<<

‘99 CURA UPDATE Center for Urban and Regional Affairs

330 HHH Center Printed with soy-based 301 19th Avenue South ink on elementally chlorine free, recycled Minneapolis, MN 55455 paper including 20% 612.625.1551 post-consumer fiber. Fax: 612.626.0273 Add Union Bug http://www.umn.edu/cura

CURA Update 99-Cover.indd 1 4/11/05 10:07:22 AM CURA UPDATE ’99 Center for Urban and Regional Affairs A publication of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of , 330 HHH Center, 301 19th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55455.

1999

Publication No. CURA 99-1

This report is not copyrighted. Permission is granted for reproduction of all or part of the material, except that reprinted with permission from other sources. Acknowledgement would, however, be appreciated and CURA would like to recieve two copies of any material thus reproduced.

The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its

programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

Printed on with soy-based ink on elementally chlorine free, recycled paper including 20% post- con- sumer fiber.

ii Table of Contents

Introduction v

Communities and Neighborhoods 1

Economic Development and Employment 5

Education 9

Environment and Energy 12

Housing 16

Human Services 20

Land Use and Population 25

People of Color and Disadvantaged 28

Policy and Government 33

Special Programs 37

CURA Publications and Reports, plus Publications Resulting from CURA Projects 42

iii

Introduction

he twentieth century is now almost 100 years old and CURA has been in place for the last third of this century. Since the CURA Update is published every two years this will be the last edition for this century. While the Update describes CURA’s recent programs and projects, maybe it’s not inappro- Tpriate to reflect a little about the past century and the issues of interest to CURA. CURA was established in the late 1960s to help get the University’s resources—its faculty and students—involved with and working on issues that, at that time, constituted something we called the “urban crisis.” The 1960s version of the “urban crisis” as a major topic of public and political concern has drifted into history, but most of the specific concerns remain because they are all part of the process of urbanization that began in earnest in the nation and in Minnesota just before the end of the last century.

They include concern for the vitality of the local and regional economy and for those who do not prosper as the economy changes. They include the development of the means of transporting goods, services, people, and ideas from place to place. They include issues associated with population growth and movement such as the provision of housing, energy, education, health care, clean water and air, public safety, and recreation. They include a wide range of issues associated with changing and often conflicting uses of the land. They include tensions between the old-timers and new arrivals.

At the beginning of this century we thought these issues were confined to the big cities. We reaffirmed that belief during the Depression when, among other things, we began to build subsidized public housing as the first of a long line of federally funded urban programs. We focused again on cities at the time of the urban crisis of the 1960s. Since then we have come to realize that the issues outlined above are all part of the social, economic, and political processes associated with an urbanizing society. They are found in one form or another in any community—large or small, city, suburban, or rural township—wherever people and economic activity are concentrated.

And we have learned that nothing stays the same. In many ways the cities at the turn of the nineteenth century were not much like the urban regions of the year 2000. On the other hand, many of the basic character- istics and issues have not changed despite important differences in the details. In 1900 the economies of the state’s largest cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth were dependent primarily on natural resources, timber, grain, and iron ore. Today these economies are based more on manufacturing, trade, finance, services, and transportation. Then, the internal combustion engine and automobiles were rare and mostly a novelty; private transportation was powered by feet or horses. Inter-city railroads were growing rapidly and intra-urban horse- drawn or steam engine propelled rail cars already operated along some city streets. Today, ironically, modern light rail is reminiscent of the first electric streetcar line which began operation along Fourth Avenue South in Minneapolis in December, 1889.

In the early twentieth century most new arrivals to the state were from Southern and Eastern Europe; now they are from Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Africa. In 1900 the built-up Twin Cities urban region consisted of the two central cities and six or seven contiguous incorporated towns—the term “suburb” was not widely used then. Today the seven-county metropolitan area includes (in addition to the counties) 188 cities and townships, 41 school districts, and 22 special purpose districts. The Census Bureau, in fact, includes six more surrounding counties in its definition of the metropolitan region.

v Urbanized life is different now from what it was in 1900 partly because of large increases in the numbers of people living here. Minnesota had 1.75 million people in 1900 and today there are more than 4.5 million. The Twin Cities metropolitan area alone has one-half million more people than the state did in 1900. Life is also different now because of changes in the work that people do. It is different because of the automobile. Minnesota has more than 3.7 million registered motor vehicles—roughly seven vehicles for every nine people of all ages. And it is different because of changes in the work force. Seventy percent of working age women in Minnesota are in the workforce—the highest proportion in the nation. These are but a few of the factors that make life different from what it was in 1900.

Where we came from over the past 100 years shapes where we are today. The projects described here (roughly 300 projects that CURA has worked on over the last two years) give some indication of what has been important at the end of the twentieth century. We have worked with twenty to twenty-five state and local government agencies in this two-year period, and with seventy-five to eighty community organizations. Our projects have involved twenty-five University of Minnesota faculty from fifteen to twenty different departments and one hundred and seventy-five to eighty students from at least twenty different graduate programs.

As we approach the year 2000 it is impossible to anticipate all that will evolve by the end of the twenty- first century, but we already know much of what is of concern now and will shape CURA’s programs and projects in the next few years. We know that the issue of urban sprawl is back on the public agenda with a ven- geance and that in Minnesota it now affects those in Rochester, St. Cloud, Mankato, and other regional centers as well as the Twin Cities. We know that a broad range of work force issues—education, training, and availability—are increasingly critical to our economic vitality. We know that issues associated with poverty, race, and ethnicity remain with us. And, concern for the preservation and protection of natural resources is once again gaining strength and controversy throughout the state.

CURA’s role in the next few years, as in the past third of a century, will be to help support specific community-based and University projects addressing these issues. Those interested in further information are invited to call CURA at 612/625-1551 or visit our Web site at http://www.umn.edu/cura.

Thomas M. Scott Professor and Director Center for Urban and Regional Affairs

CURA connects University faculty and students with the organizations and public institutions working on significant community issues in Minnesota. CURA helps: faculty and students produce more relevant research on critical issues; students strengthen their education through practical experience; government agencies and community organizations get the assistance they request; and the University of Minnesota fulfill its land grant and urban missions.

vi Communities and Neighborhoods

THE WIRED COMMUNITY Recommendations include more work to members of the community. Audiences Grand Rapids has established a commu- involve the community, a focus on job cre- for these actions included the organization nity electronic network—GrandNet. What ation and workforce participation, and a itself, its surrounding community, those effect will it have on the community? Will look at racial tensions in the community. with resources and power, those willing to it help resolve disparities between this rural community and other urban centers? A professor of psychology and a professor of political science teamed up to assess the effects on Grand Rapids and a comparison community that doesn’t have an electronic network, Detroit Lakes. They used a CURA Faculty Research Grant (see page 37) to create a baseline survey of the two communities and to conduct interviews and focus groups in Grand Rapids. Their study will continue to monitor the effects of GrantNet. The baseline results were published in the CURA Reporter.

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION IN FROGTOWN In 1995 the Frogtown Action Alliance began implementing a comprehensive action plan to revitalize this St. Paul neighborhood. Last year the McKnight Foundation funded CURA to evaluate their progress on the plan, the effective- ness of their processes, and their future HOW COMMUNITY GROUPS form coalitions, and the general public. An plans. The evaluation was carried out USE MAPS article about the study was published in a with a team approach in order to transfer CURA has been involved in numerous professional journal. evaluation skills to the alliance’s staff. efforts to supply maps and geographic Community residents and businesses were information systems to community groups. NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE INTERNET surveyed. Interviews were conducted For a change we looked at this from the with key stakeholders. Focus groups were demand side, the community perspective. Neighborhoods in the Twin Cities have formed with people who had been involved CURA’s Neighborhood Planning for Com- been online and connecting with each in preparing the action plan around six munity Revitalization (NPCR) —see page other through much of the 1990s as a areas: economic development, housing, 39 — supported a professor of geography result of NPCR’s (Neighborhood Planning employment and training, crime and and a graduate student who scanned all for Community Revitalization) work of drug activity, youth services, and health. the available literature and interviewed assisting neighborhoods in getting hooked Neighborhood demographics and statistics fifty community organizations in the Twin up and learning how to use e-mail, list- were reviewed as well as documents from Cities who used maps for some purpose. serves, computer conferencing, and web- the alliance and its four organizational They found that maps and geographic sites. (See page 39 for more on NPCR.) partners. The evaluation found that strong information were used by community The European organization COST held an leadership had brought a collabora- groups to improve administrative efficien- international workshop in Lyon, France on tive vision and some new leaders to the cy and effectiveness, to identify key strate- Groupware for Urban Planning in early neighborhood. Ninety crack houses were gic issues facing the community and useful 1998. Because of NPCR’s work, CURA shut down over four years, but the num- ways of addressing them, to transform was invited to attend and represent this ber of crimes remains about the same. plans into tactical actions, and to organize country at the meeting. A professional

CURA Update ‘99 1 journal article was published based on CURA’s contributions to the conference and an article about Twin Cities neighbor- hoods and the Internet appeared in the CURA Reporter in 1998.

TRAINING FOR NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZERS Neighborhood organizations need skilled organizers and to meet this challenge CURA has been training neighborhood organizers for a good part of the 1990s. The Minneapolis Training Program for Neighborhood Organizers (MTPNO) began in the summer of 1994 by creating internships to train people from the com- munity as skilled organizers. Today the program works with organizers already in place in various Minneapolis neighbor- hoods and has expanded to include a few St. Paul neighborhoods as well. The program has been so well received by neighborhoods that they are largely responsible for sustaining it. Additional assistance comes from the McKnight Foundation, the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program, and the Minneapolis Community Development Agency.

Building the capacity and commitment of neighborhood groups takes many years. One of the fruits of MTPNO’s work is the relationships that have developed among organizers and the strong flow of ideas, gies for issues. A number of neighbor- —Other Projects support, and even alliances that have hoods worked on projects, such as stop- A revised version of Personnel and formed. In 1998-99 the program consisted ping net housing loss, community-based Organization Management Manual for of three major components plus a catch-all policing, going after houses of prostitu- Minneapolis Neighborhood Organizers was of other projects. tion, and building coalitions. prepared. An initiative to set up archives and save documents from neighborhood —In-Depth Training for Current —Monthly Trainings for Organizers and organizations was begun. A monthly lunch Organizers Leaders for “veteran” organizers was created. Thirty-seven organizers from twenty-one A series of two-hour evening seminars neighborhood organizations were trained were conducted on topics ranging from UNIVERSITY-NEIGHBORHOOD in the nuts and bolts of organizing. After using the Internet to foundation fundrais- NETWORK (UNN) a one-month intensive training, most ing to how should the Neighborhood Linking neighborhood projects with aca- continued with weekly individual train- Revitalization Program be continued. demic classrooms, UNN is unique in cre- ing sessions for another six months. The Over 800 people have participated. ating research opportunities for university faculty and their students by connecting training included building leadership, run- them with neighborhood organizations in ning effective meetings, recruiting under- —In-Depth Training for Neighborhood need of their skills. In the past two aca- represented groups, recruiting volunteers, Leaders MTPNO worked with six neighborhoods demic years UNN has linked fifty-seven fundraising, finances, identifying issues, to help them develop and carry out their neighborhood organizations with twenty- researching issues, and developing strate- own leadership training. five academic classes at three schools. The 2 CURA Update ‘99 projects described here are only a sam- tract-for-deed sales were mapped to show little data about actual conditions or how pling. For more information about UNN how they related to ethnicity. In another, they compared with other neighborhoods. see page 39. house purchases by people who had They were paired with an undergraduate received home ownership counseling were course on housing and community at the —Welfare Reform mapped, showing their successes in neigh- University of Minnesota. Students con- The Summit-University Planning Council borhoods that had previously experienced ducted a windshield survey of the hous- in St. Paul was worried about how welfare significant mortgage denials. ing stock in the neighborhood, including reform would affect their services and assessment of housing that had received clients. A third of their community lives in —Race and Ethnicity Neighborhood Reinvestment Program poverty. A professor at the University of A professor of sociology at the University funds. The students analyzed the data Minnesota was teaching a graduate class of St. Thomas teaches a course on race along with neighborhood demographics in social policy. Linked through UNN, the and ethnicity and wanted her college stu- and current property values and compared professor incorporated background and dents to explore an urban core neighbor- the neighborhood with surrounding com- speakers from Summit-University into her hood. She worked with two Minneapolis munities. A report was prepared for class. Six students researched the reform neighborhood organizations—in the neighborhood with the findings, act and how Minnesota was responding Powderhorn Park and Phillips—to problems that had been noted, and to it. They explored how welfare reform recommendations. would affect the children of Summit- University and discovered a child care gap NEIGHBORHOOD in the community. A report was prepared PLANNING FOR and a community meeting held to prepare COMMUNITY local agencies for the changes. REVITALIZATION (NPCR) —Spanish Service-Learning NPCR brings A third-year college Spanish class com- research assistance bined advanced language instruction with to community-based service in the Chicano/Latino community. organizations. Three Students worked three hours a week with of their many projects various community organizations speak- in the last two years ing Spanish at least half of that time. related to communi- Students could choose among a number ties and neighbor- of opportunities, which included: wel- hoods in the Twin coming new Spanish-speaking residents Cities are presented to Powderhorn Park and explaining here. Reports from services and resources available to them, all NPCR projects conducting a survey of Spanish-speaking are available online at homeowners in the Phillips neighbor- http://tcfreenet. org/ hood, helping produce six half-hour introduce her class to African American, org/npcr/reports2.html. For more infor- cable television programs in Spanish for Caucasian, Hispanic, American Indian, mation about NPCR see page 39. the St. Paul Neighborhood Network, and Somali, and Southeast Asian groups in working with community organizers in these communities. Students conducted —Cedar-Riverside Resource Directory the Bancroft and Longfellow neighbor- interviews, shared their learnings with the Cedar-Riverside is one of the most socially hoods to involve more Chicanos/Latinos class, and created something of value to and ethnically diverse neighborhoods in in community events and projects. give back to the community, such as the Upper Midwest. Because of the donation boxes for a day care center, a complex mix of residents, successful com- —Geographic Information Systems flier for an African American business, munication in the neighborhood depends Students in a graduate course in urban and a brochure for the American Indian on how well information is delivered to geographic systems worked with seven St. community. the community and by what means. An Paul community organizations to inven- undergraduate student identified various tory and analyze neighborhood data. They —Housing in Beltrami Park social, fraternal, and civic organizations in provided maps that the organizations The Beltrami Park neighborhood in north- the neighborhood; compiled information could use in analyzing various problems east Minneapolis was concerned about on their membership base, language, and programs. In one neighborhood con- the condition of its housing stock but had

CURA Update ‘99 3 contacts, and cultural characteristics; and DEVELOPING BIKEWAYS her to organize the stories and analyze identified potential communication barri- Local officials and citizens in northeastern them. In an article for the CURA Reporter ers. The information was assembled into a Minnesota are preparing to develop paved she showed how the tales often serve resource directory to be used by the Cedar bikeways in Duluth and the surrounding as warnings as well as explanations of Riverside Neighborhood Revitalization areas. The Center for Community and untimely deaths. Some are “legend trips” Program Committee when involving Regional Research (see page 38) is co- in remote and dangerous sites that are part community members in the neighborhood sponsoring the project with the Minnesota of the lore of Minnesota teenagers. planning process. Department of Transportation and the COMMUNIVERSITY PERSONNEL Arrowhead Regional Development GRANTS —Increasing Bus Ridership Commission. The project is coordi- The East Harriet Farmstead neighborhood nated by a professor of geography at the Grassroots organizations in the commu- of Minneapolis wanted to know how they University of Minnesota, Duluth. Local nity receive student assistance on small might increase bus ridership by neighbor- bicyclists are being surveyed, a twenty- projects through CURA’s Communiversity hood residents and people that work in two-member steering committee has been program. During the past two years the neighborhood so that traffic and formed, and existing bikeway data are Communiversity has sponsored forty- parking congestion would be reduced. being digitized. three projects in Minnesota communities. A graduate student researched the cur- The two projects described here are only rent use of the bus in the neighborhood INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY a sample of the projects directly related through a survey and interviews. He IN NEIGHBORHOOD to communities and neighborhoods. For analyzed congestion problems, gathered ORGANIZATIONS more information about Communiversity information on local and national efforts A graduate student in geography wanted see p. 38. to increase bus ridership, and presented to learn about the value of informa- in his report to the neighborhood associa- tion technologies (including geographic —Reducing Gun Violence tion a number of options that might help, information systems) for neighborhood Violence is the number one public health including a more efficient bus service, organizations, so she spent substantial problem affecting youth today. Preventing better information about bus schedules, time working in the Powderhorn Park access to guns has become a priority. A and more imaginative marketing. neighborhood of Minneapolis. She found student, working with the Initiative for that the technologies can help neighbor- Violence-Free Families, researched what —Profiles Project hoods do more comprehensive planning strategies other than gun control legisla- The Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood and problem solving, and can facilitate tion have been tried in the United States Development Corporation in St. Paul after attempts to build connections and coali- and Canada. He also conducted focus focusing on crime and safety and then tions within and outside the city. At the groups with more than seventy youth who housing for many years is now focusing on same time, the technologies present live with guns every day to get their per- youth in the community. An undergraduate challenges to neighborhood groups spectives. Two reports resulted from the student helped them create “Profiles of because they are very cost and labor study. The intern organized a press confer- African Americans in Our Communities.” intensive. An article detailing her study ence resulting in both newspaper and TV The summer program paired neighborhood will appear in the CURA Reporter. coverage. Presentations were made to a youth with successful African Americans number of local agencies and foundations from the community. The youth (also FOLK LEGENDS and two community meetings were held paired with a senior community member to Through folk legends we explore our on the issues. assist them) interviewed and photographed own communities—their past and their these role models. Quotes and photos —News Reports from the Legislature values. A professor of anthropology at the were displayed at the Urban Market KFAI is a community-based nonprofit University of Minnesota-Duluth collected (University and Dale) and printed on T- radio station staffed mostly by volun- stories about unusual things found in plac- shirts and posters. The project is being teers. A student covered about half of es around Minnesota: a statue on a grave used as a stepping stone for an entrepre- the legislative session for the station. He in New Ulm, a family grave plot on a farm neur program and a mentoring program conducted in-person interviews with vari- near Granite Falls, a doll in the window of for youth. ous legislators and produced and narrated a house in Janesville, and the High Bridge weekly broadcasts based on the interviews. in Stillwater. The stories came to her The student has since become a volunteer through her students at the University. A at the station. grant from the Center for Community and Regional Research (see page 38) allowed

4 CURA Update ‘99 Economic Development and Employment

CHARACTERISTICS OF POVERTY series What the 1990 Census Says About an economic development strategy based Poverty increased in Minnesota as it did Minnesota. A shortened version also on historic preservation that has been across the nation during the 1980s. A appeared in the CURA Reporter. widely used. CURA has recently com- professor of human resources and indus- pleted a study of the history and impact MARKET SURVEY FOR PHALEN trial relations analyzed the poverty data of the Main Street program in Minnesota, SHOPPING CENTER for the decade and showed that by 1989 designed specifically to aid in the current about one in ten Minnesotans lived in The NorthEast Neighborhood debate about whether or not to revive poverty. The vast majority were white, but Development Corporation in St. Paul is Minnesota’s Main Street program. The whites as a group had the lowest poverty rebuilding the Phalen Shopping Center. report of the study details both qualitative rate of all races, about a fifth the rate of Originally built on a wetland, they are and quantitative information about how restoring the natural Main Street worked in the past in Minnesota. hydrology of the area and recreating IMPROVING ECONOMIC Ames Lake. They FORECASTING wanted to know if it Businesses, schools, and many individuals was viable to retain rely on economic forecasts for planning the grocery store and for allocating their resources. A pro- still operating in the fessor of electrical and computer engineer- shopping center and ing and an advanced graduate student if other commercial used a CURA Faculty Research Grant (see or retail businesses page 37) to explore how new nonlinear might be attracted to modeling techniques might be used to the area. A graduate improve the accuracy of economic fore- student prepared a casting in Minnesota. They worked with market survey for two government offices, analyzing the them, exploring the relationship between education levels purchasing power in and productivity in manufacturing and the neighborhood predicting employment for general build- and what kind of ing contractors and for people working in market there was for electronic equipment manufacturing. The various commercial improved accuracy of their predictions and retail businesses. came from the process of selecting one or He looked at pos- two meaningful predictor variables before sible industrial uses the new modeling methods were applied. and housing as well. An article on their methods appeared in American Indians and a quarter the rate of His report established that a grocery the CURA Reporter. African Americans. The keys to avoiding store would be viable and a surprise out- COMMUNIVERSITY PERSONNEL poverty are clear: work and productive come was the interest of a multi-family GRANTS attributes, such as education and English developer in building townhouses in the language proficiency. Some Minnesota area. They are going up this year. Grassroots organizations in the com- households are more likely to be poor munity receive student assistance MAIN STREET IN MINNESOTA than others, particularly single-mother on small projects through CURA’s households. It would take about seven- The Main Street program was developed Communiversity program. During the tenths of one percent of state income to in the 1970s and 80s in response to the past two years a number of projects have move all Minnesotans out of poverty, a rise of shopping malls and discount stores, focused on economic issues. The two figure significantly lower than it was a which were devastating the market poten- described here are only a sample of these decade earlier. The analysis was published tial and historic character of Main Streets projects. For more information about as the fifth and final report in CURA’s across the country. The program created Communiversity see p. 38.

