Box 15, Folder 2, Document 31

Box 15, Folder 2, Document 31

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

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