Progressive Planning Leader Pat Rosenthal and Common Wealth Inc of Youngstown, Ohio by Pierre Clavel C om m on Wealth Inc is a Co m m u nity De velopmen t Co r p or a tion (C DC) fo unded in Yo u ngs tow n, O hio, th at began by sup porting w ork er buyo uts and coo p er at ives in the 1980s Its sto ry is la rgely that of Exe c utive Directo r Pat Rosen th al who turn ed to law sch oo l a nd organizi ng afte r th ree larg e stee l mills closed an d d ecimat ed You ng st own' s economy in 1978 Co m mon Wealth exe m plifies th e wa y ma ny CDCs cha ng ed in th e 1980s a nd 1990s C DCs bu ilt a lot of affo rdabl e hou sin g, an d m any beca me landl ord s, but rea l es ta te developme nt threatened to d is place th e origin al community deve lop me nt m ission of crea ting jobs and act u ally in vol ving local resident s in im p rov ing thei r o wn ne ig hbo rhoo ds and th eir own live s In co ntrast, Co m mo n \ Vealt h excelled as a CDC fo r its ab ility, ove r two-a nd -a-h al f d ecad es to n aviga te its d ilem m as an d s u r vive with man y of its o r ig in al goa ls intact Rosen thal wa s th e key to p reserv ing the CDC's m iss ion She had begun o rg a nizi ng by h elping incorpo te a wo rker-ow ne d ho useclea ning co o p era tive In 1986 Rose nt h al and her allies starte d th e C DC a long w ith th e Co m mo n vvea lth Revolvi ng Loa n Fu nd to su p po r t bot h wo rker-o w ned and -m an aged sta rt- u ps and the retentio n an d gro wth o f exi sting com panies In 1988 C om mo n Wealth in corp orated a com m u ni ty la nd trust to rehab hou ses in t h e city ' s Sou th Sid e wh ile tr ain ing local youth in constructi on tra d es Committed Allies Rosenthal had co mm itt ed a llie s Law associat e and men to r Sta ugh ton Lynd d bee n instru mental in t he Yo u ngstown Ecu men ica l Coa litio n' s attempt to achi eve a worke r buyou t o f o ne of the m ills, and h e hel ped orga nize Co m mo n Wealth 's effort to 20 PROGRESSIVE PLANNING su ppo rt coo pe tive ow ne rs hip a nd also served o n its board Bishop Jam es W Malon e, as head of th e Roma n Catholic Diocese of Youngs to wn co m mitte d mat chi ng fu nds and su ppo rted prop osa ls subm itt ed to the nati o na l Ca tho lic Cam paig n for Human Deve lopme nt (CCHD ) including a five-ye ar g rant that funded Com m on Wea lt h fro m 1988 to 1993 and the loa n loss rese rve Joh n Logue a political science professo r at Ken t Sta te, focused on em ployee ownership and served as a un ify ing bo ard memb er of Co mmo n Wealth from 1986 u ntil his d eath in 2009 In 1987 Rosent hal go t the support a nd in vol vem en t of two ne wcomers to th e city One was Brian Co rbin, w ho Malone hir ed as th e socia l ac tion d irecto r for th e d iocese a nd w ho was tasked wi th creati ng jobs T he o the r was Jim Con verse a so cio log is t who had w orked at se veral un iv e rs ities a nd non -p ro fits C on verse an d Rosenthal wh o com ple mente d each othe r profess ion all y, al s o became a co up le and eve n tua lly married w hi le a t th e same time p ro vidin g esse n tia l leadersh ip to th e o rga niz a tion Com m o n Wealth mov ed ah ea d through tr ial and e rror Its effort to use th e loan fund to es tablis h e m p loyee-o w ned and -rn an aged bu sine sses e n co u n te re d o bs ta cles Th e com m u n ity land trust fail ed to provid e sig n ifica nt jo bs a nd training, and residents were un able to ge ne rate equity or fun cti on co llec ti ve ly Rosenth al and Co nve rse could not s us tai n th e em p loy ee s e lf-m a nagem en t a nd bu y out m od el th ey initiall y en vi sion ed for th e loa n fund Common Wealth's Housing Ach ievements \Vha t Co m mon Wea lt h wa s abl e to do, inc rea s in gly in th e 19905 , wa s d evelop affo rda b le hou si ng Conve rse a nd Ros ent hal to o k th e lead gene ting h ou s in g p ro je ct s as they ma na g ed p ubl ic h eari ng s an d co nd uc ted o p e n ing nego tia tions for two projec ts beg in n in g in 1995 and 1996 in th e land tru s t' s Sou th Side ne igh borh o od