Nonprofits in Cities

1. Scenes, Nonprofits & Urban DevelopmentPresentation forUAA 2009New Roles for Urban NonprofitsTerry Nichols Clark&Eric Allix RogersUniversity of Chicagoscenes.uchicago.edu

2. Nonprofits in Cities • Nonprofits are a key component of city infrastructure • Link public goals with public and private resources • Build networks of engaged constituents • Address needs and opportunities creatively and flexibly • Strengths can also be liabilities • “Flexibility” often means unreliable funding • Networks are more often than not geography-based • Creative solutions are also place- and time-specific

3. Entrepreneurialism is In • The opportunities and challenges facing nonprofits are very similar to those of small businesses. • Not coincidentally, the organizations and practices in the NPO field are becoming much more entrepreneurial. • Membership and fee-for-service revenue models • Increased attention to performance & metrics • Blurring the distinction between for-profit and non • Many consulting firms focus on NPOs • Businesses with a social vision

4. Experimental Station • Industrial building on South Side, renovated to be extremely environmentally sustainable. • Blackstone Bicycle Works • Refurbishes and sells used bikes • Funds after-school program for neighborhood students at shop • Backstory Café • For-profit, rents space • Stages a wide range of community events • Aims to serve as an “infoshop” • Agriculture/food programs • Nearly year-round farmer’s market, which accepts LINK (food aid) cards • Community garden • Event/cultural space

5. North Lawndale Employment Network • Employment training and assistance agency on West Side, focusing on released prisoners. • Case-by-case assistance for job seekers, particularly those who have been in prison. • Computer literacy and skills training • “Sweet Beginnings” • Transitional employment program for formerly incarcerated individuals • A for-profit subsidiary of NLEN • Keeps bees in parks and vacant spaces in the community, creates personal care products from honey and beeswax

6. Co-Prosperity Sphere/Public Media Inst. • Large former store on the South Side, converted into a multi-use cultural space. • Performances and cultural events • Gallery space • Activist meeting and conference space • Public Media Institute • Arts and design publications • Annual alternative arts and media festivals • Artist residency program

7. Diversity of Churches

8. Context Matters • These organizations all respond creatively to the needs and opportunities presented by their communities. • They blend traditional nonprofit activities and funding sources with innovative, entrepreneurial, and deeply place-dependent strategies for success. • None of these organizations could be uprooted and moved to the site of another with any expectation of success.

9. Seeking Abstraction • Case studies are valuable and interesting, but that knowledge is difficult to abstract and apply. • Simple quantitative approaches that focus solely on traditional indicators miss the nuance of diverse communities. • Is there a third way?

10. Scenes: An Analytical Alternative • Capture and summarize a large amount of subtle variation between places. • Draw on the vast amount of data that exists in silos that are not ordinarily connected. • Simultaneously embrace the cultural turn in sociology while allowing the use of sophisticated new quantitative analytical techniques.

11. A Multi-Level Research Program • Background • Social and Cultural Change: rise of consumption & culture • Global • Multi-Disciplinary • Theoretical Level • Basic assumptions (action, consumption, meaning, interaction) • Conceptual analysis (bring phenomenon into view) • Model-building (analytical elements) • Methodological Level • Operationalization • Empirical Level • Examples &Exploratory Propositions

12. Cultural Participation Generally Rising World Values Survey, US and Dutch citizens show dramatic rise in cultural participation, tripling in the US in 18 years; but not in France. Bigger rise than for other forms of participation.(US N= 3525 citizens, national sample)

13. Embracing cultural heritage and public spacePiazza del Plebiscito, Naples

14. Beautification (and emulation)

15. Civicness & Public Spaces in Bogota

16. Theoretical Background • Invoked by critics as loose collection of people and activities involving culture • Blues in Chicago, Theater in New York • More than amenities or arts per se • The beach scene in Miami • Beach, but also chance to ogle and be ogled, bars, music, restaurants, hedonism. • Neighborhood scenes: Wicker Park, Haight-Ashbury, SoHo • Linked with broader themes in cultural studies • Dynamic Village in The City (Straw, Blum) • Product of modernization, individualization, consumer society (Irwin) • Graft tastes and affinities to physical locations, unify seemingly heterogeneous activities, provide grooves for cultural reproduction of urban sociality (Straw) • Aesthetic criteria are joined to scene dimensions

17. Components of a Scene 1. Neighborhood (area) 2. physical structures and spaces 3. persons labeled by race, class, gender, education, etc. 4. the specific combinations of the above 3 and activities (like attending a concert) which join them. These four components are in turn defined by 5. the values people pursue in a scene. General values are legitimacy, defining a right or wrong way to live; theatricality, a way of seeing and being seen by others; and authenticity, as a meaningful sense of identity.

