bureaucracy nd Community Organization

Abstract

An analysis of the relationship between the Pico-Union Neighborhood Council (PUNC) and the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles reveals the pressure of bureaucratic perspectives and role demands to be a significant factor in the interaction of public agencies and community organizations. In spite of independent funding, this neighborhood council has moved from militant advocacy, with broad community par ticipation. to community development directed largely by professionals, with substan tially reduced involvement from community residents. This transformation is examined through an analysis of the perspectives and roles of these two organizations as well as those of the technical advisers from the University of California at Los Angeles. The pressure of role demands and the dynamics of modernization are presented as explana tions for the changes which took place in PUNC. Three major considerations for puhlic administrators of agencies involved with community organizations are discussed.

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