Case Study: Community Education: Austin's Empowerment Project by Paul Alvarez, PODER |
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Community Organization: People Organized in Defense of Earth & her Resources (PODER) Project Coordinator: Raul Alvarez PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION PODER is an East Austin-based Latino environmental justice organization. Its mission is to redefine environmental issues as social and economic justice, and collectively set an agenda to address these concerns as basic human rights. PODER seeks to empower communities through education, advocacy and action. Its aim is to increase the participation of communities of color in corporate and government decisions related to toxic pollution, economic development and their impact on neighborhoods. STATEMENT OF NEED PODER has observed that very few people of color are involved in the metropolitan transportation planning process. There is a lack of community awareness of how transportation funds may be used. For example, community groups do not know that they can ask for infrastructure improvements in their neighborhoods from their MPO. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the MPO does not make an effort to involve these particular communities in the decision making process. Furthermore, there is a severe lack of emphasis by the MPO on neighborhood level transportation improvements. The Community Empowerment element of the campaign was designed to help address these shortcomings of the transportation planning process. Certain groups (e.g., the young, the old, the poor, and the disabled) are particularly transportation disadvantaged. The Youth Empowerment element of the campaign was designed in part to bring together a group of young people to consider some the transportation issues with which they are confronted. When this project was undertaken, there was little documentation of needs specifically related to the communities in which PODER was working. The Research Project element of the campaign was intended to help residents assess the current investments in their community and build a case for their priorities. CAMPAIGN SUMMARY PODER provides community groups with information and organizational support to help them identify needs in their community and develop specific steps to address these needs. The Transportation and Community Empowerment Campaign applies this basic philosophy to the issue of transportation. The Transportation and Community Empowerment Campaign was designed to raise awareness about the effects of transportation decisions on communities of color and to involve these communities in the transportation decision making process. The campaign consisted of three distinct elements: Community Empowerment; Youth Empowerment; and a Community Based Research Project. THE PLANNING PROCESS COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT The Community Empowerment element of the campaign has three basic phases, all conducted by community organizations. The first phase is a transportation workshop for citizens. Phase two surveys citizens about needed neighborhood transportation improvements. Phase three summarizes survey results into a report intended for presentation to the city, transit authority and MPO for funding consideration. The transportation workshop is built on two educational tools developed by PODER: an eight minute video, “Getting From Here to There -- Transportation and your Neighborhood” and a complementary brochure. The video addresses the role of transportation in a community. It educates citizens about the impact of transportation investments and the opportunities to affect those decisions. Using visuals and clear language, the video explains the link between the focus on the car and patterns of urban development. “Getting From Here to There” also unifies concerns about mobility within a region and mobility in a neighborhood. It suggests that neighborhood safety issues should receive more meaningful consideration in the transportation planning process and encourages citizens to get involved locally. “Getting From Here to There” is an excellent primer for citizens who have not thought about regional transportation issues and how they impact the quality of life. The companion brochure, also produced by PODER, is distributed at the workshops. The text of the brochure mirrors the video’s language. It includes a transportation resource guide which describes agencies involved in transportation planning (i.e., the MPO, the transit authority and the city). After residents learn more about the transportation planning process, they discuss their own transportation concerns. Finally, a group of residents interested in investigating neighborhood transportation needs is identified. During the survey phase, a small group of residents takes a survey door-to-door and talks to neighbors about specific transportation issues. PODER devised a neighborhood transportation improvement survey in English and Spanish. The survey asks specific questions about road maintenance, sidewalks, bike lanes, lighting, signage and bus service. Questions are designed to be specific because transportation planning agencies tend to fund particular improvements, not broad statements of need. The survey phase may be lengthy, depending on the level of resident participation, but it is more important to be thorough than to be hasty and possibly omit vital information. During the final phase, data gathered through the survey is summarized into a report. Residents present the report to the city, transit authority and the MPO for funding consideration. The following example describes the steps that a particular community group took in order to obtain transportation improvements in their community. THE MONTOPOLIS COMMUNITY The Montopolis Community is a predominantly low-income, minority community located in East Austin. It faces the most significant increase in the poverty rate within the last ten years in Austin, and ranks among the most devastated areas of the city. Although the overall education attainment level has increased, it remains one of the lowest in Austin. Both the unemployment rate and crime rate are among the highest in the city. Although the Montopolis Community itself is small, there are large scale developments occurring on all sides. Because of the City of Austin’s generous tax abatement program, there is a proliferation of high technology manufacturing companies to the south of the Montopolis Community. To the east is a closed Air Force base which is being converted into a municipal airport. These developments have major implications with regard to transportation. Due to the increased level of development occurring and anticipated in the area, the Montopolis Area Neighborhood Improvement Council (MANIC) and the Patton Avenue Neighborhood Association were formed to take a more active role in the development activities going on around them. One of the first issues that MANIC and Patton Avenue Neighborhood Association addressed was community transportation improvements. Members of each group participated in the transportation workshop organized by PODER and a number of members helped conduct the neighborhood transportation