18. Scenes as Systems of Social Consumption • Parsons on social action; Scenes as specific form of social action • Consumer vs. Worker vs. Resident

19. Urban Amenities Data Sources • US Census of Business • Yellow Pages • DDB Lifestyle Surveys (n=84,000) • Dun & Bradstreet arts organizations • Urban Institute Unified Database of Arts Organizations (UDAO) • IRS 501c3 reports • Other industry & governmental datasets

20. Urban Amenities Database • National: covers all US cities, nearly 40k zip codes for some variables • Unified • Includes other standard variables (Census, schools, crime, etc.) • Open-ended and scalable • Data is regularly added • Similar approaches can be used elsewhere (Canada)

23. Three dimensions of cultural value Theatricality. As the very word “scene” implies, one thing that may be sought in a cultural experience is the chance to see and be seen. Participants seek the essentially social pleasure of performing a role or a part, or of watching others do so. Authenticity. Cultural experiences, even theatrical experiences, may aim to provide a sense of an authentic cultural tradition, activity, or identity. Legitimacy. Cultural experiences may be intended to encourage a sense of what is right and wrong, how one ought to live.

24. Theatricality or the Pleasure of Seeing and Being Seen • Standing on the red carpet at Cannes ogling the stars going by. • Going to the opera in white tie and tails. • Watching a performance artist pierce his skin. • Sharing the experience of a school play with other parents. • Jumping onto a raised platform to dance in front of a crowd at a rave.

25. Theatricality: Glamour The value of displaying charm, allure, star power, and status • Versus exhibitionism, where value is in being object of gaze (woman in window need not be glamorous) • Designer boutiques, night clubs with VIP rooms, Prada and Gucci stores • Pro: movie openings, design schools, TV and movie production, art galleries, interior design firms, beauty salons, advertising firms, fine art dealers/galleries, department stores, opera companies, private golf clubs, fine dining restaurants, designer clothing, custom jewelry stores • Anti: warehouse stores, convenience stores, NASCAR tracks, scientific R & D, bowling centers, convents/monasteries, country music clubs, bible stores.

26. Theatricality: Neighborliness The value of closeness, personal networks, and intimacy of face-to-face interactions • Amenities affirm sense of being part of a warm, inviting community (Little League, reading clubs) • Value lies in interaction vs. authenticity • Pro: community centers, street fairs, pubs, bowling alleys, bed and breakfast inns, religious organizations, community organizations, business organizations, bakeries, florists, county fairs and festivals, sports clubs • Anti: warehouse clubs and superstores, department stores, amusement parks, fast-food restaurants, tele-communication networks

27. Authenticity: Locality The value of feeling rooted in a place • Pro: Local restaurants, farmers markets, community theatre, independent bookstores, independent music stores, historical sites, bed and breakfast inns, spectator sports, souvenir stores, antiques and collectibles, film festivals, county fairs and festivals • Anti: Warehouse clubs and superstores, human rights organizations, casinos, computer systems, design, and related services, convenience stores, fast food

28. Legitimacy: Self-Expression The value of unique, personal expression • Pro: fashion houses and designers; body piercing; custom printed t-shirts; jazz clubs; modern dance; experimental music & theatre; Dance companies; Fine arts schools; art dealers; Musical groups & artists; Independent artists, writers & performers; Graphic design services; custom computer programming services; interior design; comedy clubs; arts & crafts classes • Anti: business and secretarial schools; business associations; offices of lawyers; scientific research centers; database and directory publishers; Catholic churches; folk arts; industrial design

29. Legitimacy: Egalitarianism The value of universal equality, treating others non-strategically, as ends-in-themselves • Pro: human rights orgs; junior colleges; Christian churches; social advocacy organizations; public schools; community service orgs (YMCA); salvation army; public aquariums; public tennis courts; public festivals; public libraries; free public lectures • Anti: private golf and tennis clubs; casinos; private clubs; yacht clubs; gourmet restaurants; equestrian; cigar bars

30. Legitimacy: Charisma The value of being in the presence of an exceptional personality. • Jesse Owens vs. Chicago Marathon; Blockbuster shows or concerts; Public art by famous artists • Pro: spectator sports; motion picture theaters; Film festivals; performing arts; book stores; public relations agencies; television broadcasting; political orgs; fashion; designer clothing and accessories; art galleries; government: executive; popular music; • Anti: scientific R & D; wilderness refuge and nature preserves; fast food restaurants; salvation army; industrial design; physical sciences research centers; big band

31. 15 Subdimensions • There are a total of 15 subdimensions that, altogether, allow us to evaluate much of what makes different scenes unique. • The subdimensions are theoretically grounded, but also make intuitive sense. • For more information on the concept, see “A Theory of Scenes” (available online at scenes.uchicago.edu)

