Flawed Thinking About the Ways to Build Collective Efficacy and Social Capital In Milwaukee's Urban Neighborhoods

I had the pleasure of attending Dr. Robert Sampson's presentation to the Marquette University community on Sept. 16.  When I rsvp'd to this presentation, I did so because the topic was of interest to me. Frankly, I did not look closely at the guest presenter.  Soon into his presentation, I realized I was listening to one of the inspirations behind my entire doctoral dissertation.   In response to his presentation that day, I wrote him the following.  

 I had the pleasure of attending your formal presentation to the Marquette University community on Sept. 16, but did not want to attempt to chat with you at the post-presentation reception. I based most of my doctoral dissertation on your definition of neighborhood effects as it related to my study of a neighborhood association involvement in supporting urban school improvement in a poor neighborhood in a large Midwestern city.  Over the years many years I spent doing field work focused on the concept of neighborhood effects, I often times encountered people who would shake their head in agreement as I described both my research findings and suggestions for reform.  I believe, however, it is actually quite difficult for people to truly understand and respect the powerful sociological effect neighborhood conditions have on behavior.  While there were many heads shaking in agreement with your conclusions, I suspect they had little understanding of the concept of neighborhood effects, perhaps because they are so far removed from the realities facing residents in the neighborhoods you studied in both Boston and Chicago. 

Your discussion of the concept “collective efficacy” was of particular interest to me.  If I were to connect collective efficacy to my research, I would probably equate it to the way I conceptualized social capital in these urban neighborhoods.  The idea is tied to a belief in the power of collective action to address conditions in both neighborhoods and, because I was interested in connecting neighborhood effects to schools, academic achievement.  You mentioned Lindsay Heights as a neighborhood through which you traveled and correctly noted some movement building occurring in Lindsay Heights.  I would argue that is because Lindsay Heights has a phenomenal neighborhood association, the Walnut Way Conservation Corp, leading the movement to revitalize and rebuild Lindsay Heights both physically and emotionally.   This grass roots organization, with deep-seated local knowledge and a plan that was funded by, but not controlled by, the Zilber Foundation, is creating collective efficacy or building social capital among its residents. 

The challenge facing the creation of collective efficacy in Milwaukee is there are very few foundations like Zilber.  Most not only want to provide the resources, but consider themselves capable of controlling the programs and the people.  This top down, corporate mentality, is perhaps the biggest obstacle to substantive change in Milwaukee.  It completely disregards the power of authentic local knowledge to know what needs to happen and the trust that is built through years of grass roots leadership.  Fortunately for Lindsay Heights, Joe Zilber grew up in that neighborhood and it had an organization like Walnut Way already in existence.  Sharon and Larry Adams, the leaders of Walnut Way, are extraordinary individuals and have been the engine behind the rise of collective efficacy—dare I call it pride in the neighborhood—that has been part of the Lindsay Heights revitalization movement. 

In Walnut Way, the Zilber Foundation may have found the perfect partner in its effort to support neighborhood revitalization.  Armed with what I think is a unique attitude of optimism about the potential within Lindsay Heights, and led by a humble, committed, and determined couple, Sharon and Larry Adams, Walnut Way has the credibility essential to lead the physical and social transformation of the neighborhood.  Additionally, because it is not equipped to develop and run--or most importantly control--many programs, Walnut Way is a local organization whose focus is bringing together other organizations on behalf of a common goal. What Zilber has done is provide important resources and just the right balance of guidance that Walnut Way needed to create the plan around which it could then mobilize organizations inside and outside Lindsay Heights.  As I have heard many times when talking about Walnut Way, it is a "convening" organization. 

One of my friends down there described Walnut Way in this way: 

In all of these, our role has been around convening groups and identifying sort of catalytic initiatives.  As a neighborhood association, we look to convene and facilitate these larger initiatives.  We do offer a little bit, but not too many direct programs. But the invitation to serve as a convener in a much larger area is to then develop a process that brings various groups together and map out the quality-of-life plan.  It’s not that we control everything but we are really interested in helping others who are in control.

I believe Milwaukee has many neighborhoods with high quality local leaders and a set of appropriate values and beliefs to guide behavior, but the business/corporate community and their corresponding foundations, will simply not put their trust (and their money) into worthy local organizations, those most capable of building collective efficacy as part of the plan to revitalize neighborhoods.  Control is a fickle human emotion, even more so when it is in the hands of people whose only real exposure to urban neighborhoods like Lindsay Heights in through Google maps.  This mentality, as much a part of Milwaukee as the segregation we all find so offensive, but conveniently dismiss as soon as we reach our comfortable, safe, clean, suburban neighborhood, is, I believe, the primary obstacle to real change in urban neighborhoods.  

To the occasional visitor, the one who unfortunately made up the great majority of your audience at Marquette, Lindsay Heights is just another dangerous neighborhood, one that is fairly hopeless, but nothing could be further from the truth.  I spent three years walking this neighborhood and the change I have seen is dramatic.  Some of the houses and yards would be the envy of suburbanites.  Change will take time, but it is happening in that neighborhood.  If those with the resources would stop duplicating programs, but rather direct those valuable resources to the those with authentic local knowledge and programs already up and running, change would occur at something better than a snail's pace....

Epilogue

Below are links to two opinion pieces that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's op-ed section back in 2013.   After reading both pieces, I certainly hope people will be able to deduce which side I am in this debate.  I'll give you a hint.  The people who wrote about cradle to career don't have a clue what that concept actually means and how to put it into practice.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/work-toward-a-unified-education-agenda-ag8dq5h-187539521.html

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/defend-public-schools-our-children-our-democracy-fs8gpnr-188424701.html