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This brief discusses the use of traffic barriers to block automobile access to streets as a way to reduce gang violence. The tactic was used in a crime-plagued area of Los Angeles, California, that had experienced a high level of drive-by shootings, gang homicides, and street assaults. The program, Operation Cul de Sac (OCDS), was evaluated as a crime reduction tactic. In its 2 years of operation, OCDS did appear to reduce crime. The number of homicides and street assaults fell significantly during the program's operation and rose after the program ended. The street closure did not appear to affect property crime, only violence. Crime was not displaced to other areas. The success of the initiative suggests that traffic barriers can be part of an approach to maximize the defensible space of neighborhood residents by increasing their span of control. (SLD)

Economic and political turmoil have led to a dramatic fall in living standards in the Republic of Georgia. Rural areas have been hit particularly hard, suffering from increasing marginalization; worsening access to roads, information, health care facilities and markets; and dilapidation of health and education establishments. In an effort to channel scarce public resources and international aid to their best uses, this paper evaluates the impact of various types of rural community infrastructure rehabilitation on household well-being, using household and community-level survey data. The sample included 144 school, road, and water rehabilitation projects carried out in 106 rural villages during 1998-2000. The empirical approach utilized the panel structure of the data to control for time-invariant unobservables at the community level by applying propensity-score-matched double difference comparison. Results indicate that improvements in school and road infrastructure produced significant welfare gains for the poor at the village and country levels. The impact of water rehabilitation projects was ambiguous. School rehabilitation projects produced the largest gains for the poor and positively affected attendance and enrollment rates. Methodologically, this analysis shows that ad hoc community surveys matched with ongoing nationally representative surveys can provide a feasible and low-cost impact evaluation tool. (Contains 40 references) (Author/SV)

As part of a study on development and the quality of life in northwestern Wisconsin, questions concerning important problems, public services, and environmental issues were asked of samples of 150 people in each of 4 west central counties (Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, and Polk) in 1974. Responses to similar questions asked in a 1973 study of St. Croix County and in a 1974 statewide survey were used for comparisons. Responses to the areas of study were categorized as follows: (1) most important community problems (national economy, local economy, taxes, lack of public services, disorder, lack of cooperation, environment, other/don't know; no problems); (2) public services (job opportunities, public schools and libraries, fire protection, water supply, medical services, crime prevention/control, police relations, public transportation, neighborhood safety at night, streets/roads, stores/retail services, indoor and nearby recreation); (3) environmental concerns (stream, lake, and/or air pollution; soil erosion; wildlife reduction; litter; crowded recreation areas; noise; people living too close). Comparative analysis indicated economic problems of national scope were of primary concern in all counties, though a lack of local jobs and industry were also cited as problems; there was concern for lake pollution; public services were generally adequate, though there was a lack of public transportation and indoor recreation in Dunn, Polk, and St. Croix Counties. (JC)

As part of the Army's emphasis on performance-oriented instruction in training centers, a study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using self-paced instruction in a gross motor skills course. The Crawler Tractor Operator Course, a seven-week heavy equipment course conducted at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri was selected for the study involving approximately 300 trainees. Findings indicate that in the self-pacing system, training managers can (a) train on additional pieces of equipment, if trainees are retained for the full seven weeks; or (b) achieve substantial savings in the time and training costs if the trainees are released for assignment upon their qualification in the crawler tractor operator skills. Other findings from the self-pacing study are: (a) the system permits trainees to proceed through the course at their own rate of learning, (b) the rate of learning correlates moderately with individual predictor scores, (c) the system is readily accepted by the trainees, (d) although instructor workload is heavier, motivation and morale are higher, (e) peer instruction can be used, and (f) the system is more economical and efficient. The self-paced performance tests and questionnaires used to sample trainee and instructor attitudes toward the program are appended. (Author/AJ)

Contained in this final report of a one-day conference are abstracts of speakers' remarks, conference conclusions and evaluation, appendices on publicity, conference handouts, goal statements, and sample lessons for citizen education. The purpose of the conference was to provide dialogue among practitioners of citizen participation skills, government officials, the general public, and academic humanists. By examining a local policy issue, transportation planning in Tallahassee, it was hoped to identify the variety of citizen participation skills needed to cope with such issues, and to see which skills were used, were effective, or were found wanting in this situation. Speakers compared the "Open Society" dream with realities of citizen access to policymaking, discussed Tallahassee's planning issues as a case study, and identified numerous citizen participation skills. "Awareness--Action--Persistence" represents the combination of skills recognized to be essential in achieving effective citizen input. (AV)

