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THE BORDER COLONIAS REGION: CHALLENGES AND
INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
(c) Housing Assistance Council, 1998 ISBN 1-58064-084-2 Permission is granted ONLY to nonprofit community-based organizations to reproduce and/or adapt this document, and only for their own use. This report focuses on documenting some of the different approaches to improving housing and infrastructure conditions in the colonias. Rather than chronicle every initiative undertaken in the colonias, this study highlights those with innovative approaches and possibilities for replication. The research for this study was completed in summer 1996. Information gathered and data reported are reflective of this date. We acknowledge that several new reports and information sources have probably become available since then. In order to identify suitable initiatives for the purposes of this study, HAC conducted extensive background research. A review of existing literature on the colonias was combined with informal preliminary interviews of a number of local and national level colonia experts. This enabled HAC to obtain information on a broad range of initiatives underway in the colonias, while focusing on projects that address housing and infrastructure problems. An information gathering visit to the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Laredo facilitated this task and helped establish contact with some of the key players in the area. HAC also attended a hearing on the colonias convened by the Texas Senate Committee on International Relations, Trade and Technology on January 30, 1996, in order to develop an understanding of the current political context along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as of the issues that profoundly impact colonia communities. 16 Consequently, HAC was able to ascertain the relevance of the study content and ensure that the report would be useful to the groups that seek to ameliorate conditions in the colonias. For the purposes of this report, HAC concentrated on examining approaches in the states of Texas and New Mexico since these states have been more active in addressing the colonias problems. Special effort was also made to consult other researchers in Texas and New Mexico, particularly HUD-funded researchers, to avoid duplication of effort. At the national level, HAC sought information from:
At the state level, HAC sought information from:
At the local level, HAC sought information from a number of housing and community development organizations, and advocacy groups active in the colonias. These groups included members of the Border Low Income Housing Coalition, Valley Interfaith, the El Paso Community Foundation, Texas Rural Legal Aid, and nonprofit housing developers such as Proyecto Azteca and Azteca Economic Development and Preservation Corporation in Texas and Tierra Del Sol in New Mexico. [For a list of local resources and contacts, see Appendix B.] Information on different approaches to addressing the problems in the colonias was collected under the following categories:
These categories were selected because they are particularly germane to types of problems affecting colonia communities. Based on the background research conducted, HAC identified three initiatives for further study. These initiatives were selected primarily for their innovative approaches in addressing the needs of colonia residents and their potential for replication. In addition, each of these cases represents a collaboration between a variety of key players in the colonias, illustrating different ways in which projects can succeed through the creation of new partnerships. No specific case study was identified under the category "Policy, regulatory and legislative issues." However, these issues, when pertinent, are discussed in each of the other case studies. They are also addressed in the concluding section. These case studies were selected based on criteria which would facilitate the development of similar projects along the U.S.-Mexico border. Each project has been successfully implemented and has produced concrete results that afford valuable lessons to other groups/communities seeking to improve conditions within the colonias. The projects are geographically dispersed, highlighting both the differences inherent in their location, and the commonalities based on their adopted strategies. (Two are located in Texas, while one is located in New Mexico.) The case studies are presented largely from the perspective of the nonprofit groups involved in implementing the strategies described, so that other nonprofit groups could adapt all or some aspect of the initiatives described to their particular target area. Often there is some overlap in the types of activities undertaken in different colonias. For instance, each of the projects described may address the development of housing for colonia residents. This overlap is in part a function of the similarity in the needs of colonia residents all along the border. It should be noted that the initiative described under a particular category, such as creative financing arrangements, is intended to highlight an innovative approach in that category, though the case study may include other aspects as well. Finally, it should also be noted that HUD has played a significant facilitative/financial role in all the cases described. Based on the criteria outlined above, the following projects were selected for conducting detailed case studies:
Once selected, each project was visited by a HAC researcher in order to collect on-site information about the initiative. During the site visit, HAC collected details on the quantitative and qualitative benefits of the project, both to the colonia communities served, and to the local nonprofits involved. HAC researchers conducted interviews with a cross-section of participants involved in the project. Where possible, these interviews were conducted in person. In other instances, telephone interviews supplemented the information collected on site. HAC researchers also collected maps, plans and other documents relevant to the project, and photographed each of the projects. (Photographs are appended to each of the case studies.) In addition to collecting information specific to each of the projects visited, HAC sought responses to the following general questions:
This research about innovative strategies is intended to share stories about the positive experiences local groups have had in tackling the problems in the colonias, in particular with other groups struggling to implement solutions in colonia communities along the border. These case studies form the first step toward identifying successful models that can perhaps be replicated in some form in other colonias with similar needs.
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