Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development Service
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briefl y Research Summary June 2010 STATED No. 10-01 Service Learning in Community Development: Partnering with East Cleveland David G. Harris & Mark G. Chupp Residents of East Cleveland are fi ghting to improve the quality of pubic education and access to vocational opportunities. “White fl ight” (Frey, 1979, p. 425), economic disinvestment, and ineff ective political leadership have led to the disadvantages faced by East Cleveland (Kathi & Cooper, 2005). Nearly 1,200 vacant structures blight their 3.1 square mile landscape. Case Western Reserve University recognizes the potential roles that they can serve in aiding neighboring East Cleveland into becoming a desirable place to call home. MSSA students joined residents and fi refi ghters to survey every vacant property in the City. Students utilized their experiences with conducting the survey, and through additional fi eldwork, recommended strategies for the impact of vacant housing on topics like workforce development, education, safe streets and neighborhoods, and the senior population. Th is research, aided in part by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University will serve as the basis for a partnership for the revitalization of East Cleveland with contributions from students, the university, residents, community organizations, and the City of East Cleveland. A RICH HISTORY communities such as East Cleveland in reshaping The City of East Cleveland was for many years a themselves into desirable places to call home. As suburb of economic wealth, beginning as the summer Chupp (2008) states, “Neighborhood revitalization, retreat for John D. Rockefeller and many industrial therefore, requires a people-based strategy to tycoons living in Cleveland during the late 1800s. improve the lives of residents and a place-based The community grew and retained much of its strategy to transform the negative eff ects of living in prominence through the 1950s. “White fl ight” in the a poor neighborhood” (p. 1). When the geography of 1960s and 1970s brought about drastic change in the East Cleveland is considered, with wealthy resource- demographics of the population and led to economic laden neighbors like Case Western Reserve University, disinvestment. Today, the proud residents of East University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, Severance Hall, Cleveland are fi ghting to improve the quality of pubic and the museums, it truly does not make sense that education and access to vocational opportunities. the community is in its current condition. A history of corrupt political leadership has led to In 2008, faculty at the Mandel School of Applied the misuse of funds and neglect that contributed to Social Sciences spearheaded eff orts to engage the disadvantages currently faced by East Cleveland students in service learning directed toward residents and businesses. the revitalization of East Cleveland that led to a community partnership between MSASS and FROM NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBORS the community of East Cleveland. A fi rst step TO PARTNERS was a presentation at MSASS by former East Case Western Reserve University and the Mandel Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer to faculty, staff and School of Applied Social Sciences recognize the students. In addition, the East Cleveland Public potential roles that they, and other institutions in Library Executive Director, the East Cleveland City University Circle, can serve in aiding surrounding Schools Superintendent, the East Cleveland Police Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development ECP_rev.indd 2 6/17/10 4:49 PM For many students, this was their fi rst time seeing East Cleveland, given stereotypes “Th is service-learning opportunity provided the and safety concerns expressed about East start of a transformational experience.... As the Cleveland. In the Spring 2009, SASS 478 students, project progressed, I began to see East Cleveland along with fi refi ghters and residents from a local nonprofi t organization, as a community, not just a city.” -MSASS Student Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope (NOAH), conducted a vacant housing survey of every residential street in East Department Chief, and the East Cleveland Fire Cleveland. The map (see Figure 1 that focuses Department Chief have all taken time out of their on Census Tract 1517), prepared by the Center, busy schedules to meet with students and faculty depicts the results of these surveys with vacant lots in order to align priorities and actions within the cross-hatched, and vacant houses progressively red community partnership. depending on the grade A-F. An A-grade estimated that the house could be reoccupied in its current SERVICE-LEARNING ON condition while an F-grade suggested the house VACANT HOUSING would need to be demolished. Table 1 features the data collected of all properties in the City of East CITY AQUIRES $2.2 MILLION Cleveland. Aware of the increasing number of vacant and abandoned houses in East Cleveland, MSASS STUDENTS STUDY AND assistant professor