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), established by Congress in 1965, is a unique partnership of federal, state, and local government action attempting to provide every person living in the region with the health and skills needed to compete in everyday life and to attract new industry to the region, thus providing more jobs and a more diversified economic base. The ARC believes that with the further help of its programs, the region can continue to capitalize on its 14 years of progress. In support of this position, this report organizes information into four sections. Section I describes regional conditions in the areas of jobs, population, income, health, education, housing and community facilities and outlines ARC principles. Section II explains the ARC partnership, 1975 Amendments to the Appalachian Regional Development Act, and its planning process. Section III presents data on the six categories of ARC's functional programs: highways; community services and business development; human services; natural resources, environment and energy; Commission and state research; and local development district administrative support. Section IV contains drafts of the proposed 1978 Amendments to the Appalachian Regional Development Act and the Balanced Growth and Regional Development Act of 1978. Appendices furnish related statistics, maps, bibliographies and trends. (NEC)

This document presents a case study of the controversy between freeway developers associated with the Washington State Highway Department and citizens of Montlake community, Seattle. The intent is to provide information to other neighborhood and community groups on successful citizen activism strategies. In the opening section, a chronology of events is presented to detail the process by which Montlake came to see the R.H. Thompson Expressway a threat. Information is presented on planning commission statements, highway department announcements, freeway-related bond issues, statements in favor of and opposed to the freeway, court hearings, and media coverage. The second section analyzes events discussed in the chronology, with emphasis on approaches within the anti-freeway effort which were particularly successful. Topics discussed include the mobilizing ideology of the anti-freeway coalition, techniques used to organize home-owners in the proposed freeway corridor, political characteristics of anti-freeway activists, and application of lessons learned in the Montlake experience to other citizen participation efforts. Appended materials include maps of Seattle and the Montlake community area, copies of newspaper clippings, special bulletins related to the controversy over freeway construction, and an artist's conception of the proposed freeway. (DB)

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) used its $105 million appropriation for fiscal year 1987 to support three major program areas in the 13 state region: (1) creating and retaining regional jobs; (2) assisting in construction of basic facilities, particularly water and sewer systems, in the region's 90 poorest counties; and (3) working toward completion of the Appalachian Development Highway System. Economic and human resource development activities focused on community infrastructure, vocational training, assistance to small businesses, and "regional program initiatives," a new category. This latter category included support for 63 school dropout prevention projects; 31 adult literacy programs; educational programs promoting entrepreneurship; education programs tailored to the needs of specific business sectors; health care services for rural and indigent populations; and technology transfer projects addressing industrial obsolescence or new employment opportunities. ARC compiled and analyzed social and economic data on the region, by county, and supported studies to identify areas that could be strong regional research and development centers and also to: assess the effect of changes in the Medicare payment system on rural hospitals; study medical indigence; analyze the economic development potential of continuing care retirement communities; and evaluate education reform undertaken in rural and small school districts since 1983. The report includes details on appropriations and distribution of funding by project type and by state; state and regional maps; a directory of local development districts; and county population change data. (SV)

A study was conducted to investigate the traffic engineering factors that influence speed variance and to determine to what extent speed variance affects accident rates. Detailed analyses were carried out to relate speed variance with posted speed limit, design speeds, and other traffic variables. The major factor identified was the difference between the design speed of the highway and the posted speed limit. It was determined that speed variance will be minimal if the posted speed limit is between 6 and 12 miles per hour lower than the design speed, and that outside this range, speed variance increases with increasing difference between the design speed and the posted speed limit. Other findings were that: (1) drivers tend to go at increasing speeds as roadway geometric characteristics improve, regardless of the posted speed limit; and (2) accident rates do not necessarily increase with increase in average speed but do increase with increase in speed variance. The results can be used to estimate changes in speed variance due to changes in traffic characteristics and, therefore, can provide traffic engineers with a means for controlling speed variance due minimize accidents. (Author/KC)

Describes the organization of a successful community protest against road construction in an Oxford (England) neighborhood and identifies success factors: coalitions with other interest groups; intensive, sustained lobbying; investment in public meetings, exhibitions, and demonstrations; use of local and national media; and involvement of professional community workers, but not as leaders. (SK)

