transforming cities and minds through sustained civic engagement

Transforming Cities and Minds through Sustained Civic Engagement

Dr. Lorlene HoytDirector of Programs & Research

Talloires Network – a global coalition of engaged universitiesTufts University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Lorlene Hoyt Director of Programs & Research

Talloires Network

City of Lawrence, Massachusetts

Former textile town built by Essex CompanyLocated 30 miles north of M.I.T. One of the poorest cities in the U.S.MIT alumni living and working in Lawrence Long known as the “immigrant city”


Talloires Network

Dominance, Decline, Revitalization?

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

Pop

ulat

ion

Hartford, CTLawrence, MAFlint, MICamden, NJYoungstown, OHScranton, PA


Talloires Network

Forgotten Cities?


Talloires Network

• old—cities with an industrial history; with a population more than 5,000 by 1880;

• small—cities with between 15,000-150,000 residents in 2000; and

• poor—cities with a median household income less than $35,000 in 2000.

PolicyLinkMA Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Voices from Forgotten Cities

Innovative Revitalization Coalitions in America’s Older Small Cities

2002 Lawrence Service-Learning Practicum


Talloires Network

Lawrence: Spatial Distribution of Assets


Talloires Network

Lawrence: Competing Narratives


Talloires Network

Lawrence, MA

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

1970 1980 1990 2000

Total White Hispanic Black



Talloires Network

•Lack the large employers and corporate presence necessary to provide adequate civic capacity

•Lack adequate governing capacity due to limited financial resources as well as the dominant positioning of the “old guard”

•The collective mindset in many forgotten cities is chronically low



Talloires Network

•Location and connectivity — proximity to larger cities and rural places•Scale — walkable downtowns/neighborhoods, access to elected officials•Layout and infrastructure — rails, rivers, parks•Architecture — historic mills, homes, churches•Cultural assets — symphony halls, museums, small colleges•Diversity — immigrants, niche markets, unique labor pool•Identity — loyalty among old-timers, willingness to donate time & money•Affordability — competitive housing/labor opportunities

Housing Development

Homeownership rates:Massachusetts: 62%Lawrence: 32%North Common neighborhood: 14%

Individual development accountsPredatory lending and foreclosuresVacant property acquisition and disposition processes


Talloires Network

Downtown Revitalization

Massachusetts LawrencePoverty rate: 9% Poverty rate: 24%Unemployment: 8% Unemployment: 17%

Zoning overlay district Alleyway restorationOur House Union Crossing


Talloires Network

View looking south across walkway and green deck to new entrance to Building 9

Celebrating Union Crossing


Talloires Network

Youth Education

10% of Lawrence adults have a Bachelor's degree44% of residents between the ages of 18-25 graduate from high school

SAT tutoring on SundaysMonthly field trips for 8th graders to participate in experiments at M.I.T.


Talloires Network

Demo: Lawrence@MIT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLhz6YxuICY

10:40-11:18


Talloires Network


University Partners

Aerospace Controls Laboratory Center for Real EstateCenter for Transportation and Logistics and AgeLabChemistry Outreach ProgramCivil and Environmental Engineering Student Association Cogeneration Plant Community Innovators Lab Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence LaboratoryDepartment of BiologyDepartment of Urban Studies and PlanningEdgerton CenterEducational Studies Programs Fire Hose GamesiHouseLa Casa (Spanish House)Lego LabLincoln Labs - Optical Communications GroupSociety of Latino Engineers and ScientistsSociety of Latino Engineers and Scientists

Media LabMIT Information CenterMIT MuseumMIT Sea Grant ProgramNuclear Reactor LaboratoryOffice of Engineering Outreach Programs Plasma Science Fusion CenterPublic Service CenterSociety of Hispanic Professional EngineersSingapore-MIT GAMBIT Game LabSloan School of ManagementSociety of Physics StudentsSolar Electric Vehicle TeamSpace Propulsion Laboratory Special Program for Urban and Regional StudiesSociety of Women EngineersToy LabWright Brothers Wind Tunnel


Talloires Network

City Partners

Arlington Community TrabajandoBread & Roses Soup KitchenBread & Roses Housing of Greater LawrenceCambridge CollegeCharles Hope Companies LLPCity CouncilCommunity Development DepartmentEconomic Development DepartmentFire DepartmentGroundwork LawrenceInspectional ServicesInternational Union of Painters & Allied TradesJericho RoadLawrence CommunityWorksLawrence Family Development Charter SchoolLawrence Heritage State ParkLawrence High SchoolLawrence Higher Education Resource Center

Lawrence History CenterLawrence Housing CourtLawrence Methuen Community CoalitionLazarus HouseMassachusetts Smart Growth AllianceMayor’s OfficeMerrimack CollegeMerrimack Valley Chamber of CommerceMerrimack Valley Economic Development CouncilMerrimack Valley Habitat for HumanityMerrimack Valley Planning CommissionOur Lady of Good Counsel SchoolPacific Mills Industrial ComplexPlanning DepartmentPolice DepartmentPublic Works DepartmentRecycling DepartmentVeritas BankYouthBuild Lawrence


Talloires Network

Ernest Lynton on Knowledge

In short, the domain of knowledge has no one-way streets.

Knowledge does not move from the locus of research to the place of application, from scholar to practitioner, teacher to student, expert to client. It is everywhere fed back, constantlyenhanced.

We need to think of knowledge in an ecological fashion, recognizing the complex, multifaceted and multiply-connected system by means of which discovery, aggregation, synthesis, dissemination, and application are interconnectedand interacting in a wide variety of ways.

(Lynton, 1994, pp. 88-89)


Talloires Network

Classes-practica -lectures-independent

study

Internships

Fellowships

Research assistantships

Teaching assistantships

Theses and dissertations

Volunteer opportunities

Policy Papers

Funding proposals

Short films

National reports

Journal articles

Op-eds

Blog posts

Cable access television

Radio shows


Talloires Network

Instruments for Action

Collaborative Thesis


Talloires Network

Introduction

Part One: Engaging Economy

Strengthening small businesses in Camden, New JerseyLeveraging rooted institutions in Cleveland, Ohio

Part Two: Engaging Equity

Concentrating Investment in Kansas City, MissouriNetwork Organizing in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Part Three: Engaging Environment

City-wide retrofits in Oakland, CaliforniaCommunity-labor-utility partnerships in Massachusetts

Reflections

Transforming Cities and Minds through Sustained Civic Engagement

Dr. Lorlene HoytDirector of Programs & Research

Talloires Network – a global coalition of engaged universitiesTufts University

Demo: MIT@Lawrence


Talloires Network



Dewey on How We Think


Talloires Network

Different methods of evaluation:

After-action-reflection

student evaluations

community partner evaluations

quarterly meetings

annual retreats (and celebrations)

continuous dialogue!

Participants:

151 students

59 staff

17 faculty

116 civic leaders/residents (adult)

242 civic leaders/residents (teens)

"…failure is not mere failure. It is instructive. The person who

really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from

his successes” (1933, p. 206)

transforming cities and minds through sustained civic engagement

Documents

larger cities

poorest cities

lawrence adults

immigrant city

mit alumni

houseunion crossing

spatial distribution

sustained civic engagement