| Illinois Institute of
Technology |
| Community Development Home Page | Center for Community
Development and Technology |
Improving Education in Bronzeville
The education objective is to improve school performance by organizing Illinois Institute of Technology’s resources and enlisting other institutions; by using creative teaching methods and the development of innovative enrichment programs. The six program areas are outlined below.
BRONZEVILLE EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIVE
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT will establish the Bronzeville Educational Collaborative, with other area institutional and corporate partners, in an effort to provide local schools with the capacity to enhance their educational products and create an educational campus that will better serve current residents.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations | Comments |
| Recruit local partners | Lew Collens, President of IIT successfully convened a meeting of five neighboring institutional leaders to solicit support 4/99 | Leadership has agreed but written memos have not yet been executed | Corporate partners will sign off as individual program plans are prepared 8/99-10/99 |
| Recruit local schools | Outreach to 15 neighborhood schools 3/99-6/99 | Actual = 15 schools Goal = 8 schools |
Requested by CPS to expand outreach to a regional cluster |
| Develop and conduct school survey | Obtained school improvement
plans 5/99-7/99 Completed needs assessment of 10 schools |
Educational needs grid created 6/99 will convert to database 8/99 | Also developed technology footprints for each school through CPS |
| Determine partner roles and programs | Internal survey conducted initially to provide working model to partners | Individual partner conferences are ongoing |
Additional tasks performed
- Provided technical assistance to 5 schools to prepare technology plans - 4/99-6/99
- Secured 12 donated computers for refurbishing and distribution to Drake school - 5/99-6/99
- IIT will host regional (50 schools) technology planning training sessions in concert with the Chicago Public Schools - 6/99
- Developed technical support resource list for schools - 5/99
- Hosted Bronzeville Principals Breakfast - 6/99
VOLUNTEER MENTOR AND TUTOR PROGRAM
Met Scheduled Program Tasks
To further institutionalize the university’s commitment to enhance relationships with local youth, IIT will recruit and deploy students and staff to serve as volunteer tutors and mentors.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations/Comments |
| Tutoring program announcement / School selection | 12 schools utilized IIT student assistance | |
| Conduct volunteer recruiting activities | Ongoing | |
| Provide volunteer orientation | Orientation has occurred individually per event | Orientation manual not yet completed. Due 4th qtr. 1999 |
| Assign volunteers and begin | 118 tutors and volunteers were engaged in various IIT service projects 10/98 – 6/99 |
Additional tasks performed
- IIT secured a grant from Chicago’s Civic Committee to fund 10 student technology interns placed in Chicago Public schools providing technical assistance to students and teachers as well as network installation and troubleshooting - Williams, Drake, Haines, Von Stuben, Hyde Park, Einstein and Healy schools.
| Tutor/Mentor Events | IIT Student Participation | Outside Participation |
| Ada S. McKinley Summer Classes (Math/Science/Read) continues | 2 |
Community Youth 60 |
| Tutor/Mentoring at Prairie Courts (summer program) continues | 5 |
Community Youth 70 |
| Hunger Walk w/Univ. of Chgo | 10 |
Community/Students 200 |
| MacArthur Bronzeville Tour | 2 |
Community Leaders 12 |
| Mgmt Infor. Sys Tech. (MIST) | 10 |
Chicago Public Schools 8 |
| St. James Church Thanksgiving Dinner | 5 |
Seniors 200 |
| Prairie Courts Restaurant Show | 2 |
Community Housing Residents 29 |
| Community Recognition Dinner – (1998) | 10 |
Community Residents 175 |
| Dearborn Homes Literacy Program | 2 |
Community Youth 35 |
| City Year | 2 |
|
| Lugenia Burns Hope Center | 2 |
|
| Open Book Project | 4 |
Students 40 |
| Faith Corp Fund | 1 |
|
| Chicago Urban League (Computer Specialist Interns) | 4 |
Neighborhood Learning Network Visitors 100 |
| Partners In Community Development (PICD) | 2 |
|
| Ada S. McKinley (Walls of Literacy Program) | 4 |
|
| Clean & Green Project 11th Annual Event | 18 |
|
| DeLaCruz HS Tour of IIT (for 1999) | 4 |
Students 28 |
| CHA Drug Free Weekend | 17 |
Students 300 |
| MIST presentations | 8 |
Chicago Public Schools 10 |
| Black Metropolis Boys Choir Picnic | 2 |
Neighborhood children 65 |
| Ada S. McKinley Summer Learning Academy | 2 |
Neighborhood children 65 |
| TOTAL | 118 |
FACILITIES USE FOR EDUCATIONAL, RECREATIONAL, AND SOCIAL PROGRAMMING
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT will provide physical space in a positive on campus learning environment, conduct educational recreational and team-building activities for 60 area youth from local schools, public housing developments and the community at large.
