1972 J NEWS IN REVIEW 3 13

Citizen Action . . . . . Kim Taylor, Editor

Hartford Process Proposes Changes

Two-Phase Revitalization Is Initial Recommendation

P L A N S of the Greater Hartford Process to remake and revitalize the 29-town

Capitol Region of Connecticut were re- cently unveiled in a series of preliminary reports now being examined by govern- ment officials and community leaders. The reports have produced major proposals which are expected to be revised before a comprehensive report is issued.

The Greater Hartford Process, a pri- vately financed, nonprofit organization (see the REVIEW, March 1971, page 170), financed the two-year study with $6 million contributed by 27 major busi- nesses and industries in the region which organized the Greater Hartford Cor- poration. The reports include economic development, housing, health, social and recreation services, transportation, law and justice, learning, and tax and munici- pal finance.

Perhaps the most important recom- mendation was to renovate and rebuild Hartford over the next 15 to 20 years a t an estimated cost of $800 million. I t would be a joint public-private enterprise and would be undertaken in two phases. The first phase would cover half of the Hart- ford area, consisting of 40 percent of the population and 75 percent of its commer- cial base. The area includes the down- town section and the north end, which is inhabited heavily by black and Puerto Rican populations. It calls for the con- struction of 6,500 units of new housing, 10,000 rehabilitated units and 9,350 "con- served" units. Also proposed is the con- struction of new elementary schools, revitalization of existing parks, creation

of new recreational areas, and reconstruc- tion of the downtown area by doubling the present hotel and retail space and build- ing new restaurants. The second phase would involve the southern and western sections of the city, containing mostly old apartment houses.

All of the planned developments would contain housing for low, moderate, middle and high-income groups. Some social and recreational facilities, including health centers and libraries, would be built in each neighborhood; each would also be surrounded by parks and greenbelts.

Numerous regionwide projects are pro- posed to eliminate duplication and frag- mentation of services among the towns, An important endeavor would be the creation of a mass transit system under the jurisdiction of a regional mass transit authority with the power of eminent do- main.

The first phase of the recommendations would require an initial investment of about $600 million from the private sector and $200 million from the federal govern- ment, the state and the city. I t was suggested that some financing be done through municipal bonds for such projects as road construction, water and sewer systems, and school construction.

Proposals are now being studied and analyzed; they must be approved by leaders in almost every town in the region. In addition any projects finally agreed on must be voted on by many municipal agencies, from city councils to zoning boards, industrial commissions and boards of education.

Even if the changes envisioned by plan- ners in Hartford Process are too vast to be put into effect simultaneously, the studies have already had an impact on the region. Businessmen have pledged finan- cial support of up to $1 million annually for the next seven years to continue the

314 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW

work of Hartford Process. The Greater Hartford Corporation will contribute the necessary funds until the Greater Hartford Development Corporation (DevCo), es- tablished along with Great Hartford Process is financially able to support Hartford Process.

Officials from the departments of Hous- ing and Urban Development, and Health, Education and Welfare, have pledged planning and implementation assistance : it is expected that money will be forth- coming as well as technical aid.

The Greater Hartford Process set up a network of relationships among federal, state and municipal officials, and among business and community civic leaders, in formulating its preliminary reports. One area seems to have been neglected, how- ever-citizen participation in the early planning stages. Initial plans called for the establishment of a people’s forum or citizens’ council along with Hartford Process and DevCo. The citizens’ council would have provided ordinary residents of the Hartford region with a platform from which their voices could be heard and their influence felt. Plans for the council have never materialized, however, and Hart- ford Process must now seek other means by which to gain citizen participation and, ultimately, citizen support.

ROSALINE LEVENSON Institute of Public Service University of Connecticut

Goals Study Surveys Community Planning

Citizen participation has become an in- tegral and often required part of com- munity planning. The degree of commit- ment to participation ranges from those who believe that community criticism must wait until plans are formed to those who believe that citizens have a right to articu- late their wishes in the initial stages.

Concurrent with the dissension over citizen involvement many cities have

formed community goals groups. They range from non-official volunteer boards to popularly elected official agencies. The area development department of the Bank of America, with the assistance of the Institute of Local Self-Government in Berkeley, has surveyed such groups in Refining Community Goals: Survey oj California Citizen Goals Programs. The report states that no two communitier have the s a w program, that each dis- covered its own goals and formed a strategy.

Summarized according to their func- tional similarities, the programs have usually begun with a small group ap- pointed by a city official and have ex- panded as the group considered cost, appointed committees and study groups for research, and represented or surveyed every community group.

The second step was to hear local needs and formulate concrete goals. Since the committees were usually novice groups, they depended on the city government and officials for some input. Many call on business groups, others hired planning consultants and some called on teachers and students from local universities and schools. Once goals had been voiced the committee assumed responsibility for mediating conflicts among local groups, or raising the level of controversy (the report states that too much consensus in- dicated to many councils that research had avoided important issues and public opinion had been surveyed too superfi- cially). In either case the goals committee found it essential to maintain the interest of all community groups, whether or not their suggestions or issues became part of the formal goals program, for help in the implementation stages.