CURA Update ‘99 5 —University and Raymond Business Survey coordinated a project that used PCArc/ services. A key question was, Are there St. Anthony Park Business Association Info GIS software to perform a laborshed new strategies being used in other agen- felt the University/Raymond area was at analysis of several potential development cies that might be appropriate for METP? a crossroads as Northern Clay Center sites. The analysis determined the educa- The study showed that METP is effective prepared to leave. The area might either tion level, age, and job qualifications of and efficient; that private sector part- decline or improve depending on market the population as well as distance between nerships should be enhanced; that they and other forces. Parking was seen as their residences and the potential sites. should maintain their decentralized, com- a major challenge. A graduate student The analysis also showed site character- munity-based delivery system; that empha- designed and conducted a survey of small istics such as cost, buildings, and size of sis on the “harder to employ” should be businesses, artists, nonprofits, and prop- development parcel. The project was sup- expanded; and that the program should erty owners in the area. The results of his ported by the Center for Community and be moved to the Minneapolis Community data from 250 local people and his analy- Regional Research (see page 38). Development Agency. sis were presented to the association in a written report. METP EVALUATION ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK The Minneapolis Employment Training CURA continues to support the Green —Resource Center for Business Program (METP) assists disadvantaged Institute’s creation of an eco-industrial Incubator and dislocated adults and youths in pre- park in the Phillips neighborhood of Neighborhood Development Center, Inc. paring for jobs. The program contracts Minneapolis. Two CURA interns pre- has started more than 160 businesses in with community-based organizations to pared a base-line study of the fifty or targeted neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. deliver specific programs and services. sixty businesses in the Phillips area. The They needed to create a resource center CURA and the Department of Work, purpose was to map the flow of materials that would provide business guidance and Community, and Family Education within the area. Gaps in the use of waste technical assistance for the new business- (College of Education and Human materials such as wood and paper were es. A student intern helped the center get Development, University of Minnesota) identified and the availability of this waste started by identifying the needs of the new evaluated the program’s operations and material was used to induce businesses businesses and devel- from outside the core Twin Cities area to oping a directory of become part of the eco-industrial park. where such informa- Construction of the new building for tion could be found, the park is in progress and should be whether it was from completed this summer. libraries, information centers, people who CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY could act as contacts, WAGES or workshops. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry needed to determine the prevail- DEVELOPMENT ing wage in the construction industry for SITES FOR bids on state construction projects. CURA INTERNET supported a graduate student through its MARKETING Graduate Interns for State Agencies pro- The Arrowhead gram (see page 38) who assisted with the Regional Development survey of the construction industry across Commission wanted the state. to know where in northeastern NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING Minnesota it would FOR COMMUNITY be best to promote REVITALIZATION (NPCR) specific economic NPCR brings research assistance to com- development efforts. munity-based organizations. Three of their A professor of geogra- thirty-three projects related to economic phy at the University development in the last two years are of Minnesota, Duluth presented here. Reports from all NPCR projects are available online at

6 CURA Update ‘99 mapped consumer choices of where to purchase gasoline in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The study, published in the CURA Reporter, showed that price and loca- tion were the most important factors in consumer choices, that higher prices were charged in more remote locations, and that individual consumers may have choices significantly different from their neighbors.

WOMEN, WORK, AND THE CITY How do women’s travel patterns between home and work differ from those of men, and what does this imply? A graduate student in geography performed a detailed analysis of the gender differences in employment and travel in the Twin Cities area. He found that women work closer to home than men. The difference in com- http://tcfreenet.org/org/npcr/reports2. —Employment Survey in Phillips muting time, however, varies widely across html. For more information about NPCR People of Phillips was seeking to broaden the metropolitan area. Women’s commut- see page 39. economic opportunities within the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. To begin, ing patterns affect regional travel patterns, labor markets, and the way we perceive —Powderhorn Park’s Commercial Nodes they needed to better understand and then The viability and future direction of com- evaluate the existing jobs and businesses mercial areas in Powderhorn Park is a in the community. A graduate student high priority to the neighborhood as it worked with them to survey jobs, salaries, tries to stabilize and increase its economic training required, and unions in Phillips. base. A graduate student inventoried four A report and a database were prepared neighborhood commercial nodes, includ- and made available to the community. ing interviews with local businesses and property owners about their future plans. TOURISM AND THE His report to the neighborhood included INTERNATIONAL CENTER an analysis of current economic condi- The International Wolf Center opened in tions and options for the future in the Ely, Minnesota in 1993, seeking to educate four nodes. The report was presented at the public about wolf ecology by attract- a workshop which involved city officials ing tourists to its programs and displays. discussing city policies for neighborhood CURA supported a graduate student who commercial areas. surveyed visitors to the center and visi- tors to Ely to see what kind of success the —East Side Commercial Space center is having. He found that the center One strategy of St. Paul’s East Side is to is drawing new tourists to the area and maintain current business districts along added about $3 million dollars to the Payne Avenue and Arcade Street by assist- local economy in 1995. His report, ing new businesses with finding commer- published in the CURA Reporter, included the city. A report of his study appeared in cial building space. A graduate student suggestions for increasing the center’s the CURA Reporter along with detailed identified vacant and underused com- ongoing popularity. maps showing the geography of women’s mercial buildings and created a database work and men’s work in the large metro- about these properties. She also assessed GASOLINE RETAILING IN ST. politan area. potential and desirable commercial uses CLOUD for these buildings and prepared market- How are our decisions about where we ing information that might be used to buy a product and what we pay for it attract prospective businesses. related? A graduate student in geography

CURA Update ‘99 7 CHANGES IN THE MINNESOTA began to dominate. A report of his findings work? A professor of human resources STATE FAIR has been submitted to a professional mar- and industrial relations analyzed 1980 and A new British faculty member in marketing keting journal and a more popular report 1990 census data and discovered that arrived in Minnesota in 1997 and became will appear soon in the CURA Reporter. the number of idle youth dropped from fascinated with the Minnesota State Fair. 9 percent to 6 percent over the decade. It is so obviously consumer-oriented, yet TELECOMMUTING EVALUATION An article in the CURA Reporter detailed its roots lie in supporting agricultural farm The Minnesota Department of the factors he found to be associated production. With help from CURA, the Transportation (MNDOT) recently with idleness. Subsequently the profes- professor studied the historical records established a telecommuting center in sor received a $250,000 grant from the of the State Fair’s official body, the Cambridge, Minnesota. This center allows Northwest Area Foundation to study the employees working factors affecting the educational success in the far northern and economic well-being of young adults edge of the metro in St. Paul. area to avoid the long trip to downtown St. Paul. The department asked CURA to eval- uate the effectiveness of this program and we recruited a profes- sor of industrial rela- tions who interviewed both employees and their supervisors to determine its impact. He interviewed the two groups before and after the employ- ees began working at the Cambridge facil- ity. He found both groups were happy with the change. However, commuting time saved went into personal time rather than into increased work time. Partly as Minnesota State Agricultural Society. He a result of this evaluation, MNDOT has compared data from 1883 to 1995 on decided to close the center. prize money paid to producers vs. money paid by fair-goers for food and other goods IDLE YOUTH and services. He found that prize money Are large numbers of youth idle in dominated or was equivalent until after Minnesota—not in school, not working, the Second World War when consumers not in the military, and not looking for

8 CURA Update ‘99 Education

EDUCATING HOMELESS CHILDREN Homelessness among children in Minnesota and nationally has increased dramatically over the past decade. What happens to school success for the chil- dren when a family becomes homeless? A professor in the Institute of Child Development used a CURA Faculty Research Grant (see page 37) to examine the relationship between the amount of risk homeless children experience, other protective factors, and their success in school. An article in the CURA Reporter detailed results of the study. School is clearly important to both children and parents, but well over half the homeless children in this study fell into the bottom quartile on standard achievement tests, though some maintained good achieve- ment. Parental involvement and closeness was clearly an important factor. Special tutoring-advocacy programs for home- less children improved the relationships between these children and their class- room teachers. The study suggested that better outcomes for homeless children can be fostered by focusing on reducing risk, boosting resources, and creating protec- tive relationships with competent adults.

KIDS MOBILITY PROJECT for frequent moves, that there are dif- AMERICA READS Families experience moving in many dif- ferent types of mobility, that sometimes President Clinton challenged the country ferent ways but it is often children who moves are positive, and that it’s difficult to make independent reading possible are affected the most. In 1996, a group to separate the effects of mobility from for every child by the time they enter of planners and researchers explored the other adversities that a mobile family third grade. He called for 30,000 reading impact of residential moves on students may be experiencing. Overall the study specialists, 11,000 AmeriCorps members, in the Minneapolis public schools, where showed that mobility does affect children’s 100,000 college Work Study students, and one in five students experience frequent school attendance, which, in turn affects RSVP senior volunteers to tutor children moves. The study was divided into three their learning. Results of the study were in reading. CURA was one of the partners parts: the relationship between mobility presented to the Minnesota legislature, in the initial pilot year of the University and student achievement, the literature on which put aside one million dollars to help of Minnesota’s America Reads Initiative. student mobility, and how parents view families threatened with homelessness. Over one hundred undergraduate and mobility and its impact on their children. Results of the study were published by the graduate Work Study students tutored or CURA supported a graduate student who Minneapolis schools and an article on the provided training for tutors who worked conducted the interviews with parents as parents’ views of mobility was published with grade school students at fifty-seven part of her Ph.D. dissertation. She found in the CURA Reporter. sites in the community. The project was that limited housing options are a reason

CURA Update ‘99 9 spun-off to the College of Education and artists participated. The project, titled DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT Human Development, where it continues. “endeavor, I ask you,” was sponsored by Shortly after President Mark Yudof the Center for Community and Regional arrived on campus, he joined with CENTER FOR SMALL TOWNS Research (see page 38) and generated Governor Arne Carlson to host a Digital The Center for Small Towns is a com- ideas that are being incorporated into Technology Summit attended by over 500 munity outreach program housed at the course curricula in environmental studies people. One track of the summit focused University of Minnesota, Morris. The as well as a pregraduate art major with on spatial data technologies. CURA emphasis in arts, media, and technology. worked with others to organize that track, which attracted over 100 people and led JANE ADDAMS SCHOOL to an agenda of necessary research and In a hundred-year-old settlement house organizational tasks that would continue in West St. Paul, a collaborative effort Minnesota’s lead in this area. One result has established Jane Addams School for of the summit is President Yudof’s new Democracy. The school brings together strategic initiative in digital technology at Latino and Hmong families with stu- the University of Minnesota. This includes dents and faculty from the College of the addition of new faculty and the St. Catherine and the University of conversion of Walter Library to the new Minnesota. Begun as a way to teach lan- Digital Media Center. guage skills and prepare immigrants for citizenship, the school operates without UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AS hierarchies, using learning circles and one- COMMUNITY PARTNERS to-one conversations. CURA supported a CURA worked with University of student who evaluated the school to see if Minnesota Extension Service to prepare it was offering people what they wanted and publish a report that would help and if it was generating creativity and extension educators understand how new activities. The evaluation found some students can provide help in responding center is developing applied learning and areas where improvement would help, but to community needs while expanding research that can make important contri- overall a vital school with an emphasis on their own learning. The report illustrates butions to surrounding communities in relationships that helps it flourish. An the kind of services students can offer by west-central Minnesota. Ongoing activities article about the school will appear in the detailing six projects and how students include student internships, service learn- CURA Reporter. were involved in them. The report also ing, technology transfer, and faculty-led student research projects. CURA has helped support the work of the center along with other University units, includ- ing University College and the University of Minnesota Extension Service. The center has recently received a major grant from the Blandin Foundation to expand its activities.

SOUNDSCAPES A professor of art at the University of Minnesota, Duluth worked with the Tweed Museum of Art to create an inter- active exhibit exploring sound as an envi- ronmental component that shapes human perception and responses and provides creative social potentials. A three-month- long seminar also explored sound as a creator of various virtual reality and real landscapes. Regional and international

10 CURA Update ‘99 lists programs that provide students for various community projects. A number of CURA’s programs are included in the list.

COMMUNIVERSITY PERSONNEL GRANTS Grassroots organizations in the commu- nity receive student assistance on small projects through CURA’s Communiversity program. During the past two years sev- eral projects have focused on education. The two described here are only a sample of these projects. For more information about Communiversity see p. 38.

—Evaluation of Study-Abroad Programs The Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) is a consortium of nineteen Midwest colleges which offers innovative programs focusing on social issues. A graduate student surveyed six- HIGHER GROUND ACADEMY MIGRANT WORKERS AND COAFES teen of the colleges to learn whether the African American and other children of existing study-abroad programs were ade- color are increasingly subject to negative A recent graduate of the University of quate. The survey led to an understanding expectations about their intellectual capa- Minnesota’s College of Agriculture, Food, of the current landscape of study-abroad bilities, though research has shown that and Environmental Sciences (COAFES) programs and helped the HECUA board high expectations produce high results. was eager to establish courses related to see the areas where program development CURA has worked to help create a new Minnesota’s migrant farm workers in that was needed. HECUA is now exploring charter school in St. Paul based on the college. CURA supported a background and testing new programs. premise that all children can “get smart.” study to provide resources, research proj- The K-9 school will open this fall imme- ects, and migrant contacts. A survey of —Tracking System for Upward Bound diately west of the Concordia University more than 210 families asked about issues Upward Bound is a college preparatory campus and add a grade a year until it is a the workers were facing and ways that the program that works with low income full K-12 school. It will operate year-round University might support them. Meetings and immigrant high school students. The and use Efficacy Principles of teaching with migrant-serving agencies helped to program’s mandate has changed from as developed by the Efficacy Institute in better understand their needs. A freshman successful high school graduation and Massachusetts. The curriculum will focus honors seminar was offered this spring for enrollment in a postsecondary school to on experiential learning and will be inter- the first time that incorporates learning successful graduation from a postsecond- disciplinary. It will include community directly from the migrants themselves. A ary school within six years of high school service and peer mediation. Upper grade preliminary curriculum for use with grad- graduation. The program needed a way students will tutor younger students in uate students has also been developed, of tracking their graduates to determine reading, writing, and mathematics. The along with a list of research projects. their success in postsecondary schools. academy will collaborate with Concordia’s A migrant community center is being A graduate student surveyed other pro- Teacher Education Program and with a planned, Centro Campesino, for the grams for tracking methods, designed a number of professional graduate programs Owatonna area. The center will help tracking system, and developed all the at the University of Minnesota. One of the Minnesota institutions better appreciate elements needed for its implementa- goals of the academy is to train and attract migrant workers and their contributions to tion. The system is now up and working. more children of color into the professions. the economy while providing direct sup- port to migrant communities.

CURA Update ‘99 11 Environment and Energy

RECREATION IN THE ST. CROIX RIVER ISLANDS The lower St. Croix River’s pristine beauty and diverse biota have come under increasing pressure as the river has become part of a rapidly growing met- ropolitan area and as recreational use of the river has escalated. A consortium of federal, state, and local agencies are look- ing for better ways to manage the river. A professor of landscape architecture, with the support of a CURA Faculty Research Grant (see page 37), worked with the management agencies to document changes in recreational use of the islands north of Stillwater and assess what part these changes are playing in the degrada- tion of the river. He also surveyed boaters and hopes to make recommendations for METROPOLITAN MOSQUITO led state park officials to work with a pro- management practices that will preserve CONTROL fessor of health, physical education, and the islands while keeping boaters happy. A controversy about when and where recreation at the University of Minnesota, An article about the study will appear in mosquito-killing chemicals should be used Duluth to document the behavior of rock the CURA Reporter. led the Legislative Audit Commission to climbers and hikers at Shovel Point and order an evaluation of the Metropolitan their impact on the ecology of the park. SUSTAINABLE LAKES Mosquito Control District. CURA sup- The project, sponsored by the Center for Lakeshore development, agricultural run- ported a graduate student who worked Community and Regional Research (see off and fishing can bring changes to with senior researchers on the evalua- page 38), will determine the effectiveness a lake in less than a generation or two. tion. She researched mosquito control of current trail management policies and CURA is working with the Minnesota programs in other states and analyzed develop interpretive signage for Shovel Lakes Association to develop comprehen- their programs, reporting back on the use Point as well as orientation and registra- sive plans for five pilot lakes in Minnesota: of chemicals and other scientific control tion information to educate visitors about one in the Arrowhead region, one in methods as well as their internal manage- the point and the need to protect it. north-central Minnesota, one in western ment structures. The final report of the REUSING BROWNFIELD SITES Minnesota, one in central Minnesota, and audit found that the district’s treatments one in the metropolitan fringe area. Based pose little or no harm to public health Vacant industrial lands that are con- on a framework of sustainable develop- and recommended that several public taminated (brownfield sites) are a major ment, the plans involve members of five members should be added to the district’s challenge for today’s cities. A graduate lake associations and the surrounding board. The student’s work was supported student in geography focused on the Twin local governments in balancing economic through CURA’s Graduate Interns for Cities in examining the underlying causes activities, environmental safeguards, and State Agencies program (see page 38). of brownfield sites, determining their the social needs of people so that they can impact on the community, and evaluating plan for the future of their lake. A format SAVING SHOVEL POINT the prospects for clean-up and redevelop- package will be developed based on the Shovel Point is a popular but ecologically ment. He found that both deindustrializa- pilot lake plans so that other lake associa- fragile cliff area in Tettegouche State Park tion and environmental contamination tions can use a similar process to develop on the North Shore of . are key ingredients that create brownfield their own plans. It is hoped that the proj- Concern that rock climbing and hiking sites. Brownfields cause cities to lose ect will stimulate planning for sustainable in the area may be damaging the cliff has their tax base and destroy neighborhood lakes across the state. livability—a burden borne primarily by

