INTRODUCTION
The Department of Geography, The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Schreyer Honors College, the Office of Educational Equity, the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office of Outreach have joined together to offer this undergraduate public scholarship and service-learning opportunity for all undergraduates.
AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO URBAN POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES
The project is to build an interdisciplinary research initiative on urban poverty in the United States, using Philadelphia as a case study for field work. The conventional approach defines poverty as an "economic" problem that can be corrected through more jobs and higher incomes; however, history shows that such "solutions" have offered little help to the long-term resolution of the problem. Instead of asking why households do not make more income, suppose we ask the substantive question of why poor households have problems with adequate nutrition, housing, transport, health care, and so on. The answers we get to these questions are different from those that use the conventional approach. Consider health care and commuting costs as examples: health care costs can be reduced through preventive measures such as regular check-ups, diet, nutrition, and exercise. And commuting costs depend on the geographical distribution of residences and jobs, available modes of transport, insurance rates. Finding ways to reduce transport costs of inner city residents, of course, is another way of increasing their "effective" income. We can do this by studying transport patterns in great detail in the Philadelphia "space economy" and helping to initiate an action program based on such research.
Working with Penn State undergraduates in specialized fields, we will extend the logic of this analysis to issues of food, housing, energy, and small business development. Instead of focusing on income and poverty, we will take an interdisciplinary substantive approach by asking why specific people in particular places spend what they do on meeting basic needs in the hope of finding less expensive, technically more benign, and ecologically less destructive ways of satisfying those needs. The university has the capacity to develop a new discourse that could re-valorize the inner city by focusing on urban gardening, urban architecture, rebuilding homes with local effort, alternative modes of transport, "telecommuting" instead of physical commuting, creative ways of making safe neighborhoods, and so on. We wish to draw on the disciplinary expertise of undergraduates to build such a program of research, learning, and service at The Pennsylvania State University. The program is designed not only to change communities but also change student's perception of themselves by empowering them to recognize the value of their skills in making the world a better place for all to live in.
PARTICIPATION
Sine the project started in 1998 ten groups of students have participated in the project in the last ten years. We invited those participating from the Schreyer College to write their honors theses on topics related to the Philadelphia project. We have in the past selected about eight students in their junior or sophomore year and worked with each of them until their projects are done. In the spring you are expected to enroll in a one-credit seminar on "Urban Issues." In the summer the selected students will spend a four-week period in residence in West Philadelphia. The four-week session usually runs from May 11 to June 11. In the fall there is a one-credit writing-intensive follow-up course that will report on the summer experience. Despite the sponsorship provided by the Geography Department, the idea is that each student will continue to work closely with project (or thesis) advisors from their respective departments. It is also our hope that the projects will reflect the substantive knowledge of the subjects in which the students are majoring.
The one credit meeting in the Spring of 2009 will consist of the following activities: a weekend field trip to Philadelphia in the last weekend of March, four informal evening class meetings of an hour each (dates to be announced), and a set of on-line readings of about 15 articles.
ADVANTAGES TO STUDENTS
1. Training in the practical application of statistical methods and census data.
2. An opportunity to participate in a community field experience, facilitating their entry into job markets immediately upon graduation.
3. A formal structure to pace the research and writing of their theses.
4. An opportunity to publish a paper in a professional interdisciplinary journal.
5. A learning community of students from a variety of disciplines.
6. An opportunity to combine learning with community service and to engage in social change by using their academic skills.
7. An opportunity to live and work in a safe inner city community.
REQUIREMENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROJECT
All members of the group will be required to take GEOG 493, "Philadelphia Field Project," for a minimum of one credit each in the spring, summer, and fall of 2008/2009. Please contact the office of the Dept of Geography to register for credit. 302 Walker Building. Tele: 865-3433
COSTS
1. Tuition for 3 credits of GEOG 493 can be spread through the year
2. A stipend for food for thirty days will be given by the program
3. Miscellaneous research costs
Lodging in Philadelphia and transportation to and from Philadelphia will be provided by the program.
SCHREYER HONORS THESIS
In the past several participants have used the research in Philadelphia for writing their honors thesis
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lakshman Yapa <www.geog.psu.edu/yapa>
Department of Geography
Penn State University
865-1187 or 865-3433
lxy3@psu.edu
