Seminar on “Partnerships and Urban Development in Older Neighborhoods in Paris and Boston,” with Centre de Recherches sur l’Habitat (CRH), April 2004

Abstract

In collaboration with the Centre de Recherches sur l’Habitat (CRH) in Paris, the Center for Urban Development Studies (CUDS) documented community development strategies and neighborhood initiatives in La Goutte d’Or in Paris, France and the South End, Boston.

Activities included a study tour of Boston community-based organizations for 21 French local governments and NGO representatives, and a seminar in Paris. The research was supported in part by PUCA (Le Plan Urbanisme, Construction et Architecture), an agency of the French Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing. Documents include a draft project summary, a project proposal in French, and bibliography.



[Excerpt: Proposal, “Partnerships and Urban Development in Older Neighborhoods in Paris and Boston,” 2002]

“Researchers from the two Centers have initiated joint activities to compare urban development in older and economically distressed neighborhoods in Paris and Boston and their respective economic, social and spatial manifestation. The research will provide a better understanding of the dynamics that drive urban development in older districts and their effect on neighborhood revitalization programs. Particular attention will be paid to the method local governments use to work in partnership with local communities in order to improve the quality of life and economic opportunities for lower-income residents. The research is focusing on older districts in transition including: La Goutte d’Or in Paris and St. Denis on the edge of Paris; and in Boston the South End and Dudley neighborhoods. In each city, the neighborhoods illustrate the challenges facing older districts today.”

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Project Year:2004
Project Type:IEP; Education
Geographic Regions:South End, Boston, USA / Goutte d’Or, Paris, France
Reports:
Authors:CUDS team; Centre de Recherches sur l’Habitat (CRH); John Driscoll; Marie Helene Bacque; Yankel Fijalkow;
Sponsors:PUCA (Le Plan Urbanisme, Construction et Architecture); French Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing; Center for Urban Development of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Categories:International Education Program; Executive Training Program; Education;
  
ID:2004_00_001

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City of Boston’s “Neighborhood Partnership Initiative” & “Main Street Program,” Urban Revitalization for Roslindale and West Roxbury, Boston, United States, 1997

Abstract

These materials document CUDS’ involvement with the City of Boston’s Neighborhood Partnership Initiative in the late 1990s. The initiatives sought to restructure distressed neighborhoods and revitalize districts in Boston through community organization, new economic activity and housing improvements, including a redesign for Boston’s main streets.

Neighborhoods included Washington/Grove St in West Roxbury, and Washington St/West Roxbury Parkway in Roslindale. (Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan.)


[Excerpt: Overview]

Boston, MA:
“Municipalities worldwide have successfully engaged community groups in structured partnerships based on joint definitions of needs and opportunities. Local initiatives programs support and encourage civic leadership and all of them involve a program of shared financial commitments that leverage public and private resources. In the case of Boston, the city and its development agencies created an array of programs to address the needs of the city’s distressed neighborhoods and utilized collaborative approaches that build upon the economic, social, and physical assets in a community.

Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) Neighborhood Partnership Initiative (NPI) is an example of a model program that worked actively with neighborhood residents and community organizations to develop coordinated plans for neighborhood preservation and housing improvements. The NPI ended in 1996 and evolved into Boston’s Main Street Program, another partnership program that focuses on the revitalization of business districts in 19 neighborhoods. In Main Streets, the city provides seed funding for a coordinator who works with a board representing local businesses and NGOs in the neighborhood.”

The Neighborhood Partnership Initiative:
“In the 1980s, DND redefined its role from a capital planning agency to a community development agency managing a number of diverse programs. The DND’s goal was to strategically invest resources to build up the strength and vitality of neighborhoods and work directly with community-based organizations to coordinate and implement public improvements, housing, open space, and youth social programs. The Neighborhood Partnership Initiative grew out of a review of existing programs working at the neighborhood level that were not having their desired impact and the realization that DND needed to develop a more focused strategy for allocating scarce public resources.”

Project Year:1997
Project Type:Case Study
Geographic Regions:Boston, Massachusetts, USA (South Boston, South End, Roxbury, West Roxbury, Washington Street, and Roslindale)
Reports:




Authors:John Driscoll
Sponsors:CUDS (Center for Urban Development Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design)
Categories:Informal Settlements and Urban Upgrading
  
ID:1997_05_001

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ITP 1997: “South Boston Metropolitan Area Community Housing,” Case Studies from Boston, Massachusetts, International Training Programs, 1997

Abstract

Documents represent curriculum components from the 1997 ITP, primarily case studies on community housing projects around the South Boston area including:

The Engleston Jackson Strategy
Wharf Three
Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust
The Massachusetts Third Harbor Tunnel Project
The South Station Joint Development Project
The Massachusetts Port Authority Project, and
The Urban Development Policy in Contrats de Ville, France

Additional documents are resource materials for job creation and economic growth, micro-business models, an overview of Boston, and an outline of faculty, guest lecturers and speakers.

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Project Year:1997
Project Type:ITP; Education
Geographic Regions:Boston, Massachusetts, USA (South Boston, Seaport, Waterfront, Rowes Wharf, South Station, and South End) / Tower Hamlets, London, UK / France
Reports:
















Authors:François Vigier; Mona Serageldin; Jerold Kayden; John DriscoII; David Jones; Judith Grant;
Pat Cusick (Executive Director, South End Neighborhood Action Plan SNAP); Richard Dimino (Chief Executive Director, Artery Business Committee); Linda Mogelli Haar, (Director of Planning and Zoning, Boston Redevelopment Authority); Richard Henderson, (Associate Director of Port Planning and Development, Massachusetts Port Authority); James Kostaras, (Senior Architect/Planner, Boston Redevelopment Authority);
Sponsors:Unit for Housing and Urbanization
Categories:International Training Program; Education;
  
ID:1997_00_002

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The International Training Programs (ITP) began in 1982, as 2-4 week long summer seminars held by the Unit for Housing and Urbanization (Harvard University) in Cambridge, MA. ITP curriculums were designed to strengthen the decision-making skills of senior professionals in public and private agencies responsible for urban development.

The I2UD Digital Library holds curriculum materials for ITPs from 19881991199419951997 and 1998:

The tradition of ITPs continued after 2000, when CUDS (a re-organization of the Unit) continued training seminars as “International Education Programs” (IEP) from 2000-2004:

Programs included inter-linked modules, lectures, case studies, interactive computer simulation models, site visits to urban projects, discussion groups and networking with professional counterparts from international metropolitan regions. Sessions had a modular format and structured team teaching, taught by a team of senior faculty and guest lecturers. Programs ended with a synthesis presented through a project evaluation exercise. Participants used case projects to examine strategies from the viewpoint of both public and private partners — to assess the feasibility and potential impacts of policies and projects on the community and the city. Presentations by guest speakers representing U.S. and international agencies, NGOs, and community groups were also integrated within the pedagogic framework of each module.

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