12 CURA Update ‘99 low-income residents. Eliminating them Citizens Organization’s environment com- each other. This CURA project, with sup- reduces the pressure for greenfield devel- mittee. They were successful in getting a port from the McKnight Foundation, is opment and makes better use of urban city ordinance passed requiring a mora- working to build communication bridges land and infrastructure. Minnesota is a torium on metal shredders and asking for that will connect the river communities. leader in creating funding and incentives further study. To continue their work NO A web-based directory of projects (see for brownfield clean-up and redevelop- SHAMS! wanted to know more about www.missriver.umn.org), a listserv for ment, though funding focuses almost alternatives to shredding. A student identi- interested participants, and a series of exclusively on commercial reuse, even in fied sources of information and pursued face-to-face conferences in river cities are sites that are better suited for residential them in order to learn what alternatives to ongoing and will be continued. Partners development or where commercial rede- shredding are possible which are less pol- in this work include Augustana College velopment is neither feasible nor desirable. luting. She provided a detailed overview (Rock Island, Illinois), Washington An article on the study will appear in the of the automobile recycling industry in her University (St. Louis, Missouri), and the CURA Reporter. final report, including promising develop- St. Paul Riverfront Corporation. One ments in Europe. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING One American com- FOR COMMUNITY pany was identified REVITALIZATION (NPCR) that has eliminated NPCR brings research assistance to com- shredding by using munity-based organizations. Three of its a state-of-the-art twelve projects in the last two years that dismantling system. related to the environment are presented The student’s report here. Reports from all NPCR projects are is being used as available online at http://tcfreenet.org/ the basis for NO org/npcr/reports2.html. For more infor- SHAMS! mation about NPCR see page 39. continuing education efforts about auto- —Southport Industrial Park Clean Up mobile recycling. St. Paul’s West Side Citizens Organization wanted to clean up its riverfront industrial —History of area along the old Barge Channel Road. Diamond Lake An undergraduate student helped with The Hale-Page- its environmental assessment and clean- Diamond Lake up plan. She collected public data on Association was soil, noise, water, and air pollution. She concerned about researched models in other cities where maintaining the neighborhoods have succeeded in clean- ecological viability ing up industrial areas with ecologically of Diamond Lake sound projects. She investigated possible and wanted to edu- funding sources for clean up and redevel- cate the community opment and assessed the long-term clean- about what was needed. An undergradu- outgrowth of the improved communica- up requirements. Her report serves as a ate student compiled a history of the lake tion is a tentative plan to create an Upper baseline from which West Side citizens which included the legislative and regula- Mississippi River Trail that would allow can proceed with their plans. tory standards for using and protecting a bicyclist to travel from Bemidji to St. the lake as well as what actions could be Louis on scenic backroads. —Automobile Recycling taken by the neighborhood to insure the When the building of a metal shredder future of the lake. BALLAST WATER SURVEY was proposed for the West Side of St. Paul The ruffe is an exotic fish that is threaten- on property next to the Mississippi River, BRIDGING THE RIVER ing to disrupt fisheries in Lake Superior. NO SHAMS! (Neighbors Organized to Cities along the Upper Mississippi are The Center for Community and Regional Stop the Hazards of All Metal Shredders!) working hard to reconnect with the river Research (see page 38) co-sponsored a was created—an offshoot of the West Side that gave them life, but it has been hard study with the University of Minnesota to learn from the successes and failures of

CURA Update ‘99 13 Sea Grant program that examined the pat- LAWN FERTILIZERS fecal coliform and suspended solids) terns of ballast water intake and discharge AND URBAN LAKES while others decreased (pH and dissolved from ships in the Duluth/Superior harbor. Phosphorous in lakes and streams causes oxygen), yet river water values were all A professor of geography at the University algae to grow and promotes the process of within the standards set by the Minnesota of Minnesota, Duluth coordinated the entrophication which leads to water degra- Pollution Control Agency. The study was study. All ships that visited the harbor dation. CURA has supported a conducted with support from a CURA for a year were surveyed. The results number of studies examining the effects Faculty Research Grant (see page 37) and confirmed that the ruffe are being spread of lawn fertilizers on phosphorous build- an article about it appeared in the CURA through ballast water, but also suggested up in metropolitan lawns and soils and Reporter. that measures taken to restrict ballast its run-off into area lakes. Test plots in water contamination have at least slowed 1995 and 1996 showed that fertilizing ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS CALENDAR lawns with phosphorous does not add to the color, density, or uniformity of a lawn. Many environmental events occur on cam- Twin Cities soils already hold an excess pus at the University of Minnesota and of phosphorous and most lakes contain around the Twin Cities. It is easy for peo- too much phosphorous as well. The study, ple to miss speakers or events that would that will soon be published in the CURA interest them. CURA began preparing a Reporter, urges homeowners to use fertil- weekly calendar of environmental events izers that contain no phosphorous. in the fall of 1992. It was sent to subscrib- ers by email and was also available on WATER, WILD RICE, CURA’s Web site. The project was spun AND WATERFOWL off to the College of Natural Resources in The effects of culti- vating wild rice on waterfowl and on water quality were examined during a three-year study at a series of wild rice paddies along the Clearwater River in the spread of the species to other loca- northwest Minnesota. tions. A summary report on the project The paddies provided was published by CCRR. sago pondweed as well as wild rice seed COURSES ON THE to eleven major spe- ENVIRONMENT cies of migrant water- The University of Minnesota offers many fowl. Analysis of the classes related to environmental stud- breeding success of ies. CURA has published course guides eight different duck to these classes since 1976. The most species in the paddies recent guide, done in cooperation with showed that duckling the College of Natural Resources, covers production was good courses through 1999, when the University and matched or bet- converts to a semester system. In addition, tered records from it includes descriptions of academic several other wetland programs that offer degrees related areas. The paddies to environmental issues and a section were also attractive describing special centers and libraries to a number of non- that deal with the environment. game birds. River water samples showed that during the wild rice growing season some parameters increased (including 14 CURA Update ‘99 the fall of 1997. To receive the environ- reviewed, creating a fragmented review decision-making, but a more genuinely mental events calendar send your name process. The city of Savage on Eagle Creek collaborative process would have pro- and email address to [email protected]. used a new approach—the Alternative duced the most easily sustained decisions. The calendar is no longer available on the Urban Areawide Review (AUAR). A biol- Beginning the review earlier in the devel- Web. ogy professor, an aquatic ecologist, and a opment process could make a consider- graduate student in conservation biology able difference. They recommended that SURFACE WATER AND followed the AUAR process with the help the AUAR follow ecological boundaries GROUNDWATER INTERACTION of a CURA Faculty Research Grant (see (watersheds, perhaps) instead of political As concern for Minnesota’s water resourc- page 37). Their analysis found that though boundaries. An article about the process es has intensified, so have efforts the scope of the environmental review was appeared in the CURA Reporter. The City to monitor the water quality of the state’s fine, more depth would have been useful of Savage presented an award to the stu- lakes and rivers and their interactions with in specific areas. Involvement of citizens in dent for his work on the project. the groundwater flowing in underwater the process was higher than in most public aquifers. Computer models of groundwa- ter movements are helpful. With the aid of a CURA Faculty Research Grant (see page 37), a professor of civil engineering and two graduate students developed an improved modeling formula for measuring groundwater and surface water interac- tions. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was able to put the new formula to immediate use. An article about the new model was published in the CURA Reporter.

URBAN GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Expanding urban areas often threatens the environment. Environmental reviews are required, but in urbanizing areas many contiguous projects may need to be

CURA Update ‘99 15 Housing

HOLLMAN EVALUATION where over 700 units of public housing Regional Research (see page 38) sup- In 1992 some residents of public housing will be torn down. 2) The relocation of ported a professor of political science at in North Minneapolis filed suit against families from these units. Where do they the University of Minnesota, Duluth who the federal Department of Housing go? To what type of housing are families is assisting local authorities in adjusting and Urban Development (HUD), the relocated? How do they feel about the to the new directives. A team has been Minneapolis Housing Authority, the City new neighborhoods? 3) The impact of assembled to study the issues and many of of Minneapolis, and the Metropolitan changes in Minneapolis’ Section 8 hous- their preliminary recommendations have Council claiming that they were being ing to increase location choices for those already been incorporated into the St. discriminated against by being placed in receiving assistance. 4) The impact of 900 Louis County Planning Department’s new “mobility certificates” to move public five-year plan. A $27,000 grant has been housing families out secured from the U.S. Department of of areas of concen- Housing and Urban Development (HUD) trated poverty and to fund three student interns each term to racial segregation into work on local housing and public planning non-concentrated issues. parts of the metropol- itan neighborhood. AFFORDABLE HOUSING Where do they go? A 1989 analysis of affordable housing in How do they like the the Twin Cities showed that 83 percent new neighborhoods? of renters and 87 percent of homeowners What impact does the spent 30 percent or more of their income move have on their on housing. The Family Housing Fund income and employ- of Minneapolis and St. Paul contracted ment? 5) The impact with CURA to analyze the new data for of replacement hous- 1993. The analysis showed a shortage of ing built in non-con- 37,700 rental units for very-low-income centrated parts of the households, more than two households in metropolitan area, need for every one unit available in a price usually range they could afford. Data showing the suburbs. Does this dramatic increase in the need for afford- have an adverse able housing from the 1970s to the 1990s impact? What do were published in the Housing Fund’s the neighbors think? 1996 annual report and helped put the Do property values need for more affordable housing before change? Is there the public and those working in the area segregated housing in an area of concen- an increase in criminal activity? The of housing. trated poverty. The suit was one of about evaluation project is part of CURA’s new DISCRIMINATION IN two dozen similar law suits that have been Housing Initiative (see page 39). MORTGAGE LENDING filed around the country. The Minneapolis PUBLIC HOUSING POLICY case, known as Hollman v Cisneros, was As federal aid for housing decreases, it is AUDIT settled out of court in 1995 by a consent more important than ever for private sec- decree. The Family Housing Fund and New policy directives about public tor institutions to intensify their efforts the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency housing from both state and federal gov- to lend to underserved populations. awarded the contract for evaluating the ernments have led planning departments CURA supported a study conducted by implementation of the consent decree to in Duluth and St. Louis County as well the National Community Reinvestment CURA. The evaluation will look at each of as the Arrowhead Regional Development Coalition that compared mortgage lenders the elements in the decree: 1) The impact Commission to examine their housing in each of the twenty largest metropolitan of redevelopment on the north side site plans. The Center for Community and areas of the country from 1994 through

16 CURA Update ‘99 1996. The study compared the number of ated under the act. CURA worked with Relationship between Housing, Education, loans given to people of color and to low- MICAH (Metro Interfaith Council and Segregation,” “The Loss of Federal and moderate-income households with on Affordable Housing) to provide an Subsidies for Low-Income Housing,” and their numbers in the metropolitan popu- independent analysis of the Livable “Recycling the First Ring Suburbs.” Call lations. The results, published last May, Communities Action Plans. A coalition of 612-625-1551 to be added to the mailing list to receive notices of future meetings.

NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING FOR COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION (NPCR) NPCR brings research assistance to com- munity-based organizations. Four of their eighteen projects related to housing in the last two years are presented here. Reports from all NPCR projects are available online at http://tcfreenet.org/org/npcr/ reports2.html. For more information about NPCR see page 39.

—Alternative Responses to Vacant Housing There are three possible outcomes for an abandoned home in St. Paul: it can be demolished, reoccupied by the owner or a new tenant, or it can be rehabilitated. The costs of each of these alternatives showed that lenders were relatively organizations concerned about affordable need to be weighed when limited funds successful in offering loans to Black housing and headed by George Latimer, are available. St. Paul’s Houses to Homes and Hispanic households and that their former mayor of St. Paul, concluded that Program rehabilitates abandoned houses. performance improved over the three-year the new act wasn’t vigorous enough and When its funds were cut in half in 1996, period. Lenders did not perform well, that it probably wouldn’t accomplish the the St. Paul Coalition for Community however, in providing loans to low- and goal of creating more affordable hous- Development, the group that implements moderate-income households. Lenders still ing in the Twin Cities suburbs. The plans the program, asked NPCR to sponsor a vary widely in how well they meet their being generated concentrated on the high- study examining the real cost to the city legal obligations, under the Community er end of the affordable range and ignored of rehabilitating vacant housing. The Reinvestment Act, to extend credit to all the poorest people. Extensive publicity NPCR study, also part of CURA’s new communities. The study results are being on their report served to heighten public Housing Initiative, showed that the fiscal used across the country to convince lend- awareness and understanding of the prob- benefits of renovation—taxes, stabilizing ers at the bottom of the rankings to adopt lems of affordable housing. neighborhood property values, growth the strategies used by the lenders at the of private investment, sales tax on build- top of the list. HOUSING FORUM ing materials, fewer maintenance and As part of CURA’s new Housing Initiative security costs, and avoidance of property REVIEW OF LIVABLE (see page 39), a Housing Forum has been foreclosure—returned roughly half of the COMMUNITIES ACTION PLANS established which meets monthly during up-front renovation costs to the city. And The Livable Communities Act was the academic year. Professionals working if all government units are considered, a passed in 1995 to encourage more com- in the area of housing in the community restoration actually produces a net gain in pact development, affordable housing, and housing researchers meet to hear public benefits. As a result of the study, and redevelopment of the urban core. The presentations and discuss current topics St. Paul in 1997 restored most of the cuts act, however, gave no enforcement author- related to housing. Recent forums have it had made to the Houses to Homes ity to the Metropolitan Council, charged included “Neighborhood Early Warning Program. CURA published a summary of with carrying it out, nor did it provide for System” (how to intervene before hous- the study in the CURA Reporter. any independent analysis of the plans cre- ing is abandoned), “Examining the

CURA Update ‘99 17 —Predicting Housing Abandonment ning, developing, and evaluating housing need and CURA helped provide an intern One of the biggest challenges faced by improvement programs. who worked with the fund on this issue. Minneapolis’ Central neighborhood is the She produced summary tables for 1998 problem of vacant and boarded housing. —Safety in Deconstruction Work documenting the needs for new construc- The neighborhood wishes to reverse the Deconstruction is the process of recover- tion and rehabilitation of existing housing. cycle of decline that has set in. A graduate ing materials that can be reused from a Her analysis pointed to an unmet need for student reviewed studies of housing aban- building that is being demolished. It is a approximately 7,000 new units annually to donment in other cities and worked with relatively new activity and little is known provide rental and ownership housing for the Central Neighborhood Improvement about the health and safety hazards communities in Greater Minnesota. Association to identify the indicators that involved. A graduate student surveyed predict which housing will be abandoned. the literature on deconstruction and on IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR Through interviews with residents and government regulations that might be HOUSING case studies a list of six early warning sig- applicable to deconstruction. The student The Minnesota Fair Housing Center nals was developed. A mappable database also visited deconstruction sites where the needed information on the impediments of the neighborhood’s housing characteris- Green Institute was salvaging materials, fair housing was facing in the state. CURA tics was also created to help in identifying to assess the hazards involved. The proj- supported a graduate intern who collected where neighborhood action is needed. ect was carried out with the help of the reports from various jurisdictions and then University of Minnesota’s Department of analyzed and compared what was being —Accessing Housing Data Environmental Health and Safety. Several done by these various jurisdictions. Her The Rondo Community Land Trust is technical and consumer-oriented reports final report was widely distributed and expanding quality housing and owner- were prepared. a panel presentation was also arranged to present the results to the community. The report supports changes in rules that HUD is considering.

CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT Residental cluster development is a way of preserving open spaces or agricultural land and protecting the environment and its natural eco-systems. Instead of dividing the land into equal lots with one house on each lot, the same number of houses are clustered together on part of the land leaving the rest free as common space or productive farming. To make this type of development possible, local zoning and subdivision ordinances and comprehen- sive land use plans need to be rewritten. Technologies other than single on-site sep- tic tanks can be applied to protect ground water quality on a long term basis. A HOUSING NEEDS IN GREATER ship options for residents of the Summit- professor of planning and public affairs MINNESOTA University and Lexington-Hamline worked with an interdisciplinary team at communities in St. Paul. Their housing The Greater Minnesota Housing Fund the University of Minnesota to develop a assessment and planning functions have was created to assist in production of series of fact sheets about cluster develop- been hampered by the lack of timely and affordable housing for working families ment, which are serving to introduce the accurate housing data. A graduate stu- outside the Twin Cities area. It provides concept and changes needed to local dent identified public data sources and gap financing for both rental and home officials. access requirements. Recommendations ownership housing in Minnesota commu- were made for integrating publicly held nities that have unmet housing needs and property data and making it more readily where there is an acute shortage of quali- available for neighborhood use in plan- fied people in the labor force. They need- ed assistance to update their estimates of

18 CURA Update ‘99 SURVEY OF MOBILE HOME public affairs, will be presented to the MINNESOTA’S HOUSING RESIDENTS board in early summer of 1999. It is in our homes and our neighborhoods The All Parks Alliance for Change seeks that society reproduces itself, and if things SOCIAL SERVICES IN PUBLIC to organize residents of mobile home begin to go awry at home or in the neigh- HIGHRISES parks and work on issues that residents borhood, we correctly sense that trouble identify as problems. Through one of Hennepin County and the Minneapolis is brewing for society at large. Shifts CURA’s Communiversity Personnel Grants Public Housing Authority created a pilot in the housing landscape often parallel (see page 38) they hired a graduate student project in two highrise projects to inte- changes in the direction of our society. A to work with them in designing a survey grate and expand on-site social services. report profiling selected features of the that could be used at any of the ninety The program operated through a core Minnesota housing landscape—a landscape we have created over the years, and that is now shaping our lives—was prepared and published as part of CURA’s series What the 1990 Census Says About Minnesota. The report, Minnesota Housing: Shaping the Community in the 1990s, was pre- pared by a professor of geography and public affairs and an advanced graduate student. It is part of CURA’s new Housing Initiative (see page 39). A summary ver- sion was also published in the CURA Reporter. Excerpts presented there look at the affordability of housing in Minnesota, changes in the concentration of foreign- born residents, the housing patterns of Minnesota’s minority populations, and the growth of non-family households during the 1980s. metro-area mobile home parks. The sur- team of residents, housing authority vey was tested in two parks before it was personnel, county staff, and social service AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE conducted at a mobile home park in the providers. They hoped to increase the TWIN CITIES northern part of the metro area. In addi- quantity and quality of social services in A professor of housing at the University tion to demographic information, it asked the highrises, improve resident satisfac- examined how the Livable Communities about quality of life in the park, safety, tion and their sense of self-sufficiency and Act (LCA) was being implemented to see management, relationship to the com- empowerment, and increase the sense of if it was expanding housing opportunities munity outside the park, and interest in community among residents. CURA was for low- and moderate-income families, as forming a residents’ organization. Results brought in to evaluate the effort. The had been intended. His analysis showed of the survey at Castle Towers Park were evaluation, part of CURA’s new Housing that affordable housing is actually being prepared as a report. Initiative (see page 39), found that despite reduced under the LCA program. CURA persistent difficulties and delays in imple- published the full report of this study— GREATER MINNESOTA menting the program a moderate level of Losing Ground—as well as a CURA HOUSING FUND EVALUATION success was achieved. Mixing several sys- Reporter article as part of its new Housing CURA was retained by the board of the tems that had little history of cooperation Initiative (see page 39). The report sug- Greater Minnesota Housing Fund to provided some challenges, but residents gests a number of recommendations that conduct an evaluation that addressed two became more aware of the services and could reverse the drain on affordable questions: How successful has the fund some were used more heavily. Residents housing. been in participating in the production of who became aware of services increased new housing units? and What impact has their sense of community and self-suffi- this activity had in communities where this ciency. Increases in satisfaction and a sense investment has occurred? The evaluation, of safety were more widespread. conducted by a professor in planning and As improvements in the model are made, these impacts should increase.