| Task | Outcomes |
| Summer Program Components Determined | Reading, writing and math summer enrichment elements developed 5/99 |
| Community Youth recruited | 60 youth 5/99-6/99 |
The Ada S. McKinley Summer Learning Academy program begins July 6, 1999. This activity will be included in the 12/31/99 report, however preliminary enrollment figures indicate a 25% increase in participation.
PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
The Partners in Education program will continue to support William’s School in enhancing its technology based learning activities. IIT will seek funding from industrial partners to provide $10,000 annually to participating schools to acquire technology based instructional material and staff technology training. Two additional schools will be added within the grant period.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations | Comments |
| Review year one goals for Williams school | Technology review completed. IIT provided a senior computer science major 20 hours weekly for software/hardware technology assistance 10/98-5/99 | Students have limited internet access. Electrical problems within the school have delayed the installation of a T-1 line. IIT has installed one working network | Principal is working with the CPS facilities bureau to resolve electricity issues |
| Develop expansion process | Second school added Wendell Phillips High 4/99 |
Phillips school added ahead of schedule with an expanded role. | IIT is the university partner in the development of a citywide initiative with six other universities to establish Math/Science/Technology Academies |
| Train Williams school personnel | Teacher and administrative team training 1/99-5/99 | Connectivity issues hinder training | Teacher competence at varying levels. |
| Assess 2nd school technology usage and capacity | Technology review completed 6/99 | Electrical and facility issues delay the T-1 line installation | Principal working with the CPS facilities bureau to resolve electricity issues |
| Provide technology recommendations | Tech coordinator will assist in developing a technology plan 8/99 | ||
| Solicit Institutional Contribution | $10,000 grant from A. Finkl & Sons | Corporate partner grant is delayed | Plan to secure grant in the 4th qtr 1999 |
Additional Achievements
- IIT creates a Math/Science/Technology Academy with Wendell Phillips and CPS in a citywide initiative, which includes six university partners and seven high schools - Program design 3/99-7/99
- IIT awarded a $60,000 grant from Leadership for Quality Education to provide technology assistance to Bronzeville schools - March 1999
The second school added to the Partners in Education Program is Wendell Phillips Academy. The Phillips school community claims one of the highest poverty rates in the city with the majority of students residing in public housing developments. Phillips was reconstituted in July 1998; a Chicago Public School process that replaces the administration and faculty because of poor past performance.
Under new leadership, Phillips academy will partner with the Illinois Institute of Technology to establish a math science technology academy (MSTA), school within a school. MSTA is a special initiative that addresses the mathematical, scientific, technological and workplace literacy needs of high school students, staff and administrators. In August 1999 eight Chicago high schools and the feeder elementary schools for these high schools will participate in the rigorous MSTA partnership with seven local universities.
In March 1999, IIT was successful in securing a $60,000 grant from the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Leadership for Quality Education. The grant was established to provide technology assistance to Bronzeville area schools. IIT used the proceeds to hire an education technology coordinator to develop relationships with local schools by conducting a technology assessment and providing technical assistance. IIT undergraduate and graduate students were hired to work in local schools as technology interns. Their duties ranged from hardware and software installation, network installations and computer trouble shooting The HUD Community Outreach Partnership Center grant was a determining factor in securing the Civic Committee award. All grant proceeds were used to support the education agenda and will be used as COPC matching funds.
SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS INITIATIVE FOR LEARNING ENHANCEMENT (SMILE)
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
Since 1986 IIT has assisted K-12 teachers in improving the impact of their science and math teaching. SMILE is a five-week; tuition free summer program designed to improve the effectiveness of science and mathematics instruction in Chicago area schools. The program emphasizes the phenomenological approach in the teaching of science and math as well as an interactive format in which teacher’s work together to develop curriculum presentations in year two of the grant the SMILE program will be initiated in Bronzeville schools.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations/Comments |
| Identify Bronzeville schools for program participation | Announced program 4/99-6/99 Six months ahead of schedule |
SMILE implementation was originally scheduled for year two of the HUD grant. |
| Recruit and enroll teachers | 18 Bronzeville teachers are enrolled in the summer ’99 program, one year ahead of schedule. | School outreach efforts sparked immediate interest and successful enrollment |
SMILE implementation is scheduled for year two of the HUD grant. Planning and Recruitment activities commence in the fourth quarter of 1999.
VISUALIZING LEARNING TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT will perform an IPRO research project through the Institute of Psychology to build a computerized visualization system to track student learning progress.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations/Comments |
| Enroll Students for IPRO class | Five graduate/undergraduate students from psychology, chemical engineering, computer science, and the institute of design. 6/98-9/98 | |
| IPRO class study | Class report 12/98 | |
| 2nd IPRO class recruited | Six graduate/undergraduate students from psychology, computer science, chemical and mechanical engineering 1/99 | Project commenced six months ahead of schedule |
| 2nd IPRO class study | Class report 5/99 | Project completed six months ahead of schedule |
This Interprofessional project (IPRO) was a student multidisciplinary team-based approach to instruction/learning, titled Visualizing Learning to Improve Educational Outcomes. The project designed and built a computerized visualization system to track the learning progress of individual students. The system will support data collection, analysis, display as well as provide rapid review and aggregation of learning data. The IPRO was developed in direct response to community need.
Following project selection by community representatives, work commenced and an IPRO was held in fall, 1998, to begin construction of the SeeChange database. The second IPRO was run in spring, 1999, (ahead of the projected schedule) to continue work on the site.
Currently, the site is running and will take data and return standardized graphs to users.
Students in the original design team continue to work on the site to enhance and improve it. Since its inception, the site has attracted considerable attention and comments from educational researchers and innovators. Additional features that were desirable have been requested, and so we decided to try to develop a more useful site. Consequently, the scope of work has widened. Because this effort will be ongoing, other resources will be sought to support it.
In addition to the cooperating Bronzeville school (Carter Woodson North) implementation, plans are underway to utilize the site for data from a school district in Central Illinois, a community college in Chicago, and with children with severe disabilities at the Easter Seals Therapeutic Day School on the IIT campus and at Riverwoods School in suburban Chicago. Posters and presentations describing the work have been submitted for presentation to the Behavior Analysis Society of Illinois (October, 1999) and the International Precision Teaching Conference (November, 1999).
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Economic Development
The economic development objectives are to work with IIT partners to identify 1500 residents for screening, education and job training and place 300 residents over three years. IIT will achieve minority/women enterprise business development goals to utilize 25 percent minority and five- percent women vendors and contractors. Additionally, the university will perform a community selected IPRO research project analyzing Bronzeville economic development.
