Social work roles in assessing urban development

Pastora San Juan Cafferty, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, and Richard M. Krieg, MA, is Lecturer, School of Social Service Administration, Uni versity of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The evaluation of the social impact conjunction with private consulting or of land development remains an imganizations on a number of large-scale, portant topic on national, state, and extended projects. These projects, local planning agendas. Assessing the which are attuned to the decision social impact of physical development making needs of local governments, encompasses a broad range of issues, have primarily been concerned with techniques, and disciplines. It is a propredicting the social impact of pro cess that often benefits from interdisposed programs of municipal develop ciplinary cooperation and in which ment. disciplinary rigidity can significantly Drawing on the experience of the distort or limit the analytical product. University of Chicago School of So Unfortunately, most social impact cial Service Administration in con evaluations have neglected to provide ducting the task force components of for the collaboration of social welfare MTAP, this article addresses the need professionals. Even in the context of to identify specific areas of the policy limited budgets, however, such parselection phase of municipal develop ticipation can significantly increase the ment in which social work profes scope and sensitivity of social impact sionals can contribute to assessments assessments, especially if there is of social impact. These policy selec a prior identification of the specific tion activities, which are designed to areas in which the expertise of social facilitate decisions about whether to welfare professionals may be advango ahead with a proposed develop tageously applied. ment and to analyze alternative ap Since 1975, the University of Chiproaches, are distinguished from im cago School of Social Service Adpact assessment activities associated ministration has conducted a Muwith designing and administering pol nicipal Technical Assistance Program icies.1 The article further limits its (MTAP), which.applies faculty and discussion to impact assessments un student resources to the needs of mudertaken at the neighborhood or com nicipalities in the Greater Chicago munity level. Area. The program is funded by a continuing grant from Cook County and has also received support from the Ford Foundation. The assessment of social impact may MTAP sponsors student field placebecome the context for a rapproche ments in municipalities that are sement between traditional urban plan lected in cooperation with county and ning and the concerns of social welfare local officials. These intern assignprofessionals. As noted by Brooks, ments parallel opportunities for place"City planning shares a common an ment in agencies as diverse as the cestry with the social welfare profes Chicago Department of Development sion; both emerged from a growing and Planning, the Chicago Central concern on the part of middle-class Area Committee, and the Regional reformers with the physical squalor Transportation Authority. and political corruption of American Typical MTAP projects include procities. . . ." 2 Although adherents of ducing major sections of a village both groups worked closely together Housing Assistance Plan (HAP) and in this country's first attempts at urban assessing the social service needs in revitalization, the partitioning and pro a neighborhood that is to receive funds fessionalization of the fields of urban for community development. Working planning and social welfare was well on a ten-week basis, the graduate stuunder way by the end of World War dent interns receive field supervision i.a Over the following thirty-five years, from local government personnel as urban planning tended to concentrate well as support from faculty at the on the efficient use of land, urban school. aesthetics, municipal facilities, trans A second MTAP component has portation, and the development of a task forces of faculty members and sound economic base.4 Social welfare students working independently or in and, consequently, social planning HISTORY