Rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Coursework

Rural empowerment zones (EZ) and rural enterprise communities are meant to provide economically depressed rural areas and communities with real opportunities for growth and revitalization. Empowerment zones have a long term perspective

Empowerment zones are used as tools that operate in partnership with financing institutions to ensure their projects initiated are sustained e.g. through revolving credit. These efforts/programs have made differences in the lives of rural Americans some of whom have lived in abject poverty

Problem Issue

This study on Chicago Empowerment Zone shall be in the context of a descriptive form, issues pertaining to participation of Empowerment Zones, their impacts and processes involved in these programs. It shall also include the target groups.

Given that most communities are poor, with low levels of education, high unemployment levels, poor housing problems the way to address this phenomenon. The workings of Empowerment Zones follow a strategic plan.

Objectives of the Study

1. To establish the participation modes and levels of empowerment zones residents
2. To evaluate how the communities have benefited from EZs in Chicago and the neighborhoods
3. To assess how various target groups are involved.

Research questions

1. Which participation modes and level are employed for rural Empowerment Zones?
2. How have the communities in Chicago from the Empowerment Zones?
3. How is the target groups involved in the rural Empowerment Zones?

The significance of this study shall be gauged from the manner in which the various stake holders shall benefit from the findings of the study. Those who are likely to benefit shall include;

1. Academicians and research scholars who may borrow the ideas and information from contributions from the study. The findings and recommendations sometimes form the basis on which future research is carried out.
2. Policy makers who are mostly interested with ways of improving the living standards of the rural population, through housing, credit programs.
3. The government through its concerned departments may get statistics on the poverty rates, literacy rates.

Empowerment Zones/Enterprises Communities

The empowerment zone/enterprises community programme provides common wealthy depressed rural areas and communities with real opportunities for growth and revitalization. Its mission is to help create long term economic and community development and assist communities in empowering themselves to improve local conditions and become self-sustaining.

The efforts being at grass root level, where communities, in cooperation with state and local government work together to write strategic plans to address the economic and social problems they face. The plan also identifies partnerships and ways to combine private and public resources to improve their plus. The efforts are towards achieving four basic principles economic opportunity, sustainable community development, community-based partnership and strategic vision for change.

Success in the rural empowerment zone and enterprise communities is no longer a matter of faith based on anecdotal evidence rural EZs and EC have delivered on them promises to partner, provide.

The empowerment zone initiative is one of many tools used to promote economic development. These business ventures create many new jobs the community empowerment zones operate in partnership with banking institutions. They provide financing and debt packages. The organization originates and manages revolving lines of credit for area business.

Generally speaking Rural Americans must ensure growth of their own business if they are to prosper. They should provide both debt and equity support to area entrepreneurs in all business and industries. It also provides important support services for entrepreneurs.

This makes a difference in the lines of rural Americans and in an area traditionally associated with intractable poverty. The key is to operate in many fronts, leaving no potential funding arrangements unexplored.

Progress of Empowerment zones is due to population growth, drop in number of residents living in poverty, increase in employment rates. Among the new community facilities financed have been two post secondary, a youth centre, a library, theaters, extensive water sewer system expansion, three industrial parks, recreation improvement ambulance and health care facilities and child-care centres.

Meaning of rural empowerment zone

The United States department of Agriculture (USDA) administers the rural empowerment zone (EZ) and rural enterprise community (EC) Programme which efforts rural communities real opportunities for growth and revitalization, the goals include (www.ezec.gov).

• Economic opportunity in the creation of new jobs and the retention of existing jobs, sustainable community development in the form of comprehensive physical development combined with accessible human services.
• Community – based partnerships in which the residents are actively involved in the most important elements of revitalization.
• The first empowerment communities were designated in 1974 (Round I) and there have been subsequent designations in 1998 (Round II) (Round III). There are now a total of 56 empowerment communities, which have been designated in the three rounds.
• Grant funds for starting up and leveraging of CD activities.
• Work opportunity for credits for young workers.
• Tax incentives for qualified environment cleanup costs in the first year the cost is paid for incurred.
• Enhanced tax- exempt bond financing benefits including public schools improvements.
• Employer tax credits.

