Projects 2003

Executive Summary
"An Austin 'Snapshot': A Nine Week Asset-based Ethnography Of a Far West Side Community"

Research Intern: Nishaant Choksi, University of Chicago

Community Partner: Bethel New Life

This paper is based on research done with Bethel New Life, Inc., a faith-based community development corporation with its administrative headquarters in the Austin neighborhood, located on the far West Side of Chicago. Austin is the largest demographic community area in the city of Chicago, with a population of 117,527 (Census 2000). While the median income for Austin in 2000 was $33,633, making it a middle-income community, because it is so large, it has pockets of growing wealth, as well as signs of continuing poverty. "It's interesting," described an Austin resident, "you've got the rich people and the poor people around here."

The intention of the research was to gain a better understanding of existing assets of residents can allow Bethel New Life to better connect with its service community. Therefore, special emphasis was placed on entrepreneurship, infrastructure, arts, and demographic groups, such as youth, senior citizens, and ex-offenders, as under-examined, potential resources for programming and audience.

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The Research Question(s): The task of this project was essentially to map out the social assets, or community strengths, of the residents of Austin. How and in what ways do residents participate in community life on an everyday basis? In what ways would they like to participate? What resources do they utilize? How do residents make institutional linkages? How do residents perceive or determine their culture, in what ways do they relate to or consider family, and what are the avenues of success, and do they lead out of the community? How do people communicate and disseminate information?

Included in this research are perceptions of religion and tradition, since religion plays a vital role in family and community life in the Austin area. Also, because Austin has a number of community based organizations, how and in what ways can community organizations work together to mutually address important issues in the community? What are the social assets of the residents in the areas of informal arts and communication? How might the illumination of these assets inform or redefine their means of placing value on their community?

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Methods: A number of traditional ethnographical techniques were used in conducting this research. Included were structured, semi-structured, and informal interviews, in addition to participant observation. Participant observation included both systematic observation of daily life of residents, as well as attendance of numerous public meetings. An ethnographical asset mapping approach was also used, not relying on surveys so much as open-ended interviews, informal interviews, and participant observation. In some cases, the intern also conducted informal focus groups.

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Key Findings: Austin has a plethora of social assets, such as:

1) Rich, informal communication networks between residents have increased, and 'positive steps' are being taken to change its reputation as just another impoverished African-American community on the West Side of Chicago. However, residents tempered their optimism with concerns over the continuing presence of crime, particularly in the form of gangs and the drug trade, the lack of jobs, and looming gentrification in certain areas of the neighborhood.
2) In a community where there are many homeowners, many people said that the property values have been increasing, businesses are coming into an area rich with existing fine public buildings and housing infrastructure, as well as several large-scale public spaces and parks.
3) Youth, entrepreneurs, artists, seniors and ex-offenders are all overlooked local assets that if engaged with properly, their energy and experience can be harnessed to play a central role in community development.
4) Multiple civic-minded organizations and the frequency of public gatherings suggests that civic engagement efforts may be more successful when local communication networks are utilized.
5) The Austin area is spatially one of the largest neighborhoods in the city of Chicago as well. There are so many people, organizations, and so much distance in the Austin community that it was impossible for the intern to cover all of it. Therefore, what has emerged is a partial mapping of the Austin neighborhood, and groundwork for further research in this large and important Chicago community.

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Findings in Action:

All of the social assets found in the research may be engaged through public events and programming. Therefore, a public festival that would emphasize collaboration, the arts, youth, and entrepreneurship, was proposed, as well as an exhibit display that would present themes of community life, family and success. Through the proposed event the community could be introduced to the research findings, local talents and resources could be highlighted, while providing networking opportunities and informative activities to galvanize and involve residents in community activism.

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