A Neighborhood Foreseen: Identifying Social Capital On Congo Street

Abstract

The small Southeast Dallas community of Congo Street is not only unique because of its location within Jubilee Park neighborhood, but rather, it is a place where a group of five homeowners made history by cooperatively revitalizing their community with the assistance of the Building Community Workshop. Ongoing community redevelopment reveals that the homeowners are learning to use their social capital to mobilize within and throughout their community and neighborhood. The initial focus of the study aimed to discover how Congo Street residents use social capital to accept or reject community revitalization goals set by the Building Community Workshop and the Jubilee Park and Community Center. To obtain evidence, stakeholders directly connected to the community were randomly selected, recruited, and interviewed. Qualitative research tools, included: face-to-face interviews, passive observations, and direct participation were then used to acquire data. Results from the study suggest there are two very distinct social networks within the community. When the two networks amalgamate, a third network is created. The third network is important in that it illustrates residents' willingness to cooperate in civic engagement activities, which ultimately helps to buttress the social capital process within their community.