Copyright by Hugo Rodolfo Rincon 2009 The Dissertation Committee for Hugo Rodolfo Rincon Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: STUDY OF DIALOGIC APPROACHES AND RESPONSES IN PLANNING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES IN MARACAIBO, VENEZUELA. THE “PROMOTION OF FULL CITIZENSHIP” PLAN. Committee: Patricia Wilson, Supervisor Henry Dietz Kent Butler Michael Oden Elizabeth Muller STUDY OF DIALOGIC APPROACHES AND RESPONSES IN PLANNING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES IN MARACAIBO, VENEZUELA. THE “PROMOTION OF FULL CITIZENSHIP” PLAN. by Hugo Rodolfo Rincon, B.Arch., M.C.P. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2009 Dedication My gratefulness goes firstly to God, who gave me strength and wisdom to go through this project and helped me to carry out this research, which made me realize how important it is to create knowledge that can be shared for the benefit of others, especially the low- income communities of my dearest Maracaibo. Thank you for guiding me and being by my side always. I thank my supervisor, Dr. Patricia Wilson, who was patient with me during the research process, encouraging me all the way, believing in my capacity to undertake this study and, helping me to improve my skills and achieve my objectives. I offer my special gratitude to the members of my committee, for their comments, suggestions, and encouragement. I also would like to thank my field companion, Professor Marina González from Universidad del Zulia in Venezuela, for her dedication and time and for the relevant comments and contributions which were decisive to undertake the field activities, and for their success, and the HABITAT-LUZ foundation at the University of Zulia, for their cooperation and providing the opportunity for this inquiry. I express my gratitude to the staff of the Servicio Autónomo Microfinanciero de Maracaibo –SAMI– and Ciudadanía Plena in general, its director Elsy Avelares, Estela Peña, Ivis Alarcón, Ever de la Hoz, the community facilitators and the program analysts, for sharing their experiences at work and their knowledge for the proper completion of my study, and for considering me a friend and partner in their community development effort. I greatly thank my family for being with me all the way, encouraging and supporting me through good and bad during this time. Thanks to my mother here on earth and my father who is now in heaven for the effort they put in their lives to guide my education and support my strength. To my wife Marjorie for the love expressed and for believing in me, and our daughters, Sofia and Sara, whose arrival to the family has given me the enthusiasm and motivation to always go on despite the obstacles. Thanks to all Study of Dialogic Approaches and Responses in Planning Low-Income Communities in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The “Promotion of Full Citizenship” Plan. Publication No._____________ Hugo Rodolfo Rincon, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2009 Supervisor: Patricia Wilson The research followed up a local development initiative in Maracaibo, Venezuela, named Programa Promoción de la Ciudadanía Plena (Promotion of Full Citizenship Program), a joint initiative that has sought to bring the population of low-income communities to the sphere of citizen participation with a revaluation of citizenship and the promotion of participation. The research included first, a preliminary bibliographical review of the theoretical framework to understand the significance of citizenship and participation at the community level and the implications of organizational development and self-improvement approaches in development projects and institutions, and second, v the review of the principles of the local program and the social-economic data of the four communities considered in the study. The results of a preliminary survey (secondary data provided by the municipality) of adult heads of household from the four communities, who openly expressed to the institutions their interest in participating and benefiting from the program, and the passive observation of local meetings and workshops in the communities contributed to the analysis. A series of open-ended interviews to facilitators (3 individuals) were conducted in 2006 in order to assess the facilitator’s identification with the program’s objectives and the possible bond between the learning assumptions and their personal experiences while working in these communities. That same year, a final series of open-ended interviews to a sample group of 39 beneficiaries (30% of the group that successfully completed the citizenship and technical education), provided the input to assess the impact of the program in the motivation of people toward participation and self-improvement. In these events, information was extracted, which contributed to the evaluation of people´s expectations and attitudes, as they differed or not from the initial condition. A methodological guideline, in the form of field notes and questionnaires, was needed to address and manage conversation and dialogue. Following an interpretive and constructivist approach, evidence was inferred from the logic of the narratives gathered in meetings and interviews, and a coded frequency of responses. Findings suggest that the initiative strengthened local people’s empowerment by involving them in the collaborative identification of problems and issues affecting their lives, in all activities planned to tie the relationship among stakeholders, and in every recognition and public ceremony. People’s improvement depended on economic growth, but it was necessary that beneficiaries develop and exercise their capacities, vi abilities, knowledge, information and motivation, which were necessary conditions to improve the quality of life of local residents, and consequently, to strengthen the local social capital. Project agents did it with a respectful dialogue in the decision-making concerning the design and construction proposal, and recognizing people’s own capacities, which assured collaboration and feedback. People did not participate unless they believed that an interest or individual benefit was possible; and for them, the immediate interest was economic. People associated changes to the following values –from high to low frequency of response: being more confident, reaching mutual support, improving communication, strengthening unity, consciousness, and achieving better social relations. Empowerment of the individual as head of household was strengthened by his or her involvement in the collaborative identification of household limitations and housing-related issues. Nevertheless, beyond the individual and household levels, the success of the educational strategy was not sufficiently effective to reach changes on people’s attitude and motivation to confront and interact in the solution of community-related issues, but the increase of 6 percent in this indicator indicated that change was possible but required the sustainability of the educational approach in the communities. By the time the field research ended, a perceivable empowerment and partnership approach, with all the complex administrative and intellectual assumptions, guided Ciudadanía Plena toward its set goals. The attention and dedication in the four barrios were based on the need to materialize an ideal that was expected to expand in order to reach more communities in the near future. The transparency, the material incentive and the citizenship education to achieve self-improvement and empowerment were key elements to achieve change and improvement. vii Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter1: The “Nature” of the problem.................................................................. 7 The path of urban development ..................................................................... 7 Overcoming poverty through community learning...................................... 14 Values, beliefs and marginality in Venezuela.............................................. 17 The local problem and the research proposal .............................................. 25 Conclusions.................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework. The community approach in the development framework and the Venezuelan Experience. ............................................... 33 Citizenship and community development.................................................... 33 Participation and community development ................................................. 46 The use of participatory methods and techniques in development.............. 51 Organizational approaches applied to community development................. 62 Opportunities for citizenship education....................................................... 67 What the national experience can tell: Social and community participation in Venezuela............................................................................................ 69 The role of the Venezuelan Municipality .................................................... 83 Conclusions.................................................................................................. 90 Chapter 3: Methodology and Methods ................................................................