Written by engaged scholars and practitioners, Transforming Cities and Minds is an "instrument-for-action" on the problems faced by U.S. cities that have suffered from decades of disinvestment. The book advocates the concept of reciprocal knowledge: real learning on both sides, campus and city, through a complex network of human relationships. Across the country from Camden to Oakland, the contributors engaged with community partners--hospitals, churches, community development corporations, community foundations, and other rooted institutions--to help restore old cities to life. Their collaborative thesis project engaged them with one another and university staff; it may offer a new paradigm for graduate education. "Scholars and practitioners from diverse academic disciplines and professional fields will appreciate this important work. By boldly redesigning the graduate experience with a small cadre of students in M.I.T.'s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Hoyt and her collaborators provide an innovative approach for urban revitalization in ways which contribute to our understanding of issues of economy, equity and environment, while also advancing our work in the academy." -- Barry Checkoway , Professor of Social Work and Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Michigan "There are many powerful lessons for academic leaders in Transforming Cities and Minds , lessons about daunting challenges facing higher education and our urban communities ¬ and about the possibilities for new solutions. Perhaps the most important message is the need for colleges and universities to embrace bold and innovative change to create more socially responsive knowledge¬ and to educate more effective scholars, practitioners, and citizens." -- John Saltmarsh , Co-Director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, University of Massachusetts, Boston "Creative, refreshing and inspiring--Lorlene Hoyt has taken an often stodgy academic exercise, the master's thesis, and transformed it into a vibrant, practical, and soulful tool. Hoyt and her students give 'the scholarship of engagement' new meaning. Together they demonstrate the benefits of engaging not only with people in communities, but also with one another. The humanity of community members and the humanity of the writers are interwoven seamlessly into the narratives. An excellent volume to be used in courses in urban planning, economic development, sociology, environmental management, community development, and, of course, sustainability." -- Connie Ozawa , Director of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University Developing a new generation of engaged urban planners to revitalize U.S. cities Lorlene Hoyt is Director of Programs and Research for the Talloires Network at Tufts University. She currently serves as strategic advisor for Urban Revitalizers, a women- and minority-owned consultancy she co-founded in 1998. Hoyt founded and led MIT@ Lawrence, a city-campus partnership. Transforming Cities and Minds through the Scholarship of Engagement Economy, Equity, and Environment By Lorlene Hoyt Vanderbilt University Press Copyright © 2013 Vanderbilt University Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8265-1905-4 Contents Acknowledgments, ix, Foreword Dayna Cunningham, xi, Introduction Lorlene Hoyt, 1, Part I Engaging Economy, 1 Strengthening Small Businesses Strategies for Makin' a Way Where There Is No Way in Camden, New Jersey Gayle Christiansen, 29, 2 Leveraging Rooted Institutions A Strategy for Cooperative Economic Development in Cleveland, Ohio Nick Iuviene and Lily Song, 58, Part II Engaging Equity, 3 Concentrating Investment A Strategy for Sustainable Development in Kansas City, Missouri Leila Bozorg, 85, 4 Network Organizing A Strategy for Manufacturing Recovery in Lawrence, Massachusetts Marianna Leavy-Sperounis, 116, Part III Engaging Environment, 5 Citywide Retrofits A Strategy for Creating Green Jobs in Oakland, California Benjamin Brandin and Kate Levitt, 145, 6 Community/Labor/Utility Partnerships A Social-Movement Organizing Strategy for Energy Efficiency in Massachusetts Eric Mackres and Lily Song, 173, Reflections Lorlene Hoyt, 207, Contributors, 237, Index, 241, CHAPTER 1 Strengthening Small Businesses Strategies for Makin' a Way Where There Is No Way in Camden, New Jersey Gayle Christiansen "We Invest in Our Own" Dominican and Puerto Rican music pours out the doors of the Caribbean Mega Center, a small electronics store in Camden, New Jersey—a city known for its entrenched poverty, crime, and failing schools. The storefront lights and awning portray a brightly painted beach. José Marrera, the store's owner, describes his place as a little Best Buy. Everything you can get in there we've got: radios, computers, cell phones, video games. We deal with DJ equipment, car equipment, DVDs, music, video systems, everything at once. People come here because it is cheaper and it