Study objectives were to determine the levels of satisfaction with selected community services in an 11-county area of northern West Virginia (3 representative sites) and to compare these levels to those of 12 other selected sites in the non-metropolitan northeastern United States. A total of 2,141 questionnaires was completed, 295 of which came from West Virginia. The satisfaction items analyzed were: local ambulance; housing situation; local road maintenance; medical services; dental services; local schools; neighborhood; local fire department; local police; sports and recreation programs; telephone service; public transportation; information about local events in local papers, on television, and on the radio. Results indicated: on a 6-point scale ranging from unsatisfied (1) to very satisfied (6), West Virginians averaged 5.04 and regional respondents averaged 4.96; typically, West Virginians were more satisfied with ambulance, medical, dental, telephone services, neighborhoods, public transportation, and information about local events on radio and television; regional respondents tended to be more satisfied than West Virginians with housing, local road maintenance, schools, fire and police departments, sports and recreation programs, and information about local events in newspapers; and West Virginians were most satisfied with neighborhoods, dental services, and radio information. (JC)

From 1950 to 1970, the shift from agriculture to industry dominated Ashe County, North Carolina, isolated on the Blue Ridge by rugged terrain and severe weather. Rural farm population declined by 2/3 but rural non-farm population tripled. Many new industries helped shift the bulk of the work force to industry. In 1950, 45% of the work force farmed full time and only 17% had industrial jobs. By 1970 just 9% farmed full time; 54% were employed by industries. The main agricultural products shifted to feeder steers, tobacco, and Christmas trees, so the typical farm family could seek additional employment. Median family income increased but per capita income remained low. Attracting and supporting industry became the focus of optimistic leaders who in 1977 listed as priorities for the county: economic diversification; improvement of educational facilities and opportunities; improved roads; and improved health, social, and public services. Recent developments, such as the Ashe County airport, a new hospital, a new county library, and plans for an industrial park, reflected this goal. The enthusiastic leadership, no longer fiercely controlled by a few local families but rather by a more progressive mixture of business and government people, liked the attitudes and relationships of residents, the climate, and the quality of life in Ashe County. (SB)

This report, the sixteenth in a series of twenty reports undertaken by the Children's Environments Advisory Service for the 1979 International Year of the Child, analyzes the difficulties of designing automobile traffic patterns for areas in which children reside. Automobile traffic and play patterns in 21 multiple-housing projects in the metropolitan region of Montreal were analyzed and a questionnaire was administered to both adults and children. Based on this analysis and the questionnaire findings, recommendations for solving problems of land zoning, traffic separation, lighting, landscaping, and barriers between children and traffic were formulated. These recommendations are presented in this report and tables of data gathered by the questionnaire are appended. (Author/JA)

Since 1969 the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety has concentrated on researching, demonstrating, and communicating to the public methods of reducing highway losses. The Institute has established a framework to classify the nature of each kind of loss (human, vehicle and equipment, and environment) in relation to the three phases of the crash event (precrash, crash, and postcrash) and the crash results. Precrash research has included work on drug or alcohol use in relation to driving, the effect of driver training, the effectiveness of drunk driving "crackdowns," state policy screening for vehicles involved in unlawful activity, and defects in vehicle design. In the crash phase, the Institute's work has examined the contribution of such vehicle factors as size, passenger compartment characteristics, and restraint systems to injuries and particularly to those injuries suffered by children in automobiles or by pedestrians or suffered in accidents involving trucks or roadside structures. Postcrash research identified causes of vehicle fires and explored the adequacy of emergency care. Projects on crash results have studied the severity of injuries and their costs, motorcycle accidents, bicycle-motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian deaths, vehicular damage, carbon monoxide poisoning, the cost effectiveness of safety measures, and conceptual frameworks for highway loss problem solving. (Besides a bibliography of the Institute's publications and films on these subjects, information is included on the board of directors and Institute staff.) (ELG)

The Polonoroeste program is a World Bank-funded colonization project in central Brazil. This document looks at the indigenous peoples of the Aripuana Park which lies in the path of the development plan. The main objective of the $1.5 billion project is to pave a highway from Cuiaba to Porto Velho. The project consists of the highway, colonization projects, health facilities, and a component for the protection of the Indians. While in the 1960s the forest Indians still lived in relative isolation, the present day consequences of the project include: (1) invasions of lands by colonists, companies, mining concerns and lumberers; (2) the political pressures impeding demarcation of Indian lands; (3) the reduction of indigenous territory and its division by highways, hydroelectric schemes, and mining activities; and (4) increased mortality rates due to the spread of malaria, tuberculosis, influenza, and changes in the patterns of nutrition and hygiene. Attempts to provide health services and education are unsuccessful due to improper administration, unqualified personnel, and lack of knowledge of the Indian culture. Disagreements over land result in the massacre of Indians and the deaths of many invaders. Recommendations for more efficient and sensitive methods of accomplishing the goals of the program are described throughout. Sixty-two references are listed, most in Portuguese. (KS)