READING ROOM

Welcome to Reservoir Hill Improvement Council’s Reading Room.  What appears below are a selection of papers and documents that we think are useful reading for anyone interested in the equitable revitalization of urban communities and the needs of urban citizens.  The contents of the Reading Room are not nearly complete, and will grow as we discover new material.  If you know of a paper or article that should be included in The Reading Room, please send a PDF of the document or a link to it to Richard Gwynallen for RHIC’s review.

Approaches to Advocacy

The Last Stop Sign; Gary Delgado; Shelterforce; 1998; This article by the executive director of Applied Research Center argues that for community organizing to be a force for change it "must proactively address issues of race, class, gender, corprate concentration, and the complexities of a transnational economy.. ." and use ". . .analytical and idelogical tools to develop political vision."

Sharing the Lessons Learned: Reflections on Six Years of Anti-Racism Work; David Rogers and Moira Bowman; Western States Center; March 2005; In 1998, Western States Center established the Dismantling Racism Project, which in 2005 merged with the Center's racial justice organizing program, Research and Action for Change and Equity. The paper explores the successes and challenges faced by the Dismantling Racism Project. The Project's purpose was to strengthen anti-racist analysis and anti-racist organizing among progressive organizations.

Voting Our Values: Using Surveys as an Organizing Tool; Rural Organizing Project; Winter 2005 issue of Western State Center Views; This article suggests an approach by which progressive organizers can better understand how their constituencies think about the issues of the day, and how those issues connect with their values. The article discusses volunteer-driven voter surveys as an alternative to polling. By providing an opportunity for community members to talk to each other, surveys give activists a clearer understanding of how voters perceive specific issues, and, in turn, how organizations can discuss issues in ways that people identify with and move them toward progressive electoral outcomes.

Mixed-Income Housing Developments

Promise and Reality Alastair Smith; Published by Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NeighborWorks); October 2002; This paper examines the rationale for mixed-income approaches to affordable housing development, and discusses the implications of these findings and suggests guiding questions for developers and policy makers.

Development in Baltimore

Economic Impact of Project SCOPE; Prepared by Urban Information Associates, Inc. for Baltimore Efficiency and Economy Foundation, Inc.; June 2006, revised August 2006; This report is a three-year review of the progress of Project SCOPE (Selling City Owned Property Efficiently), Baltimore City’s initiative to enlist the local real estate community to move vacant city-owned, residential properties into the hands of private investors, and issues raised during the SCOPE process.

Ecosystems & Environmental Health

Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air; Union of Concerned Scientists; January 2007; This report examines the public information campaign of Exxon-Mobil to undermine public understanding of global warming, and draws parallels between the Exxon-Mobil campagn and that of the tobaccoo industry to undermine scientiic evidence linking smokign to lung cancer and heart disease. "The report documents that, despite the scientific consensus about the fundamental understanding that global warming is caused by carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions, Exxon-Mobil has funneled about $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of ideological and advocacy organizations that manufacture uncertainty on the issue."

Guide to Stopping Bad Development; 1000 Friends of Maryland; 2002; This guide is intended to provide citizen activists with a fundamental understanding of the basic legal issues that arise in many land use changes, an overview of what is involved in land use litigation and how to use it in conjunction with other strategies and tactics to oppose environmentally damaging development proposals, and equip residents to evaluate the laws on which their elected representatives vote.

Two Years of Measure 37: Oregon’s Property Wrongs; Sightline Institute; February 2007; This report is a case study of the impacts of Oregon’s 2005 Measure 37 requiring compensation to property owners or a waiving of the law when their property is devalued by regulation or law. The report serves to examine the property rights movement that has over the last 20 years been advancing ballot measures or legislative proposals called “takings” legislation. The report finds that by weakening the land use protections and thus allowing previously banned activities pubic concern has risen that Measure 37 is devaluing the property values of neighboring properties.

Report on Baltimore’s Present and Potential Urban Tree Canopy; Maryland Department of Natural Resources; January 2006; The basic premise of urban tree canopy enhancement is water quality improvement in relation to the Chesapeake Bay. The report recommends that Baltimore City adopt a goal of 46.3% urban tree canopy by 2030-2036, and that the city adopt a comprehensive urban forest management program.

