Publication Date

Spring 1997

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Urban Planning (MUP)

Department

Urban and Regional Planning

Abstract

My inspiration for this topic stems from a project I worked on in Central Mountain View, adjacent to downtown. This neighborhood, known as Old Mountain View, is diverse in both ethnicity and age. Based on a neighborhood study I conducted prior to this project, I discovered this neighborhood was undergoing a transformation as a result of the redevelopment of downtown -the neighborhood was gentrifying rapidly. While there were still low-income residents living in high-density housing, most of the single family housing was increasingly occupied by middle class, 2-working adult, families. Over time, the actual cost of housing made it prohibitive for lower-income families to live there.

My original intent for this project was to create a project plan with the direct involvement and contribution of the community. There were several obstacles to this approach. For one, there were few examples of similar projects, with the end-users directly involved with the project from its conception. Information was available on how communities set out to change a plan once it was written, but 1 was seeking examples of community involvement prior to the development of any plan. This group had a piece of land, and a number of frustrated residents with ideas in their heads, and volunteers willing to help guide the process. I did not find many examples using this approach. Further, while the project accomplished most of what we set out to achieve — prepare a park plan for an abandoned site in the neighborhood to present to the City of Mountain View — I found the dominant participants, in fact the only participants, to be the outspoken, middle-class. 2-income family homeowners. Yet, everyone in the neighborhood was informed of this effort through the neighborhood association newsletter, and invited to participate in the park planning project. Several questions arose from this - why did the low-income and minority residents decide not to participate? Did they feel discouraged? Were they intimidated? Were they skeptical about people from the ‘outside’ volunteering their time to help them?

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