___________________________________________________________________ SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS Founded 1951 ___________________________________________________________________ Community Research and Development Division Newsletter – Summer 2008 Chair: Theo J. Majka, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work University of Dayton 300 College Park Dayton, OH 45469-1442 Phone: 937-229-2138 Email: Theo.Majka@notes.udayton.edu ___________________________________________________________________ FROM THE DIVISION CHAIR ___________________________________________________________________ Our much anticipated SSSP annual meeting in Boston, July 31 - August 2 will feature some noteworthy sessions with a wide range of subjects sponsored or co-sponsored by our division. The schedules, paper titles and presenters are listed later in this newsletter. Also, please plan to join us for our division meeting on Thursday, July 31 from 4:30pm - 6:10pm in the Stanbro room of the SSSP hotel: The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers at 64 Arlington Street. Note that the time is changed from what originally appeared in the preliminary program (since corrected). We’ll be planning for the 2009 SSSP Meeting in San Francisco next August 7-9, including session topics and titles. Come offer your suggestions and volunteer to organize one of the sessions. We will also discuss our Division’s undergraduate student paper competition (no award was granted this year) and other issues pertinent to our Division. The meeting is open to all members. I encourage everyone to take an active role. We look forward to seeing you. Since this is my first newsletter as chair, let me introduce myself. I have been part of SSSP for around 30 years, the last 27 of which have been at the University of Dayton. My specializations include community and urban, immigration, race and ethnicity, social movements, and politics. Our session at 12:30 on August 2 that I organized, “New Immigrant Communities,” combines several of these interests. So does the story of the revitalization of Boston’s Dudley Street neighborhood – so please keep reading… Urban Revitalization in SSSP’s Back Yard: the Dudley Street Neighborhood Given the emphasis of our Community Research and Development Division, Boston is a particularly appropriate city for our sessions. Boston has been the site for some classic community ethnographies, including William Foote Whyte’s STREET CORNER SOCIETY (1943/1993) and Herbert Gans’ URBAN VILLAGERS (1962/1982). Boston is also the site of a 25-year long community development project in the Dudley Street neighborhood that comprises roughly the northeastern third of the Roxbury section of Boston. The organization coordinating the efforts, the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), is now in its 23rd year. Both SSSP and ASA are sponsoring tours of the area in conjunction with DSNI staff members. ASA’s is sold out, but contact SSSP concerning space on their tour. The story of Dudley Street illustrates many of the themes and patterns of successful grass-roots community development that do not displace residents in the process. Similar to many urban areas, Dudley Street was literally abandoned for decades, as businesses, jobs, and better-off residents left. Outside investments were minimal. Institutional neglect, both public and private, was the norm. To counter these patterns, residents and DSNI undertook a variety of strategies. Sometimes their efforts took on characteristics of social movements, for example marches and other tactics that got the City to remove the numerous abandoned cars and shut down several illegal open-air trash transfer stations in the neighborhood. What has made Dudley Street significant, however, has been the progressive achievement of its long-term goals of reclaiming vacant land for the purposes of building affordable housing and a “town commons,” among other projects. To accomplish these, DSNI needed to build partnerships with public and private institutions. City leaders and agencies, after decades of ignoring the area, began to support DSNI’s efforts when it demonstrated widespread support and participation from the residents. Private non-profits, such as the Riley and Ford foundations, began to fund their projects. Even the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the organization that voted in favor of the bulldozing of Boston’s West End that Gans described, approved the plan of DSNI’s urban redevelopment corporation and land trust, Dudley Neighbors, Inc. (DNI), to use eminent domain to reclaim vacant land for affordable housing and a community center. During the early 1990s, DSNI concentrated on building cooperative housing units and single-family homes. In the early 2000s, they completed a community center, launched Project Hope programs for homeless & at risk individuals and opened a community greenhouse, in addition to