Lat er there we re o t he r project oppo rt u n ities in surro u nd ing to wn s li ke Ca m p be ll an d by 1999 Rose n t l wa s abl e to p ro je ct ove r 300 units of n ew ho u s in g und er str u cti on or co mp le ted Thi s expansion wa s possibl e becau se of Mark IVhipkey wh o started working for Com m on Wealth in 1991 and pla yed a m ajor role in planning and pa ckag ing these projects Rosentha l d escr ibed W hip key'S fu nctio ns as a d iffere nt " laye r" of capacity, one she a nd Co nverse co uld not ve p rovide d T heirs was rep rese nta tio n, advocacy and political bridge-build ing But it wa s Whi pke y who d rov e the developm ent tea m professionals, pl ans and ap p lications so that p rojects could go for ward p ro fitabl y He also managed the co ns tru ctio n so that p rojects stay ed w ith in bud gets and time lines, mak ing it p oss ible re budget constructio n co ntingencies to cov er d e velop er fees ins te ad of go ing to co ns truction cost ove r ru ns Eve ntu ally th ere we re nin e projects a nd severa l hundred un its yie ldi ng a strea m of d isc ret iona ry incom e Staying Focused on the Big Picture O ne key to Com mo n Wealths emergence as a ma jor pl ay er in You ngstown an d the region in th e 1990s w as th at it s lead ership never p rojected a narro wness of co nce rn The ori g in al mission ca me from th e shared ex pe rience and mem or y of th e fail ed stee l bu y o ut atte m p t at th e end of th e 1970s It w as n ev er just hou sin g And wh en it w as hou sin g it wa s a co nce rn w ith how hou sin g sa t within th e stru ct u re of bu sin ess in th e community In ret rosp ect, a key m ove w as Com mo n Wealth's decis ion to take the lead by insertin g its elf in Co m mu n ity Rein vest ment Act (C RA) he aring s CRA was the resul t of a 1970s fed era l law requ irin g ba nks to invest in lo w-incom e co m m u n ihes if th ey w a n te d to ex p a nd se rvices o r acqu ire sm all co m m u nity orien te d banks Many took noti ce when Rosent hal a nd Co nve rse, wi th a coa liti on of advoca tes , que st ione d loca l bank pract ices As a res ul t of a p rot est file d by the coali tio n, an att em pted ban k m erge r was denied by the Fede l Reserve Boa rd and Co nve rs e, in part beca use oi his res ea rch in to ba nk practices, got th e a tte ntio n of city a nd cou nty po litici a ns a nd pla nner s Com mon ~Ve alth soo n w as a pl ay er in city effo rts to att ct fed eral an d st ate hou sing fund s Beg inn ing in 1988 Co nverse a nd Rosenthal p rese nted a po licy pap er th at influ en ced th e city' S firs t Com p re he ns ive Hou si ng A fforda bil ity Stra tegy (C H AS) d ocum en t, whi ch brou ght fund s in to th e city and prov ided Co m mon Wea lth and o the r non -profits with additi on al fundi n g C ity governm ent attitud es cha nged: non-pro fits became partn ers with th e cit y in many are as of pol icy Common Wealth Goes Regional With Whip key involv ed , Com m on Wea lt h was a ble to hire an d contract w ith ad d itio na l s ta ff to ma ke pr oje cts go for w ard Rosen tha l and Con ve rse w e re th en ab le to go in o ther di rec tion s Sta rting in 1995, but m ost im portan tly te r 1999 they la un ch ed a n effor t a t reg iona l org anizing In 1995, Corbi n mad e co nta ct with Ma ry Gonza les, and e ven tua lly Greg Ga llu zzo, of the Ga maliel Found ation , Gama lie l s u p p o rted co m mun ity o rgan izing at the regi onal sca le T he logi c, articu late d by Ga maliel adviso r NO 184 / SUMMER 2010 21 and Mi n neso ta legislator a nd law professor Myron O r fie ld , was that the prob lems o f the inne r city had been exacerbated by the ou t-m igra tion o f middl e-class popula tion s to su b u rban and ru ral parts o f city hint erlands, and that th ere was a joint interest in preser vation o f in ne r-city in stitution s and n ei ghb orhood s Ga ma lie l challen g ed Co m mo n lVe alth a nd a rea co ng reg a tio ns to raise fund s to e m p loy a p rof essional o rga n ize r wh o w ould work with inner-cit y a nd