The Internal Transformation of Community-Controlled Implementation Organizations

Abstract

Community-controlled implementation organizations are necessary to initiate redevelopment in many urban areas, but because of their dependency on external sources of capital they may be transformed into organizations that enhance the extraction of private profit rather than community reinvestment. Internal social and political processes may generate another transformation process with similar results. A contradiction may develop because the social power relations within the organization-defined by its morphological structure—are a mirror image (reversed) of those in society. This incongruence in social relations disrupts the legitimation and reproduction of the organization's morphological structure. If these internal problems are not understood and ameliorated, either the organization will be transformed into a bureaucratic, professionalized organization, or it will dissolve during the transformation process. A case study is presented to demonstrate the intricacies of this process. In this case, the professional bureaucratic transformation process was interrupted by the Office of Economic Development's termination of their funding. Suggestions are made to assist urban planners in minimizing their interactive effect on community-controlled implementation organizations, while facilitating the organization's effort to minimize the internal transformation process.