continuing to construct affordable housing. By 2006, around 600 of the 1300 vacant lots had been returned to productive use: businesses, new schools, community centers, gardens, parks & playgrounds, and over 400 new homes. A town commons has been completed. And 300 housing units have been rehabilitated. In January 2006, an $80 million grant from the Salvation Army (from the Kroc Foundation) was announced to build a community center, including a gym, aquatics center, health club, auditorium, family center, library, commercial kitchen, chapel, education & computer center, and recreational fields. DSNI’s website, www.dsni.org, currently lists 18 more housing units soon to come on the market: 6 duplexes, 4 single-family, and 1 two-family. One of the innovative aspects of Dudley’s redevelopment is its efforts to keep housing affordable and prevent both real estate speculation and foreclosures. A land trust run by DNI owns the land reclaimed by eminent domain and sets rules that limit the profit owners can make by reselling their homes built on this land. DNI can offer these houses at substantially below market prices because the sale does not include the land, which is retained by the trust. The trust sets a limit on how much over the purchase price the owners can sell these homes. Since the City provides grants to offset the cost of building these homes and maintaining the neighborhood, it screens applicants for the housing. According to DSNI’s executive director, almost all of the mortgages have 30-year fixed rates through local lending institutions, and there has never been a foreclosure under its program. There are no adjustable-rate mortgages that have been associated with higher rates of foreclosures. Among the many patterns of community development that Dudley Street illustrates, let me mention two. First, Dudley is an example of an assets-based approach. Neighborhood assets include its location about 3 miles south of downtown Boston and several social service agencies in the area (one of these actually got the project started). Also important was the vacant land. Often filled with trash and discarded appliances, these parcels became the key to redevelopment. Particularly important was the residents’ commitment to the neighborhood, and their willingness to volunteer. For example, DSNI’s membership increased from 800 in 1989 to 3670 in 2001. And as with similar examples, Dudley demonstrates how many lower and modest income people have talents that blossomed during the course of the projects that previously had been undeveloped because they did not have the opportunities to utilize them. Dudley also rebutted stereotypes of residents of such neighborhoods, particularly stereotypes of minority youth. Second, the strategy of organizing around immediate needs of residents, e.g. removing abandoned cars, closing open-air trash transfer stations and providing affordable housing, was effective in generating resident support and participation. And the tangible gains that the organization has achieved have helped keep that support, sustained DSNI, and made possible longer-term and more visionary projects. Much of the above is taken from the book STREETS OF HOPE: THE FALL AND RISE OF AN URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD by DSNI’s first executive director Peter Medoff and Holly Sklar (South End Press, 1994). There is also an award-winning documentary about the project, “Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street” (New Day Films, 1996). One of the most memorable scenes in the film is the juxtaposition of the same streetscape – before and after, from littered lots, trashed cars and abandoned houses to new and rehabbed homes. However, there is one aspect that I think the book and more recent news articles on Dudley Street have not adequately addressed: the roles that recent immigrants play in the revitalization of urban neighborhoods. According to the “Dudley Neighborhood Profile” of June 2003 on DSNI’s website, 23% of Dudley Street area residents were foreign-born in 2000, comparable to the City of Boston’s 26% foreign-born. U.S. and foreign-born Hispanics comprised 24% of the area’s population. Most significantly, Cape Verdeans, both U.S. and foreign-born, have been a vital part of the neighborhood, estimated at comprising 25% of Dudley’s “core area” residents. STREETS OF HOPE briefly mentions that the close-knit nature of the Cape Verdean community in Dudley facilitated their participation in DSNI, and their small shops strengthened the neighborhood’s economic vitality. But there is no discussion of the general pattern of recent immigrants reversing or lessening downward spirals in many urban areas. For example, the population of Dudley declined from 23,222 to 22,753 between 1990 and 2000, a difference that would have been more substantial had it not been for the influx of immigrants. And an October 2007 City of Boston report “Foreign Born Immigrants in