INTERPROFESSIONAL PROJECT: STIMULATING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BRONZEVILLE
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
The objective of the IPRO was to identify the current state of economic development in Bronzeville, identify specific opportunities for development in the form of business development and or attraction of new and needed business and to assist potential business owners in increasing their ability to contribute to economic growth.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations/Comments |
| Enroll students in IPRO | Seven students from manufacturing technology, law, business and architecture 6/98-8/98 | This project was an example of extending learning beyond the classroom by researching community economic issues. |
| IPRO class study | Class report 12/98 | IPRO-I recommended the establishment of a business incubator. |
| 2nd IPRO class enrolled | Eight students from manufacturing technology,law,business and architecture 1/99 | IPRO-II researched incubator development by using the Mid-South Planning Comm.’s Overton Building, a historic Bronzeville landmark. |
| IPRO class study | Class report 5/99 | The Bronzeville IPRO won the university competition! |
In 1998, Dr. Keith McKee of the Manufacturing Technology department at the Illinois Institute of Technology received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation to develop a program to stimulate economic development in Bronzeville. An inter-disciplinary project team was formed and facilitated by Ms. Marlanda English, in order to establish and implement this program.
The main objective of IPRO-I was to identify the current state of business development and examine the attraction of new and needed businesses. The project team developed a program that will assist current businesses and potential business owners to increase their ability to contribute to the economic development process. The report mainly focuses on quantifying, identifying and documenting the current state of economic development in Bronzeville. The IPRO concludes by identifying a specific opportunity for economic development.
IPRO-II utilizes the data of the previous semester’s work and input from the Mid-South Planning and Development Commission (an IIT community partner) to research the establishment of a business incubator. The team recommended using the Overton Hygienic Building, an abandoned historic Bronzeville landmark, as a site for a business incubator as well as the establishment of a concept block.
NEIGHBORHOOD LEARNING NETWORK COLLABORATION
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT partnered with the Neighborhood Learning Network (Chicago Urban League, Chicago Public Schools, Office of Catholic Education, and the Chicago Housing Authority) to assist in coordinating and linking available community services and job readiness support programs for the unemployed in Greater Grand Boulevard. The partners will conduct targeted outreach to local youth, adults, disaffected and displaced workers to participate in IIT sponsored or supported programs (i.e. IIT’s Bridge to Manufacturing Program) to enhance present and future labor market pools.
Specific programming opportunities have been developed to include additional participant markets. Such programs include partnerships with STRIVE, Chicago Employment Service, a non-profit organization located in Grand Boulevard that targets low income chronically unemployed individuals. STRIVE’s services are subcontracted to secure pre-employment skills and job placement. Also included in the partnership is the Grand Boulevard Federation whose mission is to help develop self-sufficiency skills and family support. All partners work collectively to provide neighborhood residents with the requisite skills to enhance employment opportunities.
| Task | Outcome | Deviations / Comments |
| Formalize interagency agreements regarding shared databases to facilitate participant involvement with multiple option | Subcontracts executed with STRIVE and Grand Boulevard Federation 4/99-5/99 | Subcontractors began participant
recruiting efforts on time but subcontracts were executed behind schedule. The development of a shared database has not yet occurred. |
| Conduct outreach activities | STRIVE participant outreach 175
thru 4/99 Grand Boulevard outreach 134 thru 4/99 |
EXCEEDED GOAL |
| Enroll participants and service through direct participation in IIT referred programs | STRIVE Job readiness training for 125 Job placement for 64 thru 4/99 Grand Blvd. Federation Job readiness training for 134 Job placement for 59 |
Exceeded training/placement
goals thru 6/30/99 Successful job programs. More coordination is needed to insure direct participant linkage to IIT referred training programs |
Both subcontracts were executed late which did not leave room for the development of a shared participant database. STRIVE and Grand Boulevard relied on their individual job placement vehicles with outstanding success but with minimum input from IIT’s manufacturing technology department.
Corrective Action: Greater coordination between IIT’s manufacturing technology department and the subcontractors. Interagency meeting to develop a shared database is scheduled for September 1999. Database development is slated for 4th quarter 1999.
ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
25% Completion of Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT will develop the construction management curriculum and provide that curriculum to the City Colleges of Chicago specifically Dawson’s Technical Institute located in Bronzeville. Participants linked with the Neighborhood Learning Network initiative will have a participation opportunity.
| Task | Outcome | Deviations/Comments |
| Survey employers to secure industry Standards | Dialogued with local
contractors 3/99-6/99 |
|
| Convene community partners to organize outreach efforts | Outreach will not occur until curriculum completion | |
| Develop construction management curriculum | Draft curriculum developed 6/99 | Curriculum development/approval at the City College level will not occur until 4th qtr 1999. |
Market research has occurred working with industry leaders on an informal basis. The needs assessment concentrated on what entry-level jobs are available and what type of skills are needed to fill those jobs. It was determined that unskilled workers are hired as laborers, cleaning, runners material movers and security. Only traffic and cleaner jobs require skill training. There are OSHA restrictions on cleaning fluids and traffic management. In Chicago, most construction jobs are under trade unions and they bring to the jobs their own workers.
Corrective action: This activity must be reassessed to determine if a construction management curriculum can be adequately developed to assist our area’s large base of unskilled workers. It is not the intention of the program to develop a curriculum that does not benefit our target audience
MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT will utilize the resources of its Minority and Women Business program to foster entrepreneurial development and job opportunities for the residents of the Greater Grand Boulevard community. IIT will increase minority and women owned vendor activity in the university procurement process.
| Task | Outcomes | Comments |
| Recruit participants and organize M/WBE Task Force | 20 member community, trade, university and civic M/WBE Task Force established 10/98 | Monthly meetings the third Wednesday of each month |
| Recruit membership and convene Equal Employment Community Task Force | Recruitment occurred 2/99-5/99 Task Force convened 6/99 | Monthly meetings the first Wednesday of each month |
| Conduct ongoing effort of community outreach and qualification of m/wbe vendors | IIT participated in
Chicago’s Business Opportunity Fair 4/99. IIT hosted a campus wide business opportunity outreach conference for procurement staff and vendors. Announced IIT development plans. 60 M/WBE firms attended 4/99 |
IIT outreach efforts and business fair participation slated to become annual events. |
| Establish and implement strategy for engaging M/WBE construction firms | IIT participated in Chicago’s Business Opportunity "Hard Hat" Fair (Targets construction contractors and suppliers) | Annual event scheduled |
| Conduct target market programs to allow M/WBE firms to bid against each other for university business | IIT’s facilities dept. agrees to reserve small campus renovation projects for exclusive M/WBE bids and awards 11/98 | Ongoing |
| Conduct professional services outreach initiatives | 1/99 meeting held highlighting minority printing professionals | Ongoing |
Additional Activities
- IIT Purchasing Director receives "Buyer of the Year" award from the Chicago Minority Business Council - 4/99
- Total MBE expenditures $1.1 million - 10/98
- Total WBE expenditures $1.25million - 6/99
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Housing
The objective of the housing component is the completion of a community generated housing design studio leading to one symposium and 40 community dialogs on affordable housing and options for public housing residents in Bronzeville.
IIT/HARVARD DESIGN STUDIO
80% Completion of Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT and Harvard University will conduct a joint studio for community housing. The process of design will involve interface with the community and will be followed by a symposium clarifying community-housing needs. Both the studio proposal and the documentation of the symposium will be compiled for future reference as a video or publication.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations/Comments |
| Conduct Studio | 14 IIT students and 11 Students from Harvard with classes in Chicago and Boston | |
| Complete first and second semester course work | Course work successfully completed | Student presentations to occur at the October 1999 symposium |
| Convene, document and record symposium | Symposium will convene at IIT 10/29-10/30 | Spring symposium delayed but rescheduled for fall |
IIT’s College of Architecture under the direction of Professor Dirk Denison (IIT) and Professor Carol Burns (Harvard), conducted a community housing joint studio with Harvard University’s school of design. The studio focused on urban model housing and was aimed at the investigation of two primary sites in the City of Chicago. A comparison was made between two neighborhoods (Woodlawn and the South Gap) in the early stages of development and the relative impact of their resident universities (Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago). The work focused on creating proposals for community housing to stem the tide of decay while considering the needs of the community and the universities. These neighborhoods were selected because these once vibrant areas have undergone physical deterioration and severe demographic social and economic change.
