbanstudies">Urban Studies program</a> engages using art to address community problems and empower community members. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Questions:</b></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Why do you think Flash Mobs are so popular with teenagers right now?</b><b> </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Legislation being submitted to hold parents liable. Should they be?</b><b><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span> </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Flash mobs are part of a culture saying it is fun and without consequence to commit random acts of violence. How can this be addressed?</b></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b></span></div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-49068120474088471372011-08-04T07:39:00.000-07:002011-08-04T07:39:52.409-07:00The "What now?" of Relocation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnN3ckW-JCDL6G-riKoU0ifKZ94vBtQJNYhL3F2rvYNfbgjfocwRiPRP-cIl5ON7xqldYnPTCseiubwgZHgJcxnnpY06GBX2zWPcJJVNmltH_28uXspJvDVVCCYC8Dtto18ScfoKAzQUo/s1600/moving_truck2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnN3ckW-JCDL6G-riKoU0ifKZ94vBtQJNYhL3F2rvYNfbgjfocwRiPRP-cIl5ON7xqldYnPTCseiubwgZHgJcxnnpY06GBX2zWPcJJVNmltH_28uXspJvDVVCCYC8Dtto18ScfoKAzQUo/s200/moving_truck2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">John Perkins is a name that many involved in the Christian community development movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His of his great contributions includes the Three R’s of Community Development: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>relocation, reconciliation and redistribution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There has long been a divide in practice for urban ministry and service in regards to the question of relocation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some believe that ministry and service can be provided in a "commuter context" or when the service provider is from a community other than the one they serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, those who adhere to Perkins and the Christian Community Development Association’s principles believe that relocation is vital to providing effective ministry and service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">During a short-term mission trip, my ministry team provided a children’s bible camp in Brooklyn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For years I interpreted my experience there in a negative way, but now, through the lens of relocation, I understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When my team, a group of white teens and young adults, tramped through a Brooklyn neighborhood towards the park where we would provide the camp, people in the street started to yell at us, “Go back home.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Originally, I felt angry that this community did not want our help, but now I realize that this was a community wounded by many experiences of short term service projects, there to help for a little while and then to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were tired of being abandoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I see what I will call “commuter services” in the same light as my experience; people coming to a community they don’t know, providing their services without fully committing to the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many flaws in this practice, starting with the idea that an outsider can determine the needs of a community without ever entering the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk85kc6tn1NTY6kUrmfKWgGfHHLuoqX1sYyqnliohD5pQD7moklHFLH7EnyiuGwcau-FK1c7nlSM8525ljWX7MPkWlkHaBFBKd1mtbXHJ2jVaxBIlxN5BXYERwMsob_WFNdo9B3oVqZc/s1600/welcome_mat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk85kc6tn1NTY6kUrmfKWgGfHHLuoqX1sYyqnliohD5pQD7moklHFLH7EnyiuGwcau-FK1c7nlSM8525ljWX7MPkWlkHaBFBKd1mtbXHJ2jVaxBIlxN5BXYERwMsob_WFNdo9B3oVqZc/s320/welcome_mat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Relocation is a scary word for anyone like me who is terrified of adapting to a new place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve lived in a variety of places throughout the last six years in rural, suburban and urban areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With every move, I have experienced the anxiety of “now what?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“How do I truly become a part of the community?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was at these times that I was most grateful for my understanding of the field of Urban Studies and its use of Anthropology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Judith Lingenfelter wrote a helpful article entitle, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Getting to Know your New City,</i> which highlights many insights that have helped me with relocation and to really become “a part” of the community. It is also helpful in properly introducing your new ministry or service to a community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Starting with the time you enter the community, here are some things to keep in mind: maintain a Learner-centered focus, recognizing the community member as your teacher, and participant observation (Lingenfelter).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these tips are aspects of Anthropology’s ethnographic method. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When entering a community, assumptions are dangerous: assumptions about the people, community dynamics, and community problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we engage communities within the context of our own assumptions, we are acting from a framework of ethnocentricity or seeing the world from just our own cultural context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are serious about effectively serving your community, you need to remove this mindset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the ethnographic method, you are an observer and learner in the community the only ideas you should develop are that established through observation and interactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your neighbors are the experts of the community. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When my husband and I first moved into our current community, we took the role of silent observer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched the neighbors interact, saw where the kids hung out in the community, saw who were people of authority in the community, and learned where community members would meet together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is participant observation: watching to identify the community routines and structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lingenfelter considers identifying important meeting places in the community a vital first step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After you identify meeting places, you can start to place yourself in situations to meet community members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my community, we soon found that the most important meeting place in the community was the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After living in the community for 3 months, the first snow storm came, and this is when my husband and I broke the silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to meet many of our neighbors in the street shoveling out our cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We moved into a new phase that I feel we are still meandering around, almost a year and half later: Interviewing or what I consider engaging the stories of the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Our community is made of a strong native presence, as many neighbors are older and have been in the community their entire lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did not take us long to figure out that these were key community members, so we engaged them about the community’s history, patterns, and changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Identifying a community’s key players is important to establish your legitimacy and identifying community needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your position in the community will not be recognized without legitimacy, and your ministry or service will not been as necessary or authentic if certain important players are not supportive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The support of these members give you legitimacy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In turn, you will be introduced to other community members, which will ultimately help you create an accurate picture of community dynamics and needs. Once you have accomplished these steps, you will be on your way to positive presence in the community.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What do you think about relocation? Are “commuter services” ever effective?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are some additional tips you would give someone getting to know a new community?</div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-33634906300553418362011-07-28T12:35:00.000-07:002011-07-28T12:35:17.516-07:00Coffin Homes: Living in 15 Square Feet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This week CNN covered a story on something of which I was unaware: Coffin Homes. “Hidden amid the multi-million dollar high-rise apartments and chic shopping malls of Hong Kong's urban centers are scores of tiny, unseen tenements -- some no bigger than coffins -- that many people call home… <b>Nicknamed coffin homes for their physical similarities, the 15-square-foot enclosure is just one incarnation of the city's distinctive low-income housing alternatives.</b> Others include the city's cage homes, which resemble livestock coops (<i><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/25/hongkong.coffin.homes/index.html?">Hong Kong’s Poorest Living in Coffin Homes</a></i>, CNN).” I challenge you to read this article and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/28/cage.homes/index.html">watch this video</a>, which includes a walkthrough of a coffin home. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0xbtB1Ukm2gFYuJfP-Ym4L93SL2D3hjuFF-fY3PAHUzBSsTaU6hR6y3M2FuT33Ww0is0naKd8eH-qDsVTXzT1XIkoDlHBPMUa-40AoWHd3-S9ElhfGitYYKknDILWa_AK_CpJMh0j9Q/s1600/Conffin+Homes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0xbtB1Ukm2gFYuJfP-Ym4L93SL2D3hjuFF-fY3PAHUzBSsTaU6hR6y3M2FuT33Ww0is0naKd8eH-qDsVTXzT1XIkoDlHBPMUa-40AoWHd3-S9ElhfGitYYKknDILWa_AK_CpJMh0j9Q/s320/Conffin+Homes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As a developed country and classified as an advanced economy, Hong Kong is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world. <b> </b>Despite these advances, a proportion of Hong Kong’s population are living in substandard housing; many who are productive citizens living off a substandard wage system. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Owned by private landlords, the government in Hong Kong takes a “hands off” approach, as tax payer’s money should not be used for commercial endeavors. While I see the government’s justification, part of me wonders whether renting conditions should be regulated. On top of the outrageous cost for some of these units (range of $150-$1,400 a month per unit), the conditions are unsafe, as was shown with a recent Hong Kong fire that killed several coffin home dwellers. Fire safety code violations are understandably common with these units. Without limits and rules, it appears that people will do anything to make a buck. <b>While many in democratic countries consider government regulation evil, how can we justify allowing people to impose evil on the displaced? </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For now, most Americans reading this will think, “Wow, glad I don’t live in Hong Kong.” But could this happen to us? According to CNN, the existence of these living situations are caused by the “perfect (urban) storm: a combination of skyrocketing real-estate prices and arguably the biggest wealth gap in Asia” (CNN). Considering the current economic conditions, real estate prices are skyrocketing, especially as the cost of living increases. In the New York Times, an article was published talking about the newest census data in regards to wealth. The conclusion: wealth disparities are continuing to grow. In fact, “The declines have led to the largest wealth disparities in the 25 years that the [census] bureau has been collecting the data, according to the report (<i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/us/26hispanics.html?_r=2&src=tp">Recession Study Finds Hispanics Hit the Hardest</a></i>, New York Times)”. So real estate is skyrocketing and wealth disparities are rising. Does this sound at all like the “perfect urban storm” to you? </span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some things to think about:</span></b><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hong Kong landlords consider providing coffin homes noble, as this provides an alternative to homelessness. What do you think of their justification? </span></b></li>
<li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How should this be handled in the United States, if landlords start renting out coffin homes here?</span></b></li>
<li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Should there be government standards on rented housing?</span> </b></li>