s u b ur ba n church es on jo in t s o lu tio ns to ci ty probl em s By 1998 Rosenthal and Co n vers e had become informal as sociates o f Ga ma lie l, earning invitati on s to conferences and o rganize r retreat s Com mo n We a lt h w o rk ed with lo cal clerg y and la y lea d er s to fo r m ACT ION (A lli a nce for Co ng rega tio na l Tra nsfor ma tio n Influencing O u r Neig h bo rhoods) and rai sed fu nds to hire a n o rg an izer Th is help ed a d va nce the ca use of a regr onal a p p roac h to community de velopment Co m mo n Weal th provid ed of fice s pac e a nd served as fis ca l age nt ACT IO N o rg a nize d tw e nt y Youngstow n and s u bu rba n c h u rc he s around iss u es o f cr ime an d co rru p tio n, e d u catio n an d a g roce ry s to re reo pe ning Co m mo n We alth th en w orked wi th Father Ed Noga of St Patrick ' s C h u rch and ACTI O N to rais e fun ds to h ire r ly ron Orfie ld for a cr itica l s tud y a nd tw o day-trips to Young st own that s p u rred s u bu rban church es to s u p po rt furth er d iscuss io n of th ese regr onal conce rns Rose n tha l lat er charac terized th e in teraction as " ins p irin g." O rfie ld had organi zed a n institute to anal y s es of regi on al finan ces a n d problems, a nd th e coa lit ion rai sed $~O OOO more to fund an anal ysis a nd report on regi onal d ynami cs imp act in g You ng sto w n This w as p resented at a meeting a t You ngs tow n Sta te U nivcrs itv in O cto be r 2001 and co vere d by news med ia In m or e th an a d ozen articl es and rep ort s Me tro -Eq uity Task Fo rce in 2006, and th er e was th e crea tion o f G rea ter O h io, listing o ffices in Co lu m b us , Cinci n nati, Clev e la nd and You ng st ow n, wi th Con ve rse as Ma hon ing Valley Direc to r Succession Crisis By 2006-07 Rosenthal a nd Co n ve rse had de cisions to make ab out th e future o f Co m mo n Wealt h They w er e facing, o r thought the y we re faci ng th e beg innings of th e e ffects of ag e Bo t h were now o ve r 60 Th ey had health problems in 2003, were fee ling fragil e and wondering how to ti nue At the end of 2005 th ey so ug ht a gran t for $25,000 from th e sta te th at w ould pr ovid e ad m inis tr a tive fundin g to free up so me time The s ta te grant required them to en act a s uc cess io n plan Thi s m ight hav e been routine, bu t so me Co m mo n Weal th board m em ber s sa w it as a chance to change d irection As Rosent hal th ought lat er, th ey would ve a rgued th at " a ffo rd able ho us ing is wha t go t us to w he re we are, so let' s ma ke tha t o u r co re mission " Corbin d ho pe d for a n infusion of new ene rg y to expa nd the fina nce role Whi p key represented m ovin g Co m mo n Wealt h to a new level with new cap a citi es to fina nce bu s iness s ta rt -u ps as we ll as hou sing But Rosen tha l and Converse br idl ed a t w hat th ey sa w as a res tri ctio n of Co m mo n Wealt h' s m ission a nd so ug h t board re-a ffirma tio n of the broad er goal s o f th e o rg an izatio n They p revai led By the end o f 2007 Wh ipk ey had resigned and Corb in wh o had ad voca ted th e housing foc us left th e boa rd Ros enthal, cha cte ristica lly, mended fences Wh ip key ag ree d to co n tinue as a co ns u lta n t and Co rbi n wa s appoint ed to th e Co m mo n Wealth Revo lv ing Loa n Fu nd board Ele na Co lrn e na res Wh ipkey mov ed into th e po sit ion of manag er o f housing d evelopment and as sets Moving into Food Deserts Fo rm al arran gements for reg ional coo pera tio n w ere lim it ed as so me o f th e a rea chu rc he s p ulled ou t o t th e regi on al coalit io n d ue to im pa tien ce w ith th e " me tro-eq u ity" foc u s fa vored bv Co m mo n Wea lt h T he coali tion was w e aken ed , bu t th e co re o f co m mu n ities a nd o rga n izers was s u bsta n tia l a nd Co mmon Wealth had new a llies Rose n tha l a nd Co n ve rse d bee n e ne rg ize d , and the re we re s ta te wi de results Ga m alie l s pons o red a n O hio 22 PROGRESSIVE PLANNING By 2008 a n alt erna ti ve di rec tio n was cha