Community Development and Its Socioeconomic Impact on a Latino Enclave

Background and Purpose: The concept of renewal of low-income neighborhoods and the different approaches to community development have consistently dominated the discussion around urban revitalization and poverty reduction throughout many urban planning and development programs around the country. The ongoing debate remains whether the community economic development model serves the broader interests of the overall community or the narrow interests of its proponents and benefactors.

This study will analyze the impact of urban revitalization projects in an impoverished but vibrant Latino enclave in the center of the capital city of the state. This neighborhood underwent a highly publicized series of revitalization projects during the last decade, a process that included business owners, community based organizations and local government in its development and implementation phases.

Methods:A case study method was utilized in order to explore and understand the socioeconomic impact of community development in a Latino enclave in the capital city of the state. Three different data sources were utilized to obtain information: archival methods, census data and key stakeholder interviews. The collection of archival material included newspaper and magazine articles, brochures, project proposal and reports, maps, planning documents, development studies and others that situated the neighborhood in time and place. The census data was reduced down to census tract level, allowing for more detail in the neighborhood. The stakeholder interviews consisted of 15 in-depth interviews with community stakeholders, divided in three categories, developer, business person and resident.  

Findings:The data analysis reveals that the community development in the neighborhood did not achieve all that was expected. Some projects were unfinished and failed to generate the wide spread impact that was promised. Many projects fell in disrepair very quickly, leaving a good number of residents disappointed and distrustful of institutions, City Hall officials and developers. Depending of who is asked opinions may vary, but we can see some similarity in ambivalence about results.

Although the improvement of the commercial district did create some stability, its focus was too narrow transform the neighborhood and to have long-lasting impact. Focusing only on housing left out many other possible areas of development, including workforce development, social services and arts and culture. The data further demonstrates that there were some displacement and gentrification.

Conclusion and implications: This study documents the results of development controlled by a growth regime in a marginalized and oppressed community, and underscores that as social workers, there is a need to develop more effective community organizing efforts to combat these regimes and offer residents development models that truly impact their lives in a positive manner. Given the value base of the social work profession, there is a need to offer clear community-based and participatory alternatives, grounded in social justice and social change, not initiatives which seem now to have primarily reflected and institutionalized the neoliberal priorities of the first decade of the new millennium.