CURA Update ‘99 19 Human Services

CHILD PROTECTION protection workers throughout the state. recent change in marital status. The LEGISLATION The matrix will be submitted to the state study looked at how familiar women The federal Adoption and Safe Families Department of Human Services and rec- were with the help they might receive Act of 1997 shifted policy emphasis from ommended for training, preparing case from the Region 4 Council on Domestic preserving the family to the safety of chil- files, and court petitions. Papers are also Violence. The work was funded by the dren and swift case decisions in placing being prepared that interpret “palpable Allina Healthcare Foundation and one of children from high risk families into unfitness,” profile high risk families and CURA’s Faculty Research Grants (see permanent adopted families. Minnesota prospects for family reunification, and page 37). An article about the study in the enacted laws to come into compliance interpret the concept of “permanency.” CURA Reporter concluded with a number with the federal mandates. Two graduate of suggestions for health care and social students joined with a professor of social DOMESTIC ABUSE IN RURAL service providers, schools, and the Council MINNESOTA work to survey child protection workers on Domestic Violence in west-central on how they were responding to the new A professor of mathematics at the Minnesota. Local workshops with judicial, legislation. They analyzed ninety-six cases University of Minnesota-Morris worked legal, and social service representatives where endangered children were placed with Ottertail County Public Health and have discussed the survey results and with new families and their blood parents’ Region 4 Council on Domestic Violence to major changes in how domestic abuse is rights were terminated. They also prepared produce the first major study of domestic treated are expected. a literature review. Consultations with violence among rural women. One thou- the state Department of Human Services sand six hundred and ninety-three women MEDICAL CARE UNDER WORKERS’ COMPENSATION and legislators were held to clarify the were surveyed in health care settings intention of the legislation. A proposal for across nine counties. The study found The Minnesota legislature introduced development of a risk assessment matrix that rural women are experiencing abuse several cost containment programs to for poor prognosis families was submitted just as often as urban women and that reduce increasing costs of medical care to the McKnight Foundation and funded. important indicators that abuse might under workers’ compensation. The The matrix is now being tested with child be present are age, marital status, and a Minnesota Department of Labor and

20 CURA Update ‘99 Industry used two graduate students, professor of public affairs is researching health care are needed to strengthen the through CURA’s Graduate Interns for how similar programs in other states work welfare to work program. State Agencies program (see page 38), to and developing a model framework for the evaluate certified managed care organiza- new program in Minnesota. It will include tions that deliver workers’ compensation ways to assist the disabled as they make services. One student did a utilization the transition to doing their own hiring. It review of certified managed care organiza- will also include a survey of the disabled tions, while the other developed a data- in the new program and community orga- base for managed care organizations that nizations that might help them, and tools will be updated regularly in the future. for evaluating the program. Results of the This information will be helpful in future project will appear in the CURA Reporter. utilization reviews. A report was prepared and press releases issued. GAMBLING AND THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED TOBACCO INTERVENTION How often is gambling a problem with A professor of nursing at the University of adults who are developmentally disabled? Minnesota, Duluth coordinated a survey The Center for Community and Regional of health care providers in northeastern Research (see page 38) is supporting a Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin professor of sociology who is working about their attitudes toward tobacco, with the City of Duluth and the Northland tobacco education, and intervention Foundation to find out. The project is strategies. The survey included chiroprac- surveying seventy-five people with devel- tors, dentists, physicians, public health opmental disabilities and screening those COMMUNIVERSITY PERSONNEL GRANTS nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician who gamble to see if there is “problem” assistants. The survey provided a regional gambling. Findings will be used to inform Grassroots organizations in the commu- snapshot of tobacco attitudes and practices. and improve a gambling prevention and nity receive student assistance on small Significant differences and inconsisten- intervention effort. projects through CURA’s Communiversity cies were found among provider groups program. During the past two years quite and as a result region-wide training ses- TRANSITION FROM WELFARE a few projects focused on human services. sions are being developed for health care TO WORK The five described here are only a sam- providers on tobacco intervention. The Hennepin County and the City of pling of those projects. For more informa- project was co-sponsored by the Center Minneapolis are working jointly to imple- tion about Communiversity, see p. 38. for Community and Regional Research ment welfare reform and their employ- (see page 38) and the Bridge to Health ment training and assistance departments —Services for Low Income Families Collaborative, a coalition of seventy are using community-based organizations Low income families in Washington health-related organizations (including to help individuals with the transition County have problems obtaining housing state and local health departments, hos- from welfare to work. Early experience, and services. They are often isolated. The pitals, physician clinics, tribal health ser- however, indicates that some eligible East Metro Women’s Council (EMWC) vices, health planning agencies, and health individuals are not taking full advantage of sought to improve things for these fami- provider education institutions in sixteen services such as job searches and readiness lies, especially in Cottage Grove. A stu- rural counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin). training, child care, and transportation dent intern worked to organize residents that are available to help make a success- of the Parkside Apartments to deal with CASH GRANTS FOR THE ful transition to the workforce. The county solving their own multiple problems. She DISABLED and city asked CURA to organize a faculty was so successful that EMWC contracted In 1995 the Minnesota legislature estab- research team to identify why some pro- with her to continue her work. A collab- lished a program that provides direct cash grams are underused and provide orative of police, schools, early childhood grants to the disabled to do their own hir- suggestions for changes. Results of the education groups, county services, family ing of persons needed for their long-term first phase of the project indicate that violence workers, and health clinics now care. The program lowers administrative several improvements can be made in the use an apartment in the complex as an costs and empowers the disabled, but structure of the work and training pro- office where they bring their services to raises questions about health and safety, grams in order to fit the needs of clients the residents. The project is considered a accountability, and liability. Using a CURA more closely and that greater resources model of what can be accomplished. Faculty Research Grant (see page 37), a for child care, reliable transportation, and CURA Update ‘99 21 —Child Care for Low Income Workers —Impact of Welfare Reform medical chart reviews revealed a very high Welfare reform legislation means that Children’s Defense Fund exists to provide rate of arthritis and related limitations many people on welfare will need child a strong and effective voice for children on the daily lives of the population there. care when they go back to work. JOBS through research, public education, and Possible links to Lyme’s disease and other Now Coalition explored the feasibility of advocacy. They used the services of a tick-borne diseases were suggested as a public-private partnership to develop graduate student to design a survey that well as genetics. The study also suggested child care. A student collected statistics they are now using to monitor the effects implications for health planning, housing, on the number of people on welfare, the of welfare reform on low income people and community activities. Findings were number of jobs available, and the expected across the state. The student developed presented to the residents, the health competition for these jobs. Statistical the methodology and questions to be center, and tribal planning groups. The tables and a report were used as backup asked of human service providers in a project, supported by the Center for to document the need for child care. sample of Minnesota counties. The Community and Regional Research The data contrib- (see page 38), was co-sponsored by the uted to the Minnesota Duluth Clinic Foundation and Lac Courte Legislature’s decision Oreilles Band Community Health Center. to increase funding for child care. CHILD PROTECTION Child protection systems are run by coun- —Treatment for ties in Minnesota. The Minnesota legisla- Chemically Dependent ture requested a review of the procedures Women each county was using. CURA supported Wayside House in St. a graduate student through its Graduate Louis Park provides Interns for State Agencies program (see treatment and social page 38) to collect data from the coun- services for more than ties on their child protection procedures. 300 women and chil- The intern worked with a team of senior dren each year. Over researchers in the Office of the Minnesota the last few years they State Legislative Auditor. Their report has developed a compre- received considerable attention both in the hensive program eval- legislature and in various state uation system, based departments. on the work of an ear- lier Communiversity RETHINKING CHILD WELFARE intern. They sought Can the community accept the burden of a second intern to do Minnesota’s policy for assuring the safety an in-depth analysis of of maltreated children? A one-day sympo- recent findings from sium held at the University of Minnesota the evaluations. The stu- examined this question, looking at the dent tracked Wayside clients at three, six, providers are interviewed four times eroding of public child welfare services and twelve months to identify the most each year. The student conducted the during a period of severe budget cuts. critical elements in the clients’ achieving first round of interviews and prepared A standard child protection response has their goals. A demographic analysis of a report. The results provided the been the “funnel” effect that reduces social and clinical characteristics was also Children’s Defense Fund with guidance in voluminous reports of maltreatment to done to determine which clients are most their legislative efforts. a trickle of cases opened for service. likely to succeed in Wayside’s programs. Partnerships between public authorities The analysis helped Wayside document ARTHRITIS AMONG INDIANS and the informal and formal resources the effectiveness of their programs and the A professor of medicine at the University of communities are providing promis- student based her master’s thesis on the of Minnesota, Duluth examined the preva- ing experiments in changing the system. material she developed at Wayside House. lence of arthritis among the American Evaluations of what works and what Indians of the Lac Courte Oreilles doesn’t work are sorely needed, but these Band living near Hayward Wisconsin. partnerships provide the most recent hope Interviews, focus groups, and voluntary for improving the lives of families and chil-

22 CURA Update ‘99 dren. CURA published a summary of the their birth families. The idea is to curtail YOUTH PROGRAMMING IN proceedings and a paper based on them long delays in adoption if it turns out to LANDFALL was also published in a national journal. be needed and to establish a permanent Family Service St. Croix wanted to evalu- home for each child as soon as possible. ate its community development program FINANCING CHILD CARE Sequential planning, where adoption plans in Landfall, near the East Side of St. The Development Corporation for are developed only after attempts at reuni- Paul, and asked CURA for assistance Children (DCC) was concerned that fication have failed, has been the standard with the evaluation. They were especially Minnesota lacked sufficient child care practice until now. A symposium on the interested in how the youth program they centers and needed private financing to new concept was held at the University of had conducted for five years was being develop more. CURA supported a student Minnesota in December 1997 and high- received. A graduate student worked intern who gathered information from lights from the symposium were published with them to prepare questions and then centers around the state about the demand by CURA with the Center for Advanced conducted interviews with half of the reg- for more child care. This information Studies in Child Welfare. istered youth participants and 15 percent provided proof that the need existed and of their parents. Focus groups were also laid the groundwork for DCC’s statewide DIRECTORY OF ASIAN conducted with twenty adolescents. The AMERICAN YOUTH PROGRAMS roundtables, including representatives evaluation provided a solid affirmation from banks and child care centers across Asian Americans are the fastest growing of the value of the youth programming the state. The roundtables led to a bill population in Minnesota, and nearly half and provided guidance for the resources passed by the legislature that formed a are under age eighteen. A directory of needed to continue it. public/private partnership for develop- programs targeted for Asian American ing child care centers. The state provided youth was compiled by Asian American FOSTER CARE WITH KIN a million dollars and the private sector Renaissance and published as a joint More and more foster children are being another half million for loans to new venture with CURA. The directory pres- placed with relatives. In fact, placement child care businesses. DCC created First ents detailed information on forty-eight with relatives is now preferred by law. Children’s Finance, which administers the prevention, intervention, and recreational But how successful are these placements? loan fund. programs sponsored by nonprofit orga- Supported by a CURA Faculty Research nizations and mutual assistance groups in Grant (see page 37), a professor of social OJIBWE FAMILY LITERACY the Twin Cities area that are “by, for and work examined records in Hennepin PROGRAM about Asian Americans.” Indexes to the County in order to compare placements The Community University Health Care ethnic groups represented and to the type with relatives and with non-relatives. Center wished to foster family literacy of programs available are also included. The research, part of a study begun for among its clinic patients who were Ojibwe the Minnesota Department of Human GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER Indians. The clinic hired a reading spe- Services, involved multiple phases and COMPETITION cialist to conduct reading classes for two included comparisons of case files as well hours each day. CURA supports an intern CURA has continued to provide financial as interviews with child welfare profes- who interviews people in the clinic’s wait- assistance to the Center on Aging so that sionals, birth parents, and foster parents. ing room to see if they might succeed in they can sponsor a student paper com- It found that payment disparities in dif- the literacy classes. The intern continues petition each year which awards research ferent types of foster care need to be to identify candidates and refer them to grants to the best graduate student proj- addressed; that data collection and coordi- the reading program. ects submitted. In the past two years nation across county and state lines needs eleven students have received funds for improvement; and that changes are called CONCURRENT PLANNING FOR their projects. Projects selected have come for in the services, support, and training HIGH RISK CHILDREN from nine different University depart- available to foster parents who are kin. Federal law now requires that a concurrent ments—from Kinesiology to Pharmacy An article on the project appeared in the planning process begins when a young to Family Social Science. Some of the CURA Reporter. child is placed in foster care, and that topics studied include fatty acids in older after six months a “permanent decision” Minnesotans, the effects of inactivity and NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING must be made. This means that plans for exercise in older populations, and the FOR COMMUNITY permanent adoptive homes are prepared impact of prescription drug coverage for REVITALIZATION (NPCR) at the same time that services are made Medicare recipients. NPCR brings research assistance to com- available to try and reunite children with munity-based organizations. Two of their many projects related to human services

CURA Update ‘99 23 in the last two years are presented here. Youth between the ages of twelve and Fairview Partners had expanded to fifteen Reports from all NPCR projects are avail- fifteen are often disinterested in the after- nursing homes and began serving commu- able online at http://tcfreenet.org/org/ school and summer programs offered for nity-dwelling seniors as well. npcr/reports2.html. For more information them, yet they are too young to work in about NPCR see page 39. paid positions. Four neighborhoods in REPARATIONS FOR CRIME St. Paul—Macalester-Groveland, Summit- VICTIMS —Impact of Welfare Reform in Phillips University, Highland, and Frogtown—col- Victims of violent crime are often in great The Phillips Neighborhood Economic laborated in an effort to create better sum- financial need immediately after the crime Justice Committee was concerned with mer and afterschool activities for this age has been committed, yet many are not how welfare reform would affect people group. An undergraduate student investi- aware that financial help is available to in the community. A graduate student, gated what types of activities would appeal them until months later when the eco- using demographic information from the to youth and identified the elements of nomic crisis has passed or caused perma- 1990 U.S. Census and the 1995 Hennepin successful youth pro- nent damage. While Minnesota state law grams both locally requires that law enforcement agencies and nationally. advise victims of reparations and aid pro- grams, this notification has for some rea- AN INTEGRATED son proven ineffective. CURA supported HEALTH a graduate student through its Graduate NETWORK Interns for State Agencies program (see The medical system page 38) to work with the Minnesota of care for elderly Crime Reparations Board (now Crime residents in nurs- Victims’ Services) researching the most ing homes is often effective way to get information about its fragmented. The reparations program to victims. The intern Fairview Foundation developed an outreach and communica- in Minneapolis tion plan for enhancing general awareness received a grant from of the program and personally visited the Robert Wood many police stations, hospitals, funeral Johnson Foundation homes, and a variety of agencies. There to implement an inte- was a marked increase in the number of grated clinical care claims made. model in a three-year demonstration proj- EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOL- County database on economic assistance ect. The underlying goals of the project LINKED SERVICES recipients, analyzed what would happen were to improve on-site primary care in For more than a decade schools and social under the new laws. She concluded that fourteen nursing homes, to reduce unnec- service systems have been searching for income would increase for some families essary hospitalizations, and to lower acute ways to collaborate so that children will while for other groups—especially immi- care costs. To do this many changes in the receive the social services they need to grants, children placed in poor quality underlying financial and organizational enter their classrooms ready to learn while day care, and difficult-to-employ peo- models were needed. CURA was brought parents get the targeted help they need ple—things will get worse. The Phillips in to lead in the evaluation of the project. to support their children’s education, neighborhood has relatively large numbers Many nurse practitioners were used and health, and growth. In September 1995 a of people in these categories. Decreases in a philosophy of patient-centered care conference was held at the University of income may affect housing stock, crime, was established. A comparison of nurs- Minnesota to examine how various part- and local businesses. The final report ing home residents in the program with nerships between schools and social ser- made six recommendations to the neigh- those not enrolled showed fewer deaths vice systems were working. Have models borhood association. and a dramatic drop in hospitalizations. In emerged? Do schools have what they need? addition, the network made a substantial Do social services have what they need? profit, proving that a partnership among What are the problems? What works? A —Youth Programs organizations operating in a competitive summary of the conference proceedings environment can succeed and that primary was published by CURA and the Center and acute care can be integrated within for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. the nursing home itself. After three years,

24 CURA Update ‘99 Land Use and Population

REDUNDANT FARMSTEADS plete, but only in computer files. CURA Since 1935, the peak year, the number worked with the Association of Minnesota of farms in Minnesota has dropped by Counties, the state Department of Natural roughly 125,000. Assuming that each Resources, and the Science Museum of farm has a farmstead, what has happened Minnesota to produce a stunning 45”x52” to all these farmsteads? A professor of wall map showing eight types of uses. geography and an undergraduate stu- Thousands of maps have already been dis- dent explored the past and present uses tributed to government officials, schools, of redundant farmsteads along U.S. 12 and individuals. The map is available from between Maple Plain and Montrose and the Science Museum. in the eastern half of Cottonwood County. CHANGING TRADE CENTER They found that “elbowroomers” have HIERARCHY eagerly recycled redundant farmsteads along Highway 12, near the Twin Cities, In 1990, CURA Associate Director Tom but many farmsteads in distant Cottonwood Anding published an historic study about County have been abandoned. Farmland the trade center hierarchy in the Upper is still being used, often rented, but the uses Midwest. The study showed changes in have changed. An article about their study size and function since the towns and appeared in the CURA Reporter and has cities were last studied in 1960. The with 20,000 or more population becoming been picked up quite widely by the media. results proved useful to the Minnesota stronger in retail and other activities. Department of Transportation which The current analysis suggests that a good portion of the growth in these cities of modest size and larger appears to be at the expense of even smaller places in Minnesota’s trade center hierarchy. These findings point to continuation (and perhaps even acceleration) of a trend identified in the 1990 study. An article detailing the analysis will appear in the CURA Reporter.