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</div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-49011617741477887962011-07-26T06:45:00.000-07:002011-07-26T06:49:50.960-07:00Incarceration: Are we committed to rehabilitation?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="mtm fbDocument">I did not ever meet someone who had served time in prison until my early 20s. I was lucky to not have any family members or close friends incarcerated, while going through my formidable years. While interning at a West Philadelphia non-profit, I first came into contact with and developed a friendship with someone who had been incarcerated. When I got to learn more about this individual, the choices he made leading to incarceration and the impact of his incarceration upon his family, I began to question the purpose of prison.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB5gFSY2AQV577gU6OdS3BrbvFQtSseWv6blFprY324EXQmPI-KVkfwPVvpWoUSL5fLY_4A5xWgaAgt7BUbLCENIzLrS6UGJysyMmJRKzSy0TsXfiKmx2u-yK1v6d4VbaGIhrQtChbC9M/s1600/britannica_prison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB5gFSY2AQV577gU6OdS3BrbvFQtSseWv6blFprY324EXQmPI-KVkfwPVvpWoUSL5fLY_4A5xWgaAgt7BUbLCENIzLrS6UGJysyMmJRKzSy0TsXfiKmx2u-yK1v6d4VbaGIhrQtChbC9M/s200/britannica_prison.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Prison serves many purposes for our society: retribution for violation of law, removing the “bad seeds” from society to insure safety, deterring the general population from criminal behavior, and rehabilitation. What do I consider the purpose of prison? What do you consider to be the purpose of prison? It is interesting how our society places great value upon the first three purposes over the last. <br />
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Often, I find that I will fall into society’s trap, listening to the messages through crime dramas, highly sensationalize media crime coverage, directing me to value a sense of safety over rehabilitation. These messages put little faith in individual transformation. When I fall in the trap, I find myself believing that prison is confine society’s "bad seeds" so that “good” people like me are safe. When I think of the high numbers of people incarcerated in the United States, which far succeeds other nations, it seems reasonable to believe that we are not fully committed to rehabilitation. This leads me to question, am I committed to rehabilitation?<br />
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The man I met is one proof that rehabilitation is possible, as he served his time in prison and did not return. For many in the United State’s prison system, approximately 40% (who will return to prison within three years of leaving), this is not the case (Pew Foundation's report: State of Recidivism). Recidivism is a large issue for our country, one that is starting to be more properly addressed within recent years. Recidivism occurs for two reasons: having committed a new crime or violation of supervision/parole. In reading the Pew Foundation’s study State of Recidivism, I noticed that the majority of recidivism cases occurred due to violation of parole. How does parole serve these individuals? I question whether prisoners are prepared in prison to meet the expectations of parole out of prison and if there should be more grace extended before parole violators are shipped back to prison. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO9_lTZRlzhKsY3qq9xwD65uWiFRt3tDDcM0oTxa-2uSP_5ounJplIgU05fXImpWUEe9-kR48H4ym6xWtB550-UWpoUxTk2o9o9D6n_w_Zb0QH_GpI-E5Up3oNAA5k9BuiSXkfO5VlzQ/s1600/prison-art1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO9_lTZRlzhKsY3qq9xwD65uWiFRt3tDDcM0oTxa-2uSP_5ounJplIgU05fXImpWUEe9-kR48H4ym6xWtB550-UWpoUxTk2o9o9D6n_w_Zb0QH_GpI-E5Up3oNAA5k9BuiSXkfO5VlzQ/s200/prison-art1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
When you look at Philadelphia’s prison population, the majority of prisoners there last year, had been charged with a minor drug offense, violated parole, or waiting trial. I can’t help but question if all of these people are so dangerous that they must be “locked up.” Are we using prison to hold people that really don’t need to be there? <br />
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Since starting to work with children whose parents have been imprisoned, I have been able to get a better look into the lives of prisoners, to see the challenges they and their family faces. Children who have a parent that was and is incarcerated are found to be more likely to be imprisoned when they are adults. Also, children of the incarcerated are far more likely to engage in risky behaviors and have lower grades in school. Have any of these children experienced these pains of separation in vain? <br />
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From my recent research, it looks as if many states and even the city of Philadelphia have made improvements in the corrections system such as using more parole sentencing for less dangerous offenders. Also, programs such as re-entry initiatives utilizing mentoring coupled with transitional services have helped to reduce recidivism rates. Most of the effective re-entry services are starting shortly after someone is incarcerated to provide services that reconcile relationships between the incarcerated and their family as well as preparing them for their return to the community. These services are what I consider the best methods of rehabilitation. <br />
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By providing an alternative lifestyle with healthy relationships as an option, I think this creates an incentive to change. Shouldn’t this be the goal, rather than holding someone in a cell for the rest of their lives? Plus, this is a more cost effective solution. Why do we still seem to value prison over rehabilitation services? How has incarceration affected you or your family? What is the purpose of prison? What does rehabilitation mean to you? What solutions seem best to you?</div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-3940716699928954732011-07-07T08:33:00.000-07:002011-07-07T08:38:19.137-07:00Success Determined by Where you Live?Recently, I watched an episode of the TV show “Numbers” that caused me to engage my understanding of sociological theory. This show features two main characters, an FBI agent and his mathematician brother, who collaborate in solving crime. In this particular episode, there was a computer researcher who had been murdered and the bothers were trying to figure out why and who did it. By the conclusion of the show, you find out the computer researcher had been developing a program, which would determine a person’s future success based upon their neighborhood of origin. This program was being marketed to government agencies for determination of which neighborhoods would receive funding and which would not. The antagonist’s motive for murder was to remove obstacles that would limit neighborhoods from equal access to resources. The basis of the computer program, implied that certain individuals are more worthy to receive resources based upon their neighborhood of origin, which stems from a belief that poor neighbors are filled with less capable people. It is interesting that the show did not conclude with a revelation that the antagonist motives portrayed the missing link for these communities… equal access and opportunity. <br />
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A framing paper published by the Urban Institute entitled “Understanding How Place Matters for Kids” touched upon these above mentioned concepts. “Children growing up in high-poverty neighborhoods, with extreme levels of racial and economic segregation and inadequate public services—police, schools, sanitation, grocery stores—are at risk for a range of negative outcomes, including poor physical and mental health, cognitive delays, risky sexual behavior, and delinquency” (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn 2000; Leventhal, Dupéré and Brooks-Gunn 2009; Sampson, Morenoff, and Gannon-Rowley 2002; Sampson et al. 2007). There is minimal policy that addresses the relationship between place and youth development, which has spurred the Urban Institute to begin its research on neighborhood-level factors as it interacts with youth development. This research premise is interesting, because it does not engage individuals within their smallest social institution of family or at an individual level. Instead this research seeks to investigate the connection between successes and the larger social environment of community. <br />
