![2000 Population for Dade- County by Race [Hispanic or Latino: 1,291,737 (57.3%), White: 465,772 (20.7%), Black or African American: 427,140 (19%), American Indian and Alaska Native: 1,990 (0.1%), Asian: 30,537 (1.4%), Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 524 (0%), Some other race: 4,026 (0.2%), Two or more races: 31,636 (1.4%)]](county.gif)
Following is the executive summary of the Florida International University report on working with community-based organizations:
The Project main objectives are as follows: 1) Identify the circumstances under which partnerships with community based organizations would be the most effective, 2) Provide support for government agencies to partner with community-based organizations and report on the successes and issues in using community-based groups to support agency planning and project development activities and 3) Provide documentation on (1) and (2) for purposes of dissemination. Project should attempt to be national in scope (issues), but local in implementation.
In order to achieve the stated objectives, the research staff: 1) performed a literature review on the topic of working with community-based organizations as practiced or implemented nationally; 2) designed and conducted a national review to solicit input from transportation agencies throughout the United States; 3) created and Advisory Board to review the work and 4) organized and moderated community meetings throughout Miami Dade County.
A review of the literature on community involvement/partnerships revealed a rich, varied and complex field. Findings from the review suggest the following:
At the local (Miami Dade) level, the community meetings have yielded important information regarding community based organizations involvement in transportation planning. In fact, many of the local results mirror data gathered from both the survey and the literature. As a result, the findings from the community meetings held in urban and rural communities as a part of the project suggest the following:
Local, regional and federal authorities can foster working collaborations or partnerships with community-based organizations and the public at large to promote an equitable, balanced and reasonable process. Community-based organizations can serve the function of extension agents for governmental transportation agencies and help identify and address pressing needs at the local level. Creating long-term partnerships between local entities and government transportation agencies can be an effective way to create and implement solutions to transportation at local levels. This would also serve as steps toward fulfill the letter and spirit of Civil Rights Title VI doctrines.
In reviewing the literature and the survey results, we are able to identify some interesting characteristics of successful projects and partnerships. It is important to note the difference between the two concepts. In the research, we apply the general definition of success as being the implementation of the program/project to the (compromised) satisfaction of all stakeholders. In that respect, we are then able to note the following:
Most Successful Partnerships
Most Challenging Partnerships
At the local (Miami Dade) level, local meetings have yielded important information regarding community-based organizations involvement in transportation planning. In fact, many of the local results mirror data gathered from both the survey and the literature. As a result, the findings from the community meetings held in urban and rural communities suggest the following:
The use of community-based organizations in public participation may be important because of the vested interest of the community in ensuring the well being of themselves and future generations, which includes a high quality of life.
Allen and Kilvington (1999) argue that stakeholders who are allowed to participate in decision-making have buy-in related to implementation and outcome. It could be argued that from a policy-making perspective, it is actually more efficient to allow community stakeholders to participate in the policy-making process as they are most familiar with those issues and concerns that directly impact them, whether it may be transportation, poverty, or environmental justice.
The issues and concerns raised in the meetings suggest that the following action plan could include the use of community-based organizations:
The Project main objectives are as follows: 1) Identify the circumstances under which partnerships with community based organizations would be the most effective, 2) Provide support for government agencies to partner with community-based organizations and report on the successes and issues in using community-based groups to support agency planning and project development activities and 3) Provide documentation on (1) and (2) for purposes of dissemination. Project should attempt to be national in scope (issues), but local in implementation.
In order to achieve the stated objectives research staff: 1) performed a literature review on the topic of community-based organizations as practiced or implemented nationally; 2) designed and conducted a national survey to solicit input from transportation agencies throughout the United States; 3) created and Advisory Board to interface with representatives from community based organizations and 4) organized and moderated 5 community meetings throughout Miami Dade County.
A review of the literature on community involvement/partnerships revealed a rich and varied (complex) field. Of the fifty-two transportation projects reviewed in the literature, approximately 28% (14) were projects where the partnership was directly with the State departments of transportation. With few exceptions, they were mainly highway projects designed to reduce congestion in an urban or rural setting. However, there again a caveat needs to be introduced. Because of ISTEA and TEA-21, many projects have a cooperative theme, a joint project framework. As such, the various departments of transportation, even when not officially carrying the torch for these projects remain as critical and vocal partners in the process. In the literature reviewed, there were an additional 15 projects, which fell directly under sponsorship of a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
Sixteen of the projects reviewed fall under the quasi-governmental agencies charged with providing urban public transportation. For example, in 1991 a low-income Latino community in the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland (CA) reevaluated a plan of a multi-level parking proposed by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) a regional rapid transit entity. The community argued that the construction of the facility would be both aesthetic and physical obstacles for the economic development plans of the neighborhood. Community-based organizations worked with BART staff and created instead a plan for a pedestrian plaza.
During the first phase of this project, a written correspondence was started with a number of State Departments of Transportation. The report includes response from 11 State DOT staff members. The responses may not be representative of the perceptions of state department of Transportation throughout the country. Nevertheless, the data are useful in the consistency of the views expressed by the respondents.
All the respondents reported that the primary role of a Community based organization was to provide input about specific projects of the department. Based on the responses obtained, most of the respondents maintained a list of community-based organizations. For instance, while some departments report soliciting input from these organizations--this may range from simple input into a general agenda/project, to reviewing each stage of the planning and implementation of projects, no departments make it a policy to have CBO's representatives included as members of Technical advisory committees.
The research included an Advisory Board composed of transportation professionals to review the work. The advisory panel assisted staff in identifying desired goals and outcomes from interaction with community-based groups on transportation issues and potential sites to support partnerships between transportation agencies and local, community-based groups.
To implement the study, staff contacted twenty-six rural and twenty-four urban community-based organizations. These organizations were randomly identified from data provided by the Miami Dade Community Relations Board. In addition, the Miami Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) provided additional support in identifying organizations active in the community.
As the largest metropolitan area in the State of Florida, Miami-Dade County is often referred to as the "Gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean." Miami Dade County is located along the southeast tip of the Florida peninsula. It is bounded by Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Everglades National Park to the west, the Florida Keys to the south, and Broward County to the North. Miami-Dade County includes Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah and many smaller communities. Miami-Dade County has a current population of 2,253,362 people representing about 15% of the population of the state. The county encompasses more than 2,000 square miles with one third of the county's land located in Everglades National Park.