The Urban Poor

In this posting, I plan to address how research helps the urban poor. We often think of the academic world as operating in a vacuum, apart from reality. The experience of going to Manila and Southville, however, has revealed that academic endeavors can and should be fully integrated with human experience. Even if they may never have the chance to review the results for themselves, the poor benefit from social action research in three primary ways. First, researchers provide exposure to conditions that the poor live in. Second, researchers legitimize the efforts of the poor to change their reality. Thirdly, researchers provide tools for people to be able to enhance their living conditions. I saw all three of these things at work in Southville through the presence of Adamson University. The poor were not being used as social test subjects. Rather, the poor were participants in the work to help them transform their community.

Researchers provide exposure and voice to the harsh realities of the urban poor. Even though the urban poor are in people’s midst in great cities like Manila, it is still easy to overlook them. When governments make policy or funding decisions, they too often forget about the under-represented poor. Researchers, however, force the government and other authorities to take notice. It was clear that the reason why the Philippine housing authority officials were so involved in the railroad relocation project was because of the presence of VCSR and Adamson University. Through the work of researchers, there was suddenly an abundance of household information on the people living along the railway, and this information helped with planning to ensure the safe and peaceful relocation of these people to Southville. Those people who are easily overlooked, are given a voice through the work of social researchers. This exposure and advocacy has kept the government interested and involved in Southville.

The poor are endowed with talents, drive, innovation, and political will. The intangible assets of under-resourced communities receive legitimization through the presence of researchers. The poor are gifted, and researchers are able to provide academic legitimacy to their efforts to transform their reality. In Southville, VCSR recognized the inherent entrepreneurial nature of the people as well as their deep-seeded family values. Researchers help the poor identify these strengths so that they can be leveraged for their good.

Finally, researchers offer tools for development which build upon the gifts of the people. The SV-SUDS program is a quintessential example of this. Researchers saw that the people had entrepreneurial aptitude and motivation, so they introduced a tool which would help the poor take advantage of this talent. I believe that values formation was another important tool that researchers were able to introduce into the community. Recognizing the strong family and faith structure of the community, VSCR conducts values formation to enable the community to build upon these strengths. By solidifying family and community ties through values formation, the community is better prepared to unify themselves and work toward common goals which will result in improved conditions for their community. I think the presence of a community congress, which convenes to discuss local issues, is an example of how the tool of community-building and values formation has come to fruition.

These examples prove that when conducting urban planning, NGOs and Governments should network with academic researchers to help guide policy and funding decisions. The relatively smooth transition of thousands of people from the railways of Manila to suburban settlements is credited to the presence of an academic community. By providing exposure to their conditions, legitimization of their talents, and tools for their development, academic researchers in the Philippines have demonstrated that social research must extend beyond the classroom setting to find a meaningful application in the everyday reality of the poor.

References

See link to the “Great Cities Institute,” Housed through the University of Illinois at Chicago.
http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci/research/index.shtml

The picture at the top was taken during our first trip to Southville. I believe this photo simultaneously represents all the things that I’ve just spoken about above. The poor are a beautiful, gifted people, with strength and motivation to enhance their future. They are open to the work of the academic community (as evidenced by the welcome sign). This child represents the bright future of this community.

I would be remiss not to publically mention that I believe deeply in the mission of VCSR and what the academic community is offering the community of Southville. After my visit to this community, I have become utterly convinced that researchers can help people by providing opportunities for economic and social development.

The fact that all efforts are community-led is the true ‘selling point’ of the VCSR program. And I believe that all future researchers should continue to not only respect the community, but take direction from the community as well. This way, people are given the opportunity to create change in their lives, rather than have an outsider fix it for them. This is the core philosophy that I saw in VCSR’s process. Those community members who were already active through VCSR had a real sense of what they were contributing and VCSR was assisting this ‘awakening’ in the people. Ongoing research can facilitate the ongoing ‘awakening’ of the people, in that they will become more of aware of their power and their ability to transform their community utilizing their own assets. For example, the women who were serving as day care leaders had a keen sense that they themselves (not outsiders) were educating and forming their children for the future.

In the midst of some immense economic challenges, these people see cause for hope, and the academic community has helped bring this hope to them. All around Southville we saw smiles and optimism. One woman that I spoke with, told me that she earns a few dollars a day through the SUDS program, but emphasized to me that she feels deeply blessed.

Finally, I saw people who formerly didn’t know their neighbors, now banding together to transform their community. The academic community has given people the forum to create these important bonds and sense of community. Fortunately, this sense of community will persist long after VCSR has withdrawn from the community.

It was an honor to journey with this group of people and to take part in such an effective model of development. Thank you for your work with the urban poor!