Creating an Urban Ecosystem of Green and Blue Places in Baltimore City; Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (UMBC) and The Parks and People Foundation; This report is, first, an analysis of the projects and programs being implemented in the public and private sector to ensure the quality and enhancement of natural resources in Baltimore, and, second, a discussion of the elements of a vision for an interconnected system of green spaces and waterways in Baltimore city.

Report on Greening Strategies in Baltimore and Six Other Cities; The Parks & People Foundation; Spring 2000; This report compares and contrasts greening strategies in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Philadelphia. The report argues that open space management in Baltimore has declined in recent decades, and requires now a shift in how the city officials approach management of vacant lots and neighborhood redevelopment.

Equitable Development and Planning

Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial Cities; The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program; 2007; This report "provides a framework for understanding how to restore prosperity in America’s struggling cities, particularly those in the Northeast and Midwest." It argues that "states have an essential role to play in the revitalization of older industrial cities," but that they need an agenda for change that is specifically urban and that ensures that revitaklization benefits lower income families.

Over Priced and Underserved How the Market is Failing Low-Wage Baltimoreans; Job Opportunities Task Force; 2007; This report finds that low-wage Baltimoreans tend to pay more than their wealthier neighbors for a wide range of goods and services, from groceries and financial transactions to cars and home mortgages. Dubbing this increased cost a "povert prmium," the report states that every dollar that goes toward this “poverty premium” is a dollar that can’t be saved or invested in education, home ownership, or retirement, and finds that the "premium" can total as much as $3,000 in additional costs per year.

Rethinking Community Development and Neighborhorhood Revitalization: Structural Racism and Inequality and Struggles Over the Inner City Built Environment; Henry Louis Taylor, Jr.; Center for Urban Studies, University at Buffalo; February 2001; This essay is an introduction to the longer paper by Taylor and Cole. It asserts an approach to community development in urban areas founded on an analysis structural racism and inequality. The author outlines a framework for the transformation of inner city neighborhoods based on a radical reconstruction of the system of taxation and new methods of financing.

Structural Racism and Efforts to Radically Reconstruct the Inner City Built Environment; Henry Louis Taylor, Jr. and Sam Cole; Center for Urban Studies, University at Buffalo; November 2001; This paper challenges that "The community revitalization movement has not considered structural racism and social class inequality in its conceptualization of the problem of inner city distress or in its formulation of strategies to revitalize inner city neighborhoods." Taylor and Cole critique the traditional theory of neighborhood change and outlining a new, complimentary, turning point theory of neighborhood change.

Beyond Gentrification: Tools for Equitable Development; Kalima Rose; Shelterforce; 2001; Ms. Rose starts by briefing examining features of gentrification common in urban communities, then moves to outline strategies and tools for reining in the process of gentrification.

From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half; Center for American Progress; April 2007; This article summarizes the full report found below, outlining steps for cutting poverty in half over ten years.

From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half; Center for American Progress; April 2007; The Center for American Progress last year convened a diverse group of national experts and leaders to examine the causes and consequences of poverty in America and make recommendations for national action. In this report, the Center's Task Force on Poverty calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.

Paying More for the American Dream: A Multi-State Analysis of Higher Cost Home Purchase Lending; Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, et al; March 2007; Six organizations produced this study of the cost of borrowing in four large urban areas - New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston - and two smaller urban areas - Charlotte, North Carolina and Rochester, New York. The report includes recommendation to combat discriminatory lending and unequal access to fairly priced credit.

A New Social Contract: Restoring Dignity and Balance to the Economy; Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Briefing Paper #186; Thomas Kochan and Beth Shulman; 22 February 2007; The benefits of our economic growth have gone to the richest 10% of families, adding to our increasing economic inequality. . .A new social contract must build an economy that is strong and durable, but it also must build strong and durable families."

The Crisis in America's Housing: Confronting Myths and Promoting a Balanced Housing Policy; Center for Community Change, et al; January 2005; This fact book grew out of discussions with organizations and institutions involved with a wide range of social and economic issues. They sought to call attention to the housing crisis in America, explode the myths and stereotypes that promote a skewed housing system and sustain the crisis, and provide a framework and resources for reframing policy debates and outcomes.