Mark Chupp and researchers CONSIDER CHANGE from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development responded to an invitation by the The Poverty Center then compiled and provided to City of East Cleveland to assist them in applying for the City administration the survey data along with $2.2 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization a vacant property map. The survey work found Funds; the City received notice that funding would that about 20 percent of all parcels with residential begin Summer 2009. An ambitious but important structures were vacant and of those, 40 percent of task, Mark Chupp and other instructors designed a the vacant housing earned a “D” or “F” grade. There service learning component to the course SASS 478: were 236 vacant lots, accounting for about 4 percent Macro and Policy Practice Skills for Work with Groups, of all lots. This data and map are aiding the City to Organizations, and Communities (required by all decide which structures to rehabilitate, and those students in the Foundation curriculum). Then City that should be demolished. Council President Gary Norton and Councilwoman Student groups utilized their experiences with Mildred Brewer directed student tours of East conducting the survey, along with additional Cleveland aboard a motor coach. interviews with key informants, to design and recommend strategies for the impact of vacant Figure 1. Vacancy Map of Census Tract 1517.00 housing on specifi c topics including workforce in East Cleveland development, education, safe streets and HAYDEN AVEVacant residential lot neighborhoods, and the community’s senior Non residential SUPERIOR AVE LOCKWOOD AVE Residential Structures DELMONT AVE CARLYON RD population. Occupied Structure Vacant StructureEMILY (A) ST ELBERON AVE AUBURNDALE AVE Vacant Structure (B) HOWER AVE Vacant Structure (C) In Spring 2010, students in the next cohort of Vacant Structure (D) Vacant Structure (F) the SASS 478 class have taken the next step and EUCLID AVE conducted detailed property investigation on every GARFIELD RD parcel in the City’s target revitalization area along WOODLAWN AVE ROSALIND AVE PENROSE AVE Euclid Avenue. The East Cleveland Department IDLEWOOD AVE BRIGHTWOOD ST LAKEVIEW RD WADENA ST of Community Development is now using this LAMBERT ST information as they assess needs and assets and ALVASON RD ALVASON ROXBURY RD ROXBURY FARMINGTON RD FARMINGTON develop their strategy for restoring this blighted area of East Cleveland to its place of prominence. FOREST HILL AVE Students interviewed key informants and are currently developing proposals that are intended to 0 200 400 Feet East Cleveland - Tract 1517.00 CUPCD, MSASS, CWRU marshal the economic and social assets in the Forest 2 ECP_rev.indd 3 6/17/10 4:49 PM “After working on this project, I was able to really look for the hidden assets in a community,... the residents and the strengths they bring. I began to see something prosperous among all the destitution. Instead of seeing something scary and broken, I started to see how things get put back together and all the places in which East Cleveland could start.” -MSASS Student Hill Neighborhood, the City as a whole, and CWRU Many new opportunities are developing with the to assist current residents and unite University Circle election of Mayor Gary Norton and the expansion of and a revitalized East Cleveland. the MSASS East Cleveland Partnership to a university wide initiative of the Social Justice Alliance. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Beyond service learning to enhance student Anthony D. Houston NSP Program Manager learning, the impact of partnership extends to the for The City of East Cleveland states in a 2009 lives of those within the community, faculty and letter regarding the ongoing service-learning their research and ultimately, the university. In fact, contributions from MSASS and the Poverty interest in supporting the revitalization has grown Center: “We believe [the students, faculty and so rapidly that a tour organized by the CWRU Social staff ’s] work will further support the City’s eff orts Justice Alliance resulted in 75 leaders from over a in neighborhood and economic development dozen educational and community institutions. revitalization.” Working groups are now forming to expand the partnership to focus on eff ective government, This service-learning opportunity provided the start economic development and community building of a transformational experience; it changed some and development. The goal is for all 8 schools at East Clevelanders’ views of CWRU, and students CWRU and the administration to join together in changed their views of East Cleveland. One student this eff ort along with other organizations across the states, “My views of East Cleveland have changed region. completely. After working on this project, I was able to really look for the hidden assets in a community, and of particular importance were the residents and the strengths they bring. I began to see something prosperous among all the destitution. Instead of seeing something scary and broken, I started to see how things get put back together and all the places in which East Cleveland could start.