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Community Cohesion: Oak Park, Michigan
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Lessons Learned
Many I-696 project elements contributed to successfully preserving community cohesion in
Oak Park. That experience of project managers and the community participants on the I-696
project suggests a number of community-relations practices that would be broadly applicable:
- On the I-696 project, the Orthodox Jewish community provided clear and continuous
leadership during the intense, 2-year negotiations for mitigation measures.
- The Orthodox Coalition provided a single point of communication for presenting problems
to highway planners.
- The community recognized the need to document its uniqueness and expressed that need
to MIDOT, convincing highway officials to conduct an independent sociological analysis of the
community. The analysis documented the community's cohesion and accomplished three critical
objectives:
- It provided highway officials with a clear picture of the Orthodox Jewish customs and
practices in the community.
- It outlined how the highway design and construction would negatively interfere with the
community's customs and impact the fabric of this religious community.
- It provided the evidence that the community needed to present a strong case for revising
the highway design and providing impact mitigation.
- With the social-impact reports as an accepted foundation, highway officials worked with
the Orthodox Coalition to develop a unique set of mitigation measures with specific community
practices in mind, such as limiting I-696 construction. With the reports as an aid, the
Orthodox Jewish community mobilized national Jewish groups to support their cause. Their
knowledge of whom to contact, and when, was critical.
- Although it occurred late in the process, the development of the ombudsman position was
critical for the remainder of the project design and construction, as it helped ensure that
the agreed mitigation measures were implemented. The MIDOT-appointed ombudsman and the Orthodox
Jewish community-appointed liaison devised quick solutions to problems that arose during the
design and construction of the highway and decks.
- The ombudsman's office was located within the community on the project site to maintain
construction oversight from the community point of view and to provide a visible authority
figure to whom the community could voice their concerns.
References
Abrams, Alan; "Highway Robbery? Oak Park's Orthodox Jewish Community Struggles to Survive
the Coming of the I-696 Expressway"; The Detroit Jewish News; October 26, 1984.
Crump, Constance; "I-696 a Year After Opening: Not All Effects Were Expected"; Crain's
Detroit Business; vol. 6:50; December 10-16, 1990.
Hitsky, Alan; "Location, Location, Location: One of Detroit's Hottest Neighborhoods in One of
the Jewish Community's Older Ones -- Oak Park!"; The Detroit Jewish News; May
27, 1994.
"The Long and Winding Road"; The Detroit Jewish News; December 29, 1989.
Final Environmental Impact/Section 4(f) Statement, Addendum I: I-696, Lasher Road Easterly
to the I-75, Oakland County, Michigan; prepared by the Federal Highway Administration and
Michigan Department of Transportation; Report No. FHWA-MI-810049-FSUP/FHWA-Mich-EIS-72-03-F;
January 1981.
Mehler, Amy; "I-696 Verdict: The Freeway Has Drawn Oak Park and Southfield Jews Closer"; The
Detroit Jewish News; March 8, 1991.
Mehler, Amy; "Oak Park and Southfield Begin Using I-696 Parks"; The Detroit Jewish News;
May 31, 1991.
Perlstadt, Harry, Ph.D., M.P.H.; I-696 Social Impact Study: The Orthodox Jewish Community;
March 1980.
Introduction
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