Urban Village 1

Running Head: Restoring the Urban Village

RESTORING THE URBAN VILLAGE: INTEGRATED PAPER

University of Missouri – Kansas City

School of Social Work

Submitted by: Fr. David Altschul

December 6, 2005
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Running Head: Restoring the Urban Village
RESTORING THE URBAN VILLAGE: INTEGRATED PAPER

In as much as significant relationships, whether a teacher, mentor, hero, aunt, are often

the key to resilience in a childhood survivor of domestic violence, the writer recommends the

creation of intentional communities in urban settings as a key aspect of prevention to the

generational cycle of abuse.

Utilizing current research and best practice models, recommendations are made for both

sides of the Troost Corridor area of Kansas City, Missouri, an area recognized for poverty and

violence, stemming from segregationist policies in Kansas City. However, for such an

intervention to be long-lasting, it must engage both sides of Troost, bridging the gap between

races and classes. The target area then is between Michigan Avenue on the east and Gillham

Road on the west; 23rd Street on the north, and 47th Street on the south. Intersecting this target

area, running north and south, is Troost Avenue, in the recent past referred to as Kansas City’s

“Berlin Wall,” in reference to it being a racial dividing line (Bodine, 1988, p. 137).

The Current Problem

Research has indicated poverty as a consistent risk factor correlated with domestic

violence (Wiehe, 1996, p. 57; Karr-Morse & Wiley, 1997, p. 146; Miller, 1999; Barnett, Miller-

Perrin, & Perrin, 2005, pp. 77-78). Resilience in those that transcend this risk factor is often due

to several protective factors, not the least of which is social connection or participation in a sense

of community (Saleeby, 1996; Karr-Morse & Wiley, 1997, pp. 146, 258; Schriver, 2004; Barnett,

et al, 2005, p. 78).

Kansas City, Missouri has been known as a city of “hyper-segregation” (Gotham, 2002,

p. 13). Gotham (2002) and Schirmer (2002) point out that, as a result of segregation emerging

from real estate transactions and school board policies, Troost Avenue became the racial dividing
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line of the city. The result was disproportionate poverty and the ensuing breakdown of

community along the east side of the Troost Corridor (City Planning, 2004).

The state of Missouri saw 49 homicides in 2004 related to Domestic Violence. All of

these were known relationships (Missouri Government, 2004). In the Central Patrol Division of

Kansas City, Missouri, which includes the Troost Corridor, between 2004 and 2005, during the

2nd quarter of the year there was a 55% increase in homicides, a 4% increase in rape, an 8%

increase in aggravated assault, and a 3% increase in non-aggravated assault (Central Patrol,

2005).

In the recent past, interventions have tended to be more punitive than preventive (Barnett,

et al., 2005, p.382). A desperate need then exists to develop integrated plans that engage at-risk

youths with relational support to break generational cycles of poverty and violence.

Demographic Analysis

From the census taken in the year 2000, significant data was collected. The results

directly shed light on the target area under consideration. The median age for both sides of Troost

is 33.3 years. On the east side of Troost, 42% are between the ages of 25 and 54; and on the west

side, 53.3% are in that age range. On the east side of Troost, school age children make up 22.9%

of the population, while only 14.3% comprise that on the west side. On the east side of Troost,

26.3% are households with someone elderly living with them; yet, on the west side, only 9.6%

have an elderly householder (City Planning, 2004).

The sizes of households also differ significantly. On the east side of Troost, 41.4% are

single households, contrasted with 50.7% on the west side. On the east side, 21.8% have

households of 4 or more, while on the west side, only 10.7% have larger households. The east

side then has a much wider range of ages dispersed throughout the households. In addition,
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households with an extended family are more likely. 65.1% of the population on the west side of

Troost are considered non-family households, compared with 47.4% on the east side (City

Planning, 2004).

Analyzing gender reveals 48.1% are male, and 51.9% are female on the east side of

Troost; while 52.8% are male, and 47.2% are female on the west side. The west side is more

likely to have a single, middle-age male in the household (City Planning, 2004).

Considering the socio-economic factors in the area under consideration, we find that

28.6% are living in poverty on the east side of Troost, compared with 24.1% on the west.

$19,982 is the median income for those east of Troost (which is 43.1% of the Metropolitan area

median); whereas, $25,605 is the median income for those west of Troost (which is 55.3% of the

Metropolitan area median). For those living east of Troost, 36.1% have no High School diploma,

compared with 20.1% on the west side of Troost. In addition, 8.6% of those living on the east

side have a bachelors degree or higher, whereas 29.9% of those living on the west side have a

higher degree (City Planning, 2004).