Promoting Regional Equity: A Framing Paper; Policylink; November 2002; Through analysis and practical examples, the paper explores a number of key equity issues that challenge our nation today – from education to transportation to environmental justice – and situates these issues in a regional context. Further, the paper identifies opportunities for action and highlights examples communities have taken to link their neighborhoods to regional resources and opportunities.

Advocating for Equitable Development; PolicyLink; 2004; This manual is for advocates who want to improve and apply advocacy and organizing skills of planning strategy, building coalitions, and working with media to achieve economic and social equity.

Promoting Neighborhood Improvement While Protecting Low-Inome Families; The Urban Institute, Robert I. Lerman and Signe-Mary McKernan; May 2007; This article explores one aspect of protecting low-income families while encouraging development of urban communities. One of the primary obstacles facing low-income families is the threat of rising rents. This paper puts forward a new concept for financial instruments that wuld insure renters against price increases, a strategy that the paper asserts could also provide insurance to builders against short-term price reductions.

Police

Organized for Change: The Activist’s Guide to Police Reform; PolicyLink; 2004; This manual is rooted in redefining the relationship between a police force and the communities it serves; a relationship often shaped through decades and laden with issues of race and class. The manual addresses both strategic planning and decisions.

Political and Economic Analysis

The Struggle for Our Cities: Putting the Urban Crisis on the National Agenda; Peter Dreier; Presented at the Planers Network Conference, "Renewing Hope, Restoring Vision: Progressive Planning in our Communities" and later published in a second edition in the magazine Social Policy; 1996; Peter Dreier argues that "poverty and racism are the two most fundamental problems facing our cities," and that addressing these issues must be at the heart of a progressive political movement. The article examines political and policy issues relevant to this analysis.

What is Gentrification?; Tom Wetzel; 2004; In this paper, Wetzel examines the class dynamics surrounding gentrification and disinvestment, focusing on the capital flows in and out of a community that contribute to both phenomenon.

Borrowing to Get Ahead,and Behind:The Credit Boom and Bust in Lower-Income Markets; The Brookings Institution; May 2007; The Brookings Institution examines the dramatic increase in lending in low-income communities, exploring the benefits to low-income consumers and concerns over the suitability of the credit products being offered, as well as the new policy implications emerging from such myriad different products from which consumers must choose and the practces of the lending industry.

Working for Pennies: The Plight of Baltimore's Urban Poor; Melissa Ann Chambers; 2004; This publication is a collection of stories, facts, interviews, and reflections that document poverty today, with an emphasis on the working poor, for the purpose of encouraging action to address poverty.

The State of Working Maryland 2006; Maryland Budget & Tax Policy Institute; November 2006; This report highlights the findings and themes of Economic Policy Institute’s annual national study, The State of Working America, most relevant to working Marylanders. The intent of this report is to create a realistic picture of the hurdles faced by working families in Maryland. The report includes national and state wage trends, impact of the minimum wage in Maryland, challenges facing low and middle earning families, and policy options to address these hurdles.

Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda for Rebuilding America’s Older Core Cities; PolicyLink; 2006 – second edition; This reports presents a framework for change to forge a more equitable and inclusive society. The report explores the opportunities and challenges confronting older core cities by looking closely at five of them: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.

Transportation

A Race Struggle, a Class Struggle, A Women's Struggle All at Once: Organizing on the Buses of L.A.; Eric Mann; Labor-Community Strategy Center; 2001; This article is an examination of the theory and practice behind one of the most aggressive public transportation organizing drives in the c ountry - the creation of the Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles.

5 Years 50 Thousand Jobs: Acting Now on Regional Transportation; Barry Rascover, for The Goldseker Foundation; 2006; This paper looks at the possible impacts of mandated military agency moves to Maryland. Estimates are that 50,000 military and civilian personnel will move to Maryland. It is uncertain where these new residents will take up residence, but it is a fair assumption that their presence will generate greater traffic volume on Greater Baltimore’s main arterial highways and interstates. The paper argues that this situation requires significant transportation enhancements, and will require passionate advocacy at the State level to create the political will to fund the required projects.