improvement survey. The preliminary report identified three particular areas of need in the community. The first area of need is related to public safety. The Montopolis Community is bound to the north by US 183, a six-lane divided arterial. One of the intersections along this road is extremely dangerous. During the last five years, according to the Department of Public Safety, there have been more than 250 accidents along a one mile stretch of this arterial. Residents of the area took this information to the MPO and asked that they examine the situation. The Policy Advisory Committee was responsive and directed their staff to investigate the situation further. The second area of need is for public transportation in two neighborhoods in Montopolis. The same stretch of road which has created numerous safety problems in the area has also isolated these two small residential pockets from the larger Montopolis Community. The only way for residents of these neighborhoods to access public transportation is to walk to the nearest intersection and cross the six-lane highway to reach a bus stop on the opposite side. Residents of the Patton Avenue Association attended the transit agency’s board meeting and discussed the lack of public transportation accessibility. As a result, a meeting with the Planning Committee was scheduled for the following month. The third area of need is for specific infrastructure improvements identified in the survey. These include: streets that require maintenance; drainage improvements; sidewalks; covered seating at bus stops; lighting; and various types of signs and traffic control measures. The preliminary findings of the survey were presented at both the MPO and transit authority meetings. Both entities have expressed interest in pursuing this matter. Residents plan to meet with the staff of the transit authority/MPO and with their city council member to discuss these issues. Results As a result of the residents meeting with city officials, the MPO staff, the MPO board, and the transit agency’s board, several improvements have been made. To improve the safety along the US 183 corridor, new sidewalks have been built, two pedestrian crossing signals have been installed, and a flashing beacon and signs have been strategically placed to alert traffic to slow down. Progress has also been made on the specific infrastructure improvements the residents were seeking in their neighborhood. Two bike racks were installed at the recreation center, sidewalks were placed on one street, several stop signs have been placed at key intersections, and nine bus shelters have been installed. The improvements have been funded and administered by the City of Austin, the transit agency, the MPO, and the state department of transportation. The community continues working with all of the agencies to secure further improvements, including better access to public transportation. YOUTH EMPOWERMENT In the Summer of 1995, PODER made its first attempt to engage youth on issues related to Environmental Justice. PODER participated in an established eight-week summer youth employment program serving twenty-five students. Of the 25 students who participated in the program, 24 were African-American and Mexican-American. The program targeted students who were fourteen and fifteen years old. Participants worked 25 hours per week, splitting their time equally between work and academic tasks. PODER focused on the academic component. Its curriculum focused on problem solving and media literacy skills. By mixing these two elements, PODER hoped to develop the analytical and presentation skills of the students. The problem solving component of the program made use of a standard methodology: identify the problem; study the problem; set goals to address the problem; and develop a plan to realize these goals. To put this methodology into practice, students participated in several discussions about issues related to Environmental Justice. Organizers showed video case studies on Environmental Justice from around the country and brought in speakers to talk about local Environmental Justice issues. Students were required to summarize each case in terms of the four problem solving steps. Transportation was one of the issues covered in the discussion about Environmental Justice. Young people in this community have limited travel options. For the most part, they are dependent on rides from family and friends to get from place to place. If they choose to take the bus, they are limited by where and when they may travel. If they choose to walk or bike, they must contend with a transportation environment which is not very bicycle and pedestrian friendly. Students discussed their specific transportation needs. Their transportation concerns and recommendations included:
After the discussion of various Environmental Justice issues, each student chose a topic to focus on during the last four weeks of the program. There were a few students interested in transportation, but they were heavily outnumbered by those who wanted to look at the issues of teen pregnancy and gang violence. These were clearly issues that were more important to them. Nonetheless, the observations they made regarding transportation revealed a keen sense of awareness of their surroundings, including their transportation environment. Young people are usually overlooked in any public involvement initiative. The summer youth program demonstrated the need to engage young people and address issues of concern to them. COMMUNITY BASED RESEARCH PROJECT The research project was executed in Montopolis to supplement the survey work there. The report summarizes transportation improvements/investments scheduled to be made in Montopolis by the transit agency, the MPO, and the City of Austin. It also summarizes the collision reports obtained for the particular segment of US 183 referenced in this case study. Finally, the report highlights key parts of the transportation regulations which allow for the use of federal transportation funds for neighborhood improvements/ investments. The research is being used by the community residents to back their requests for neighborhood improvements that increase the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists as well as their work to secure improved transit service. CONCLUSION The CEP enabled PODER to expand its outreach program on transportation issues and has given a group of community leaders the tools, information, and motivation to continue to work with the city and local transportation agencies to seek transportation investments that improve the safety and livability of their neighborhood. PODER believes that this type of support for grassroots organizations, particularly organizations serving low-income communities and communities of color, is essential for increasing participation in the complex transportation planning process. PODER plans to put the expertise which we have developed to good use by continuing our organizing efforts around transportation in other areas of Austin. CONTACT INFORMATION Raul Alvarez & Susana Almanza To order a copy of the video, contact PODER. Copies are available for a small fee.
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