This documentary study will examine the operation and impact of Newark’s NJ Enterprise Zone. The study will use interviews and photography as a documentary tool to capture the Enterprise Zone and its environment. The Newark, N.J. Enterprise Zone where I will make photographs is very close and represent a typical major city with population 266,589 (Yahoo) which supports multi-cultural communities: African-American (58%), Latino population (20%) along with Asian and aging Jewish populace. The study will try to address if the Enterprise Zone really work, how are the living condition compared to normal economical zone, is there a sustainable community development, how are the streets, is there a sense of security and community, how is the living quality, etc. The time frame of this study is two months. Photographs, interviews and personal reflections will be posted on the World Wide Web at http://newark.swietek.com .

Background:

In 1993, the President and a bipartisan Congress passed the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which appropriated $1 billion under Title XX of the Social Security Act to establish the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) program in the nation's economically distressed communities. There were 72 urban EZ/EC areas identified, including Newark, NJ which is under consideration of this study. The Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program is designed to afford communities real opportunities for growth and revitalization. The framework of the program is embodied in four key principles:
-          Economic Opportunity: Creating jobs, attracting private partnerships, and training residents for new job opportunities.
-          Sustainable Community Development: Promoting physical and human development -- such as safe streets, clean air and water, lifelong learning, and a commitment to personal, family and civic responsibility -- as part of a long-term strategy of economic development.
-          Community-Based Partnerships: Involving the entire community, including residents, community groups, private and non-private sectors, education and religious institutions, and local and state governments.
-          Strategic Vision for Change: Coordinating a response to the needs of a community by integrating economic, physical, human and other strategies.

Literature Review:

 “Inner-city programs are underway to improve security, job training, physical environment, and overall quality of life in the EZ/ECs” states A Resource Guide for Doing Business in Urban Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities.

“The Community Empowerment Initiative is in many ways an experiment in promoting the development of some of American’s neediest communities” points out Reid (1999),.“...while the experiment is still young, it is by no means too early to learn from its lessons”.

The authors of the Enterprise Zones and Employment: Evidence from New Jersey: Journal of Urban Economics have found "no evidence that the urban enterprise zone program in New Jersey had a positive effect on total municipal employment, on employment in various sectors, or on municipal property values. The program was ineffective in achieving its goal of improving the economic conditions in and around the zones."

Objectives:

               The objective of this study is to document the Newark’s Enterprise Zone and capture on the photographs the effect that is has on the residents of that community and the surrounding area. There is a need to investigate the economical and living conditions of this area and how these conditions compare to non-enterprise zones. In addition, the study will try to capture whether or not  the initiatives which are part of the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community including economic development, housing, public safety, health care, public transportation, education, and family self-sufficiency, have been undertaken by the City of Newark, NJ. I will walk/drive the street of this community and capture on camera what my eyes observer.
 

 Map1: Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community of the City of Newark
From Newark – NJ Urban Renewal Community. www.hud.gov

I will try to capture parks if any, grass land, industry, housing, streets, etc. My sampling plan will include the following streets: Emmet St., Avenue I, Johnson St., Vesey St., Astor St., Jefferson St., Miller St.

Map2: Newark, NJ – Enterprise Zone Streets

Copyright 2002. Yahoo!

               I will photograph this area as thoroughly as possible. I will take about twenty to thirty photos of this community. I will use method of Kenneth Burke, the idea of act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose (who, what, when, where, why and how). It will help learn more detail about what these photographs reveal. Lastly, I will write up a personal reflection conveying  my findings and looking ahead of what I feel needs to be accomplished to make an Enterprise Zone a little more thriving and booming.

Research Design:

Constructs: The government has set aside $1 billion to improve the neediest communities in America. Each Enterprise Community received portion of this money to improve the quality of live and economic status of the community over the 10 years. Has Newark's Enterprise Zone made any progress in creating enhancement and development to its community.

The predictor variables: Do Enterprise Zones really work? Is sustainable development possible? How do basic living conditions and economies fare after a few years in an Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community?

The outcome variables: There is noticeable improvement in economic opportunity and sustainable community development in Enterprise Zones. Most notably, development of new housing and general construction is visible.

Construct Validity: Three articles (as references) provide general information about Enterprise Zones and it effects on the community. This will prove form the photographs made.

Content Validity: The photographs and the World Wide Web site will provide importation information to validated outcome variables.

Reliability: The resource that I will provide such as street names and contact information will prove reliability of this study.

Sampling Plan: Sampling plan will be the streets of the Enterprise Zone in the City of Newark, NJ. Five to ten streets are chosen for this study. The streets including: Emmet St., Avenue I, Johnson St., Vesey St., Astor St., Jefferson St.. Miller St.

Time: This study will be about two months long. This is enough time to capture, analyze and post the photographs on the World Wide Web site. The following is a solid timeline of this study:

Tools: Digital camera will be used to capture the photographs. All photographs will be analyzed and posted on the World Wide Web. The website will have a navigation toolbar on top of the page for easy navigation. It will also have navigation at the bottom of each page to improve the navigation throughout the website. The site will be about five pages and it will include the following pages: Home, Proposal, Photographs, References and Contact. The background will be blue and uniform throughout the entire site. The Home page will be the main page and it will try to address the concept of interest to the visitor. It will contain about two photographs and the heading. The Proposal page will contain the research proposal (copy of this proposal but in HTML format). The Photographs page will incorporate all captured photographs. Each photograph will have a description including when it was taken. In the Reference page, links and references to World Wide Web sites will be incorporated. The last page, will contain contact information so researcher could be contacted by the visitor in need to.
 

Significance:

The study will be of value to all those who does not reside in such community but especially to the policymakers. Photographs and World Wide Web site will provide them with images of such a community without physically visiting such a community.  Thus, the study would be of a great valuable to policy makers who evaluate the progress of Empowerment Zone / Enterprise Community regions and make critical decision of allocation of money. They will be able to determine which Enterprise Initiatives are working and which require more attention. Indeed, I believe this research will be of a significant value.

References:

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© 2002 Andrzej Swietek - HSS 409-Documentary Study  |   Photos © Andrzej Swietek