What does Community Development look like?: Making Social Change on Milwaukee?s Northwest Side
Mentor 1
James Harris
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
5-4-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 3:30 PM
Description
Milwaukee, like many northern tier, rustbelt cities, has experienced decades of job loss and disinvestment, hypersegreation, growing poverty and neighborhood decline. A number of community development organizations are working to address these challenges, one such organization is Havenwoods Economic Development Corporation (HEDC), located on the northwest side near Silverspring and 64th. Within the large, bustling city of Milwaukee, lies a unique community. Currently a community struggling from the effects of disinvestment, HEDC and other local groups have taken the opportunity to implement social change. Signs of new investment and development can be seen by Projects like the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority’s new Westlawn Gardens development and nonprofit organizations such as Growing Power that are helping to boost the social and economic well-being of the area. Through a service-learning opportunity at HEDC, I experienced the promise and challenges of community development work. From serving as the liaison for the community and city programs to producing and distributing a neighborhood paper, The Havenwood Herald, HEDC goes beyond just the economic and financial development of the community. These community development efforts face specific barriers and are constrained by the larger social and economic forces that can impede social change. Through field observations, interviews and secondary sources, it has become prevalent that community development is not purely about economic well-being but should be crafted to enrich the diversity of the different races, cultures and lifestyles of Milwaukee’s Northwest side.
What does Community Development look like?: Making Social Change on Milwaukee?s Northwest Side
Union Wisconsin Room
Milwaukee, like many northern tier, rustbelt cities, has experienced decades of job loss and disinvestment, hypersegreation, growing poverty and neighborhood decline. A number of community development organizations are working to address these challenges, one such organization is Havenwoods Economic Development Corporation (HEDC), located on the northwest side near Silverspring and 64th. Within the large, bustling city of Milwaukee, lies a unique community. Currently a community struggling from the effects of disinvestment, HEDC and other local groups have taken the opportunity to implement social change. Signs of new investment and development can be seen by Projects like the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority’s new Westlawn Gardens development and nonprofit organizations such as Growing Power that are helping to boost the social and economic well-being of the area. Through a service-learning opportunity at HEDC, I experienced the promise and challenges of community development work. From serving as the liaison for the community and city programs to producing and distributing a neighborhood paper, The Havenwood Herald, HEDC goes beyond just the economic and financial development of the community. These community development efforts face specific barriers and are constrained by the larger social and economic forces that can impede social change. Through field observations, interviews and secondary sources, it has become prevalent that community development is not purely about economic well-being but should be crafted to enrich the diversity of the different races, cultures and lifestyles of Milwaukee’s Northwest side.