NEW LANGUAGES IN MINNESOTA According to the 1990 Census, 80,000 Minnesotans “did not speak English very well.” Most were new immigrants to the state, refugees from war-torn countries or people looking for better economic oppor- tunities. Communication with these new Minnesotans sometimes demands transla- tion and interpretation services. But what languages? And where are the services most needed? Minnesota State Colleges MINNESOTA LAND USE MAP began using the data as a basis for and Universities (MNSCU) asked CURA It has been thirty years since Minnesota prioritizing repair and new construction. for assistance in estimating the nature had a census of land use across the state. Recently MnDOT asked CURA to update and location of foreign language speakers The Minnesota Legislature funded a series that study. Anding began this work before around the state. Data from the public of projects in the 1990s that collected his untimely death. A colleague who schools about languages spoken at home data using aerial photography and satellite worked on the 1990 project completed indicates that the number of people not imagery. By 1998 the inventory was com- the study, finding cities across the state speaking English doubled from 1990 to

CURA Update ‘99 25 1995. Among school children, Hmong is graduate students from many disciplines LAND USE FOR THE BOIS the most popular language and three other and that tradition of many fields continues FORTE TRIBE Southeast Asian languages are in the top to this day. A course guide, developed The Bois Forte tribe in northern five. Spanish is the second largest group by CURA and the Department of Forest Minnesota needed a plan to guide their among school children, although it is still Resources, was prepared to aid faculty and use of the reservation land near Nett the largest group among adults across the students in locating classes on the Twin Lake and a policy for pricing the use of state. African and Eastern European lan- Cities campus that are related to GIS. The the land. CURA provided two graduate guages are growing at the most rapid rate. guide is available on-line (www1.umn. interns who worked with the reservation Most immigrants settle in the Twin Cities edu/cura/gis.htm) as well as in print form. planner. One created a GIS database that or in Olmsted County. An article on the provided an inventory of current land findings appeared in the CURA Reporter. MINNESOTA LAND IN uses, natural resources, development, and CONSERVATION PROGRAMS Subsequent analyses showed these growth land ownership. The tribe is still using this rates continuing into the late 1990s. Land held in conservation programs database. The other provided research influences land management decisions by on taxation. The material she gathered is FARM SPECIALIZATION private landowners. A graduate student being used by the tribe’s attorney in study- What is driving farm specialization? Is it worked with the Minnesota Department ing tax issues. the economics of scale as farms become of Agriculture to analyze data that had larger or is the amount of capital involved been collected about lands in various con- MASTERS DEGREE IN GIS the major factor? A graduate student in servation programs. She worked with staff GIS is a growing field, but there are few in local governments, ways to get a rounded education that regional development provides the skills and the credentials that commissions, water professionals need. CURA worked with conservation and the University’s Department of Geography DNR offices, and the to create a new degree program, Master federal Conservation of Geographic Information Science, the Reserve Program first of its kind in the country. The first helping them with class entered in fall of 1997. Some thirty maps as well as digi- students are now enrolled, including both tal database files and full-time students and working profession- showing them how als. For more information see to use the files and www.geog.umn.edu/degrees/mgis.htm. apply the data to their specific proj- GIS MEETINGS IN MINNESOTA ects. The student’s The University of Minnesota was a found- applied economics analyzed data col- work was supported by CURA’s Graduate ing member of the University Consortium lected annually from farmers by the Interns for State Agencies program (see for Geographic Information Science Southwestern and Southeastern Minnesota page 38). (UCGIS) and CURA’s assistant director Farm Business Management Associations. was its second president. The group has METRO GIS A single compatible database was created created an effective forum for developing going back to 1977. The analysis gave only Governments and other groups often research, education, and public policy cloudy indications of what is driving spe- need to share data. Variations in pricing agendas for its membership (over sixty cialization, perhaps because much of the and in data standards make this kind of top institutions) and the nation. The specialization happened earlier. No move sharing difficult. CURA has joined with University of Minnesota hosted the 1999 toward specialization appeared in the data the Metropolitan Council and the seven annual meeting in June as it focused on set that was studied. Results are available metropolitan area counties and other defining needs in a range of application in a completed dissertation. groups to form Metro GIS. CURA staff areas. For more information see played a major role in helping focus ener- www.ucgis.org. COURSES IN GIS gies on the data which are most important Geographic Information Science (GIS) and on where cross-jurisdiction sharing was pioneered at the University of is required. CURA has received a federal Minnesota thirty years ago. The initial grant to study the benefits of Metro GIS. research project involved faculty and

26 CURA Update ‘99 DEMOGRAPHICS FOR POLICY REUSING THE ARSENAL view and ask questions by telephone. MAKERS With the end of the Cold War, the U.S. Minnesota is one of the few states that Things have changed a lot since the 1990 military began closing unneeded bases. In pays for its distribution statewide and federal Census told us about out-migra- 1991 the U.S. Army declared the arsenal publicizes its availability to local govern- tion from rural areas and a deteriorat- in Arden Hills unneeded and a process ments. CURA was a leader in arrang- ing job market. Demographers need for returning its four square miles to com- ing this. In 1997, we cooperated with innovative approaches to accessing and munity use began. Portions of the land are the Governor’s Council on Geographic analyzing other data sources that will highly contaminated with toxic chemicals Information, MetroGIS, and the support informed decisions by policy while other sections have been relatively Minnesota Counties Computer Coopera- makers. With leadership from CURA, the undisturbed and retain upland forests, tive to distribute a videoconference on University of Minnesota has developed wetlands, and prairie that are home to metadata to 120 people in fourteen sites an annual Upper Midwest Conference around Minnesota. on Demo-graphics for Policy Makers, drawing over 100 participants each year. TREATY RIGHTS AND LAKESHORE PROPERTY VALUES Conference sponsors include universities and state data centers from Minnesota, Will the restoration of hunting, fishing, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and and gathering rights to the Mille Lacs North Dakota. The acting director of Band of Ojibwe cause property values to the U.S. Census Bureau, the luncheon plummet on Mille Lacs Lake? A study speaker at the 1998 conference, applaud- of lakeshore property values on four ed this effort, saying we are the first such Minnesota lakes—Mille Lacs, Leech, regional effort in the country. The first Borden, and Smith—between 1990 and two conferences were in Minnesota, the 1995 demonstrated that property values 1999 conference will be in Iowa. had increased with almost identical chang- es for the lakes involved in the Treaty GIS BENEFITS IN DAKOTA of 1837 (Mille Lacs and Smith) as for COUNTY those not involved (Leech and Borden). Few studies have actually documented the It seemed that larger market forces than benefits of implementing GIS in local gov- the treaty rights debate were affecting the ernment. Most cities and counties know value of lakeshore property. An article in intrinsically, as studies have shown, that some wildlife and waterfowl now rare in the CURA Reporter based on the project automation of basic mapping functions is the Twin Cities. A number of municipali- reported that local assessors believed baby cost effective. Working with the county ties and community groups developed boomers buying recreational land were staff, a CURA study sought out the deeper plans for the reuse of this land. CURA, the driving the market. benefits of Dakota County’s $2.2 million College of Architecture and Landscape PUBLIC PARTICIPATION GIS effort to establish a GIS in conjunction Architecture, and Minnesota Extension with eleven of its cities and the electric Service created a collaborative project Academics have worried about the impact utility. A CURA intern found dozens of using a multidisciplinary team of graduate of GIS on society, especially groups on unexpected benefits, from more equitable students who worked directly with people the margin. CURA helped organize a fees paid for land acquisition to ease in from the community to assure that their specialist meeting about how commu- siting new libraries, from resolving zoning ideas would be heard and considered as nity organizations are using GIS to their issues to improving service in transit rides plans for this large area of urban land advantage. This meeting was supported for the disabled. Results were given to the were formulated. An article about the by the National Center for Geographic county and published in a national trade arsenal project appeared in the CURA Information and Analysis with funding magazine and in the newsletters of the Reporter. from the National Science Foundation. Association of Minnesota Counties and Papers were presented describing cur- League of Minnesota Cities. The study GIS VIDEOCONFERENCE rent activities around the country and the also made recommendations to the county Periodically the University of Wisconsin world. An agenda was defined of work on how to make its system even more ben- produces a videoconference on GIS for that needs to be done to expand the posi- eficial to its users. local government. The videoconference tive aspects of public participation GIS. A is distributed by satellite for a fee, allow- report is available at www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/ ing participants around the country to varenius/ppgis/PPGIS98_rpt.html.

CURA Update ‘99 27 People of Color and Disadvantaged

DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC and Independent School District #625. (see page 37) to interview Indian students CONTRACTS Less than a third were adopted by the City about their experiences in school, what Programs that set aside jobs for people of of St. Paul. has helped and hindered their education, color and women were abandoned after and how they think the schools could 1989 when the Supreme Court ruled in its NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS be improved to help educate American OF COLOR Croson decision that a program in Virginia Indians. He found that the students like Since its inception active, experiential learning; that they in 1991, CURA’s are sensitive to racism in the school cur- Directory of Nonprofit riculum and in the classroom; and that Organizations of different types of schools are needed for Color in Minnesota different types of Indian students. An has proved to be very article about the study will appear in the popular. The third CURA Reporter. edition, published in 1997, lists over UNIVERSITY ACCESS FOR THE 700 organizations COMMUNITY (U-ACT) and includes a brief Designed to establish stronger links description of each between the University of Minnesota and group and their main community organizations of color, U-ACT activity. Organizations makes the research or technical assistance listed are all con- of graduate students at the University trolled by persons of available to organizations of color for color and/or primar- short-term projects. During the past two ily serve persons of years twenty-two projects received CURA color. Religious support. The projects described here illus- organizations and trate the range of projects undertaken by had violated the Equal Protection Clause tribal governments U-ACT. For more information about the of the Fourteenth Amendment. To estab- are included, but program see page 40. lish such programs again, communities for-profit groups and state offices are not. need to show that there is a significant dis- Organizations are categorized as African —KMOJ News Department parity between the number of able, willing American/African, American Indian, KMOJ radio, a community station for contractors of color or women contrac- Asian American, Chicano/Latino, or African Americans in the Twin Cities area, tors who are available and the number of Multicultural. Mailing label matrices are wants to create a viable news department. contracts awarded to them. Anecdotal and provided for each community of color. A graduate student from the University’s historical evidence must also point to a The directory is also available on-line at School of Journalism investigated how climate of discrimination. CURA served as www1.umn.edu/cura/npocwww2.htm. three other community radio stations gath- the administrative home for a disparities Plans for a fourth edition are underway. er news, structure their news department, study that was initiated in St. Paul in 1993. and select what will be broadcast. Based AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS The study, summarized in an article in the on this background the student recom- AND THE SCHOOLS CURA Reporter, looked at discrimination mended how KMOJ should set up their in public contracts in Ramsey County, St. Many of Minnesota’s American Indian department. Training requirements for Paul, and Independent School District students have serious problems with interns and how they might be used were #625. It found that both passive and school. Fifty-seven percent fail to com- also spelled out. A partnership between active discrimination existed in all three plete high school as compared to 40 the School of Journalism and KMOJ was jurisdictions. Almost all of the report’s percent of Indian students who drop out established to help in guiding the station recommendations for remedial corrective nationally. What is behind the high Indian as it creates a newsroom and to provide actions were adopted by Ramsey County drop out rate? A professor of education internship opportunities for journalism at the University of Minnesota-Duluth students. used a CURA Faculty Research Grant 28 CURA Update ‘99 —Hispanic Education Fair of the Thomas-Dale Block Club. Fifty- instructor, and solo-taught six classes. The A graduate student assisted in planning, two people were interviewed and police student also participated in an assessment implementing, and overseeing the fif- records were also examined. In her report, of the course. teenth annual Hispanic Education and the U-ACT intern concludes that the Career Fair, sponsored by the Minnesota block club has changed the outlook of —Wind Energy for White Earth Hispanic Education Program. The fair, the entire community and helped turn the The White Earth Land Recovery Project held at Minneapolis Community and tide in a rapidly declining neighborhood. (WELRP) is seeking to rebuild a sustain- Technical College, attracted over 300 high The report recommends that the block able community on the original land base school students and more than forty col- club work on including the growing Asian of the White Earth Indian Reservation in leges, universities, and technical schools. community in their organization and com- northwestern Minnesota. Part of their goal Designed to encourage Latino youth to pile documentation showing the major is protecting the environment. This project pursue postsecondary education, the fair decline in the number of drug houses and explored harvesting wind energy for the featured exhibits by the various schools, the incidence of crime during the 1990s reservation community. Two potential sites career workshops, information and time- after the block club was formed. in Mahnomen County were monitored for lines about the college admissions process, wind energy power. Various production and workshops on preparing for college as —Youth Entrepreneurship Classes possibilities were explored. Current fed- well as workshops for high school coun- The St. Paul Urban League wanted eral and state energy production deregula- selors on Latino high school performance to expand its successful Youth tion was researched. Links with organiza- issues. The U-ACT intern recommended Entrepreneurship program, which helps tions and individuals active in promoting that the fair be expanded from a half-day high school students who are consid- renewable energy production were made to a full day or more in the future. ered at risk to create their own jobs and in Minnesota, nationally, and internation- prepare for the world of work. A gradu- ally. During the course of the project, —History and Impact of the Thomas- ate student observed the instruction of WELRP received a $37,000 federal grant Dale Block Club three Youth Entrepreneurship classes, to continue wind energy development at A graduate student prepared a history team-taught three classes with a certified the reservation.

CURA Update ‘99 29 The U-ACT intern now serves as by a professor of theater at the University sample of the projects that relate directly WELRP’s representative to the and co-sponsored by the Center for to people of color. For more information Sustainable Energy for Economic Community and Regional Research (see about Communiversity see p. 38. Development (SEED) Project coalition. page 38) and the Indianhead Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The produc- —City Songs —Participatory Evaluations tion was designed to increase cross-cul- City Songs provides an after-school pro- When CURA’s U-ACT program began, tural understanding in Duluth. gram for 50-100 disadvantaged youth of one of the earliest requests from organiza- color each year. Its choruses are directed tions of color was for training in learning AMERICAN INDIAN CAPACITY by well-known professional singers. No how to do evaluations. In response, U- BUILDING auditions are needed and all members get ACT has been working with individual In 1996 it was discovered that a significant a chance to be soloists, announcers, or agencies on their evaluation needs as well communication gap exists between social dancers. The program, for grades three as training staff at these agencies. The service agencies and the American Indian through eight, uses music to address prob- training, designed to empower the staff by community in the Frogtown and Summit- lems that interfere with healthy youth, teaching them how to conduct their own University neighborhoods of St. Paul. family, and community development. It is evaluations, includes: planning, how to set CURA supported a up goals and objectives, how to do sur- student intern to help veys, how to design questionnaires, how to the American Indian conduct surveys, and how to organize and Research and Policy analyze the data from surveys. U-ACT has Institute search for worked with staff from CLUES (Chicano Indian solutions to Latino Unidos en Servicio), Model Cities, the problems in this the St. Paul Urban League, Ramsey Action depressed area of Program, Summit Academy OIC, La the city. The project Opportunidad, Women of Nations, Center sought to identify for Victims of Torture, and the Somali Indians in the neigh- Women’s Association. borhoods, conduct focus groups (or talk- RACIAL STEREOTYPES ing circles) with them, Minnesotans pride themselves on being and identify potential free of stereotypes, but a survey by the leaders who could Minnesota Center for Survey Research develop an action indicated that we hold racial stereotypes plan. The project dis- as deep as those of the rest of the coun- covered that American Indians were mov- located on the East Side of St. Paul and try. Minnesotans think members of most ing to the East Side of St. Paul. The focus performs in local churches. The program minority groups are lazier and more prone was shifted to include East Side Indians needed to find a meaningful way to evalu- to violence than whites. With few excep- as well. Leaders in the Indian community ate itself. A student built a theoretical tions these views are uniformly held across were identified. A number of new initia- framework for evaluation. The musical the state and across various demographic tives in the St. Paul Indian community services that City Songs provides are eas- groups. All ethnic and racial groups, show promise. The intern on this project ily measured, but whether the program however, were rated better than average. is now the Commissioner of Health and impacts on the lives of these youth in Whites were simply viewed as more above Human Services for the Mille Lacs Band of a way that improves their lives may be average than others. Results of the survey Ojibwe. impossible to measure. were published in the CURA Reporter. COMMUNIVERSITY PERSONNEL —Hmong Participation in Public Life HMONG ODYSSEY GRANTS The Hmong are underrepresented in A documentary history project at the Grassroots organizations in the commu- citizenship, voting, and politics. The University of Minnesota, Duluth culminat- nity receive student assistance on small Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action ed in the theatrical production of “Hmong projects through CURA’s Communiversity (MAPA) used a Communiversity student Odyssey,” a chronicle of Hmong immigra- program. During the past two years to work with them in conducting a survey tion and settlement in various parts of Communiversity has sponsored forty-three of the St. Paul Hmong community, collect- Minnesota. The project was coordinated projects in Minnesota communities. The ing information about citizenship, voter four projects described here are only a

30 CURA Update ‘99 registration, and public participation. The legacy of African science and the work EQUAL OPPORTUNITY project built MAPA connections in the of African American scientists, past and ANNOUNCEMENTS AND Hmong community. The student became a present; interviewed scientists chosen for ADVERTISEMENTS member of the MAPA board of directors. the exhibit; worked on developing the How can one be sure that announcements And the Hmong community began to get exhibits; and participated in meetings of and advertisements will reach people of involved in public life. A voter education the African Advisory Group. The museum color or other disadvantaged people in drive, for example, was conducted at Hmong hopes that the exhibit will dispel the Minnesota? CURA has prepared a direc- soccer matches the following summer. notion of science as a white domain and tory that gives detailed information about encourage young African Americans to newspapers and magazines whose primary —Mexican Immigrants in Rural consider pursuing science as a career. The audiences are African American, American Minnesota exhibit serves as a prototype for a small Indian, Asian, Chicano/Latino, gay/lesbian/ The Latino population in Minnesota is new exhibit that will recur annually at the bisexual/transgender, people with disabili- growing and many are Mexican migrant Science Museum in its new location. ties, seniors/older adults, veterans, and workers settling in rural areas. Both the women. First published in 1991, a new communities and the Mexican settlers LATINO RESEARCH edition was printed in 1997. The directory are facing new challenges. CURA sup- CURA continues to support HACER is also available on-line at www1.umn.edu/ ported a student intern who worked with (Hispanic Advocacy for Community cura/equal.html. A Minnesota Mailing List the Resource Center of the Americas to Empowerment through Research), a for Equal Opportunity Announcements and research how five rural communities were community-based research organization Advertisements includes mailing labels in dealing with the new population. The stu- within the Latino community. In 1998, the back of the book. dent also organized a one-day workshop with CURA’s assistance, HACER pro- in the Twin Cities on culturally compe- duced their first research publication, THE RISE OF AFRICAN tent social work with people of Mexican written in both Spanish and English. AMERICAN POVERTY descent. People from social service Realidades Latinas reported on their During the 1980s there was a dramatic agencies throughout the state attended. rise in concentrated The social workers who attended these poverty among African workshops are already coming to realize Americans living in they must change their Eurocentric point the Twin Cities. The of view and develop culturally-inclu- Twin Cities became sive policies. This project was originally one of the most ghet- funded through CURA’s Communiversity toized metropolitan program, but then extended through areas in the country. additional funding from the University of A professor in public Minnesota Extension Service. The student affairs, with the help went on to lead twenty-hour workshops of a CURA Faculty (“The Many Faces of Mexico”) in a num- Research Grant (see ber of rural communities attended by page 37), examined Extension educators, public school teach- the change in the ers, and local Latinos. Community-based Twin Cities as it action projects are beginning to develop in compared to similar some of these communities. The student changes in other cit- intern has been hired as a staff member of ies. He attempted to the Resource Center of the Americas. explain the current situation, concluding —African Americans in Science study of the thriving Latino community in that in the Twin Cities it is largely a result The Science Museum of Minnesota south Minneapolis. A similar study of the of increased migration of low income peo- is hosting an exhibit on Africa from Latino community in Dakota County will ple from out-of-state and from other coun- Chicago’s Field Museum. A student be forthcoming in 1999. HACER is now tries. In an article about the study in the helped them gather information on housed in CURA’s offices so that closer CURA Reporter, he concluded that because historic and contemporary African and ties may be developed with the University it is mostly newcomers, the prospects for African American scientists to be added research community. the future are promising. to the exhibit. The student researched the

CURA Update ‘99 31 BUILDING COMMUNITIES tribal and United States government rela- Minnesota Extension educators near ACROSS CULTURES tionships. She prepared a four-page bro- Grand Rapids in the spring of 1997. Mills Building on relationships already estab- chure that provides a basic understand- uses his life as a way of illustrating the lished in the American Indian commu- ing of the sovereign status of American importance of goal setting, positive atti- nity, a special grant came to CURA from Indian tribes. Five thousand copies were tude, and teamwork. The talk was so well the University of Minnesota Extension printed and distributed through the received that three organizations whose Service to continue projects relating to Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. A members attended it have since arranged the Indian communities in the state and forum was also held for the Indian com- for Mills to come and speak with their to become a resource for organizations munity on sovereignty. groups. seeking a greater understanding of Indian issues, particularly issues related to tribal sovereignty. A number of projects were carried out under this grant which began in December 1996 and runs to the end of this year.

