BUILDING FOR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY - Kennedy Bibliothek

126. The list of projects dedicated to achieving a balanced growth and an
amelioration of major problems has grown. Apart from progress reports
which appear every six months and list activities of particular interest in
this span of time, there is a "Report of the Process, May 1972 - February
1975" which covers an ambitious program of physical, social and economic
development:
- progress on five development sites (SAND, Upper Albany, Congress
Street, South Hartford, Coventry) and technical assistance to
towns (Farmington and West Hartford);
- new institutions, programs and activities (neighbourhood social
services, region-wide personal care for the elderly, neighbourhood
employment services, city economic development, neighbourhood health
centers, North Hartford Health Study, neighbourhood housing
services, fair housing practices and higher education services);
and
- support of community organisations (Citizens' Assembly, SAND, UACO
and neighbourhood coalition - the latter designed to bring together
16 city neighbourhoods to learn from one another, seeking city-wide
unity and sharing of experience).
127. For obvious reasons these reports tend to stress achievements rather
than problem areas. Comparing the information they provide with that
gathered in SAND, differences became apparent. These are probably due to
differing viewpoints at different levels of responsibility and to many
years of fighting at the project level which left its mark on the spirit of
the people involved. Nonetheless, several points may be made:
It seems as if the city-wide Process toward regeneration has at the
.same time helped and hindered the development of SAND.
Process helped in raising funds and, in some cases, in the negotiation
of agreements between the neighbourhood and various city agencies.
Process hindered developments by making SAND a model case for other
neighbourhoods. This meant, that SAND had to sacrifice some of its
autonomy in order to make it an applicable model for other neighbourhoods.
However, it was often accused of creating a city within a
city.
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