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This approaches reflects social disorganization theory, which identifies the characteristics of communities with high crime rates and draws on social control theory, basically stating the absence of particular “factors are said to reduce the ability or willingness of community residents to exercise effective social control, that is, to exercise direct control, provide young people with a stake in conformity, and socialize young people so that they condemn delinquency and develop self-control” (http://law.jrank.org/pages/818/Crime-Causation-Sociological-Theories-Social-disorganization-theory.html). The foundation of community organizing is to help community members find a stake in their community through relationships and empowerment. Social disorganization theory indicates that residents in these “at risk” neighborhoods are less likely to have ties to their neighbors and to care about their community. Community members must be invested in their communities, because without investment, community members become increasingly transient and detached. Like the Urban Institute, this causes me to ask, “How has this detachment effected youth within communities?” <br />
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I often find myself engaging older members of my own community on their options as to why the community “is not like it used to be.” When I probe, the biggest difference often is that neighbors do not interact with one another like they did in the past. This most directly has impacted youth, because there is less supervision of their activity in the community. In essence, when neighbors become detached, they feel less of a responsibility to help neighbors and offer the consistent supervision and accountability that youth need. In the past, neighbors often felt free to supervise and reprimand the community’s youth, because they felt a level of intimacy with the community’s parental figures. Given the lack of intimacy in neighborhoods, parents are more likely to reject this additional support. This begs to question who is helping youth socially develop and find investment in their physical community and future. As community organizing suggests, community members must be empowered to invest in their communities and change the things that cause cycles of negative behaviors. The same is true for youth! <br />
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What do you think about social disorganization theory? Do you see it as a cause of negative youth development? What are some solutions you feel passionate about?Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-63523279722130600902011-06-28T11:36:00.000-07:002011-06-28T11:42:14.589-07:00Hopeworks 'N Camden: Bringing Hope to Camden, NJ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The summer season brings all sorts of changes to the city including neighbors spending more time outside, water ice, swimming, and school is out. Unfortunately, the summer season has become associated with youth causing more trouble in the neighborhood. A recent phenomenon in Philadelphia has been youth forming flash mobs via internet organizing or spontaneity. On the news last night, the first report was about three flash mobs that had formed over the weekend throughout the city. One of those mobs was at a Sears on 69<sup>th</sup> Street in Upper Darby, just a few blocks from where I used to live. Increases in youth violence during the summer are a common complaint among neighborhoods, and I have even been a part of the complaining at times. One of the reporter’s comments that really hit home with me was, “Where is the adult supervision?” With decreases in government funding to youth programs, is has become more difficult for parents to insure supervision of their children through the summer months, but there are programs that offer hope for even these parents.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In New Jersey, <a href="http://www.hopeworks.org/">Hopeworks N’ Camden</a> has been providing youth programming and positive supervision for over 10 years. By offering after school, summer and even residential programming, Hopeworks seeks to “empower youth to identify and develop their DREAMS (Dynamic, Realizable Efforts to Attain and Maintain Success) and own their future.” Often youth spend the summer months letting their minds be numbed by Television and the internet or endangering their futures by acting out, but Hopeworks provides an excellent opportunity for youth to engage their minds and give themselves a great head start on their futures. Hopeworks’ mission is to: Expand learning opportunities available to youth and work together with youth to create their future. The heart of the program is technology training, which is provided in a safe, respectful and celebratory atmosphere. Technology training includes website design, geographic information services, computer networking and repair, and video. Hopeworks programs include Day Training, Hope through School, and CRIBS, an intentional community of young adults. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hopeworks was featured on local TV show, Perspective in New Jersey, and founder Father Jeff Putthoff along with two students influenced by Hopeworks shared about the organization and its impact on youth. Check out the video at<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJaR6UY86tc&feature=youtu.be"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJaR6UY86tc&feature=youtu.be</a>. Father Jeff was greatly motivated to begin Hopeworks by his desire to help young people see their potential and gain access to positive learning opportunities. Many young people are taught that they have no future, so it more likely for these youth to not concern themselves with the consequences of their actions. Father Jeff and the other Hopeworks staff like Alania Cronkright (MA in Urban Studies graduate) provide young people with both the support and opportunity to buy into their future. Young people need more caring adults in their lives like Father Jeff and Alania who willingly partner with parents to provide safe alternatives for youth during the summer and after school hours! Is this your passion? Let Eastern University's <a href="http://www.eastern.edu/urbanstudies">MA in Urban Studies</a> with a concentration in <a href="http://www.eastern.edu/academic/ccgps/ssc/urban/youth.html">Youth Leadership</a> help you develop the knowledge and skills to impact youth in your community. </div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-58208533978658256642011-06-24T09:19:00.000-07:002011-09-20T07:34:11.643-07:00Zero Tolerance: Models of Taking and Criminalization<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">No one could have anticipated that 1999 would be such a tumultuous year. As a teenager, I remember watching news coverage of the Columbine massacre. Not more than a few weeks after Columbine, my own school received a bomb threat and parents held their children at home for fear of the possible result. This one event, although not isolated, has changed the climate of schools forever. Being from a rural school, changes began happening in 1999 that were unheard of for our district: drug dog searches, police removing “dangerous” students, and random locker searches. When I came to Philadelphia and started working in schools around the city, I realized that what was abnormal for me was normal for urban youth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Advancement Project’s report, <a href="http://www.advancementproject.org/digital-library/publications/zero-tolerance-in-philadelphia-denying-educational-opportunities-and-cr">Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia: Denying Education Opportunities and creating a pathway to Prison</a>, indicates that increased security precautions in schools has not been helpful. The impact of Columbine was not only felt in my small town. “Schools around the nation began adopting harsh, unforgiving policies that emphasized the long-term exclusion of students violating school rules, and according to data collected, punishment for same behaviors are far more harsh currently than even a few years ago” (Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia, The Advancement Project). Fear of massive school violence has caused educators and administrators to take action through the implementation of these harsh punishments, but these decisions have negatively impacted things other than school violence. Expulsions have skyrocketed and so has dropout rates and arrest rates. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I feel that the most disheartening change in the school system has been increased reliance on police and law enforcement for disciplinary issues. “Within just a four year span, it became about two-and-a-half times more likely that police would be called for the same category of behavior” (Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia, the Advancement Project). In the past school counselors, school administration and even classroom teachers were called to address discipline. Given the relationship of these school personnel to students, they were in a position to more productively address behavior, getting at the root causes. Students should be given resources to face their own issues causing disruption and overcome. They should not be expected to independently reach these results through punishment. Overall, schools have begun to implement <u><b>models of taking</b></u> instead of <u><b>models of giving</b></u>. I consider models of taking to be: no second chances, imparting labels on students that follow them through the education ranks, implementing punishments that have negative long-term implications, and disabling students from making positive changes to their lives. On the other hand, I consider models of giving to be: student empowerment, giving student the tools and coping skills to succeed, addressing negative patterns proactively to prevent failure later in life, and encouraging students through the means of meaningful relationships with caring adults. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Point Blank: Philadelphia’s youth are being criminalized. Politicians, community members, religious leaders, and parents are crying, “Why are young people not the way they 'used' to be!” Have we considered that many youth have had negative encounters with a law enforcement office far earlier than those of the past? Have we considered that youth are now labeled as “trouble-makers” when, in the past, they would have been labeled as “kids being kids?” Part of the reason youth are viewed so negatively is school security teams are treating youth like street criminals instead of youth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">People within the criminal justice systems are far less likely to be trained in youth development and asset-based approaches than those in youth helping professionals. "Scared straight” tactics used for hardened criminals are being applied to youth. Interestingly enough, “Funds spent on school security are substantially more than what is spent on school nurses/health practitioners, nearly double the expenditures for parent and community support, and over three times as much as the amount spent on school psychologists” (Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia, The Advancement Project). I feel like the research has helped bring some of the missing puzzle pieces to the table. All in all, allocated funds indicate that we would rather develop students into incarcerated adults rather than productive citizens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Some recommendations by the Advancement Project are keenly relevant to the question for Philadelphia and urban districts of: “What now?” Their recommendations include:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Creating coalitions of community stakeholders to rewrite school discipline policies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Reallocated funding from security measures towards school helping professions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Implement evidence-based practices such as asset-based development</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Implementation of district-wide training programs for staff including security personnel on the negative consequences of zero tolerance<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Implement accountability structures</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Philadelphia Police Department</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Create public Reporting systems for school discipline data</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Do you have any recommendations? </span></div>
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Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-21468965456439217212011-06-21T06:48:00.000-07:002011-06-21T06:48:40.405-07:00A Voice from Joplin, MO by Katie Hargrove<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Written by Katie Hargrove, 2nd year student in the Youth Leadership concentration </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The initial shock of what has happened in Joplin has worn off now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The terrible impact of an EF-5 tornado destroying 30 percent of our city and killing over 150 people has been staggering at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even those not in the direct path of the storm have had to face the reality that in a few brief minutes our whole city was turned upside down and life will never be as it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Experts tell us that a deep depression will inevitably settle on the city, divorce rates will rise, and that citizens must begin to understand a “new normal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darkness desires to creep in and wreak havoc on lives already thrown off balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It lurks like a predator on the perimeter of our city, testing the boundaries to break in. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A brilliant light has hovered over our city though as the church comes into its own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Esther was called to her place as queen for such a time as the hour of the Israelites despair, so too the church has been building through God’s spirit for such a time as this in Joplin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emergency shelters, triage centers, and distribution points literally sprung up overnight as churches city-wide opened their doors to bring in the tired and the weary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FEMA officials say they have never seen a city respond in such a way to the needs of a crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The out-flowing of generosity from churches all over the nation has boldly placed Christ’s name at the forefront of our restoration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How appropriate it is that Christ, whose Word is the only true hope would be the rock that founds our restoration as a city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The darkness will come, but, as Lamentations 3:21-22 says, “this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has shown Himself faithful here even amidst despair in such radical ways that the hope we hold in Christ has been tangibly seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The perseverance and joy that Christians have held in their suffering, their response to this crisis, has been a testimony to the strength and truth of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Light can overcome even the greatest darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We continue to pray that as the sun rises each morning the light of Christ washes over our city in the same way restoring lives fully to Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-38645009322638650092011-06-16T08:26:00.000-07:002011-06-16T08:27:35.691-07:00Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery Chain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvORTCgJYeMnCrSipNpJY6rWDD_hD23VB_XZtTfSS08CGlT46D-QDSKrHB4aiuEDJIppf9Anv45jziuFOm5W7mww4WqL0ISpb5D4a45XgelqsG770Q2_NKG9pf9hX-EzIDOE8UVMKoDQc/s1600/chain-link.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvORTCgJYeMnCrSipNpJY6rWDD_hD23VB_XZtTfSS08CGlT46D-QDSKrHB4aiuEDJIppf9Anv45jziuFOm5W7mww4WqL0ISpb5D4a45XgelqsG770Q2_NKG9pf9hX-EzIDOE8UVMKoDQc/s200/chain-link.jpg" width="200" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Several weeks ago, CNN released the Headline: <i>Sheriff’s deputy, 2 others arrested in Arizona Human Trafficking Bust.</i> Deputy Alfedo Navarrette faces charges connected to human smuggling, money laundering and participating in a crime syndicate. Human smuggling? Human smuggling is connected to human trafficking. Human trafficking, as defined by the <span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/index.html">Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> is the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of person, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power, or a position of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation.” As a government official, Deputy Navarrette has exploited individuals upon the basis described above, primarily for the purpose of drug smuggling. There are<u> many more areas</u> of modern day slavery and human trafficking than prostitution. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a child, I remember shopping with a friend for new sneakers at a local shoe store. When my friend finally chose a pair she liked, her mother checked the inside marking, which said, “Made in China.” In a moment of outrage, her mother put the shoe down and told her to pick another shoe, because she was “not going to purchase a shoe made by child labor.” Being only 9 or 10 years old, the statement did not make much sense to me, but for some reason, this memory has stayed with me through many years. It is interesting that this mother knew about modern day slavery in a time of little to no awareness. I now understand the outrage she felt, especially at the way children, men and women are taken advantage of in their greatest moments of need. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most trafficking begins through the recruitment of those in poverty. In a recent Law and Order episode, trafficking in the United States was highlighted through the story of a homeless man who sent two of his children to work at a nearby farm. What this father did not know is his children were not used to work the fields (although this would violate labor laws as well), but the children were used as prostitutes. Although the Law and Order disclaimer reads that the story is fictional, it is a story told over and over again by people from around the world who were recruited into human trafficking for the promise of a better life. A report by the Protocol to Prevent Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons claims that “a conservative estimate of [human trafficking] puts the number of victims at any one time at 2.5 million. We also know that it affects every region of the world and generates tens of billions of dollars in profits for criminals each year.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many will read this figure and become angry at the traffickers. Unfortunately, many will read this figure and not even connect it to themselves. In MTV’s EXIT special: Sold, the narrator states, “we are all links in the human trafficking chain. Our demand for cheap products, labor and paid sex is the primary reason [people] are trafficked and exploited.” When we hear the statics we should become angry at ourselves, because our own materialism and self-serving desires create the system that makes human trafficking profitable. “The sectors most frequently documented are agriculture or horticulture, construction, garments and textiles under sweatshop conditions, catering and restaurants, domestic work, entertainment and the sex industry.” Consider for a moment: clothes that you are wearing, the food you brought for lunch, and the person cleaning your workplaces’ restroom. For the majority of us, one of more of these things have been produced or provided as a result of human trafficking. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now, I know the temptation is to fall in a pattern of defeat when you learn about this issue, as I have fell into this pattern myself. Lucky for those who want to support justice, there are people and tools being designed to help us grow in awareness and make better choices. One student in the <a href="http://www.eastern.edu/urbanstudies">Master of Arts in Urban Studies</a> program is an abolitionist in Canada who writes a great <a href="http://www.theundergroundrailroad.ca/oneabolitionist/">blog </a>highlighting issues surrounding human trafficking. She recently wrote a blog on <a href="http://www.theundergroundrailroad.ca/oneabolitionist/2011/05/organ-trafficking-her-heart-was-missing-features-al-jazeera-english.html">Organ Trafficking</a> that broadened my understanding even more. Also, </span><span style="font-size: small;">to help you make educated purchases</span><span style="font-size: small;">, <a href="http://free2work.org/">Free 2 Work</a> has created a smart phone app that provides a bar codes scanning tool, which rates products on production practices. If you are moved by this information, please continue to educated yourself, and pay attention to is going in all areas of human trafficking. Remove your link from the human trafficking and modern day slavery chain! </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-53488879429379437762011-05-25T13:04:00.000-07:002011-05-31T07:15:46.351-07:00The Arrest of "Uncle Joe" and bringing down La Costa Nostra<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This has been an exciting week for the FBI, as they have arrested a number of key Philadelphia mob figures. Among the arrested was Philadelphia Crime Family head, Joe “Uncle Joe” Ligambi. Until this past week, I would have thought that the mob was extinct, reserved only for resurrection through “Goodfellas” and “The God Father,” but boy was I wrong... and <span style="line-height: 115%;">naïve</span>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After digging deeper, I was surprised to discover Philadelphia’s long history with various mob groups but primarily the Italian “Las Costa Nostra” mob. Looking back to early 20<sup>th</sup> century the Philadelphia Crime Family first formed with the joining of several Italian-American street gangs. Mostly activities were limited to bootlegging, extortion, loansharking, and illegal gambling. Throughout the 20<sup>th</sup> century, the longest length of leadership was held by Angelo Bruno “Gentle Don” from 1959-1980. The second longest stent of leadership has been underneath of “Uncle Joe” from 2001 to present. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These two long standing family leadership had a great deal in common. Consider “Gentle Don.” He was known as “Gentle” because of his commitment to avoiding intense media and law enforcement scrutiny as well as outbursts of violence. Through the years, the Crime Family had become involved in narcotics dealing and drug trafficking, but “Gentle Don” forbid the family to engage in these activities. Commentary on his legacy always states that “Gentle Don” was in it for the money, not for the rampant violence (as portrayed in the media). In fact, avoiding narcotics and drug trafficking seemed to be a tactic to escape police scrutiny and “unnecessary violence.” If we look even today at “Uncle Joe,” he is noted to closely follow “Gentle Don’s” rule book. I can only attribute my naivety about the mob to “Uncle Joe’s” success in keeping out of the media headlines. What is with "Gentle Don" and "Uncle Joe" having standards? Has it really make a difference? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Contrast these two figure's leadership to that of John Stanfa and Joe “Skinny Joey” Merlino. After Nicky Scarfo’s leadership in the 1980s , Stanfa was elevated to acting boss, and soon after this, a faction within the Crime Family known as the “Young Turks” developed, which was lead by “Skinny Joey.” All this is to say that in the early-1990s, an all out war erupted between these two factions, which lasted for two years. Stanfa's end to leadership occurred in 1985 when he was sentenced to five consecutive life-time sentences for several murders. Obviously, the leadership during this time did not take heed of “Gentle Don’s” legacy of secrecy and discretion. Looking at the result (many deaths and assassinations) of this “Philadelphia Mob War,” I think it is obvious whether the standards of mob leadership matter. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Back to the current. On Monday, “Uncle Joe” was arrested with a </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">50-count indictment built around gambling and loan-sharking operations. He has not been indicted on any alleged acts of violence, and George Anastasia (local Inquirer Reporter/mob knowledge guru) has even said that “Uncle Joe” is only associated (never charged) with 3 murders, during his 10 years of leadership. The FBI has attempted to control the mob by removing the mob boss, but if you look at the mob succession of leadership, the mob is resilient enough to raise up new leadership quickly. With its highly organized nature, I am not sure that the FBI's tactic is truly effective. Instead, I find myself questioning, who will be the next boss? Will it be another “Skinny Joey” or “Uncle Joe?” Part of me wonders if it would be better to let the leadership “as is,” and focus upon bringing down the mob through other means. It seems the FBI's actions could potentially end in a reign of terror. The real question at hand is: What is the most effective way to bring down organized crime? While I do not have answers, I hope that some day the FBI will. </span></span></div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-70222142283139759622011-05-23T09:04:00.001-07:002011-05-23T09:04:42.299-07:00Community: Do you like yours?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" style="font-size: small;">Last night I had the great honor of hearing presentations by each of the MA in Urban Studies graduating students at our annual Research Forum. After the presentations had ended and I was driving home, my mind was on overload, to say the least. Over the next couple of months, I will be using the blog to highlight portions of these students' work, but for now, I will share one topic that has been churning in my mind: community. How does neighboring affect my view of community? Am I apart of a community of vulnerability? Each of these questions grew from two presentations at the Research Forum completed by Teagan Carnes and Rob Wetherington. I will not attempt to provide summaries of their work or give you a full-scope of their research findings, because I hope to provide this in future blogs. Instead, I will give you a taste of my stream of consciousness, as a result of work by these students. <br />
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How does neighboring affect my view of community? I grew up in a small rural agriculturally-based community in south central Pennsylvania. I find the assumptions of media and even those who reside in metropolitan areas about living in small farming communities very amusing, because I feel my experience those "Leave it to Beaver" type moments. In a popular country music song it says: Sitting on the porch drinking ice cold Cherry Coke...Where people pass by and you call them by their first name. Most Philadelphia natives, I have met, seem to picture my home community in the same terms as this song, that I knew everyone in town and would spend evenings with a tall glass of lemonade chatting with the neighbor. These are highly idealized views of rural America and were certainly not my experience. Instead, I did not know neighbors even in adjacent homes for most of my life. In fact, the gentleman living beside my parents today is still a stranger after seven years; we've never even said hello. My view of community instead reflected disconnection, and I thought it was normal not to have relationships with neighbors, until I left this community. There were and are no popular gathering places in the community, and the time I was at home, I literally was in my house. I lacked a connection and did not value the community in which I lived. Rob Wetherington talked about communities of isolation in his thesis presentation, which is an accurate description of my home community. To put it lightly, community was a geographical location for the majority of my life, and this reality made it very easy for me to leave once I turned eighteen. <br />