—Indians and the Land A class was developed in the University’s Department of Landscape Architecture which explored American Indian percep- tions of the environment from traditional beliefs as recalled by elders through pres- ent day experiences. Many tribal speakers were included in the class which focused on lifeways and spirituality as they relate to the environment, resource use and man- agement, and environmentalism. Offered in the spring of 1997 and 1998, the class was co-taught with a member of the Red Cliff reservation in Wisconsin who was a student at the time. His participation —Tribal Leadership —Landscaping Design for the American helped make the class a dynamic success. Long before Europeans came to this Indian Center country Indian tribes were using com- Anishinabe Wakiagun is a home for —Housing in Phillips plex and dynamic means of government. Indians who are chronic alcoholics. It was There has been increasing concern The diverse tribes had many systems of built by the American Indian Housing about the future of the rapidly chang- traditional leadership, no two alike, but Corporation just behind the American ing American Indian community in the all quite different from the form of gov- Indian Center in Minneapolis. There Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. ernance that has evolved in the United have been some problems with activities Two University of Minnesota students States. A graduate student prepared a at the home interfering with activities worked on preparing initial demographic report on the differences between tradi- at the center. The center wanted ideas data on the Indian community in the tional Indian leadership and U.S. gover- for a landscape design between the two neighborhood. Face-to-face interviews, nance. The report was used as the basis buildings that would help articulate the focus groups, and other ways of identify- for a two-day leadership forum at St. two differing communities. Landscape ing the growing concerns around housing Thomas University and has been received design students from the University cre- in the neighborhood will be the next step. with great interest in both the Indian and ated several design alternatives that might White communities. work. The plans were well received and —Tribal Sovereignty have been presented to the Minneapolis There is a widespread need both within —Billy Mills Speech City Council. As soon as money has been and outside the Indian community for Billy Mills is a Lakota Sioux from the raised for the project the new landscaping people to understand the concept of trib- Pine Ridge reservation. He is the only will be put in place. al sovereignty. A graduate student studied American to win the gold medal in the the legal and historical background of 10,000 meter race in the Olympics. He spoke to a group of teachers, police officers, county commissioners, and

32 CURA Update ‘99 Policy and Government

FEDERAL CUTBACKS AND formulating policy solutions, and decid- tims, and community volunteers together THE LOCAL ECONOMY ing how to vote on a bill? A professor of appeared in the CURA Reporter. The America is moving toward an economic political science used a CURA Faculty conferences allow time for all concerned and social system in which the federal gov- Research Grant (see ernment will have a smaller presence. Cuts page 37) to investigate in federal spending mean that state and the role of Minnesota’s county governments have larger responsi- public affairs com- bilities. In 1996, two professors of applied munity in supplying economics and a research fellow analyzed policy ideas to the how the cuts in federal spending would legislature. Her sur- affect Minnesota. Local impacts depended veys of legislators and on which programs were cut and how their staff revealed large the cuts were, but the impact varied that legislators rely from county to county. Profiles of current largely on sources close at hand for policy to discuss the crime and develop a formal federal spending patterns were prepared ideas—themselves, their constituents, and plan of reparations to victim and com- county-by-county for a wide variety of their staff. Staffers cast a wider net relying munity that will help heal injuries and programs—from retirement and disabil- largely on professional peers. The public integrate the offender into the community. ity payments to Medicaid to low income affairs community appears to have only The program gives citizens a key role in housing assistance. The financial outlook marginal influence. The study included restoring their community to health. for local governments was sobering, but a citation study in addition to the survey not calamitous. An article in the CURA and a ranking of the ten most important RESTORATIVE JUSTICE FOR JUVENILES Reporter helped to warn counties that laws of the past decade. Results were pub- lished in the CURA Restorative justice is an emerging, new Reporter. way of understanding and responding to crime. Instead of the traditional retribu- A NEW tive model which focuses largely on the RESPONSE TO offender with a “trail’em, nail’em, and URBAN CRIME jail’em” philosophy, restorative justice A demonstration focuses on restoring harmony between project of how inner victims, offenders, and the community. It city neighborhoods gives support to victims, brings offenders can reduce street face-to-face with victims, holds offenders crime and build com- accountable, and supports their reintegra- munity is drawing tion back into the community. The prac- considerable atten- tice of victim offender mediation is one of tion because it is the the clearest expressions of this new model first neighborhood- of justice. The juvenile justice systems based restorative in Dakota and Washington Counties are justice program in making a major commitment to restorative they needed to start planning. This project the country to deal with urban crimes justice, including the practice of victim- was supported by CURA, the University committed by adult offenders. NPCR offender mediation. Local community of Minnesota Extension Service, and the (Neighborhood Planning for Community members serve as volunteer mediators. Agricultural Experiment Station. Revitalization), see page 39, is largely A professor of social work who is director responsible for the creation of the new of the Center for Restorative Justice and POLICY IDEAS IN MINNESOTA Community Conferencing program oper- Mediation used a Faculty Research Grant Where do Minnesota legislators get their ated by four urban core neighborhoods (see page 37) to evaluate the two coun- policy ideas? What sources of information in Minneapolis. An article describing the ties’ new initiatives with restorative justice are used in identifying public problems, program and how it brings offenders, vic- for juveniles. A survey was developed to

CURA Update ‘99 33 assess victim satisfaction. The survey is understanding of the complex relation- the process. The CURA intern worked now being used in other counties and has ships between transportation and regional with Crystal planners on models for two become the prototype for the entire state. growth. CURA is helping the University main projects: beefing up a commercial Several reports document the evaluation Center for Transportation Studies oversee strip and scattered site redevelopment of and a CURA Reporter article about the the project, which involves several faculty a two-block residential area. The back- study will soon be published. and graduate students and addresses such ground work done with the assistance of research issues as Twin Cities housing, the intern enabled the city to get a grant LOCAL OPTION TAXES local government, and land use growth from the Metropolitan Council to fund the The Minnesota Department of Revenue dynamics; passenger and freight travel projects. The projects also gave the city’s was concerned about the difficulties with demand; full transportation costs analy- Community Development Department the state’s property tax and local govern- sis; transportation financing alternatives; models they could use in other areas of ment aid system. A graduate student, transportation and urban design; and the city. available through CURA’s Graduate Interns for State Agencies program (see page 38), helped them study local option taxes that could be used to offset property tax. He developed spreadsheets to analyze property tax data in considering various tax reform ideas. As a result of the study the idea of using local option taxes was abandoned. The intern is now employed at the Department of Revenue.

TWO HARBORS IN THE TWENTY- FIRST CENTURY Working with the Vision and Heritage Commission of the City of Two Harbors, a professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, Duluth surveyed the com- munity for a vision of where they should go in the next century. The survey, sup- ported by the Center for Community and Regional Research (see page 38), institutional and political processes asso- —Forest Lake assisted local authorities in setting future ciated with regional growth. Several of The Town of Forest Lake and the City of policy priorities for the city’s services, the initial study reports have been com- Forest Lake were considering a possible infrastructure, housing, schools, pleted and published by the Center for merger. It was a sensitive political situa- recreational and cultural resources, and Transportation Studies. tion with a great deal of mistrust between economic development. the two groups. The CURA intern worked PLANNING INTERNSHIPS IN with the Joint Merger Committee. The TRANSPORTATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT committee developed questions and the REGIONAL GROWTH Communities needing help on specific intern gathered information in response In 1996 the Metropolitan Council pro- issues apply to CURA for research or and presented it to the committee. posed a growth management strategy for technical assistance supplied by graduate Through this process the elected officials the seven-county Twin Cities region that students from the Humphrey Institute’s became able to talk with each other and included recommendations for regional Planning Program. The best proposals the citizens on the committee learned to sewer and transportation policies. The are chosen. For more on the program see listen and discover shared goals among council and the Minnesota Department of page 37. In the past two years, the following people they had distrusted. Bridges have Transportation (MN/DOT), both of which communities received a planning intern. been built between the two communities will play significant roles in shaping the though no decision about the merger has metropolitan future, asked the University —City of Crystal been made. to assist them in carrying out appropri- Crystal is an aging neighborhood now ate planning processes by providing them prime for redevelopment. They needed with more knowledge and a keener a planning model to guide them through

34 CURA Update ‘99 —City of St. Paul SCOTT COUNTY INTERNSHIPS calculated from both state and national St. Paul’s planning department resources Scott County is growing rapidly and scales. Regions would then be defined by were significantly reduced and they needed needs to develop programs and opera- actual similarity rather than by geogra- technical help with a number of commu- tions to meet its changing needs. They phy or politics. A presentation was made nity task forces. The CURA intern worked asked CURA to create student internships to the Upper Midwest Conference on on three projects. He put land use and that would provide students with practi- Demographics for Policy Makers and the zoning data into a GIS database for the cal experience in public policy research work was also shared with the U.S. Bureau Department of Public Works. He helped and analysis while exposing county of the Census as part of their review of with the planning process for housing management to progressive ideas and metropolitan area definition standards. policy. And he worked on the St. Paul management philosophies. Internships STATEWIDE SYSTEMS PROJECT Community Development Agenda (a con- were created in the Humphrey Institute sortium of the school district, the county, and five interns worked in a number of A graduate student worked with a team the city, and other agencies) which cre- areas. They helped develop county per- of people from the Minnesota Legislative ated a consensus document that is already formance measures, a one-stop service Auditor’s office in evaluating the state’s changing things in St. Paul. concept in finance, needs assessment and new computer system for accounting and coordination for a general ledger and personnel. His internship was made pos- —Carver County human resources package system, mis- sible through CURA’s Graduate Interns The county expects tremendous growth sion and goals for Scott County Family for State Agencies program (see page 38). over the next twenty years. It was involved Net, analysis of costs in the justice system The intern interviewed people in various in a major planning effort to create a 2020 and feasibility of a diversions program, state agencies, exploring who made the comprehensive plan and needed extra survey of leaders and officials about issues decisions about the system and its scope, help. The CURA intern worked with facing the county and coordination of what is really needed, and what people Parks and Open Space, a subcommittee meetings of the Scott County Leadership would like to have in the system. A report of the Transportation Committee, making Forum, and creation of the Scott County of the team’s findings was prepared. many contributions to the plan, which will Economic Development Coalition to be submitted to the Metropolitan Council WOMEN’S VOICES address labor shortages in the county. Two this spring. of the interns went on to jobs with the The Minnesota Women’s Foundation was county after they graduated. concerned that women were not being —City of Cottage Grove heard when public policy was discussed The city needed to update its ordinances REDEFINING METROPOLITAN and made. CURA joined with a number to correspond with the Mississippi River AREAS of other organizations in supporting Corridor Critical Area plan. The CURA Since 1950, when the U.S. government their multi-method survey of women intern assisted planning department staff began designating official “metropolitan throughout the state. A phone survey in this effort. He studied anticipated areas,” the boundaries between urban was augmented with focus groups and impacts of wetland ordinances for things and rural areas have become more and individual written responses. The survey such as grading and steep slopes, working more blurred. Meanwhile the Office of showed that three issues are paramount also with the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget and the Bureau in the minds of Minnesota women: crime Natures Resources Inventory. He worked of the Census have been besieged with and physical safety, economic insecurity, on drafts of city plans and wrote ordi- demands that specific areas be given and the challenge of balancing work and nances that have already been approved metropolitan designation. They are now family life. Results were published in two and implemented. wondering if they should even continue to reports, presentations have been made to define metropolitan areas and if so, how. numerous groups, and the entire project —St. Paul Public Schools served as the theme for the Fourth Annual The St. Paul Public Schools have defined The intricacies and dilemmas of defining Celebration on International Women’s student achievement as the main component metropolitan areas were revealed through Day this year. The project increased the in the district’s accountability program. a study of the situation in Minnesota by a visibility of the Minnesota Women’s The CURA intern prepared background professor of geography and his graduate Foundation and raises issues that need to information that can be used in program assistant. In an article prepared for the be discussed in policy-making circles, the evaluations. He collected data about pro- CURA Reporter, they proposed that the philanthropic community, and the academy. grams in each school in the system. His method of definition be changed to a sim- work helped define what programs exist ple criterion of population density. This and how they are doing. A follow-up sur- would be calculated at the county level, vey has been prepared based on the data. with values based on a population index

CURA Update ‘99 35 BUILDING SUSTAINABLE Research Grant (see page 37), studied control recruitment, fix training require- COMMUNITIES family decision-making about financing ments, and charge more for their services. No one likes to contribute to urban nursing home care through in-depth inter- In an article in the CURA Reporter he sprawl, but local governments on the views with elders, their families, and the asked if we are licensing too many occupa- urban fringe often don’t understand the professionals who advise them. She found tions and suggested a number of reforms dynamics of sprawl, its consequences, or that most elders do not plan for extended that might benefit the public. the tools available for them to control illness. She examined the goals that families it. With help from CURA and others, a have when dealing with a chronic illness, LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES FOR how care needs are CHILDREN AND FAMILIES being met, and how The Legislative Commission on the nursing home expenses Economic Status of Women is responsible are being paid. The for studying state policy affecting children, public policy impli- youth, and families. Their staff is too small cations of the find- to develop initiatives for legislation. CURA ings were explicitly supported a graduate student, through laid out in a CURA its Graduate Interns for State Agencies Reporter article, and program (see page 38), who studied issues in the full study, also related to family law and domestic abuse. published by CURA. She also attended legislative and state agency hearings on the issues and made METROPOLITAN recommendations to the commission’s staff. GOVERNMENT In addition, the intern developed the com- The Metropolitan mission’s website: http://www.commissions. Council was created leg.state.mn.us/commis/abtlcesw.htm. professor of public affairs undertook a in 1967 to guide the growth of the Twin METROPOLITAN WATERSHED three-year study of sprawl on the edge of Cities metropolitan areas and assure that PLANNING the Twin Cities—often looking at pairs the necessary public facilities would be of municipalities, such as Cottage Grove in place to serve it. A visiting scholar (see Under new state legislation, manage- and Denmark Township in southern page 40) from Bethel College examined ment of water is to be carried out by Washington County, where one municipal- the thirty-year record of the council to watersheds. The new policy requires ity accepted urbanization and the other learn what has been accomplished in the extensive coordination between local did not. He documented the details and realms of land use and housing. His book governments and local and state offices hopes to show local officials how they on the subject—Growth Management in since watershed management entails not can take control of their own destinies. A the Twin Cities Region (published recently only surface waters, but the lands that summary of the project will appear in the by CURA)—reports that the system’s run into the waters, their flora and fauna, CURA Reporter. achievement has been impressive in the and the development on the landscape. national context although not meeting the Under a joint powers agreement among MEDICAID ESTATE PLANNING expectations of all observers. He finds that Minneapolis, Lauderdale, St. Paul, Falcon Medicaid is taking an increasingly large the Metropolitan Council operates in the Heights, and the Minneapolis Park and bite out of government budgets and the midst of a web of political influence that Recreation Board, new management bulk of Medicaid money goes to pay for both supports many of its current efforts plans are being developed for the Middle nursing home care. Medicaid estate plan- and restrains them. Mississippi River Watershed (MMRW). ning is a practice of intentionally transfer- Through CURA, two student interns OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING ring wealth to others in the family so that made significant contributions to the new the elder qualifies for Medicaid coverage Regulation of who can practice in certain management plan. They worked closely and avoids paying the long term care occupations has grown dramatically in with the citizens advisory committee to costs of a nursing home. How prevalent recent years. A professor of industrial the MMRW Management Organization is this practice? What family resources relations used a CURA Faculty Research and with city staff to extract ideas about are being used to meet the needs of elders Grant (see page 37) to study the growth of management and put them into a cohesive with chronic illnesses like Parkinson’s and occupational licensing from 1950 to 1990. plan. The plan is now being used as a cri- Alzheimer’s? A professor of family social Licensing, by creating standards, is meant terion for judging various projects that are science, with the aid of a CURA Faculty to protect the consumer from unscrupu- proposed within the watershed. lous vendors. It also allows vendors to 36 CURA Update ‘99 Special Programs

FACULTY RESEARCH GRANTS and graduate student research assistance. Hog Production. A professor of applied Beginning in the summer of 1984, CURA The results of these research projects are economics is studying the impact of and the University’s Office of the Vice published in the CURA Reporter. Projects different sized swine operations in ten President for Research (originally, with completed since 1996 have been described Minnesota counties. the Academic Vice President) have jointly in earlier sections of this Update. Five new Traffic data. A professor of computer sponsored a competitive program sup- awards were made in 1998. science is exploring how data from porting interactive research between thousands of sensors installed on Twin Three professors University of Minnesota faculty and the Environmental Justice. Cities highways can be used through of geography are using geographic community. The purpose of the program data mining and visualization methods to information systems (GIS) to assess the is to encourage University faculty to carry improve transportation policy decisions. environmental hazards faced by people of out research projects that involve signifi- color living in the Phillips neighborhood PLANNING INTERNSHIPS IN cant issues of public policy for the state of Minneapolis. LOCAL GOVERNMENT and that include interaction with commu- A professor in human nity groups, agencies, or organizations in Welfare to Work. Local government planners are helped resources and industrial relations is collab- Minnesota. Projects have an applied while they provide hands-on learning orating with the Minnesota Department of orientation as well as serving the more experiences for graduate students in the Human Services to assess what psycholog- basic research interests of the faculty Humphrey Institute’s Master of Planning ical factors will help predict which people member. Appropriate subjects for research in Public Affairs Program. The best pro- move successfully from welfare to work. might involve the state’s economy, educa- posals from local governments in the Twin A profes- tion, employment, energy, environment, Encouraging Children to Learn. Cities metropolitan area are chosen each sor of educational psychology is study- ethnic groups, housing, poverty, social year to receive an intern. Costs of funding ing African American, American Indian, services, or transportation. the student are divided equally between Hispanic, Asian American, and Somali the agency and CURA. The agency choos- The program provides summer support perspectives to discover how families of es the intern, who works with them for up for faculty on nine-month appointments color encourage their children to learn. to one academic year. This program began

CURA Update ‘99 37 in 1990 and has served twenty-six cities These projects are and counties. In the past two years six described earlier in this governments received planning interns: Update under various topic headings. City of Crystal Forest Lake COMMUNIVERSITY City of St. Paul PERSONNEL Carver County GRANTS City of Cottage Grove This program assists St. Paul Public Schools grassroots, nonprofit agen- Brief descriptions of the projects are given cies and organizations under Policy and Government in this in Minnesota to initiate Update. projects requiring short- term personnel assistance. GRADUATE INTERNS FOR STATE Priority is given to groups AGENCIES serving diverse communi- CCRR projects link faculty and students This program fosters opportunities for ties. Applications are received twice a with community agencies on research graduate students to work outside the year. If a grant is awarded, CURA sup- projects of local and regional significance. University while providing technical assis- ports the extra personnel needed, usually The community agencies are normally tance and research skills to state agencies. an advanced graduate student. Student expected to pay at least half of the project In even numbered years the grants are for positions are posted at the University of costs. Projects provide an opportunity the summer. In odd numbered years they Minnesota and the agency that receives for UMD students to become actively the grant chooses the involved in their community while learning student. Projects range specific research skills and general principles from staff development of planning, participation, and evaluation. to research to evalu- Students work closely with faculty mem- ation to short-term bers who are ultimately responsible for technical assistance. the success of the project. Major student Programs that serve involvement is essential for project funding. American Indians, African Americans, Project proposals come from UMD faculty. Chicanos and Latinos, Many have been working with community and Asian Americans organizations and see CCRR as a way to are given priority. tackle important problems. The director During the past two and staff of the center encourage these years forty-three such relationships and often direct an inspired projects have received professor toward an appropriate agency CURA support. A (or vice versa). are for up to one academic year. Projects number of these projects are described in are selected on the basis of importance to earlier sections of this Update. UNIVERSITY-MIGRANT the state and value of the learning expe- PROJECT rience for students. Agencies supervise CENTER FOR COMMUNITY AND The University-Migrant Project began in the students and share costs equally with REGIONAL RESEARCH (CCRR) 1994 when concerned Latinos and oth- CURA. In the past two years, nine Located on the Duluth campus of the ers initiated conversations among people projects were undertaken with: University of Minnesota, the center’s at the University of Minnesota, migrant Legislative Auditor’s Office base funding is provided by CURA. It farmworkers, and the various agencies that Minnesota Department of Revenue encourages and supports social, scientific, serve migrant communities concerning Minnesota Department of Labor and and humanities research in northeastern issues that affect the state’s approximately Industry Minnesota. In the last biennium, CCRR 20,000 migrant farmworkers. The project Minnesota Crime Victims’ Reparation supported or published findings from became a part of CURA in late 1995. Board eleven projects that are described in ear- An advisory board made up of former Legislative Committee on the Economic lier sections of this Update. migrants; migrant-serving agency person- Status of Women

