Planning for the Unplanned by Inam Aseem;

Author:Inam, Aseem;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

Figure 5.5 A new automobile parts store, AutoZone, built—at least in part due to the efforts of RLA—at the intersection of Normandie and Florence avenues in south central Los Angeles.

Source: Aseem Inam, July 1999.

By looking strictly at the roster of RLA’s board of directors, one might have concluded that all of the city’s cultures, if not classes, were repre-sented. However, RLA had a ninety-six-member board consisting of elites representing a number of constituencies and sectors which were ideologically conservative to moderate, and which regularly followed policy leads and activity guidelines from its directors (Regalado 1994, 207). The organization changed its grandiose focus from being the city’s economic, race-relations, and school-district savior under Ueberroth to a more streamlined entity directing its energies to small-business assistance and start-ups in inner-city communities, ultimately, for the better.

Still, critics charged that RLA was disorganized, that its board was unwieldy, that its non-governmental status was a crippling flaw, and that the gargantuan, 1,200-member task-force structure diluted resources, energy, and purpose (Walters 1993). The collaborative philosophy of the rebuilding effort was questioned when John Ferraro, then president of the Los Angeles City Council, criticized RLA because it moved forward on policies without consulting the council (Grigsby 1993, 350). Over time, RLA itself recognized that it was ill prepared to handle the challenges and work presented by its own task forces (RLA 1997, 20). RLA staff members were not experts at volunteer management, nor were they hired with this particular skill in mind. In some cases, the task forces themselves further diffused the organization’s focus. Thus, there was a lack of institutional coordination within RLA itself, among its vast leadership of co-chairs, directors, and task force members, and between itself and other critical institutions such as the Los Angeles City Council.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.