rted aro un d a conste llation o f in itia tives focu se d o n foo d , incl ud ing p roduct ion , processi ng a nd ma rke ting As Co m m on Wealt h w or ked w ith in ner ci ty ch urc hes in 1997, the proble ms associ a ted w ith th e loss of s u permar ke t service as the ci ty popu la tion a nd inc ome d ecl ined and ne igh borhood s beca me wha t acti vists la te r called " food deserts" beca me vis ib le Co m mon Wealth d fou nd new e ne rgy in 20 03 a nd 2004 by helping to s tar t and ma nage a farm er s m arke t in its ne ig hb orh o od ; Co n ve rs e had s ta rted markets in o the r com mu nities La te r the o rga niz ation wa s ins p ired to expand by th e wo rk of Mi lwaukee a ct iv is t a nd MacArthu r Fellow Will Alle n, who was doing in novativ e work in food p roducti on a nd coope rati ve m a rketin g , and fo u nd en th us ias tic s u p po rt in You ng stown a nd in the reg ion , w here new food p roduct ion technol ogi es were a p pea ring food program as a reg io n a l system, necti ng produce rs, wholesale rs, ma rketers and sumers Co n v e rs e nected Co m m o n Wealth to nationa l n etworks in t h is e merging cent ral conce rn of t he co m m u ni ty d eve lopmen t movement Part ne rs wi th thes e co mp lem e n tary s kills a nd inst inct s are com mon in successf u l p lan ning ope tio ns Typ ica lly the p la nn in g di rec tor han d les t he " po litics" wh ile the s ta ff pro vid es th e first cu t, no t the de fi ni t ive in itia tive s Thus th e organi zin g m issi on th at Co m m o n Wea lth began w it h d ne w lif e Whipk ey ' S la rge -s cal e h ou sin g de ve lop me nt in it iati ve s no w pro vid ed a cash flow to sup po rt at lea st s o m e of th is o rga n izi ng work, an d t he p ros p ec t of ne w g n ts s ee m ed p rom is ing At least o ne C DC had avo ide d th e narro w ing of missio n tha t m any in t he movemen t fe ared I t h in k Ros enthal had an inte rna l gyrosco pe th at a llo wed her to see the road in fro n t o f he r a nd led he r to collective so lu tions to socia l iss ues rath er tha n indivi d ua lis tic ones The re we re certain ly red istribu ti ve the mes in all of Com mo n Wea lt h's projects There was s a d ness w hen So u th Side res id ents we re un ab le to s ti ck with the land trust mod el Above all th e d ecis ion to mobilize the Com m o n Wealt h board aro und a broader p ro g ram, eventua lly expressed in th e foo d initiatives, reflected tha i ten dencv, Lessons Learned What can we learn fro m the expe rie nce s of Ros en tha l an d Co m m o n Wea lth? Firs t of a IL Commo n Wealt h' s evo lu tio n un fold ed ove r a re la t ive ly long time It took twent ynine years from Rose n tha l' s s ta rt in 1981 to th e prese n t- the majo rity of Rosent l's wo rking life In pa rt this w as beca use s h e worked ca refull y, g e tti ng b u y -in a nd mai nta ini ng mutual resp ect insid e a nd ou ts ide the o rg an iz a tio n Pierre Gavel is a professor of city and re>: iol/al plallt/illg at Cornell Ulliversity and is tireIIl/tllar ll! Act iv is ts in C ity Hal l [ortucomiug f rom Com el/ UI/ipersity Press, September 2010 Tlris story is tire result of recent int erviews by the author ill YOl/lIKstOWII Was Ro senthal a " p rog ress iv e pl an ner ?" Per haps not a " p la nne r." Her trai n in g w as la w, a nd before that s he d wo rke d a s a m e nt al h ealt h p rof es sional H er ent nce to la w scho o l w as m ot ivat ed by a d es ire to gel pas t o ne -o none co un seli n g to s ys te m ic s o lu t io ns to soci a l p ro b lem s Ly n d wa s as g o od as it ge ts as a me nto r in that re ga rd When asked if she " had a plan " guiding C o m mo n Wealth ' s cou rse , s he irn rned ia tel v d e ni e d it It wa s all " s ea t o f t he pan ts ," s he s a id I a m not vi nced For o ne t h ing, it wa s not Ro senthal a lone Co n ve rse wa s he r in tellec tual and politica l pa rt ner, a nd tog e ther they added lip It wa s C o n ve rs e w ho b rou gh t in t he la nd t ru st mode l and w ho e labo ted th e NO 184 I SUMMER 2010 23