Oak Park: An Analysis of the Effects of Bureaucracy on Racial Change
Abstract
In the following text, Oak Park's policies and
practices regarding racial diversity will be explored.
Part II outlines the historical development of racial
diversity in Oak Park. Oak Park's attitude toward
integration is vastly different from that of most Chicago
area communities. Correspondingly, the programs
implemented to promote racial diversity in Oak Park are
unprecedented. There were no pre-written guidelines to
instruct a predominately white community like Oak Park on
the development of successful integration policies and
practices.
Part III analyzes the various methods used in Oak
Park to promote integration. The past performance of these
programs is evaluated along with predictions about their
future effectiveness. In this section, Oak Park is treated
as an exception to the all white to all black
re-segregation pattern that spread throughout the Chicago
area. Government policies and practices are evaluated in
terms of their ability to influence integration within the
community.
In Part IV, the focus of
I, II and III all described
the text is expanded. Parts
Oak Park from a factual
perspective. Part IV uses Oak Park as a case study in a
theoretical discussion of bureaucracy. The structure and
characteristics of bureaucracy are explored to gain an
understanding of how bureaucracy's ability to function can
be limited or enhanced by its structure.