Perhaps the most difficult part of all the goals committees’ undertakings has been advancing beyond the paper stage. Trans- lating the wishes of the community into programs of workable size depends on the economic and social costs, the availability

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of funds, official opinion of and position toward the goals and the counterpart projects, the life of the goals committee and how well the goals have met the changes that occur over the period of time for which they were planned.

Housing Redevelopment Plan Completed by Private Effort

Residents of Summit, New Jersey, ini- tiated and privately supported a housing redevelopment program. Churches, busi- nesses and local government groups col- lected funds and marshalled resources to clear slums and build a new housing complex. With minimum dependence on government planning, the residents have completed the first $1.6-million project.

In 1967 a housing authority was formed. The city council agreed that the town government should commit itself to elimi- nating substandard housing and preventing the spread of slums and blight. In con- junction with the housing authority pro- ject the council promised that if federal funds for the redevelopment project were not received from H U D it would loan the necessary funds, matching private con- tributions.

A Summit architectural firm designed the complex, which includes a closed street, parking improvements, community facilities and landscaped recreational areas. Tenant eligibility was determined by length of residence in the community, size of family and income (based on HUD standards) with highest priority given to those who lived in the sub- standard housing replaced by the new complex. New Jersey Municipalities re- ports that a tenant council has been formed to involve residents in administra- tion and maintenance.

Pennsylvania Law Students to Counsel Indigent Prisoners

Law students from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University will

begin to participate in prisoners’ rights litigation projects this year. Most states allow law students to counsel prisoners in federal civil rights actions; the U. S. district court for the eastern district of Pennsylvania is the latest to approve the practice. The Ford Foundation is provid- ing grants to both schools.

The projects were established in re- sponse to the courts’ backlog of civil rights actions filed by prisoners, many of whom have insufficient resources for coun- sel. The program could reduce the flood of actions by alerting state institutions to practices considered unconstitutional by the courts and convincing prisoners to abandon illegitimate claims. Qualified second- and third-year students will rep- resent indigent prisoners who agree to volunteer representation.

New ASP0 Program to Aid Citizen Groups

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced the award of a grant to the American Society of Planning Officials to increase the professional capabilities of citizens’ groups in developing community plans. The proj- ect, to be conducted in a six-state region centered in Chicago, will establish and evaluate a technical information service for the influential and often highly special- ized community staffs.

The society will identify common devel- opment needs, prepare information bulletins and operate an inquiry-answering service. All the materials prepared will be tailored specially for citizen use. The evaluation of the program will include citizen reac- tion and will be conducted by an outside consultant.

Students in Planning The University of Miami and the

Metropolitan Dade County Planning De- partment are sponsoring a program to in- volve minority-group youth in plans for

(Continued on page 320)

320 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW [June

CITIZEN ACTION Labor statistics to support these state- ments.

Applications of manpower planning within the organization are looked at. Near-term operating plans are divided into several time spans. Short-range plan- ning generally has as its goal recruiting in relation to specific time and cost esti- mates. Intermediate-range planning, on the other hand, is concerned with the budgetary process and its effect on man- power management. In effect the budget- ary process and manpower planning are seen as two paraflel and interacting cycles. Long-range trends included are environ- mental, flow of personnel and organiza- tional, including such factors as: (1) de- velopments in the labor market; (2) the general population; (3) changes in tech- nology and (4) manpower age analysis. Several sources of information are listed.

The next section provides the frame- work for developing an effective infor- mation system, the major uses of which are planning, action programs and re- search. The effectiveness of the system depends on six criteria: relevance, accu- racy, timeliness, flexibility, integrity and economy. Once provision is made for these an analytical approach may be utilized when evaluating the data. The value of this approach lies in its objectivity, Vari- ous techniques for reviewing and evaluat- ing current programs and practices, as well as projection techniques, are discussed in terms of their feasibility and use.

In the final section the authors discuss the organizational aspects of manpower planning by way of four principles: re- sponsibility, location, budget and staffing. The organization for manpower planning is viewed as ultimately dependent on the organization’s objectives, size and struc- ture, as well as other factors,

LOUIS J. GOODMAN New York University

(Continued from page 315) their communities. The work-study pro- gram is funded by HUD and currently employs 10 students who are completing requirements for masters degrees. They work a maximum of 20 hours a week for the planning department during the aca- demic year and full time in the summer.

Youth Program Started The Freedoms Foundation has begun

an Inner City Youth Program, which takes 20 or 30 students from four schools in the Philadelphia area for weekend visits to the foundation at Valley Forge. They are taught the area’s history and its con- tribution to the heritage of the country. Qualified leaders guide the discussions, trips and recreational activities.

Assistance Center Proposed for Internship Programs

The national planning committee on internship and fellowship programs of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration met with the American Society for Public Administration to discuss a recommended conference on public service internship programs. The proposed information clearinghouse and program assistance center would unite directors of programs in government with those on campus so that college students interested in public service could participate in internship programs.

The conference would conduct research on internship activities, compile a data bank on administrative techniques, and disseminate the information through a national catalogue. The group would also represent the interests of the public intern- ship field in Washington and operate a legislative information service through a monthly newsletter.