Funding of empowerment zones stimulated job growth, promote economic development and affordable housing opportunities. Included in the $17 billion tax relief package is approximately and $6 billion incentives for empowerment zones across the country (affordable housing finance, April 1999 housing finance com)

The philosophy of how to revitalize the community was left up to the communities. However, all zones include small business in the process because they are considered big job creators. Defining a zone as a successful in Chicago, the Chicago community ventures work with established small business in the Chicago land area that has strong potential for revenue generation and job creation. They specialize in assisting businesses in low and moderate-income communities and business owned by minorities or women. After the CCV noticeable progress, their workable solutions include;

• Small business loans provide flexible financing small business in Chicago’s low and moderate income communities.
• Challenge grants enable growing companies to complete projects to achieve their business milestones and

Procurement services assist companies is security public and private contracts. (www.chicagotures.org, 2007).

Targeted group for Chicago empowerment zone

Chicago has a total population of 2,783, 726. The Chicago empowerment zone poverty rate by 1996 was 49% its unemployment rate 25% and 15% of its residents were in public housing. The employment rate was higher than any other EZ except Detroit and its poverty rate were higher then any other EZ except Atlanta. Lt. was also the second biggest EZ for population and square mile size 72% of the zones residents were African-American, 24% were Hispanics and less than 4% whites. 47% if EZ residents had annual family incomes of under $20,000. (www.economics.ponnoria.edu/empowerment)

The education levels were very different for EZ residents compared to other residing in Chicago as half of EZ zone residents have finished high school and 70% if the Chicago residents have completed high school. (Chicago Sunday times 1997)

The empowerment of zones for Chicago consists of roughshod on the north and west sides of the city. For its programs to work they have a strategic plan to aid in formulation implantation and evaluation prances. The developed strategic plan and goal that they any sight to fulfill include poverty activation and improving the way that federal, states, county and city government interact with the EZ residents some of the initiates us courting office report 1996 outlined were;

1. Increase existing human organizational capacity through the development of job training programs that teach eye skill, job reading apprenticeship and mentoring
2. Link hearth and human series by creating wellness system chief encourage a healthier workforce
3. Improve public safety by increasing community security and increased participation by residents in keeping their environment safe
4. Increasing investment in and by the community in order to economization empower residents
5. Creating of affordable and accessible housing and the increased home ownership for community residents
6. Create better option for youth though training programs and youth run-business
7. Build on cultural diversity though promoting tourism increasing and fastening cultural sensitivity.

These strategic initiatives were to be implemented by any government though 39 members council representing business ,communities in the zone.The councils responsibilities include; developing Zone, wide policies identifying support resource ,reviewing and recommending approval of request and funding of projects

These implemented projects are their subjected to assessment on progress of the empowerment zones ,researches conducted in the(1990s and 2000 on 6years of implementation of EZs, indicated that Chicago’s employment zone experienced an 80% increasing in the employment Zone residents by zone businesses ,employment interested.

Impacts Empowerment Zones

Business owners (ibid) had mixed perceptions of EZs. On its contribution towards contributing to causing favorable strands the survival residents believes that Employment Zone had a positive ratter negative impact federal far cats were most helpful.

The other positive aspects of the Chicago EZ are increased minority owned business and employment of EZ residents. (Progress report 2001).

Methodology of the Study

The study shall be a descriptive in nature and the researcher shall employ different methods. A sample shall use selected to constitute those involved in empowerment programs within the empowerment zones. Individuals shall be interviewed and some shall fill questionnaires on matters of housing trends, employment rates, business start-ups and how minorities have been empowered through business ventures, property ownership and business and human resource services.

Data collection methods

The data shall be collected by the use of questionnaires and interviews among the sample selected from the targeted population as a primary source and from secondary, content analysis on the documents with data that may augment to already existing.

The data shall be analysed using statistical techniques, calculations for averages i.e. the means, mode and medians. Trend analysis by use of time series and moving averages, shall also be used.

For the sake of making comparisons regression analysis shall be used , while association of attributes shall be used to determine the relationship between the progress on target groups and the modes used for rural Empowerment Zones.

References

Chicago Sun Time’s (1997) employment Zone gets a mild grade.

United States General Accounting Office Report (1996) status of urban Empowerment Zone.

US Department of housing and urban Development (2001) interim assessment of the employment Zones and Enterprise communities program. Progress report.

Best practice, 1999-Best practices taken from the 1999 annual report of rural EZ/ECs.

Community Employment –Anew approach to rural development 1999. Normal Raid.

J Normal Raid (2000) Rural employment Zones and enterprise communities.