In the area under consideration the most visible effects of the segregationist legacy of

Troost Avenue are found in the disparity of income and education. Given the risk factors of

poverty and social isolation for domestic violence, creative interventions are needed to reverse

these trends.

Current Best Practices

After quantitative research demonstrated the dissolution of community in America, as

recorded in the book Bowling Alone (Putnam, 2000); Robert Putnam (2003), and a team of

researchers set out to discover examples of social capital and community in the United States in

the later book, Better Together (Putnam, Feldstein, & Cohen, 2003). One example was found in
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the city of Philadelphia, where alienated youth were linked with elderly people for tutoring and

mentoring after school (Putnam, et al, 2003). Putnam and his research team (2003) discovered a

sense of community and connectedness, enriching the “old heads” (2003, p. 189), and

empowering the young people, many of whom had been discouraged with their opportunities. As

their interactive website for ongoing examples of social capital states:

Every week at the racially integrated Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School in

North Philadelphia, ten Experience Corps volunteers, mostly women, all retired, ranging
in age from fifty-something to their seventies and eighties are helping to raise the
ambitions and improve the skills of kids from impoverished backgrounds. Each volunteer
(many from minority backgrounds themselves) commits fifteen hours a week to the
school, tutoring four to six children three times a week. The program not only brings
many different kinds of benefits to the students, it builds community among the
volunteers and deploys them strategically in order to foster a sense of mission and
magnify their individual impact (Experience Corps, 2005).

The authors distinguish between “bonding” social capital and “bridging” social capital

(Social Capital, 2005). By bonding social capital, the researchers refer to the creation of close

bonded relationships, with which one shares very similar interests or characteristics. As a result,

they tend to be homogeneous.

By bridging social capital, on the other hand, they refer to the creation of community and

connection in a diverse society. These tend to be heterogeneous. As a result, they are more

difficult to build (Social Capital, 2005).

Other examples of building social capital in Better Together are the Dudley Street

Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) in Boston, Massachusetts. Residents in a blighted neighborhood

gathered together at all levels rebuilding an “urban village” with the slogan “Development

without displacement” (Putnam, et al, 2003, p. 88). They were able to take the urban renewal

political tool of eminent domain and claim it for themselves as a neighborhood group. As a
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result, DSNI ended up owning the blighted land and controlling their future development.

(Putnam, et al, 2003).

Another example is the Do Something movement that emerged from Waupun, Wisconsin.

Sixth-graders gathered to set their own social actions. It resulted in a national movement of

young people learning community, commitment, and creativity (Putnam, et al, 2003).

Perhaps the key difference between programs that work and those that have been well-

intentioned, but failed in the past, is synergy. Lisbeth B. Schorr (1998) of Harvard found that

successful community building combines “action in the economic, service, education, physical

development, and community-building domains” (p. 360). She gives many examples of

programs across the country that are succeeding because they are multi-dimensional, combining

diverse interventions in a coordinated purpose. “No single strand of intervention can be counted

on to produce significant results for populations in high-risk circumstances” (Schorr, 1998, p.

319).

Recommended Intervention

In May of 2005, a group of residents, business owners, artists, and musicians gathered on

the corner of 31st Street and Troost Avenue to celebrate the first Troost Avenue Festival (King,

2005). In the newsletter for KC Harmony, a local not-for-profit emphasizing diverse community,

they spoke of a “coffee house” with ten areas of concern (Harmony, 2005, p. 4). The ten areas

represented a synergistic approach to community solutions.

In addition to music, dancing, food, displays by neighborhood associations, faith

groups, city services and local artists, a “coffee-house” will be active with dialogue
around ten areas of concern – art, community, communications, education, environment,
health, justice, resources, science and spirituality (Harmony, 2005).

The writer, as one of the planners of the Troost Avenue Festival, proposes to use this

approach as a spring board for the community intervention. Given the need for creation of
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supportive relationships in shoring up resiliency in those at risk for violence, the following are

suggested:

• Arts: a full-scale arts development program, especially geared for at-risk youth. This

would include skilled sculptors, painters, fashion designers, musicians, actors and

actresses, film producers, and dancers providing their talents to ignite the talent in local

children and adolescents. This would be a collaborative effort between Chameleon Arts

Center at 24th and Tracy Avenue, Operation Breakthrough (a large day-care center), and

the Creative Mind Community Center at 31st and Troost Avenue.