32. From Concept to Operational Tool: Coding Values 1. Create an index of standards of value. • 5-point scale: • (5) Essential: expressivity for experimental music, traditionalism for heritage sites, glamor for couture shows • (4) Desirable, but not determinative alone: traditionalism in used and rare bookstores • (3) Neutral: not positively or negatively shaping the experience of the amenity • (2) Undesirable but not a deal-breaker: utility for interior design firms • (1) Antithetical: amenity contrary to value, i.e., egalitarianism and country clubs

33. 2. Code each category of amenity for all sub-Dimensions

34. 3. Generate scene profile for zip codes, etc. Primary Measure = Performance Score (Average score per amenity for each dimension in each zip code) • Other measures: Manichean, Cultural Diversity Index, Factor Analysis, Bliss Points

35. Regional Variation in Scenes Midwest and South are more traditionalistic; Northeast and West value individual Self-expression most; Western scenes are both transgressive and corporate; Midwest is most neighborly and exhibitionistic.

36. Metropolitan Variation in Scenes Metro averages on Scenes dimensions: LA leads on self expression; Chicago is most neighborly; New York most utilitarian; ; all exhibit similar mega-city pattern 0 = US national average; NYC, LA and Chicago are county averages from zip codes

37. Metropolitan Variation in Scenes, cont’d. L.A. most glamorous and transgressive, NYC mixes transgression, rationalism, statism and corporateness 0 = US national average; NYC, LA and Chicago are county averages from zip codes

38. Correlations: Scenes and NGOs COMMENT Correlations from Census of Economics 2001 performance scores, standardized. Org. info from same source. Sign reversed for ease of interpretation.

39. Scenes as interrelations between kinds of value • How to define interrelations? • A posteriori • A priori • A posteriori: factor analysis and correlations • National-Level Factor analysis (of zips and counties) shows some value-dimensions are strongly linked • Correlations among scene dimensions vary, among cities, regions, and other units of analysis.

40. Scenes Factor Analysis • Scenes dimensions cluster by factors in intuitive ways. • Clusters hold together across data sources.

41. Metro Level Correlations Charisma in Chicago is correlated with local authenticity, neighborly Theatricality, and egalitarian legitimacy. Chicago is a city where charisma is channeled into the local scene, the city of neighborhoods. Charisma in NYC and LA is linked with individual self-expression and glamour.

42. Metro Level Correlations More than in L.A. and NY, scenes in Chicago link self-expressive individualism with utilitarian legitimacy, rational authenticity, local authenticity, and corporate authenticity. Self-expression in Chicago scenes is more weakly tied to charismatic legitimacy, glamorous theatricality,and transgressive theatricality than in L.A. and N.Y. scenes.

43. A priori approaches to scenes • Scenes can be defined as ideal-typical combinations of dimensions in several ways. • Proximity to “bliss points”: Bohemia, Disney Heaven, Bobo, Rossini’s Tour, etc. • Degree of ecumenicism. Scenes may encourage an openness to “all things human”, offering many different kinds of experiences, involving many kinds of value. • Cultural difference/diversity. Scenes may encourage an openness to conflicting values and internal tensions across a number of dimensions. • Flow. Scenes may encourage a letting-go or loosening of norms. • Work. A scene may promote efficient, disciplined activity directed toward a corporate end.

44. Bohemia Concept has become central in theories of consumption, amenity-driven urban growth, and post-industrial society (Campbell, Clark, Florida, Lloyd). It is possible to operationally define a Bohemian scene in terms of how close empirical scenes come to an ideal-typical Bohemian profile.

45. The 30 most Bohemian zip codes in Chicago are… Source for neighborhood-zipcode crosswalk: Chicago Reader Note: lower score = more Bohemian

46. Social and Demographic Factors Associated with Bohemia Bohemias are more prevalent in parts of the country with higher population, more retirees (“Gray creative class”), higher rents, less education (level), more crime (cf. Lloyd), increasing college grads, and fewer non-whites. Politics, income, baby boomers, and youth not significant. Change in retirees, youth, and baby boomers not significant.

47. What do Scenes Do? • Economic impact: jobs, property values, income • Social impact: demographic change, crime, community indicators • Political impact: civic engagement, voting, political affiliation

48. Analytical Options • Add scenes measures to traditional set of factors in urban development models (safety, schools, crime, etc.) • Compare zip codes, cities, and regions with similar scenes to show how a given type of scene interacts with other variables.

49. Application: Impact of Scenes on Migration Patterns • Cohorts of interest: nonwhites, retirees, 18-24 year olds, 25-34 year olds, baby boomers (in their 40s and 50s), college graduates, and college graduates combined with graduates of graduate and professional schools • How strong a factor is the scene in a zip code in accounting for changes in the % of college grads (or other cohorts) moving there? • Related question: do college grads in different cities flow toward the same kinds of scenes?

50. Standard Independent Variables Zip code variables: • per capita income • proportion non-white population County level variables • population size • rent (as a measure of both the local housing market and cost of living) • percent Democratic voting in the 1992 Presidential election