Boston” noted that “this [immigrant entrepreneurship] has played an essential role in the revitalization of numerous Boston neighborhoods, as immigrant business owners have rehabilitated previously abandoned storefronts and housing stock, bringing new purchasing power into invigorated retail corridors” (p.14). Even though the story of Dudley Street has been overwhelmingly positive, unemployment rates remain high in the area (13.6% in 2000), education relatively low (of persons 25 years and older in 2000, 35% had less than a high school diploma, and another 34% had no formal education beyond completing high school), and owner-occupied housing remains below the City’s norm (26% compared to 34% in 2000). These are the consequences of macro patterns. It does not diminish one bit the substantial achievements of Dudley residents and DSNI to note that the future trajectories of such areas will be determined as much by national policies and international economic patterns as by what residents and local organizations can achieve. ~ Theo Majka ___________________________________________________________________ ANNOUNCEMENTS ___________________________________________________________________ 2008 Critical Sociology Conference Power and Resistance: Critical Reflections, Possible Futures The Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers August 3, 2008 A forum for building an ever broader community that can propose, discuss and debate creative critical/activist scholarship. This one-day conference being organized by the SAGE Journal CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY in cooperation with the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), the SSSP Global Division, the ASA Section on Marxist Sociology, and SAGE Publications is being held the day following the SSSP Annual Meeting in the SSSP Hotel. By cooperative facilities agreement, all SSSP members registered for the 2008 Annual Meeting may attend and participate in the 2008 Critical Sociology Conference free of charge. If you would like further information concerning the Critical Sociology conference, including the conference schedule, please e-mail Conference Organizers Ricardo Dello Buono at rdellob@hotmail.com or David Fasenfest at david.fasenfest@wayne.edu. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The Association for Humanist Sociology 2008 Annual Meeting November 6th-9th Boston, MA What is to be Done? Public Sociology in Politics and Practice While public sociology has attracted excitement in recent years, sociology as a resource for social action is not a new idea. From Marx and Mills, to Dubois and Jane Addams, to Al Lee and Frances Fox Piven, the reemergence of public sociology is really the product of a long march by progressive and engaged scholars through educational institutions, professional associations, and other structural representations of sociology as a discipline. This year’s Annual Meeting is an opportunity to examine the past, evaluate the present, and begin to shape the future of a public sociology that matters. Paper submissions should address some aspect of public sociology and its relationship to teaching, activism, policy or community-based research, or other aspects of sociology as they relate to incorporating humanist goals with sociological work. Abstracts or full papers are welcome. Deadline for submissions (abstracts or complete papers, full sessions, workshops, or individual papers) has been extended to August 15th or by arrangement with Program Chair, Daniel Egan, Daniel_Egan@uml.edu or, Corey Dolgon, cdolgon@worcester.edu. Submissions can be sent via e-mail or by regular mail to: Daniel Egan, AHS Program Chair Department of Sociology University of Massachusetts-Lowell Coburn Hall, 404K Lowell, MA 01854 or: Corey Dolgon, AHS President Department of Sociology Worcester State College 486 Chandler St. Worcester, MA 0160 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ From The Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division Are You Who You Are Online? Student Presentation on Immersive Learning and the Virtual World of Second Life The Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division is pleased be sponsoring a panel of undergraduate students who will be presenting on their experiences in an immersive learning class that explored race and ethnicity in the virtual world of Second Life. The students created an outstanding graphic novel and play and will be sharing their work with SSSP on Thursday, July 31 from 4:30-6:10pm in the Newbury Room. This is a session you will not want to miss. Please come out and support the efforts of our students. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Announcing the Publication of SSSP’s “Agenda for Social Justice, Solutions 2008” The SSSP is pleased to offer you the “Agenda for Social Justice, Solutions 2008,” which represents an effort by our professional association to nourish a more “public sociology” that will be easily accessible and useful to policy makers. It is also a way to give something back to the people and institutions that support our scholarly endeavors. We hope that you find it helpful in your challenging work of crafting successful solutions to contemporary social problems. First published in 2004, the Agenda comes out every four years, to coincide with major U.S. elections. This year’s 72-page booklet is edited by Robert Perrucci, Kathleen Ferraro, JoAnn Miller and Glenn Muschert. It contains 11 pieces by SSSP members, covering a variety of social problems in three sections: global issues, Americans at risk, and health & welfare. Each piece is intended to define a pressing social problem, present research evidence about it, and then to offer concrete policy initiatives designed to ameliorate the problem. Among the topics are victimization and vulnerabilities of immigrant children; labor rights and social justice for migrant workers; “natural disasters” as social problems; bullying in schools; higher education solutions for low-income parents; AIDS in the U.S.; and welfare reform and adoption policy. This is an effort on the part of scholars at the Society for the Study of Social Problems to disseminate the findings in social problems research as freely and as widely as possible. The web page for the project is located at: http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/323. On that page, you can download the full version, and you can link directly to the one-page briefs and individual chapters. The chapters are available for free download, and may be suitable as cost-effective supplementary readings in many social problems-related courses. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Job Announcement: Northeastern University in Boston has an opening for a tenure-track urban sociologist. Department website: http://www.socant.neu.edu/ The Department of Sociology and Anthropology announces a tenure-track opening for an urban sociologist, beginning in the Fall of 2009. A PhD in sociology is required at the time of appointment. We prefer candidates at the advanced Assistant Professor rank, although applications will also be considered at the Associate level with tenure. We are especially keen to consider applicants with expertise in quantitative research methods; applicants whose knowledge extends to such areas of concentration as race and ethnicity, globalization, or social inequality are also eagerly sought. Northeastern University is a large, private institution located in the heart of Boston and whose institutional mission has urban engagement at its core. The Department is a strong and growing unit with a well-established PhD program, whose faculty are committed to excellence in research, teaching, and critical scholarship. The Department hosts multiple Centers and enjoys numerous interdisciplinary linkages, prominent among which is the Center for Urban and Regional Policy. Women and members of historically excluded groups are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants should send application letters, a c.v., writing samples, and three letters of reference to: Barry Bluestone, Urban Sociology Search Committee, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 500 Holmes Hall, Northeastern University, Boston MA 02115. Review of applications will begin September 1, 2008 and continue until the position is filled. ___________________________________________________________________ NEW BOOKS BY DIVISION MEMBERS ___________________________________________________________________ Adina Nack, California Lutheran University DAMAGED GOODS? WOMEN LIVING WITH INCURABLE SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008. How do women living with genital herpes and/or HPV (human papillomavirus) infections see themselves as sexual beings, and what choices do they make about sexual health issues? Adina Nack, a medical sociologist who specializes in sexual health and social psychology, conducted in-depth interviews with 43 women about their identities and sexuality with regard to chronic illness. The result is a fascinating book about an issue that affects over 15 million Americans, but is all too little discussed. DAMAGED GOODS? adds to our knowledge of how women are affected by living with chronic STDs and reveals the stages of their sexual self-transformation. From the anxiety of being diagnosed with an STD to issues of blame and shame, Nack shows why these women, feeling that they are damaged goods, question future relationships, marriage, and their ability to have healthy children. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Peggy Wireman CONNECTING THE DOTS: GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY AND FAMILY Transaction Publishers (In press) Despite size and social diversity in the United States, what happens in one city or neighborhood ultimately affects all Americans. Connecting the Dots addresses the complex relationships between family and community, and between community and the other players affecting family and community life, the private sector, government, nonprofit groups, and religious organizations. Contrary to much rhetoric, Dr. Wireman argues that America does not suffer from a loss of family values, but from a shift in business practices and public commitments. The American dream of work hard, buy a home, and give your children a better life is no longer realistic for millions of workers, both white-collar and blue-collar. At an individual level, millions of Americans face significant challenges as they go about trying to meet the everyday responsibilities of earning an income, feeding their families, maintaining their health, finding housing, handling everyday household chores, and caring for their children. Besides identifying top-down structures, laws, and attitudes that create a supportive context for family life, the book includes bottom-up anecdotal examples to ground its policy-oriented discussion. It also provides statistical data needed to develop realistic solutions. Dr. Wireman examines diversity as well, since how America handles racial and ethnic differences remains crucial to its future. She discusses ways in which communities have created social capital, community cohesion, and local organizational ability. Dr. Wireman provides a framework for policymakers, local community leaders, and neighborhood activists to use in analyzing their situations and selecting the best approach; she also describes what various players can and must do _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Jon Shefner, University of Tennessee – Knoxville THE ILLUSION OF CIVIL SOCIETY: DEMOCRATIZATION AND COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION IN LOW INCOME MEXICO Penn State University Press, 2008 This book is based on eleven years of fieldwork in a poor community on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. Those years were a period of extensive change in Mexico, as political democratization was instituted during a period of unremitting neoliberal globalization. The political economy of neoliberalism, Shefner argues, opened alternatives to the community organization, limiting state spending prerogatives and created a political environment in which diverse organizations worked together across class and status lines to achieve common goals. Positive changes in political process, however, did not translate into gains for the neighborhoods, as later periods of fieldwork demonstrated little material progress for the community. The lack of material progress despite a coalesced opposition suggests that theory regarding the contribution of civil society are unduly optimistic and analytically problematic. The coalescing of poor and middle class organizations appeared to be the quintessential case of civil society mobilizing for common cause. However, an internal hierarchy privileged organizations representing higher class and status constituencies over their poor counterparts. Decisions over strategy and goals were imposed by the more powerful organizations. After the transition to electoral democracy, the coalition broke apart, leaving the organization of the poor without their allies. These experiences show the unity of civil society is illusory at best; that societal hierarchy is re-created even in progressive coalitions, and that those disadvantaged groups that enter into civil society activity may be no less disadvantaged when struggles end. ___________________________________________________________________ DIVISION SPONORED AND CO-SPONSORED SESSIONS All sessions held at the SSSP hotel: SSSP – The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers 64 Arlington Street ___________________________________________________________________ Thursday, July 31 8:30 am – 10:10 am Session 4: Community, Sustainability and the Urban Environment: Part One Room: Franklin Sponsors: Community Research and Development Division; Environment and Technology Division Organizer & Presider: Steven Lang, LaGuardia Community College Papers: • “Oil Transforms a Tourism Town,” Patricia Widener, Florida Atlantic University • “The Global Environmental Crisis and Prospects for Social Resilience,” Debra Davidson, University of Alberta • “Getting Personal: Assessing Community-Based Impacts of Watershed Pollution in the Hudson River Estuary,” Michael Mascarenhas, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute • “Economic Priorities and Natural Resource Policies: Groundwater Management in West Tennessee,” Nancy Brannon, University of Memphis • “Brownfield Remediation, Community Politics and the Perils of Environmental Gentrification,” Steven Lang, LaGuardia Community College 12:30 pm – 2:10 pm Session 24: Community, Sustainability and the Urban Environment: Part Two Room: Franklin Sponsors: Community Research and Development Division; Environment and Technology Division