The goal of the project was to provide a forum for discussion between both the academic departments and the community on the nature and potentials of urban housing. The symposium originally planned for spring 1999 has been rescheduled for October 1999.
COMMUNITY DIALOGUE SERIES
75% Completion of Scheduled Program Tasks
Greater Grand Boulevard is about to experience the impact of the reconfiguration of public housing, as this community has the highest concentration of public housing in the nation. Over a three-year period IIT will organize and convene 40 community housing dialogues on affordable housing and housing impacts in Bronzeville.
| Task | Outcomes | Deviations |
| Invite potential participants to join dialogue | Center director
joins Grand Boulevard Federation Housing Committee which convenes monthly to discuss
community housing issues. 20 standing members with new community groups and invited guests
every meeting 4/99-6/99 Topics: CHA Section 8 housing, Rosenwald Building Community Concerns, HUD-City of Chicago (CHA) transition. Robert Taylor CHA development resident organizing efforts. |
Partnership formed with Grand Boulevard Group to join community effort and co-sponsor community housing events |
| Convene community dialogue round table | Making Transit Oriented Development Happen in Chicago Communities 6/99 | Partnership with Center for Neighborhood Technology |
| Quarterly Sessions | Community Housing Dialogue 6/99 Topic: Community Input IIT/Harvard Design Studio |
The housing dialogue program was re-aligned. To spur activity in this critical area during grant start-up, IIT formed several partnerships to facilitate community-housing dialogues.
The center director joined the Grand Blvd. Federation’s housing committee. In April 1999, Grand Boulevard Federation hosted a Chicago housing authority resident convention with over 300 attendees, Topic: CHA development and relocation plans.
Additionally, IIT hosted and cosponsored along with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, "Making Transit-Oriented Development Happen in Chicago Communities" The events hosted were larger than originally planned as the original model called for small group participation. However the diverse topics sparked greater interest. Transit-Oriented Development highlighted the Bronzeville community by drawing a parallel to transportation and successful sustainable patterns of community development. Fannie Mae introduced a new Location Efficient Mortgage product that recognizes the substantial savings that households realize by locating in dense communities with rich transit service. LEM is a new vehicle that strengthens the housing market.
Corrective Action: The national housing symposium originally scheduled for Spring will be held October 29 and 30, 1999. Community dialogs, which will engage all segments and income levels of the community, are scheduled to surround the October 1999 symposium.
As the City of Chicago has recently received approval from HUD to control the Chicago Housing Authority, IIT will convene dialogs to discuss the transition and the effect on public housing residents throughout the calendar year.
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Community Development
Community development objectives include the implementation of an applied research project with community service agencies to help their clients improve skills for self-sufficiency. Also, IIT will maintain and disseminate databases on the physical redevelopment and human capacity building efforts in Bronzeville to document community change
VISUALIZING FOR SELF SUFFICIENCY
25% Completion of Scheduled Program Tasks
IIT will use the academic expertise of its Institute of Psychology in an applied research project to help residents develop adult literacy and math skills. These skills will be enhanced by allowing individuals to measure teaching/learning progress every day, putting the individual in control of his/her own learning and providing methods to communicate effectively regarding learning activities.
