COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...

Park from one point of view—from the point of view of the middle-class—which
believes there are too many social problems that can only be improved through “cleaning
up” the neighborhood. This perspective has become the dominant perspective of both
residents and non-residents, and there is little debate about other ways to improve the
quality of life for residents.
Kasinitz and Rosenburg (1996:180) claim the high concentration of urban poverty
in cities and the social issues that are presumed to accompany them are widely considered
to be among the gravest problems now facing the U.S. In many low-income communities
residents attempt to confront urban poverty and are trying to solve social problems by
creating community groups to help improve the quality of the neighborhood. But, the
formation of community-based groups that attempt to improve neighborhood conditions,
and mold the urban landscape, is problematic. Not only have inner-city neighborhoods
become arenas that showcase a struggle with outsiders, such as developers and city
government officials, they are also sites of conflict for the subgroups that live within its
boundaries (Low 2002:11).
The creation of community groups and other forms of community-based action
can be problematic for other reasons. The residents forming community groups often
have good intentions in trying to eliminate crime and revitalize communities. But often
times, these residents do not understand that some projects they are trying to implement
are created from one point of view. When the middle-class flees the “sameness” of the
suburbs, they simply choose to live in socially diverse neighborhoods, where the lower-
income residents often have drastically different lifestyles than themselves. The middle-
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