Community Service or Social Project Service Essay

Community Service or Social Project Service - Essay Example The information accessed by these people may take the form of case studies, theoretical literature and role plays, where their interactions with the members of the public improve their abilities, including their leadership outlook and overall leadership performance. This paper will use the case of leaders in Skid Row to explore the enhancing effect of community service on the leadership abilities and the leadership style of a leader. Lastly, the paper will discuss the ways in which the leadership of an individual reflects personal values and the ethical values of an organization. The ways in which community service enhances a leader’s leadership style Building sustainable peace and development in communities affected by crisis requires the leaders involved in the negotiation proceedings to be highly skilled, so that they can communicate their views to the groups in conflict. From the case of the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, the role of the leaders of the Skid Row Housing Trus t has remained critical to the resolution of the poverty and the housing crisis facing the area. The leadership structure of communities facing crisis situations plays an important role in worsening the situation or closing the gaps and addressing the crisis situation (Elliott & Kaufman, 2003). The area is known, since its history as the residential neighborhood for the poorest and the homeless. However, the formation of the Skid Row housing trust in 1989 set to address the problem of homelessness, through the development and the refurbishment of housing facilities. During the years between 1950 and 2000, the redevelopment of residential hotels led to the destruction of the highly affordable housing in Los Angeles, which threatened the areas’ residential community; redevelopment forced thousands of residents into the sidewalks and the city’s shelters. The crisis situation made business leaders and community activists respond to the alarming wash-away of permanent, affo rdable housing; the two groups formed the Skid Row Housing Trust (Skid Row Housing Trust, 2013a). The leadership of the trust pushed for the mobilization of private equity, low income credits, conventional debt and public finance, which helped with the salvage of housing units that were on the verge of being lost. The work of the trust oversaw the transformation and the renovation of decaying hotels into attractive, safe and affordable permanent housing, which offered housing to the homeless and the low-income population (Skid Row Housing Trust, 2013a). The initiative taken by the business leaders and community activists, through their respective leaders demonstrated the outlook of servant Leadership, which is contrary to the traditional leadership outlook of autocratic leaders (Greenleaf, 2002). Servant leadership is evident from the strategies adopted by the leaders, because instead of compelling the residents of the area to live on the streets or struggle to afford the redevelope d housing, they employed the moral power of guaranteeing the availability of affordable housing to the homeless and the poor (Greenleaf, 2002). The strategy offered them the platform to improve their living standards. The success of the leadership outlook of the leaders is evident from t

Mike Daviss Fortress Los Angeles The Militarization of Urban Space Essay

Mike Daviss Fortress Los Angeles The Militarization of Urban Space Summary and Reaction - Essay Example Entire neighborhoods are being sealed-off, pedestrian traffic on predominantly minority-used walkways such has Old Broadway are being "redirected", former public recreation spaces such as parks are being privatized, the list goes on. The author, Mike Davis presents a number of salient points as to where cities such as Los Angeles, where capitalism, wealth, and commodification are the driving force for everything, are heading. Because the poor do not have a huge stake at this capitalistic market, their interests are relegated to the background. The city government has a hand in perpetuating this trend. More importance is given to privatization of space, and funds that are supposed to be allocated for public recreational spaces are being appropriated to private, white-collar redevelopment ventures. Wealthy communities are physically separated from the rest of the city, the perimeters converted to a kind of military "fortress", with its arsenal of high-tech gadgetry and gated enclosures. The private "security" industry is a thriving business, ready to answer to the ubiquitous slogan of "Armed Response". Even the police are being integrated to these grand scheme of securing the city from "unwanted" elements, where their watchful eyes are omnipresent. In addition to this, they control neighborhoods where minorities, Blacks and Latinos dwell. Even residential architects are getting their design inspirations from the military. The creation of these "fortress" cities, with the constant surveillance cameras, the gated walls, private security contractors, ground as well as on-air watchers, advances the progress of the social fragmentation, a polarization that serves to destroy the society's natural hegemony at the cost of the underprivileged. Davis also talks about how this same militaristic tactic is used to lure investors and retailers into opening their establishments in abandoned commercial areas. The concept of "security" taken to the extreme is the key to securing this potentially lucrative market as evinced in the case of the "Panopticon Mall". Highlighting the social barriers even more are the measures being done to rid the streets of the vagrants and "undesirables". These include the installation of outdoor sprinklers and barrel-shaped bus benches to discourage them from sleeping in public areas. Also, public toilets are being lessened, if not completely eradicated, in favor of the "quasi-public restroom" in establishments and offices where the poor and homeless would not be admitted. For the most part, I agree with Davis's opposition to these acts of militarization and abolishment of public space. In the eradication of accessible spaces, the sense of community and social interaction is also annihilated. While it seems that these changes improve the quality of life and the sense of security for the common white-collared worker, this is done at the cost of those who have little purchasing power. Access to supposed public places are dictated by those with the money. This violates the very essence of those areas being "public". This, in a sense, tramples upon our very sense of democracy, one that does not discriminate against race, class, or social stature. This kind of physical segregation underlies the concept that people belonging to different social groups should not interact or mingle. The need of the moneyed class to separate themselves is the root