2015 Urban Affairs Association Conference

On January 27, 2012, Jane Adams iconic Hull House and settlement house flagship sank amidst a sea of mounting financial obligations and lack of community lifeboats to sustain its massive programs and professional crew. Going down with this legendary vessel were thousands of social service passengers who depended on it. The historic Hull House museum remains at the University of Illinois at Chicago. bit after 123 years its mission sunk too deeply to recover. Historian, Louise Knight, contends that the Hull House of today became a “an example of settlement house as government provider” (2012) having abandoned its community activist roots (Knight, 2005; 2010) to be a government dependent social service agency unable to recover from ongoing public cutbacks. She and others caution on the limits of government funding and drifting from the “grassroots” of the settlement house movement. In Settlement Houses Under Siege Fabricant and Fisher (2002) noted that settlement houses weakened by dependence on public funding and waning volunteerism and citizen participation, settlement hallmarks replaced by reliance on professionalized social services. This roundtable dialogue will focus on whether Hull House’s demise is a harbinger for other community centers on the frontlines of helping distressed urban areas. The Hull House situation underscores: • Connections of community centers to their communities and constituencies – the roots of the settlement house movement • Over-reliance on Government funding and the limitation of fund-raising with economically distressed communities and constituents • Inability to engage and mobilize grassroots, poor, and disenfranchised constituencies • waning focus in professional education on community organizing and advocacy and lobbying This roundtable hopes to generate other issues, as well as a dialogue among those interested in studying and supporting grassroots and community-based organizations and neighborhood centers.

This breakfast roundtable will present perspectives from a group of academics from across the US on the topic of creating livable, healthy and sustainable communities. The development of such communities is becoming an important part of community development, urban design, policy planning and urban affairs. With the desire by urban scholars throughout N. America and Europe to move from communities that are often described as sterile and boring places to live, it is important to understand the factors that make communities livable. This roundtable will discuss what has gone wrong in many communities and will offer suggestions for making them more livable.

The purpose of this roundtable is to discuss Tennessee State University (TSU)’s initiative to affirmatively support U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s strategic fair housing policy goals and provide paths to fair housing careers through the TSU Urban Studies curriculum. The discussion leaders are the investigators for a HUD grant supporting this initiative. This grant funds the first initiative of this type and its outcomes will be tracked over a number of years to identify successful strategies for (1) embedding fair housing education into higher education programs to educate future fair housing professionals; (2) providing multiple learning experiences that promote professional interests in housing and prepare graduates for fair housing-related careers; and (3) enhancing fair housing education through community collaboration.

Obesity and Type II diabetes have repeatedly been linked to poor food access and the situation demands that we look at food through a better lens. Public interest in healthful urban food environments is rising fast and scholars across many disciplines are increasingly looking at the relationships between health, food security and sustainability. Community food systems are neither the domain of urban planners, nor community developers and organizers. Nor can they be left to the designs of food purveyors and food service professionals. They belong to “every profession which has a food-related interest, as well as NGO’s that focus on social justice, public health, food security and ecological causes” (Morgan, 2009, p. 342). In short, they belong to the community itself. Over the past decade more than 100 cities across N. America have developed or are developing strategic plans towards more equitable and sustainable food systems under the banner-goal of community food security. The community food assessment (CFA) is community-based participatory research (CBPR) at its best. The process brings together stakeholders from all parts of the urban food spectrum in research, debate and planning exercises that identify and fill gaps in the flow of good-quality food. CFA’s are stimulating the creation of food policy councils, community gardens, community-supported agriculture (CSA), farmers markets, nutrition-education initiatives as well as NGO outreach programs in support of government food assistance standards such as SNAP, WIC and school-based food programs. The moderator of this roundtable will initiate a discussion on urban food systems by introducing findings from his ongoing review of community food assessments (CFA’s). Participants will be encouraged to share what is happening with food in their own communities in order to generate a lively exchange of ideas.

This session will focus on the actual urban challenges Veterans face which limit successful transition into civilian lives. Veteran specific issues include but are not limited to Unemployment; Lack of Translation of Military Knowledge, Training, and Skills into Civilian Employment; Reintegration into Society; Homelessness; PTSD; Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders; and other limiting factors that compromise successful transition into civilian life. Speakers will draw on insights from their contributions to a Veteran Administration Nursing Academic Partnership (VANAP), their work on Veteran specific healthcare issues, Veteran issues related to separation from military service among other contributions each has made to the Veteran community. Comments will include Veteran outcomes and interprofessional solutions. Speakers will reflect on best practices related particularly to employability and training that builds on knowledge and skills gained in the military (i.e.: university accelerated programs for Veterans where they get credit for military education and training such as the Veteran Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Florida International University; Military Police to Criminal Justice, Navigational Experience and Knowledge to Geology, Geography, etc), employment post military separation, reintegration into society,  Veteran demographics, homelessness prevention and other mental health and substance abuse disorders that limit Veteran successful transition into urban civilian and family life.

Hosted by the UAA Membership Committee This breakfast roundtable is organized to facilitate an open discussion between UAA members, UAA staff and the UAA membership committee to identify member concerns and obtain suggestions for the direction of the organization. Conveners will also discuss ways members can increase their involvement in UAA. Conveners Margaret Wilder UAA Executive Director Marla Nelson UAA Membership Committee

Evidence suggests that university community school partnerships impact “whole student, whole school and whole community.”Creative solutions and strategic partnerships in education are beneficial to K-12 schools,postsecondary with increasing attention devoted to education reform, college access, and community outreach programs, engaged universities have seized the moment through strategic initiatives to further their mission of reducing disparities in access to higher education.The Education Effect–BTW has been developed to support and challenge students to acquire the knowledge, skills and disposition needed to effectively graduate high school and enroll and succeed in a two-year or four-year post-secondary institution.Furthermore, EE-BTW supports the individual needs of students’ as they reach and grow to their full potential by infusing additional personnel and a culture of high expectations.Additionally, the academic enrichment and educational opportunities provided by The Education Effect–BTW will focus on 21st century academic and workforce readiness skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, collaboration, communication, personal responsibility, creativity, innovation, and information technology.The Education Effect–BTW is funded through a generous foundation committed to urban education and community partnership. Critical to the development of The Education Effect-BTW, are the benefits to students, the school, community and university.Broadening educational opportunity to include kindergarten through post-secondary completion is vital to student learning, because it increases success over time, as opposed to fragmented programs in which students are treated for impending “failure.”It is the difference between prevention and intervention after the fact. This paper challenges existing ways of understanding equity and inclusion and the institutional response to provide access and support to underrepresented students.

Hosted by the UAA Membership Committee This breakfast roundtable offers institutional members an opportunity to discuss key issues and concerns facing their institutions. Conveners will facilitate a discussion on how the Urban Affairs Association can best represent and promote institutional member interests. Conveners: Marla Nelson Associate Professor Department of Planning and Urban Studies University of New Orleans Jacob Wagner Associate Professor Department of Architecture & Urban Plan & Design University of Missouri at Kansas City

This roundtable is presented by 3 seasoned professors who have received significant grants over their academic lives. Tips and insights will be offered.