38 CURA Update ‘99 nel; and University students, staff, and farmworkers community. This year the Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), the faculty provide direction and guidance to program is expanding to include college McKnight Foundation, the Minneapolis the project staff. students in other schools who come from Foundation, and CURA. farmworker families. The project focuses on educating the Economic Impacts. Research continues on Applications for projects are received University community and the public the economic impact of migrant workers three times a year. In the last two years about migrant and seasonal agricultural on Minnesota’s economy. NPCR completed ninety-five projects. A workers and issues affecting their lives. It Curriculum and Certificate Program. number of these projects are described in also seeks to improve migrant farmwork- A new twelve-credit program is being earlier sections of this Update. A special ers’ living and working conditions. As developed to train people who work with issue of the CURA Reporter in April 1998 part of this effort, the U-Migrant Project migrant farmworkers on issues that farm- depicted many of NPCR’s projects and supports the activities of the Farmworker workers face. The program was developed accomplishments. Action Network, a volunteer group that because of requests from the community. develops educational outreach programs Besides focusing on the needs of indi- and legislative advocacy for farmworkers. HOUSING INITIATIVE vidual neighborhoods, NPCR uses work- shops and conferences to share informa- Research projects related to housing are On the University of Minnesota cam- tion more broadly across neighborhoods. conducted under CURA’s newest program, pus, the U-Migrant Project consists of Workshops have led to continued coop- the Housing Initiative. They may origi- three main components: a graduate-level erative efforts among many Twin Cities nate with either faculty or students or by interdisciplinary class “The Migrant neighborhoods. In addition, NPCR creat- request from community organizations. A Experience in Minnesota,” a summer ed the University-Neighborhood Network number of initiative projects are detailed internship and research program that in 1997 (see the following description). in the Housing section of this Update. A places students with agencies serving central element of migrant workers, and collaborative activities the initiative, also that link University faculty and students described in the with migrant-serving agencies to help meet Housing section, is critical needs of migrant workers. The U- the CURA Housing Migrant Project is supported by the Office Forum, which brings of Multicultural Affairs, the Executive faculty, students, and Vice President and Provost, Minnesota community members Extension Service, the Office for Special together to discuss Learning Opportunities (OSLO), and housing issues. CURA. Several projects stand out in the last two years of the U-Migrant Project: NEIGHBOR- HOOD Dental Clinics. A collaboration of the PLANNING FOR School of Dentistry, Migrant Health COMMUNITY Service, Inc., and Tri-Valley Migrant Head REVITALIZA- Start set up dental clinics in various west- TION (NPCR) ern and southern Minnesota communi- Since 1993, NPCR has assisted neighbor- UNIVERSITY-NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK (UNN) ties. Faculty members in dentistry, dental hood organizations in Minneapolis. And students, and dental hygiene students pro- in 1996 it expanded to include St. Paul Neighborhood projects are brought vide dental care to migrant children. The neighborhood organizations and com- into university classrooms through this program provides dental students with an munity development corporations as program which links neighborhood activ- opportunity to work on an age group not well. NPCR supports student research ists with students and faculty to solve usually available to them. assistants to carry out neighborhood initi- real community problems. Through Paid Internships. The project contin- ated and guided projects. The program UNN, a project of NPCR, faculty offer ues to support University of Minnesota involves nine colleges and universities their students the chance to complete students who work on internships with within the Twin Cities area. It is funded neighborhood projects for course credit. agencies serving migrant workers or with by the U.S. Department of Education, Neighborhood organizations develop and policy and advocacy organizations. The the U.S. Department of Housing and direct a project that fits into a university students contribute to a final project that Urban Development (HUD), St. Paul course. Students choose or are assigned either educates the public or serves the Companies, St. Paul Foundation, Local

CURA Update ‘99 39 a project. Since its beginnings in 1997, provides office space and an environment planning and development, evaluation, UNN has linked fifty-seven neighborhood that supports their project. CURA often and other short-term projects in southeast- organizations with twenty-five academic publishes the results. ern and south-central Minnesota. classes at three schools. A few of the proj- ects are described under Communities In 1996-97 William Johnson, a political Communities apply to the program with a and Neighborhoods in this Update. An scientist at Bethel College, wrote a book project that will benefit from student skills article giving more detail about the pro- about the Metropolitan Council’s experi- and expertise. Projects that are approved gram appeared in the April 1998 CURA ence with growth management, noted in provide a student stipend and sometimes Reporter. the section on Policy and Government in travel and other related costs. Early pilot this Update. CURA published the book projects have included agri-tourism, city UNIVERSITY ACCESS FOR THE in 1998. Previous visiting scholars have park planning, land use planning, youth COMMUNITY (U-ACT) included Phil Wichern, a political scientist leadership, restructuring county services, U-ACT seeks to establish stronger links who studied metropolitan government in and economic analysis. The program is between the University and community organizations of color. The program began in the fall of 1996 and is modeled after the Communiversity Personnel Grants and CURA’s NPCR program. U-ACT awards personnel grants to organizations seeking help with applied research, pro- gram development, evaluation, or other issues identified by the organizations. Each student hired for the program has both a faculty and a community mentor. Students are given the chance to make a significant contribution while organiza- tions gain technical or research help for an extended period of time (one University quarter or longer). Information about other University resources is shared on an ongoing basis with the participat- ing community organizations. In the last biennium U-ACT completed twenty-two the Twin Cities; Oliver Byrum, who wrote supported by a grant from the McKnight projects. A sampling of these projects a book about planning strategies for mid- Foundation and it is a partnership effort is described in the People of Color and sized cities; Ron Kroese, who researched of the University of Minnesota (through its Disadvantaged section of this Update. U- how agriculture became an industry fol- Rural Development Council), the Initiative ACT has also created a training program lowing World War II; Charlie Warner, fund of Southeastern and South Central in evaluation at the request of a number who developed data on the vanishing Minnesota, and local communities and of communities of color. It is described stock of low-income housing in Minnesota organizations. CURA serves as the fiscal in the same section. U-ACT is a coopera- and helped create the Minnesota Housing agent for the project as a member of the tive effort of the College of Education Partnership; and Howard Mielke, who University’s advisory committee. and Human Development, the College of created the Lead Toxicity Project, which Architecture and Landscape Architecture, produced an analysis and maps of the lead MINNESOTA CENTER FOR the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, content in Twin Cities soils.0 SURVEY RESEARCH (MCSR) Minnesota Extension Service, and CURA. MCSR provides survey research skills and RURAL COMMUNITY services to people both inside and outside VISITING SCHOLARS ASSISTANTSHIPS the University of Minnesota. Outside cli- For more than a decade CURA has served In a new University program, partnerships ents typically come from state and local as a temporary home for incipient projects with rural communities are fostered by government or from nonprofit organiza- and visiting scholars. Typically they receive bringing applied research help to Greater tions. All of the outside clients, and many outside funding and work on projects con- Minnesota. The program offers student of the University clients, are working on cerning public policy in Minnesota. CURA assistance with applied research, program issues of public policy in Minnesota.

40 CURA Update ‘99 In the past two years, MCSR conducted administrative and planning purposes. forty-two major surveys and collected data MCSR conducted three surveys as part from over 34,000 citizens and organiza- of University 2000, the plan to further tions. In addition, MCSR provided partial improve the student experience at the services for another twenty-one surveys. University. The 1997 Student Experiences In total it served seventy-six clients (thirty- Survey was completed by over 2,500 cur- one from the University and forty-five rently registered students, and included from outside the University). an overall assessment of the University, as well as questions about campus services, Each year MCSR conducts two omnibus coursework, campus experiences, future telephone surveys: one of 800 households plans, and expectations. The 1998 U of in the metropolitan area and one of 800 M Graduates Survey assessed the impact households across the state. Omnibus of the University on its 1996 graduates. surveys keep costs low by allowing govern- Questions about their education, career, ment and nonprofit organizations each to and how well the University prepared ask a few questions as part of a larger sur- them for it, educational activities since vey. In the past two years seventeen clients graduation, professional activities, and life were served by the Minnesota state survey, skills were completed by 1,730 individuals. and ten by the metropolitan survey. A third survey, about the working climate of the University, was completed by about Although MCSR is self-supporting and 5,100 employees. charges for its services, as part of CURA Vaccine for Pneumonia. Staff at the and as part of a land grant university it Minnesota Department of Health wanted also provides some free survey consulting to know whether senior citizens were to individuals and organizations. During aware that they could be vaccinated the last two years, MCSR provided 116 tion, the academic standards of neighbor- against pneumonia. MCSR screened hours of unpaid consulting to ninety-three hood schools, and their racial composition households in three metropolitan counties individuals and organizations (fifty-two and ideal racial composition. The study for age eligibility and conducted 353 tele- hours to government and nonprofit orga- showed that there is still hope for inte- phone interviews. People answered ques- nizations, and sixty-four hours to individu- gration advocates: most residents would tions about vaccines, the seriousness of als at the University of Minnesota). As an prefer to live in integrated neighborhoods pneumonia, awareness of the vaccine, the additional service, MCSR awards a free and to send their children to integrated importance of a doctor’s recommendation, question on each of its omnibus surveys to schools. and costs. The results are being used to the faculty member with the most impor- Employment of Persons with Disabilities. design outreach activities that will increase tant public policy question. The Minnesota Department of Employee immunization rates. Relations is responsible for setting goals Evaluating Judges. Every two years the A few of the newer surveys are described for the state related to hiring persons Hennepin County Bar Association asks its briefly: with disabilities and needed to determine members to evaluate current judges of the Fourth Judicial District who will be listed Racial Integration. The University’s the number of people sixteen and older Institute on Race and Poverty conducted a who have a disability, whether they were on the election ballot. Performance cat- survey of racial attitudes to learn whether currently working or in the process of egories include: fairness, lack of bias, and integration is dead or whether people still looking for work, and what barriers to judicial demeanor; legal expertise in civil want to make it work. MCSR conducted employment they had encountered. MCSR and criminal cases and in specialty court; telephone interviews with 507 residents of screened thousands of households for and case management skills. Members are also asked to consider whether judges the Twin Cities metropolitan area, includ- disability status, and conducted 424 tele- should be retained in office. Of the seven ing an oversample of more than a hundred phone interviews of persons with disabili- - African Americans. People answered ties. Survey results were used to adjust the teen judges listed in the 1998 survey, fifteen questions about the importance of several state’s hiring goals and to target barriers to received retention ratings of 85 percent or factors when looking for housing: the employment that were identified. higher. quality of the neighborhood, its racial University of Minnesota Administrative composition and the ideal racial composi- Surveys. The University of Minnesota often needs to collect information for

CURA Update ‘99 41 Cura Publications and Reports PLUS PUBLICATIONS RESULTING FROM CURA PROJECTS

“Federal and State No Magic Bullet: What Minneapolis Welfare Reform. Youth Say About Gun Violence. Dimitri Implications for Andrusesky and Mei Ding. Minneapolis Children in the Department of Health and Family Summit-University Support and the Initiative for Violence- Neighborhood.” Free Families. 1997. 14 pp. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. 1997. “Profiles of Successful African-Americans 75 pp. in Our Communities.” Heather Michelson. Neighborhood Planning “Frogtown for Community Revitalization. 1997. Action Alliance 33 pp. Available on NPCR’s Website Comprehensive at http://freenet.msp.mn.us/org/npcr/ Neighborhood Action reports/npcr1081.html. Plan: An Evaluation for the McKnight “Tales We Tell: Folk Legends of Foundation.” Carol Minnesota.” Elizabeth Bird. February McGee Johnson 1998. CURA Reporter 28(1): 8-12. and Mia Robillos. Unpublished. 1998. “Transit Utilization in the East Harriet 190 pp. Neighborhood.” Shehryar Sarwar. Neighborhood Planning for Community “Grand Net: A Revitalization. 1998. 24 pp. Available on COMMUNITIES AND Community Electronic Network in Rural NPCR’s Website at http://freenet.msp.mn. NEIGHBORHOODS Minnesota.” Libby Dressel, Melinda us/org/npcr/reports/npcr1084.html. “Cedar Riverside NRP Directory.” Jackson, Eugene Borgida, and John Sullivan. January 1999. CURA Reporter ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND Devon Idstrom. Neighborhood Planning EMPLOYMENT for Community Revitalization. 1998. 29(1): 7-11. Characteristics of Poverty: Incidence, 54 pp. Available on NPCR’s Website Gun Violence Reduction Study: Change, and Correlates. Fifth in the at http://freenet.msp.mn.us/org/npcr/ Minneapolis Youth Speak on Selected series, What the 1990 Census Says About reports/npcr1085.html. Strategies. Dimitri Andrusesky. Minnesota. Dennis A. Ahlburg. Center for Choices for Community. Minneapolis: Minneapolis: Initiative for Violence-Free Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Community Circle Collaborative. 1998. Families. 1997. 22 pp. Minnesota. 1997. 25 pp. CURA 97-5. 17 pp. “How and Why Community Groups Use “Characteristics of Poverty in Minnesota.” Documenting and Interpreting Minnesota Maps and Geographic Information.” Dennis A. Ahlburg. September 1998. Folklore. Elizabeth S. Bird and William J. Craig and Sarah A. Elwood. CURA Reporter 28(3): 7-11. David J. Woodward. Department of 1998. Cartography and Geographic Eco-Industrial Park Development: Interdisciplinary Programs/Sociology- Information Systems 2(2): 95-104. Manufacturing Changes. Final Project Anthropology and Center for Community “Neighborhood Organizations on the Report. Sabrina M. Lau. Minneapolis: and Regional Research, University of Internet.” Mark Brose. April 1998. CURA The Green Institute. 1998. 63 pp. plus Minnesota, Duluth. 1996. 34 pp. Reporter 28(2): 16-20. appendices.

42 CURA Update ‘99 “Employment and Business Survey in the “Survey and Analysis of South St. “Risk and Resilience Among Children Phillips Neighborhood.” Noriko Osada. Anthony Park.” Herbert Crowell. Homeless in Minneapolis.” Ann S. Masten Neighborhood Planning for Community Unpublished. 1997. 15 pp. and Arturo Sesma, Jr. January 1999. Revitalization. 1996. 73 pp. Available on CURA Reporter 29(1): 1-6. NPCR’s Website at http://freenet.msp.mn. “Tourism and the International Wolf us/org/npcr/reports/npcr1051.html. Center.” David T. Schaller. August 1996. University Students as Community CURA Reporter 26(3): 1-5. Partners. Nicole Bates-Child. University of “Evaluation of the Cambridge Telework Minnesota Extension Service. 1998. 16 pp. Center: Commuting Time and Distance, “Women, Work, and the City.” Elvin K. Work Attitudes, Job Performance, and Wyly. December 1996. CURA Reporter ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Financial Impact.” Paul R. Sackett, 26(4): 12-17 “Automobile Recycling Alternatives: Daniel Magan, and Daniel Ostgaard. Why Not? A Look at the Possibilities Unpublished. 1998. 120 pp. EDUCATION for Greener Car Recycling.” Alison “CommUniversity Collaborative Compact. Altschuller. Neighborhood Planning “Geography of Consumer Demand: University of Minnesota, Morris. Final for Community Revitalization. 1997. Gasoline Retailing in St. Cloud.” Paul Report.” Roger McCannon. Unpublished. 46 pp. Available on NPCR’s Website Plummer. August 1996. CURA Reporter 1997. 30 pp. at http://freenet.msp.mn.us/org/npcr/ 26(3): 6-8. reports/npcr1057.html. “Extended Review of the Literature: The “Idle Youth in Minnesota.” Dennis A. Impact of Frequent Family Moves on “Barge Channel Road Industrial Area: Ahlburg. November 1997. CURA Reporter School Achievement and Development Redevelopment for a Sustainable 27(3): 7-10. for Low-Income Children.” Judith K. Community.” Christina Jacobson. Tennebaum. Unpublished. 1996. 57 pp. Unpublished. 1998. 41 pp. “Improving Economic Forecasting in Minnesota.” Vladimir Cherkassky and “Family View of Filip Mulier. November 1997. CURA Mobility Among Reporter 27(3): 11-16. Low-Income Children.” Karla Main Street Impact Project. Katie Burns Buerkle and Sandra and Stephanie Kellner. Center for Urban L. Christenson. April and Regional Affairs. November 1998. 91 pp. 1999. CURA Reporter 29(2): 7-12. New Designs for the Minneapolis Employment and Training Program. Kids Mobility Project. Minneapolis Employment and Training Virginia Craig. Program Design Group. Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Public Minneapolis Foundation. 1997. 54 pp. Schools. 1998. 15 pp.

“Powderhorn Park Neighborhood “Mobile Children Association Node Study.” Joel Spoonheim. and Families: Qualitative and Quantitative Courses on the Environment: A Student Neighborhood Planning for Community Explorations of the Meaning and Impact Guide to University of Minnesota Courses Revitalization. 1997. 16 pp. Available on of Residential Mobility and School on Environmental Issues on the Twin Cities NPCR’s Website at http://freenet.msp.mn. Change.” Karla Buerkle. Unpublished. Campus, 1996-1999. Margaret R. Wolfe. us/org/npcr/reports/npcr1075.html. 1997. 9 pp. Center for Urban and Regional Affairs “Strategies of Economic Development: “Report on the Digital Technology and the College of Natural Resources, East Side Neighborhood Development Summit. A Conference Sponsored by University of Minnesota. 1996. 36 pp. Company.” Virginia Johnson. University of Minnesota, Minnesota High CURA 96-4. Neighborhood Planning for Community Technology Council, and Minnesota Revitalization. 1997. 10 pp. Available on Office of Technology. October 22- NPCR’s Website at http://freenet.msp.mn. 23, 1997. Minneapolis, Minnesota.” us/org/npcr/reports/npcr1071.html. Unpublished. 71 pp.

