The Tuesday seminars have all been pretty neat. I learn about different issues related to Detroit/communities/non-profits, plus have a shorter work-day. Thought-provoking weeks are Lynna Kaucheck and Angela Abiodun. (Food and Water Watch and Detroit Food Academy)
This week with Evan Markarian (Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision) sparked a lot of thoughts. I am fascinated by issues about Southwest because that is what I work with on a day-to-day basis. The projects at SDEV relate to work at SDBA. Our discussion led to the question, is top-down or bottom-up change better?
I took a class devoted to that exact topic this past semester. I WOULD recommend it, UP 532- Sustainability and Social Change: How to Change the World. The content of the class focused on and went in-depth with the theory of change. We read case studies, discussed change agents, bottom-up change, top-down change, institutional change, culture change. We deliberated on every aspect of change you can think about. My conclusion is that change is difficult and complex. Each case of change is unique and has many layers.
I witness change and progress firsthand at SDBA. I have never been in a neighborhood that is as independent as Southwest. SDBA put in the bike lanes, the street lights, the trash cans, and the benches. SDBA locates vacant or under-utilized properties and matches them with small-business owners. We provide business assistance and help start businesses. We pressure the city to clean up contaminated sites. We attract and secure developers and new businesses. We track and monitor crime. Our sister organization does community policing. They also hold public meetings/forums about any issues related to SW. All this work only skims the surface of what SW does for itself. It is inspiring to be around the people who make it happen.
That course and work at SDBA lead me to the conclusion that positive, inclusive change needs to be top-down & bottom-up. The key is the scale of these efforts. SDBA and other organizations made up of community members who stepped up to do what the city could not. These organizations are closer and more aware of their community. They know the need for incremental change and how to implement it. Would we want neighborhood moms putting in streetlights? Most likely no. But I would want them to be part of the decision-making process. At the same time, we need to enact city-wide policies to make change. Tiny community organizations are not powerful enough to institute and enforce policies themselves. For example, the current Community Benefits Agreement is up for debate on City Council. Work like this is not accomplishable at a small scale. City government serves as an overarching power while community work is an inclusive power.