• Community Centers: this would involve linking the efforts of the Boys and Girls Club at

39th and Troost Avenue, De La Salle Alternative Education at 38th and Forest Avenue, and

the Creative Mind Community Center. Indoor sports are available at the Boys and Girls

Club; a printing company is part of the De La Salle Alternative School; a 160 seat theater

is located at 31st and Troost, which could be used for drama productions, films, and music

presentations.

• Entrepreneur Development: Based on the belief that each person has innate strengths,

capacities, and talents, encouragement of individual entrepreneurs will take place within

an economic cooperative environment. Inspired by the Mondragon Cooperative

movement in Spain, efforts are currently underway to link local economic development to

a wider sense of collective good for the community (Lotz & MacIntyre, 2003).

• Mentoring: Where cultivating the arts or participating in sports could draw in many

young people, it would also provide an opportunity to get connected to mentors. As was

shown in the Experience Corps in Philadelphia (Putnam, et al, 2003), the relational

bonding does more than help at-risk youths. It also renews those participating.
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• Parenting classes: By collaborating with Operation Breakthrough, many additional

services can be provided for young parents, including parenting classes, pre-natal care,

stress and anger management, conflict resolution, and addiction services.

• Tutoring: Whereas mentoring would focus on life-skills, tutoring would especially focus

on the educational needs of area youths. At the 31st and Troost Avenue location,

collaboration would occur with TYCOR Community Development Corporation. Efforts

are currently underway to provide an extensive computer lab for area youths.

• Therapy: While significant emphasis will be placed on positive, community building

efforts, extra support will be provided in terms of individual, family and group therapy.

Special attention will be placed on stress related issues and solution focused treatment.

Application of Intervention to Problem

In a study conducted by Reed-Victor and Stronge (2002) with homeless youths, they

found that resilience was not only strengthened through the individual’s temperament, but also

through environmental protective buffers. In addition to strengthening families, they found that

enhancing children’s interests and talents were an aspect. Furthermore, they noted that children’s

interactions with “teachers, counselors, mentors, older children and youth, elders and other adults

within schools, neighborhoods, community programs and faith-based organizations” contributed

to their development of resiliency (Reed-Victor & Stronge, 2002, pp. 161-162). This confirmed

earlier studies on resilience and environmental support by Werner (1984, 1986), Garmezy, et al.

(1984), Bolig and Weddle (1988), Beardslee and Podorefsky (1988), and Dugan and Coles

(1989) which supported role models as protective buffers for children at-risk (as cited in Rak and

Patterson, 1996). This of course directly applies to the recommended interventions for arts

development, mentoring, and collaborative efforts among community centers.

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In homes where multi-generations dwell together, Chase-Lansdale, Brooks-Gunn, and

Zamsky (1994) found that younger mothers benefit more from living with their mothers than

older mothers. The older the mother living with their mother or grandmother increased the level

of tension and incidents of conflict within the home (Chase-Lansdale, Brooks-Gunn, & Zamsky,

1994). Given the larger family size on the east side of Troost Avenue, this is a risk that also needs

to be addressed. Again, the buffer of community and outside relational connection is indicated.

However, Todd and Worell (2000) found in their exploratory study of ten low-income

African-American women that social interaction alone is not necessarily a protective buffer or an

encouragement to resilience. In reference to an earlier study by Rook (1984) they also found that

“problematic social interactions had a stronger impact on well-being than supportive

interactions” (as cited in Todd and Worell, 2000, p. 120). Their recommendation directly relates

to this recommended intervention.

The need then is to find each other. By enabling both sides of Troost Avenue all aspects

of the local community can engage with and support one another. Sources of support and

affirmation from both sides can experience collective wisdom and experience. The combining of

various kinds of economics, class, race, and paradigms, if brought together with a positive shared

purpose, can achieve far more than individuals, families, or isolated groups disconnected from

one another (Schorr, 1998).

Focusing on urban African-American adolescents in another exploratory study, Miller

(1999) found that a positive, shared racial identity was another buffer that enabled resilience and

positive self-image to be strengthened. The current trend to gather in gangs can be seen as one

end of a continuum in this natural tendency. Providing safer and personally engaging activities,
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like varied arts, sports, or educational programs, as designed in this program, would enable this

to happen.

In developing an interactive, multi-systemic sense of community, it has been emphasized

that synergy is a key. In the field of Social Work, it has commonly been observed that the

dominance of a medical model has tended to see the individual client more in terms of a disease

than as a person. In evaluating health care at the time of death, Moller (2005) emphasized that

there must be appreciation for the cultural context of the person at the time of death, especially

for the “urban, dying poor” (p. 18). He further reminds the health care community that dying is

essentially a community event. “A pivotal place to summon up the once regular custom of

supporting individuals and families throughout dying, into death, and onto bereavement is in

faith communities” (Moller, 2005, p. 19). Not that he recommends exclusively faith

communities, but rather he calls health care workers to “hazard beyond the mainstream” and get

to know the individuals and families they serve (p.19). This of course reflects the very synergy

that is essential to the success of this program – the working together of the many parts for the

common good.