CURA Update ‘99 43 “Diamond Lake: An Analysis of an HOUSING Minnesota’s Housing: Shaping Community Urban Wetland and Projections for the “Accessing Housing Data in Saint in the 1990s. Fourth in the series, What Future.” Charity Miller. Neighborhood Paul and Ramsey County, Minnesota.” the 1990 Census Says About Minnesota. Planning for Community Revitalization. Stephanie Kellner. Unpublished. 1997. John S. Adams, Barbara J. VanDrasek, 1998. 33pp. Available on NPCR’s Website 20 pp. and Elvin K. Wyly. Center for Urban and at http://freenet.msp.mn.us/org/npcr/ Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. reports/npcr1082.html. Evaluation of Minnesota’s Analyses of 1996. 133 pp. CURA 96-2. Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. “GIS Based Wetland Assessment Lawrence A. Winans and Kristy “Pay Now or Pay More Later: St. Paul’s Methodology for Urban Watershed Greenwalt. St. Paul: Minnesota Fair Experience in Rehabilitating Vacant Planning.” Douglas J. Snyder. Housing Center. 1998. 61 pp. Housing.” Edward G. Goetz, Kristin Unpublished. 1997. 99 pp. Cooper, Bret Thiele, and Hin Kin Lam. Family Housing Fund Annual Report 1996. April 1998. CURA Reporter 28(2): 12-15. “Groundwater Modeling in Minnesota.” Minneapolis: Family Housing Fund. 1997. Erik Anderson, Richard Pennings, and 23 pp. “Promises Deferred: An Analysis of Otto D.L. Strack. August 1996. CURA the Affordable Housing Provisions of Reporter 26(3): 9-11. “Fiscal Impacts of the St. Paul Houses the Livable Communities Act.” Livable to Homes Program.” Edward G. Goetz, Communities Housing Task Force. Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. Kristin Cooper, Bret Thiele, and Hin Unpublished. 1997. 28 pp. St. Paul: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Kin Lam. Neighborhood Planning Auditor. 1999. 118 pp. for Community Revitalization. 1997. Public Housing Highrise Social Service 37 pp. Available on NPCR’s Website Pilot Evaluation. Edward G. Goetz, “Paper or Plastic?”: Energy, Environment, at http://freenet.msp.mn.us/org/npcr/ David Chollar, and Kim Rowe. Center for and Consumerism in Sweden and America. reports/npcr1055.html. Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Rita J. Erickson. Westport, Connecticut: Minnesota. 1998. 66 pp. Praeger. 1997. 182 pp. “Green Institute Deconstruction and Used Building Materials Health and Safety “Quality of Life in Castle Towers Park: Ruffe: A Ballast Water Survey. Summary Research Project.” Anne Marie Johnson. A Survey of Resident Attitudes.” Herbert Report. Graham A. Tobin, Susan Neighborhood Planning for Community Crowell. Unpublished. 1998. 24 pp. Bonfigt, Jeffrey L. Gunderson, and Doug Revitalization. 1998. 36 pp. Available on Jensen. Duluth: Center for Community Residential Cluster Development: Fact NPCR’s Website at http://freenet.msp.mn. and Regional Research, University of Sheet Series. 1) Overview of Key Issues, us/org/npcr/reports/npcr1120.html. Minnesota. 1998. 22 pp. 2) Alternative Treatment Systems, 3) Storm Losing Ground. The Twin Cities Livable Water Management, and 4) Management “Urban Growth and Environmental Communities Act and Affordable Housing. Options. Matt Mega et al. 1998. University Protection: Searching for a Balance Edward G. Goetz and Lori Mardock. of Minnesota Extension Service. at Eagle Creek.” Paul Phifer, William Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, Cunningham and Bruce Vondracek. Who’s Financing the American Dream? A University of Minnesota. 1998. 39 pp. November 1997. CURA Reporter 27(3): 1-7. Comprehensive Study of Home Purchase CURA 98-2. Lending in Twenty Large Metropolitan “When Wild Rice is Cultivated.” W. “Losing Ground. The Twin Cities Areas from 1994 to 1996. Samuel L. Daniel Svedarsky and Jay T. Huseby. Livable Communities Act and Affordable Myers et al. Washington, D.C.: National February 1998. CURA Reporter 28(1): 13-17. Housing.” Edward G. Goetz and Lori Community Reinvestment Coalition. 1998. Mardock. April 1999. CURA Reporter 75 pp. 29(2): 13-17.

“Minnesota’s Housing: Shaping Community in the 1990s.” John S. Adams, Barbara J. VanDrasek, and Elvin K. Wyly. June 1996. CURA Reporter 26(2): 1-7.

44 CURA Update ‘99 HUMAN SERVICES in Child Welfare and the Center for “What Twelve to Fifteen Year-Olds “Are Communities the Problem or Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Want: A Reference for After School the Solution for High-Risk Families Minnesota. 1997. 33 pp. CURA 97-6. Youth Programmers.” Jessica Bakkene. and Children?” Esther Wattenberg. Neighborhood Planning for Community Study of Young Children Who are Wards The Prevention Report 1998 #1:14-17. Revitalization. 1998. 42 pp. Available on of the State of Minnesota as of October 14, University of Iowa, National Resource NPCR’s Website at http://freenet.msp.mn. 1996. Esther Wattenberg and Hyungmo Center for Family Centered Practice. us/org/npcr/reports/npcr1087.html. Kim. Center for Advanced Studies in Defining Excellence for School-Linked Child Welfare, School of Social Work, “When Foster Parents Are Kin.” Sandra Services. Esther Wattenberg and Yvonne University of Minnesota. 1997. 23 pp. Beeman and Laura Boisen. April 1997. Pearson, eds. Center for Urban and CURA Reporter 27(1): 11-16. Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. 1996. 47 pp. CURA 96-3.

Directory of Asian American Youth Programs in the Twin Cities. Asian American Renaissance. A joint publica- tion of the Asian American Renaissance, St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. 1997. 61 pp. CURA 97-4.

“Health System Reform for Nursing Home Residents. Final Evaluation Report.” Connie C. Schmitz, Michael G. Luxenberg, and Robert Connor. Unpublished. 1998. 9 pp.

Juvenile Out-of-Home Placement. St. Paul: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor. 1999. 112 pp. “Violence Against Women in West-Central Youth Yellow Pages. United Way of Kinship Foster Care in Minnesota: A Minnesota.” Jon Anderson, Marion Minneapolis Area. 1997. 64 pp. Study of Three Counties. Final Report Kerschner, Dianne Long, and Gina to the Minnesota Department of Human Garding. January 1999. CURA Reporter LAND USE AND POPULATION Resources. Sandra Beeman, Esther 29(1): 13-19. 1997-1999 Guide to Courses in GIS and Wattenberg, Laura Boisen, and Susan Land-Related Studies on the Twin Cities Bullerdick. Center for Advanced Studies Violence Fact Sheets. Russell Kava and Campus, University of Minnesota. Paul V. in Child Welfare, School of Social Work, Ellie Webster. St. Paul: Minnesota Bolstad, William J. Craig, and Margaret University of Minnesota. 1996. 230 pp. Department of Children, Families and R. Wolfe. Center for Urban and Regional Learning, Office of Drug Policy and Affairs, University of Minnesota. 1997. Redrawing the Family Circle: Concurrent Violence Prevention. Series of twelve fact 25 pp. CURA 97-7. Available on CURA’s Planning—Permanency for Young sheets. Website at http://www1.umn.edu/cura/ Children in High Risk Situations. Esther gis.htm. Wattenberg. Center for Urban and “Welfare Reform and the Phillips Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. Neighborhood: Areas of Concern (1997).” “GIS in Dakota County: Benefits Add 1998. 28 pp. CURA 98-1. Oriane Casale. Neighborhood Planning Up.” Donald D. Johnson and William J. for Community Revitalization. 1997. Craig. January 1997. Minnesota Counties, Rethinking Child Welfare: Can the System 53 pp. Available on NPCR’s Website A Publication of the Association of be Transformed through Community at http://freenet.msp.mn.us/org/npcr/ Minnesota Counties 4(1): 15. Partnerships? Esther Wattenberg and reports/npcr1060.html. Yvonne Pearson, eds. A joint publica- tion of the Center for Advanced Studies

CURA Update ‘99 45 “Maximizing GIS Benefits To Society.” American Indian Tribal Sovereignty. Final Report of the Post-Croson Project. William J. Craig and Donald D. Johnson. American Indian Research and Policy William L. Wilson. Distributed by Center March 1997. Geo Info Systems 7(3): Institute. St. Paul: Minnesota Indian for Urban and Regional Affairs, University 14-15, 18. Affairs Council. 1996. 4 pp. of Minnesota. 1997. 43 pp.

Minnesota Land Use and Cover: 1990s “Asian American Youth in the Twin Cities: Focusing Our Vision: American Indian Census of the Land. St. Paul: Association Overachievers or Delinquents?” Mary Kao Urban Higher Education Initiative. of Minnesota Counties. 1998. 42 x 50 inch Yang. Unpublished. 1996. 22 pp. Symposium Report, May 7-8, 1997. Brian full color map. Available for $10 from the Klopotek. St. Paul: The American Indian Explore Store at the Science Museum of “The Call to Serve: The Impact of Welfare Research and Policy Institute. 1997. 12 pp. Minnesota, 651/221-9414. Reform on the Constituency of the

“New Languages in Minnesota.” William J. Craig. April 1997. CURA Reporter 27(1): 6-10.

“Redundant Farmsteads in Minnesota.” John Fraser Hart and Lisa M. Rainey. September 1998. CURA Reporter 28(3): 1-6.

“Reusing the Arsenal: How the University was Involved in the Planning Process.” Mark D. Bjelland. September 1997. CURA Reporter 27(2): 17-24.

“A Theoretical and Empirical Investi- gation of Farm Level Specialization.” John Eric Skaastad. University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. 1997. 146 pp.

“Up to the Lake: Treaty Rights and Minneapolis Urban League.” Stephanie “Harvesting the Wind: Red Power Lakeshore Property Values.” Thomas L. Otto. Unpublished. 1997. 41 pp. for the Green Market. Wind Energy Anding. September 1997. CURA Reporter Production Options for the White Earth 27(2): 13-16. Critical Issues in Higher Education Reservation Community.” Laura McLeod. Programs Serving Urban American Indians. Upper Midwest Conference on Unpublished. 1998. 22 pp. American Indian Urban Higher Education Demographics for Policy Makers, April Initiative. Minneapolis: American Indian “The History of the Thomas-Dale 7-8, 1997. Abstracts. William J. Craig Urban Higher Education Initiative. 1997. Neighborhood, the Thomas-Dale Block Unpublished. 1997. 36 pp. 16 pp. Club, and the Impact the Thomas-Dale PEOPLE OF COLOR AND Block Club Has Made in its Neighbor- DISADVANTAGED Directory of Nonprofit Organizations of hood.” Monica Sapre. Unpublished. 1998. Color in Minnesota. Frederick W. Smith. Africa: One Continent, Many Worlds. 25 pp. Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, St. Paul: Science Museum of Minnesota. University of Minnesota. Third Edition, “KMOJ/U of M Journalism Internship 1998. 14 pp. February 1997. 197 pp. CURA 97-2. Project.” Meseret Chekol. Unpublished. “American Indian Housing Report: 1998. 27 pp. “Evaluation of the Community, Families, Phillips Community.” Chris Dettling. and Children Initiative, ‘American Indian Unpublished. 1998. 44 pp. Capacity-Building in Select Neighbor- hoods of St. Paul.’” Cecelia Martinez. Unpublished. 1998. 9 pp.

46 CURA Update ‘99 Latino Realities: A Vibrant Community Reflections on Traditional American Indian Financing Long Term Care: Dilemmas Emerges in South Minneapolis [Realidades Ways. Tracy Becker. St. Paul: American and Decisions Facing the Elderly, Family Latinas: Una Comunidad Vibrante Emerge Indian Research and Policy Institute. Members, and Society. Marlene Stum and en el Sur de Minneapolis]. Hispanic 1998. 20 pp. Estelle Brouwer. Center for Urban and Advocacy and Community Empowerment Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. through Research (HACER). Minneapolis: “Rise of African American Poverty in 1996. 33 pp. CURA 96-5. HACER. 1998. 69 pp. the Twin Cities, 1980 to 1990.” Sanders Korenman, Leslie Dwight, and John E. Growth Management in the Twin Cites “Little Earth Residents Association Sjaastad. September 1997. CURA Reporter Region. The Politics and Performance Volunteer Handbook.” Kimberly Pearson. 27(2): 1-12. of the Metropolitan Council. William C. Unpublished. 1997. 45 pp. Johnson. Center for Urban and Regional Traditional American Indian Leadership: Affairs, University of Minnesota. 1998. Many Faces of Mexico. Octavio Madigan A Comparison with U.S. Governance. 111 pp. CURA 98-3. Ruiz, Amy Sanders, and Meredith Tracy Becker. St. Paul: American Indian Sommers. Minneapolis: Resource Center Research and Policy Institute. 1997. 20 pp. “Growth of Occupational Licensing: of the Americas. 1995. 348 pp. Are We Protecting Consumers?” Morris M. Women’s Association of Hmong and Kleiner and Mitchell Gordon. December “Minnesota Hispanic Education Program Lao for the Future of Women and Girls. 1996. CURA Reporter 26(4): 8-11. 15th Annual Education Fair: A Summary Masami Suga. 1998. Eight-page brochure. of the Planning and Implementation “Medicaid and the Challenge of Paying for the Event.” Jennifer Godinez. for Nursing Home Unpublished. 1998. 30 pp. Care.” Marlene Stum and Estelle Brouwer. Minnesota Mailing List for Equal April 1996. CURA Opportunity Announcements and Reporter 26(1): 13-18. Advertisements, 1997. Margaret R. Wolfe and Frederick W. Smith. Center for “Pioneering Urban and Regional Affairs, University Restorative Justice: of Minnesota. 1997, Third edition. 33 pp. A New Response to CURA 97-1. Urban Crime.” Gena Gerard and Kris S. “Minnesota Stereotypes about Minorities Nelson. April 1998. Match Nation.” William J. Craig. CURA Reporter Unpublished. 1997. 13 pp. 28(2): 6-11.

“Minority Stereotypes in Minnesota.” “Redefining the William J. Craig. April 1997. CURA Metropolitan Reporter 27(1): 17. POLICY AND GOVERNMENT Region.” John S. Adams and Barbara “Client Evaluation of the Victim/Offender J. VanDrasek. September 1998. CURA “Needs Assessment Survey Study: Conferencing Program in Washington Reporter 28(3): 13-18. American Indian Urban Higher Education County (MN). Interim Report.” Initiative.” Elizabeth Twining Blue and Saint Paul Community Development Mark Umbreit and Claudia Fercello. Priscilla A. Day. Unpublished. 149 pp. Agenda 1996-2001. Saint Paul Community Unpublished. 1997. 19 pp. 1997. Development Task Force, Saint Paul “Evaluation of the NRP Policy Board Department of Planning and Economic “New Guidelines for Fighting Election.” Janet Miller. Unpublished. Development. 1996. 67 pp. Discrimination in Public Contracts.” 1996. 18 pp. William Wilson. February 1998. CURA Statewide Systems Project. Tom Walstrom, Reporter 28(1): 1-7. “Federal Cutbacks and the Local Jan Sandberg, and Nicholas Franco. St. Economy.” Thomas F. Stinson, Barry M. Paul: Minnesota Office of the Legislative “RAP Head Start Internship Program Ryan, and Carole B. Yoho. April 1997. Auditor. 1997. 18 pp. Student Handbook.” Amy Smith. CURA Reporter 27(1): 1-6. Unpublished. 1997. 8 pp.

CURA Update ‘99 47 “1998 Twin Cities Area Survey: Results and Technical Report.” Universitty of Minnesota, Minnesota Center for Survey Research. Unpublished. 1999. 103 pp.

“Bridging Two Worlds: Neighborhood Planning for Community Revitalization.” Kris S. Nelson. April 1998. CURA Reporter 28(2): 1-5.

CURA After 25 Years. Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. December 1996. 64 pp. CURA 96-6.

“CURA After 25 Years.” December 1996. CURA Reporter 26(4): 1-7.

CURA: Center for Urban and Regional “Where Do Minnesota Policy Issues Come PUBLICATIONS ABOUT CURA Affairs, University of Minnesota. 1998. From?” Virginia Gray. April 1999. CURA AND CURA PROGRAMS Twelve-page brochure. Reporter 29(2): 1-6. “1996 Minnesota State Survey: Results and Technical Report.” University of “CURA Publications in Print, September Women’s Voices—Private Lives, Public Minnesota , Minnesota Center for Survey 1997.” September 1997. CURA Reporter Policies. Cynthia Myntti, Clare Gravon, Research. Unpublished. 1997. 98 pp. 27(2): Insert, 20 pp. and Cynthia Rudolph. Minneapolis: Minnesota’s Women’s Foundation. 1998. “1997 Minnesota State Survey: Results CURA Update ’97. Center for Urban and 21 pp. and Technical Report.” University of Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota. Minnesota, Minnesota Center for Survey 1997. 42 pp. CURA 97-3. Women’s Voices—A Research Report. Research. Unpublished. 1998. 118 pp. Cynthia Myntti, Clare Gravon, and “Linking Neighborhoods with Academic Cynthia Rudolph. Minneapolis: “1998 Minnesota State Survey: Results Classrooms.” Stephanie Otto. April 1998. Minnesota’s Women’s Foundation. 1998. and Technical Report.” University of CURA Reporter 28(2): 21-25. 60 pp. Minnesota, Minnesota Center for Survey Research. Unpublished. 1999. 127 pp. Special NPCR Issue of the CURA “Woodbury Police Department’s Reporter 28(2). April 1998. Restorative Justice Community “1996 Twin Cities Area Survey: Results Conferencing Program. An Initial and Technical Report.” University of The University Neighborhood Network: Assessment of Client Satisfaction.” Minnesota, Minnesota Center for Survey Linking Neighborhood-Based Organization, Mark Umbreit and Claudia Fercello. Research. Unpublished. 1997. 98 pp. Faculty, and Students in Research Unpublished. 1997. 30 pp. Partnerships. University Neighborhood “1997 Twin Cities Area Survey: Results Network. Center for Urban and Regional and Technical Report.” University of Affairs, University of Minnesota. 1997. Minnesota, Minnesota Center for Survey Six-page brochure. Research. Unpublished. 1998. 96 pp.

48 CURA Update ‘99 Photo Credits

Thomas Anding, p. 25b

Mary Lou Aurell, courtesy of Independent School District #318, pp. 38b, 47

S. Elizabeth Bird, p. 3

Donald L. Breneman, p. 14b

Pat Christman, pp. 21, 24, 41

Nancy Conroy, pp. 1, 8a, 8b, 10b, 12, 22, 32, 43

Robert Friedman, pp. v, 2, 5, 6, 7a, 15, 16, 17, 20, 28, 29, 31, 33b, 36, 38a, 46

Edward G. Goetz, p. 18

Mark Hardy, courtesy of HACER, pp. 30, 39, 45

John Fraser Hart, pp. 25a, 26, 27, 40, 42

Gaylord Hub, p. 33a

International Wolf Center, p. 7b

Kids Mobility Project, Minneapolis Public Schools, pp. 9, 10a, 11

Neil Kveburg, courtesy of Minnesota Department of Transportation, pp. 13, 34, 48

Minnesota House of Representatives, p. 37

Barbara J. VanDrasek, p. 19

Judith Weir, p. 14a

Other Credits

Written and edited by Judith Weir

Interviews, compiling of information, and publications listings by Margaret Wolfe

Text entry and proofreading by Chris McKee

Design by West 44th Street Graphics

CURA Update ‘99 49 ‘99 CURA UPDATE Center for Urban and Regional Affairs

330 HHH Center Printed with soy-based 301 19th Avenue South ink on elementally chlorine free, recycled Minneapolis, MN 55455 paper including 20% 612.625.1551 post-consumer fiber. Fax: 612.626.0273 Add Union Bug http://www.umn.edu/cura

CURA Update 99-Cover.indd 1 4/11/05 10:07:22 AM