Student workshops and neighborhood revitalization

Abstract

This paper describes an effort to integrate neighborhood technical assistance and student field training through a student workshop. In the spring of 1978, ten students in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provided technical assistance to the South Austin Realty Association (SARA), a leading neighborhood organization in Chicago. Working in close collaboration with neighborhood leaders, the students produced a report which concluded that South Austin was an excellent location for neighborhood revitalization and that housing rehabilitation was the recommended approach for a “demonstration” block. The students received academic credit, a positive educational experience, and $72.87 for production costs of the finished report. Neighborhood leaders used the report to help develop plans for a project on the block, then used these plans in a proposal which resulted in a $120,062 contract from the Office of Neighborhood Development of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This paper examines the way in which students provided a neighborhood organization with a written plan, assistance in raising funds, and working relations with a university. It also examines the way in which students received substantive knowledge and skills, credentials for future education and careers, and valuable new experiences. It concludes with analysis of the major lessons learned and of the practical problems and questions for educators.