Here is the latest press release from the DLC. They are generally excellent.
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THE NEW DEM DISPATCH, October 14, 2005
Political commentary & analysis from the DLC =============================================
[
http://www.DLC.org ]
Idea of the Week: Building On Strong Neighborhoods
Urban revitalization was one of the hot political topics of the
1990s, as central cities across the country reinvented themselves as
economic engines and dealt with long-festering inadequacies in their
housing stock, schools, law enforcement strategies, tax policies,
and political cultures.
Now you don't hear much about this subject on national television,
but in many cities pioneering work goes on. That's especially true
in San Jose, California, a remarkably diverse city that recently
became America's 10th largest, where Mayor Ron Gonzales' Strong
Neighborhoods Initiative, launched five years ago, is beginning to
bear fruit.
The two simple insights at the heart of Gonzales' initiative are:
(1) people belong to neighborhoods more immediately and intensively
than to political subjurisdictions, government service delivery
units, or even to cities themselves, and (2) the 1990s-era movement
in public administration towards treating taxpayers as "customers,"
while laudable as a way of breaking down bureaucracies and improving
government performance, is no substitute for engaging them as
citizens with a legitimate stake in decision making.
Even more importantly, the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative is
intended to serve as a permanent foundation for community and
economic development in San Jose, as reflected by its slogan: "It's
not just an initiative; it's how San Jose does business."
The basic structure of the SNI is a network of 20 Neighborhood
Advisory Councils operating in self-selected neighborhoods where
roughly one-third of the city's population lives. An extraordinary
effort has been made to ensure that these councils reflect each
neighborhood's ethnic and economic diversity, and to avoid conflicts
such as those which often develop between property owners and
residents. Each council is responsible for coming up with a
practical priority list for neighborhood improvements -- not just
a "wish list," but projects and services that are within the city's
financial means and can attract private investment and property- owner contributions -- linked to a tangible vision of that
neighborhood's future.
For its part, the city has devoted $120 million in funds to the
initiative, and has deployed 30 full-time city staff to work with
the neighborhood councils and to act as intermediaries with the full
range of city agencies whose services and projects are involved.
Of the 190 "priority list" projects identified by the neighborhoods,
60 have been completed. They range from homework help centers for at- risk kids, to a community mural to replace graffiti on a "gateway"
bridge, to street repairs and traffic control changes, to community
gardening areas and road median landscaping.
Aside from the impact of projects in specific neighborhoods, Mayor
Gonzales -- who regularly spends Saturdays visiting individual
neighborhoods in his city -- has incorporated neighborhood
priorities into city-wide priorities. He declared "war on graffiti"
in San Jose largely as a result of neighborhood concerns, and was
able to "declare victory" within two years. More recently, he
launched a neighborhood-based campaign against litter. In
combination with intensive efforts to clean up toxic wastes and
reduce traffic congestion, these initiatives helped San Jose to a
number two ranking in a Reader's Digest listing of America's
cleanest cities.
While the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative may not be as flashy and
easy to summarize as the one-shot, one-issue "revitalization"
projects so common in the urban landscape of the recent past, its
practical sustainability and foundation in citizen involvement gives
it real staying power. As Gonzales simply puts it: "We're
revitalizing our neighborhoods, and residents are in the driver's
seat." And that's why DLC chairman Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, after
a recent visit to San Jose, credited the city for "restoring a sense
of participatory democracy."
Related Material:
San Jose's Strong Neighborhoods Initiative <
http://www.strongneighborhoods.org/>
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