Evaluation Plan

Each aspect of the intervention will be provided with separate evaluations. This will be a

protection to the community in terms of accountability, a protection to the clients in terms of

quality of service, and an ongoing challenge to grow in constantly changing times.

All of the interventions will be evaluated with client satisfaction surveys, with open-

ended questions for comments and suggestions. The results will be published in an accessible

Troost Community newsletter so that participants can be aware of common concerns and

successes.
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In addition, an immediate community wide random-sample survey is needed to establish

a baseline of current demographics; belief systems; attitudes about violence, race, gender, sexual

orientation, and diverse cultures; points of common interest and value, and flash points of

conflict that need to be addressed. Every two years, for the next ten years, a similar survey needs

to be taken to evaluate the longitudinal impact of these programs and community development.

The results of therapeutic interventions can be evaluated by single-case studies, supported

by self-reports and goal achievement scaling. While not a measure of the internal motivation of a

client, it will provide assurance of competent clinical services.

Retention and Recruitment of Clients

Initial recruitment of clients will be taking place through door to door communication by

means of brochures. These will invite potential participants to weekly community meetings

located at 31st and Troost Avenue, weekly films and discussions, weekly sports events at the Boys

and Girls Clubs, and quarterly community festivals, similar to the Troost Avenue Festival.

At each of these events, other opportunities to get involved and participate will be

explained. Sustained and consistent energy is essential to create the momentum necessary to

reach a “tipping-point” for community engagement (Gladwell, 2002).

Funding Plans

Various grants are initially available for such an intervention. Due to the innovative

nature of the proposal, the Kauffman Foundation will be solicited, who are especially interested

in entrepreneurial efforts. Allstate Foundation has made a commitment to safer neighborhoods.

This would also be an initial source worth pursuing. The Francis Family Foundation is interested

in life-long learning, with a special emphasis on the development of arts and culture. This would

be an ideal funder consistent with the purpose of this intervention. The State of Missouri and the
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city of Kansas City, Missouri would be invited to participate through a Community Block

Development Grant (CBDG).

During the initial period of igniting these community activities with these resources,

efforts would be directed toward building a significant pool of volunteers for all of the various

aspects of the systemic coordination of these efforts. Collaborators would be sought from all ten

of the areas listed in the Troost Avenue Festival “coffee house” on the street.

In reference to funding, the Mondragon concept is especially intriguing. In Spain,

Mondragon Cooperatives were formed to empower the Basque people in opposition to fascism

under Franco. Such brilliance and power has emerged that after 50 years, 150 cooperatives have

been formed with few failures. The collective holdings cause this to be the tenth largest private

firm in Spain, with $14.6 Billion in total assets and over 66,000 worker/owners. 70% of their

profits go to individual capital accounts for salaries, dividends and retirement. 20% of their

profits are invested back into the companies for training and marketing. The remaining 10% is

invested in the local community for development, growth and meeting of needs. The average

ratio of employer to worker’s wages is 6 to 1. This is to be contrasted with the employer/worker

ratio of 600 to 1 for the average CEO in America.

The key concept behind this is that quality community development leads to quality

economic development (MacLeod, 1997; Lorenzo, 2000; Cheney, 2001; Clark, 2003). This of

course directly relates to the economic aspect of ongoing community development. The

emergence of creative, entrepreneurial initiatives will be developed to create a sense of cross-

cultural, cross-class, and cross-Troost sense of ownership.

Conclusion
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The diversity of such an intervention is essential due to the complexity of the problems

that are being addressed. Due to the interconnectedness of the risk factors and vulnerable points

where violence can occur, a concerted, synergistic initiative is essential. Although therapy cannot

undo the traumatic events that have occurred in the history of an individual, family or

neighborhood, a sustained movement toward community can provide a buffer for resilience in

many victims of violence, poverty, abuse, and discrimination.

All that is necessary for this to happen is a shared ethic, a shared sense of valuing human

beings and life itself. Gandhi and King are gigantic 20th century examples of the contagious non-

violent power of such synergy.

In these times, rather than a giant, we need the example of collective effort drawn from

the ant and the bee. Martin Luther King (1968) put it well when he said, “True integration will be

achieved by true neighbors who are willingly obedient to unenforceable obligations” (as cited by

Haberman, 1972).
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