EAST ST. LOUIS ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ESLARP Newsletter - February/March 2002 
To read this newsletter as a web page visit http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/newsletter/0203.htm 
Contents: * ESLARP POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT * SPRING SEMESTER COURSES/STUDIOS * DATA 
COLLECTION OUTREACH WEEKEND * MARCH OUTREACH WEEKEND * NEW ESLARP BROCHURE ONLINE 
* NEW LEISURE STUDIES TOURISM DEVELOPMENT COURSE * UP260 STUDENTS COLLECT ORAL 
HISTORIES * LIS SUMMER COURSE * NEWS FROM THE WEB _________________________________________________________________ 
ESLARP POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Location of Position: The University of Illinois 
at Urbana-Champaign's (UIUC) Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) in 
East St. Louis, IL. Title: Visiting Non-Profit Coordinator (academic professional) 
Duties: Reports to the NTAC Director. Coordinates support services to community- 
based non-profit organizations participating in the Non-profit Incubator project 
at NTAC (see http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu). Independently organizes and manages 
communication and collaboration among these organizations; attends neighborhood 
and other meetings with non-profit constituents (mostly held in the evenings) 
on a regular basis; arranges student and other volunteers to work on projects 
for these organizations; coordinates Outreach Weekend projects with neighborhood 
organizations and Campus staff. In addition, as with other NTAC staff, responds 
to on-going requests for technical assistance from partner community organizations 
where relevant and as indicated by NTAC Director. See the entire advertisement 
at: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/job/ _________________________________________________________________ 
SPRING SEMESTER COURSES/STUDIOS ARCH 272 : Architectural Design and the City Affordable 
Housing in East St. Louis ARCH 372 : Architectural Design Studio A Collaborative, 
Interdisciplinary East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP) Studio Workshop 
LA 338 : Design Workshop A Collaborative, Interdisciplinary East St. Louis Action 
Research Project (ESLARP) Studio Workshop LIS 315 : Introduction to Network Information 
Systems An introduction to instruction and assistance methods used in a variety 
of information systems. UP 378 : Community Development Workshop A Collaborative, 
Interdisciplinary East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP) Studio Workshop 
UP 374 Neighborhood Planning Emerson Park Neighborhood History View course descriptions 
at: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/courses/ _________________________________________________________________ 
DATA COLLECTION OUTREACH WEEKEND The first outreach weekend this semester was 
dedicated to data collection for the development of a comprehensive plan for the 
South End Neighborhood. To initiate a Comprehensive Planning process in the South 
End Neighborhood, students and local residents conducted a residential door-to-door 
survey. The primary objective was to build a broad perspective of the resident's 
viewpoints and activate South End resident's participation in improvements for 
their neighborhood. 60 households were surveyed. The survey consisted of eighty-eight 
questions ranging from general opinions to specific information about economic- 
and area conditions. A Neighborhood Condition Survey was also completed this weekend. 
The study area consists of about 2200 parcels. Some of the results are summarized 
here: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/outreach/0202/ _________________________________________________________________ 
MARCH OUTREACH WEEKEND The East St. Louis Action Research Project hit the beaten 
path to East St. Louis once again for an action packed weekend March 8th and 9th, 
and due to the hard work and dedication of all the students, faculty, and staff 
the weekend was a complete success. The ESLARP team was comprised of 130 people, 
including classes and volunteers from the departments of Urban Planning, Architecture, 
Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and Landscape Architecture. 
These students put their heads together and pulled off nine projects. -Community 
Technology Center Site Surveys -Green Acres Mini Park -Hopewell Baptist Church 
-Lansdowne Neighborhood Plan -Better Days Cemetery -Petitions Signed -Lead Safe 
Yards -South End Park -Community Mission Child Care -Emerson Park Development 
Corporation History Project Read more about it at: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/outreach/0203/ 
_________________________________________________________________ NEW ESLARP BROCHURE 
ONLINE We have finally created a new brochure. You can view a web version or a 
printable version at the following location: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/overview/ 
_________________________________________________________________ NEW LEISURE 
STUDIES TOURISM DEVELOPMENT COURSE A new class is being offered each spring in 
Leisure Studies, LEIST 357 "Tourism Development", its goal is to critically examine 
tourism planning for less developed destinations. The perspective is a local or 
bottom up approach that places a strong emphasis on student involvement and experiential 
learning. To that end, the class will participate in an actual tourism planning 
experience by providing assistance to the Trails and Legacies tourism initiative 
that will organize and promote African American heritage tourism in a 17 county 
area of SW Illinois. East St. Louis and the surrounding communities will play 
a significant role in the larger initiative and the class will be doing field 
work there for their assigned projects. ________________________________________________________________ 
UP260 STUDENTS COLLECT ORAL HISTORIES In the Fall of 2001, students in UP260 participated 
in a well established community outreach program with the East St. Louis Participatory 
Action Research Project (ESLARP). In addition to the workweek activities, UP260 
students interviewed neighborhood activists from East St. Louis as part of an 
oral history project. The interviews provide the students with an opportunity 
to engage in experiential learning about social inequality and to discover what 
individual people are doing to create positive change in their neighborhoods. 
The oral history component documents the lives of individuals who have dedicated 
many years to neighborhood improvement efforts. East St. Louis is known as one 
of the most economically depressed African American communities in the United 
States, reinforcing a negative image of African American life in the city. While, 
many residents in East St. Louis live in poverty conditions, the oral history 
project provides an alternative picture into the lives of people who have worked 
towards creating a better community for their families and neighbors. These are 
the beginning of an oral history that will be a valuable community resource for 
local residents and UIUC students who want to learn more about East St. Louis, 
social capital and community change. Learn more about community activism at: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/durp/UP260-F01/projectindex.html 
_________________________________________________________________ LIS SUMMER COURSE 
Emerging Technologies in Community Information Systems, LIS450ET, looks at current 
technologies used to build community information systems, reviews emerging technologies, 
and discusses how emerging technologies might fit into existing community information 
systems or how they might be used to build new community information systems. 
One emerging technology will be selected during the semester as a case study of 
the broader issues related to implementation of an emerging technology within 
an existing community information system or to create a new community information 
system. This semester wireless Community Networks will be chosen as the emerging 
technology. The class will consider wireless options to extend Internet access 
to East St. Louis Community Technology Centers that currently cannot receive wireless 
Internet because of line-of-site issues (e.g., tall trees and short buildings), 
with the goal of implementing alternative wireless solutions for these sites. 
_________________________________________________________________ NEWS FROM THE 
WEB Additional news items have been added to the website. Articles from the St. 
Louis Post Dispatch Online. Headlines include: -4/02: ESLARP News (RickerNotes) 
-3/02: Students getting hands-on experience designing unique tours (Inside Illinois) 
-2/02: Olympic Spirit Burns at Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Club (SWI-NEWS) -12/01: 
Necessity Spurs Community Park Collaboration (Illinois PARKS & RECREATION) Links 
to articles can be found at: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/update/index.htm#fromtheweb 
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