December
2002
Looking
at Trenton's revitalization and sustainable initiatives
By
Pamela Sims Jones
The
October 24 Leadership Trenton seminar was in two parts. The afternoon
session was a continuation of our discussion and analysis of economic
and community development issues in Trenton. Guests speakers were
Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer; Allan Mallach, housing, land use
and urban affairs expert; Diane Sterner, Executive Director of
the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey; and
Elgin Clemons, an economic and community development consultant.
Site visits included the Pennington Avenue Shopping Village, the
offices of Isles Inc., and a tour of two community development
projects sponsored by Isles: the Monument Crossing site and the
Hope VI Project at Kearney Homes.
How
should Trenton approach the issue of balancing competing goals
in its urban revitalization? In Allan Mallach's Economic Development
Incentives, Suburban Growth and Urban Redevelopment in New Jersey,
he states, "From an economic development standpoint, three
objectives appear to be paramount in pursuing the goal of urban
revitalization: creating realistic economic opportunities for
urban residents; creating a significant economic role for the
city within its region; and changing the perception of the city,
and making it a place where people of diverse economic and social
backgrounds choose to live and work." Mayor Palmer emphasized
that "…people will want to live in Trenton if housing
and neighborhoods are stable and nice thus the success of Monument
Crossing… The city is increasing its growth by bringing in
ratables, jobs, improving neighborhoods, and attracting private-sector
businesses."
With
any kind of economic and/or community development project, it
is important to ask two questions: who are the direct beneficiaries,
and what is the community's response? A successful, sustainable
project will implement plans in partnership with the key stakeholders.
The
morning session of our seminar was dedicated to the class project
development workshop, "Building Sustainable Initiatives,"
led by Dr. Joseph Youngblood, who is a Rockefeller Fellow and
the director of school-based programs at Trenton Central High
School. Our point of reference was "The Practice of Leadership:
Developing Leadership for Regional Action," published by
the Alliance for Regional Stewardship.
Key
values that define a sustainable initiative are democracy, innovation,
shared vision, community-based sustainability and paternalism.
Dr. Youngblood emphasized that a sustainable initiative should
enhance knowledge, resources, and leadership within the community.
A successful class project would work within the community to
identify common resources, assess Trenton's needs, and engage
and involve people in a way that will increase the capacity of
the community to overcome obstacles.
The
results of our workshop were a creation of a project vision statement,
theory of action, outreach plan, and survey. All of these tools
will assist this inaugural 2002 Leadership Trenton class in selecting
a class project which symbolizes our class project vision statement:
The Leadership Trenton Project is an innovative, community-based
initiative that will empower the stakeholders of the Trenton area
to create a healthy, sustainable region.
#
# #
Pamela
Sims Jones is Deputy Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative
Commission at the New Jersey Dept. of State.