| Task | Outcome | Deviations/Comments |
| Dialogue with community agencies to develop plan for implementation | Met with STRIVE 12/98
Grand Boulevard Federation meeting 4/99-6/99 |
STRIVE and the Institute of
Psychology programs did not match. STRIVE conducts their own skill/literacy training which
they deem sufficient. Psychology and GBF have agreed to work together. |
| Design and Build Computer System Initiate selected skill enhancement |
Formed partnership for curriculum development with Chicago City Colleges which has adult literacy specialty. 6/99 | Curriculum must be developed to meet the specific needs of GBF before computer system is operational. |
| Implementation /Evaluation | Activity scheduled for 9/99 | Implementation is scheduled for year two of the grant. |
Corrective Action: The implementation of this activity was delayed due to finding an appropriate community partner for this applied research project. The Grand Boulevard Federation was a better match for this activity as they specialize in self-sufficiency training including adult literacy. Over the past two months, IIT Psychology Professor Nancy Hansen and The Grand Boulevard Federation have worked in partnership with the City colleges to develop an adult literacy curriculum designed to increase reading and math skills in preparation for job training in the manufacturing industry. Once the curriculum is developed, the Institute of Psychology’s computerized learning measurement system can be implemented leading to greater self-sufficiency skills. IIT psychology student interns will then act as literacy coaches and tutors.
DATABASE AND DOCUMENTATION
Exceeded Scheduled Program Tasks
Funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation allowed IIT to document the extent, type, location and costs of physical and financial investments occurring in Bronzeville and use that information as a further catalyst for development. IIT also has the responsibility for identifying, verifying and determining the location of social service and support agencies in Greater Grand Boulevard. This data is being distributed to other local non-profits to assist them in providing service to their constituencies. The objectives of this component are to continue to enhance the databases and documentation process and expand the dissemination of use by community groups and the city.
| Task | Outcome | Comments |
| Compile physical development and social service database | Project report prepared 6/99 | Database and community documentation is updated as scheduled |
| Convene quarterly meetings
Provide quarterly reports
|
IIT, Mid-South Planning Council, the Grand Boulevard Federation, Partners in Community Development, the Chicago Urban League and the University of Kansas convene with the MacArthur Foundation to review the community toolbox. 5/99 | The Southside Partnership, a
group of Bronzeville community groups, meets bi-monthly on community issues. IIT provides quarterly updates on database and documentation issues. |
IIT has and will continue to maintain primary responsibility for the maintenance and updating of the physical development and human capacity building databases for a three-year period (1998-2000). The information has been shared with the following organizations and will continue as requested by outside groups: Grand Boulevard Federation; Centers for New Horizons; Chicago Urban League; STRIVE; GAP Community Organization; Elliott Donnelly Youth Center; Lugenia Burns Hope Center; Mid-South Planning and Development Commission; Mercy Hospital; Michael Reese Hospital; MacArthur Foundation; First Chicago/Bank One; City of Chicago; University of Chicago; East Lake Management.
The community’s access to the physical development and human capacity building databases is also dependent on an organization’s ability to access the information via the Internet utilizing the Community Toolbox created by the Kansas University Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development. Many of these organizations, and in particular the MacArthur Bronzeville Grantee Cluster organizations, were not on-line right away. Now that they are, the Bronzeville Grantee Cluster organizations, (Centers for New Horizons, Lugenia Burns Hope Center, Grand Boulevard Federation, IIT, Mid-South Planning and Development Commission, and Partners in Community Development) have agreed to be used as community access sites along with other organizations such as Chicago Urban League, Matthew House, Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. James Catholic Church, Dearborn Homes Resident Management Corporation (RMC) and Wentworth Gardens RMC, Near South Planning Board and it’s member organizations.
Additional Activities
- IIT Community Development develops 1st ever web page beginning 6/99 - Target completion date 4th quarter 1999
Historically, the community has relied on scheduled meetings for database and documentation updates. In an effort to quickly disseminate information to our community partners and residents, The Center for Community Development and Technology under the direction of IIT’s Vice President for External Affairs is developing a comprehensive web page.
The Community Development WEB page is designed to provide continuous and instantaneous access to the physical development database. This electronic interchange will interface with the South Side Partners, community businesses and all educational Bronzeville entities identified in the grant. The web site will provide computerized access to community changes, their outcomes, community resources and events. Multiple databases, including those described above, will be linked to the web site via interactive Geographical Information System (GIS) software for ease of access.
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