Organizer: Steven Lang, LaGuardia Community College Presider: Erin Robinson, Canisius College Papers: • “Buildings That Teach: Heifer International and the Greening of Urban Space,” Stella Capek, Hendrix College • “Small Patches Of Green Amid the Crumbling Walls: Resistance Strategies and the Community Gardening Movement in Detroit,” Monica White, Wayne State University • “Challenging the Dominant Framework in the Foreclosure Literature: A Case Study of Foreclosures in Boston,” Hannah Thomas, Brandeis University • “Investigating Community Needs: Peoples Park, Sustainability and Community Involvement,” Erin Robinson, Canisius College 4:30 pm - 6:10 pm Community Research & Development Divisional Meeting Room: Stanbro Planning for the 2009 SSSP Meeting, San Francisco, August 7-9. The theme of the 2009 meeting is “Race, Ethnicity, and the Continuing Problem of the Color Line.” We will discuss and plan our sessions for the 2009 SSSP meeting, including session topics and title. Come offer your suggestions and volunteer to organize one of the sessions. We will also discuss our Division’s undergraduate student paper competition and other issues pertinent to our Division. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting! 6:30pm – 7:30pm Division-Sponsored Reception Room: Plaza Ballroom The Community Research and Development; Conflict, Social Action, and Change; Crime and Juvenile Delinquency; Disabilities; Educational Problems; Environment and Technology; Family; Global; Health, Health Policy, and Health Services; Institutional Ethnography; Labor Studies; Law and Society; Poverty, Class, and Inequality; Racial and Ethnic Minorities; Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities; Social Problems Theory; Sociology and Social Welfare; Teaching Social Problems and the Youth, Aging, and the Life Course – Joint Reception _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Friday, August 1 8:00am – 9:40am THEMATIC Session 48: Defining Borders: Race, Ethnicity and Place Room: Franklin Sponsors: Community Research and Development Division and Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division Organizer: Michelle G. Magalong, University of California, Los Angeles Papers: • “Place Boundaries as Symbolic Boundaries: A Case Study of a Baltimore Neighborhood,” Yuki Kato, Towson University • “Defining Newcomers in the Cradle of Democracy: Immigration and ‘Other’ Construction in Williamsburg, Virginia,” Deenesh Sohoni and Jennifer Bickham Mendez, The College of William and Mary • “Murals, Monuments, and Markers: Ethnic Municipal Designations and Physical Markers in Multiethnic Neighborhoods in Los Angeles,” Michelle G. Magalong, University of California, Los Angeles 2:30 pm – 4:10 pm Session 72: Research Matters Room: Franklin Sponsor: Community Research and Development Division Organizer, Presider & Discussant: Patrick Donnelly, University of Dayton Papers: • “Foreclosing on the American Dream: Sustaining Low-Income Homeownership amid the Mortgage Lending Crisis,” Anna Maria Santiago, Angela Kaiser, Tamara Ochoa Arvelo and George C. Galster, Wayne State University • “Impacts of Condominium Housing Scheme: The Case of Arada Sub-city in Addis Ababa,” Fitsum Resome Teddla, Ruhr University of Bochum • “A New Direction for Elderly Welfare in China: Focusing on the Community Volunteer Activities,” Di Xue, Ochanomizu University _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Saturday, August 2 8:30am – 10:10am Session 99: Community Research and Development Roundtable Room: Stanbro Sponsor: Community Research and Development Division Organizer & Discussant: Linda Majka, University of Dayton Presider: Shawn Cassiman, University of Dayton Papers: • “Coalition Formation and Metropolitan Contention: An Analysis of the Politics of Light-Rail Transit in the Twin Cities of Minnesota,” Paul Knudson, University of Albany • “Inequality in Housing Programs,” Judith Halasz, State University of New York at New Paltz • “‘Playing Together in the Hood’: Community Influences on the Construction of Youth Programs in a Diverse Immigrant Neighborhood,” Adrienne Falcon, Carleton College 12:30pm – 2:10pm THEMATIC Session 116: Crossing Borders: New Immigrant Communities Room: Charles River Sponsor: Community Research and Development Division Organizer & Discussant: Theo Majka, University of Dayton Presider: Linda Majka, University of Dayton Papers: • “The Spatially Hierarchy of Urban Immigrant Enclaves,” Juan Onésimo (Ness) Sandoval, Saint Louis University • “Latino Incorporation in Downtown Redevelopment: Waukegan, IL,” Karen Kotiw, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee • “The Intersections, Shifting Boundaries and Growth of Religious Communities among Eritrean Diaspora,” Tekle Woldemikael, Chapman University and Mesghina Medhin, Center for Leadership Training • “Bringing Research to the Community: The Miami Valley Forum on Immigration,” Theo Majka and Linda Majka, University of Dayton