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Once I graduated college, my husband and I moved to the Beverly Hills section of Upper Darby. For those who are not familiar with the area, Upper Darby borders West Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek community. Upper Darby is a highly urbanized community, which demonstrates the elasticity of Philadelphia's urban borders. While Upper Darby was once an affluent community, it has experienced a large increase in drug activity and violence, in recent years, and even many locals considered the section in which I lived "rough." Moving into Upper Darby was not the experience I expected, after graduating from Eastern where I learned about real community. I assumed I would build relationships with my neighbors (especially being in a large apartment complex), baby sitting neighbor children, chumming it up in the stair well and spending time in local establishments. During the 11 months that my husband I lived in this community, we did not build one meaningful relationship with our neighbors. This was partly because many of the residents were transient, not staying long enough to really know, and partly because of feelings of safety. In the hallways of the apartment, there was a sense of tension when you would see a fellow resident that I cannot even explain, but I know was experienced by others just by observation. I rarely saw children in the hallways or outside, as there were no local parks and most days fights or altercations would happen on the street. There were no thriving restaurants or meeting places in the community considered "safe." Overall, I did not enjoy living in Upper Darby, feel safe there, or have a strong connection with the community, so at the first opportunity, my husband and I left. Teagan Carnes provided some insight into my experience in Upper Darby with her project examining variables impacting views of community and indicators of social transformation. She determined that the intimacy of relationships with neighbors positively impacted views of community. Given the lack of opportunity to have and intimacy in relationships with others, I better understand the level of general fear within the community. <br />
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Currently, my husband and I live in a small suburb of West Philadelphia, literally two miles from our former residency in Upper Darby, called Clifton Heights. Although considered a suburb, there are many of the same issues in Clifton Heights as in Philadelphia and Upper Darby with drugs and crime. What I find interesting is my sense of comfort and security in this community, despite the very visible presence of drug use and dealing along with vandalism and theft. I feel safer here than even the small rural community in which I grew up. The community is comprised of mostly people of Polish, Italian and Irish descent, but there is a changing demographic as there is increasing growth of the African American and Asian populations. There is a broad range of ages represented in the community as there is a large portion of young families with small children and an almost equally large portion of order citizens deeply rooted in the history of Clifton Heights. I think the most common denominator in the community is the class and income levels. All this is to say that I did not expect to find community here, as I knew many of my neighbors attribute neighborhood crime to the influx of racial diversity. Instead, I have found myself in a great place of opportunity to love my neighbors where they are and help them face the prejudices they hold. <br />
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Since moving into our house a year and a half ago, we have built strong relationships with all the neighbors living in adjacent houses, many whom have helped us in times of need. We also have growing relationships with dog owners in the community, since we adopted our dog last fall. My husband and I, together and apart, spend a great deal of time outside our home, walking and frequenting local businesses. Rob talked about communities of vulnerability where people practice full disclosure with one another. Although there is a lot of room for growth, I feel the amount of intimacy in conversations with my neighbors has great potential, as I have had discussions of faith and values, shared stories, and engaged some surprisingly open conversations with several neighbors. Potential also lies in the number of indicators of social transformation I see in my community, as most people feel safe, there is a number of recreation spaces with various corner parks, and there are meeting places where people often gather (especially in warm weather). Overall, I can say that my perception of community has changed since my last move, and I find great joy and pride in my community. I am very grateful for the research and conclusions drawn from both Teagan and Rob's theses, because I have gained new perspective and understanding. <br />
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How about you? How does neighboring affect your view of community? Are you apart of a community of vulnerability?</span></h6></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-13493646672303076942011-05-04T06:49:00.000-07:002011-05-04T06:49:32.624-07:00Charging the Future by Bethany Reith, Arts in Transformation Concentration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://ccgps.eastern.edu/urban-studies-blog.blog/2011/05/04/charging-the-future-by-bethany-reith-arts-in-trans">Charging the Future by Bethany Reith, Arts in Transformation Concentration</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPZBBGV37ss8-JMX_zOt07yL5xQ7sqQP5M4qJsyR7kFIDPaKA79t60uoRmVYLCdUkDNZVW_UtKomlwiK3wV_P3keY7ra6wdx003vqq9SBy91vhqEjPW8Rpp1LX8sStY-kCRoOd39KpK0/s1600/b-reiff_charging-the-future_575_3-26-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPZBBGV37ss8-JMX_zOt07yL5xQ7sqQP5M4qJsyR7kFIDPaKA79t60uoRmVYLCdUkDNZVW_UtKomlwiK3wV_P3keY7ra6wdx003vqq9SBy91vhqEjPW8Rpp1LX8sStY-kCRoOd39KpK0/s320/b-reiff_charging-the-future_575_3-26-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621534849308266003.post-36291592409986033822011-04-29T07:29:00.000-07:002011-04-29T07:29:49.433-07:00Children with No Second Chances<a href="http://ccgps.eastern.edu/urban-studies-blog.blog/2011/04/29/children-with-no-second-chances">Children with No Second Chances</a>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02226527279128679291noreply@blogger.com0