Scripto
Transcription
C.
Memorandum
TO :
Date:
November 17, 1966
Paul :1. 'lvisaker
Proj ect/No. :
Q\ ·
Ezr
- · re ·rant z
Subject: Area of emphasis f or _1\fhi t e House
Task Force on the Ci t y
In tryi ng to \ r ite a l et t er in response to your reques t at t he fi r s t tas k f or ce
meeting , I - ve 'ecome i mpress ed by t hee tent t o whic the maj ority of the problems
tat ,e tal · about today have be r evi wed over and over again in t he past. On
mos t of thes e I am r elatively inexperienced , and rathe_ t han t r ying t o s et out a
gra .d f rar.iewoT. on al l oft e proble. s that we shou l d t ry t o deal with , I would like
to co c nt te o. o, pa ti cul ar area whi ch I feel very str ongly about .
T·.e Federal GoverTu~ent spons o: s a great deal of research i n city pr oblems , s ome of
it a cade~ic, and the bul · of it practical . Neither benef its substanti al ly from t he
other . ~- eor i cal study o= t he city conc e. t ates various l y on urban growth and f or m,
soci al ecology, or the plani ng process, , aking litt l e cont r i bution to t he unders t andi ng of action pol i c ies . Proj ects are deve l oped on an ad hoc basis to meet a comproise a~o .g the exp essed eeds of t hei mor e voca l constituent s ; the out come i s
fre uently wide of t he first objective and t here i s seldom any attempt to show how it
got t .ere . Te z a Le o co tro led experim nt s i n t he f ield and l ittle cumulat i on of
evide ce .
4
Performance in both the academic and pr actical area s of urban s t udies could be
improved by p::-ov::.ding a bridge bet ween the t wo ki nds of work . I sugges t that a
portion--pos ibly 2%- 5%- - of eve_y Feder al progra directly or remot ely aff ect ing
t he city be cornm~tted for exp rimental work , and that thes e experi ment s be conducted
under t. e diTect·on of an interl ocking body whi ch wou l d repres ent and s erve all the
affett ed Federal agenc ies, State and local ofx icials where appr opriate and repre sent atives of industry , labor and the academi c communi t y . In addition to performing
( 1) res arch and (2) experi ent al projects, thi s body could:
·
(3) pTovide policy coordination between agencies,
(4) serve s a c learing hous e f or information on regu lar and exp erimental
programs of the linki ng agencies, and for consulting services i n r esearch
and planning ,
(5) direct cont act research fo r other publ ic and non-prof it bodies .
By:
120 Broadway
San Franc isco, Ca li fo rnia 94111
Phone 415 434 3830
�Page two
These _pe::i .1 e .ta l progrc:.1s Nould :. eviell the effect of possible changes in
codes, ~ or practices , ma:ket organizat i o and many other aspects of our work
in c.:.ties Khich affect cost and erJ..or-1ance of our physica l structures . We
would equa _ly be co .cer .ed with t he relation or people t o one another , t· ,e
i .troduct·on of social s ervices, and the development of nei ghborhoods . By
structu ing the -- eri : ental prog·ams, i t should be poss ible to develop a data
base which wou d enable future decis.:.ons to be made on major programs for the
city on bctte .:.. fo _ ation t han we ave today .
Givei. sue a means of coordina·~ion, Federally sponsored urban studies could
be st uctured .:.n a planned, cu ulative s equence, co. tribute reliable experimental
evide ce, ru~ p~ovide a sound bridge between a cademic and practical sttidy in the
fie d .
I hope that
a1.
.ot stressing a point of view on a single subject too strongly
fo _ t .e first go- r ou d .
Ezra Ehre ·rantz
�
Memorandum
TO :
Date:
November 17, 1966
Paul :1. 'lvisaker
Proj ect/No. :
Q\ ·
Ezr
- · re ·rant z
Subject: Area of emphasis f or _1\fhi t e House
Task Force on the Ci t y
In tryi ng to \ r ite a l et t er in response to your reques t at t he fi r s t tas k f or ce
meeting , I - ve 'ecome i mpress ed by t hee tent t o whic the maj ority of the problems
tat ,e tal · about today have be r evi wed over and over again in t he past. On
mos t of thes e I am r elatively inexperienced , and rathe_ t han t r ying t o s et out a
gra .d f rar.iewoT. on al l oft e proble. s that we shou l d t ry t o deal with , I would like
to co c nt te o. o, pa ti cul ar area whi ch I feel very str ongly about .
T·.e Federal GoverTu~ent spons o: s a great deal of research i n city pr oblems , s ome of
it a cade~ic, and the bul · of it practical . Neither benef its substanti al ly from t he
other . ~- eor i cal study o= t he city conc e. t ates various l y on urban growth and f or m,
soci al ecology, or the plani ng process, , aking litt l e cont r i bution to t he unders t andi ng of action pol i c ies . Proj ects are deve l oped on an ad hoc basis to meet a comproise a~o .g the exp essed eeds of t hei mor e voca l constituent s ; the out come i s
fre uently wide of t he first objective and t here i s seldom any attempt to show how it
got t .ere . Te z a Le o co tro led experim nt s i n t he f ield and l ittle cumulat i on of
evide ce .
4
Performance in both the academic and pr actical area s of urban s t udies could be
improved by p::-ov::.ding a bridge bet ween the t wo ki nds of work . I sugges t that a
portion--pos ibly 2%- 5%- - of eve_y Feder al progra directly or remot ely aff ect ing
t he city be cornm~tted for exp rimental work , and that thes e experi ment s be conducted
under t. e diTect·on of an interl ocking body whi ch wou l d repres ent and s erve all the
affett ed Federal agenc ies, State and local ofx icials where appr opriate and repre sent atives of industry , labor and the academi c communi t y . In addition to performing
( 1) res arch and (2) experi ent al projects, thi s body could:
·
(3) pTovide policy coordination between agencies,
(4) serve s a c learing hous e f or information on regu lar and exp erimental
programs of the linki ng agencies, and for consulting services i n r esearch
and planning ,
(5) direct cont act research fo r other publ ic and non-prof it bodies .
By:
120 Broadway
San Franc isco, Ca li fo rnia 94111
Phone 415 434 3830
�Page two
These _pe::i .1 e .ta l progrc:.1s Nould :. eviell the effect of possible changes in
codes, ~ or practices , ma:ket organizat i o and many other aspects of our work
in c.:.ties Khich affect cost and erJ..or-1ance of our physica l structures . We
would equa _ly be co .cer .ed with t he relation or people t o one another , t· ,e
i .troduct·on of social s ervices, and the development of nei ghborhoods . By
structu ing the -- eri : ental prog·ams, i t should be poss ible to develop a data
base which wou d enable future decis.:.ons to be made on major programs for the
city on bctte .:.. fo _ ation t han we ave today .
Givei. sue a means of coordina·~ion, Federally sponsored urban studies could
be st uctured .:.n a planned, cu ulative s equence, co. tribute reliable experimental
evide ce, ru~ p~ovide a sound bridge between a cademic and practical sttidy in the
fie d .
I hope that
a1.
.ot stressing a point of view on a single subject too strongly
fo _ t .e first go- r ou d .
Ezra Ehre ·rantz
