If you were to ask someone in Fort Worth about the southeast city neighborhood known as Polytechnic Heights you would most likely be told that it is one of the most depressed, high crime, black areas of the city – a place to be avoided. Such a view has been perpetuated by Scott Cummings book "Left Behind in Rosedale" (Westview Press, 1998). The author described Polytechnic Heights, which he called Rosedale, as a depressing example of white flight and urban degeneration, a drug haven with high crime, no sense of community, destructive racist attitudes and high levels of juvenile delinquency. Neighborhood decline began, he says, in the 1960s civil rights era with an influx of middle class blacks that precipitated lower real estate values. When the middle class blacks moved on, lower class minorities took their place. Thus, within 25 years the race and class composition of Polytechnic Heights changed from middle class and almost 100% white to lower class and 80-90% minority, primarily African American. The community was ghettozied, stripped of its physical structure and hovering on the edge of urban blight. It was typical of inner cities with a high proportion of female headed households and most living in poverty. The elderly middle class whites who were reluctant to move or unable to leave for financial reasons were "left behind." They lived in fear and misery, becoming helpless and hopeless targets for vicious criminal assaults, according to Cummings.

Does Cummings description of Polytechnic Heights still hold today? Is the neighborhood in crisis, a victim of racist attitudes and the inability of city officials to manage neighborhood change? Critics note that Cummings did the bulk of his research during the 1980s when the neighborhood was at its worst. So what is the situation today? A drive through the neighborhood reveals small wooden houses, bars on the windows, few restaurants and no fast food places. It is definitely not an affluent area of Fort Worth. The local Carnival grocery store is dingy and slum-like. But there are some changes. For one, it is no longer a high crime area. For another there has been an influx of Hispanic residents. According to the 2000 census, some areas are now more than 60% Hispanic. And for the first time in several years there is evidence of physical restoration. Here and there houses are being repaired and gardens tended. A few businesses are expanding and renovating.

The decision of the local university to stay in Polytechnic Heights has been an important factor in neighborhood regeneration. Founded by the Methodist Church in 1891, Polytechnic College played an important role in the development of Polytechnic Heights. In the late 1800s people moved to the community because of the college. Many residents were associated with the college in one way or another. Over the years the college transformed several times. Currently it is has a co-ed student body and has been renamed Texas Wesleyan University. During the bleakest period of neighborhood decay in the 1980s, the university contemplated relocating to a property in west Fort Worth. University officials were concerned that neighborhood crime would be a deterrent to high student enrollment. There is no evidence that students at Texas Wesleyan were ever endangered, however. Except for petty theft, the University was untouched by the violence, drugs and other crime on its doorsteps. There have been no cases of assault in recent years although students walk back and forth between buildings at night. Some university officials believe that Poly residents recognize the contribution made to the neighborhood and tacitly conspire to protect the University. Others credit the incredible safety to increased security and policing. Still others point to the numbers of Poly young people enrolled at the University. In the end financial considerations and historic nostalgia led to the university's commitment to neighborhood revival.

In recent years several programs have been initiated and encouraged by the University. The "Speak Up" program offers local students who maintain a B average thescholarships and/or loans to they need to attend university. Another program involves the Polytechnic Methodist Church. They plan to establish a center to assist people in the neighborhood in a variety of ways, from providing activities for children to helping the elderly. A third program involves banks located in the area that would also like to stimulate neighborhood improvement on the east side of Fort Worth through home ownership. The Colonial Savings Bank and Mortgage Company is spearheading a program of low interest loans for interested residents.

All these factors taken together – the influx of Hispanic residents, decision by the university to stay in the community, and programs by local institutions including the University – indicate a more optimistic future for the neighborhood than seemed apparent ten years ago.

For the last three years students in Sociology classes at Texas Wesleyan have been studying Polytechnic Heights. Although the objective of the studies was to learn how to do social research and no attempt was made to coordinate the studies, when taken together, they are revealing. Students were free to select subjects and methods of interest to them. Some students went to great effort to select their samples in a statistical manner and produced results that are sophisticated and reliable. Others chose a more qualitative approach, using non-scientifically selected convenience samples and interviews.

This volume is a compilation of the most pertinent of these studies. However polished the research, it would take a single researcher considerable time and effort to compile a similar body of information. Some sociologists (rather snobbishly!) regard only scientifically selected and analyzed samples that allow generalization to the population and make predictions as worthy of serious attention. These sociologists frequently deride reports appearing in media such as Time or Newsweek because of the errors. I, too, have been known to complain about the journalistic way in which statistics are sometimes treated. But I wasn’t long into my sociological career when I realized what a valuable source of information journalistic accounts can be, providing vivid qualitative descriptions and case studies. As Herbert Blumer so eloquently argued, there is a realism to qualitative description. Further, formal sociological analysis, which is laden with currently popular sociological explanations and theoretical perspectives, and is frequently outside the scope of general readers.

Many of the studies presented here are both descriptive or exploratory, hence the results are not generalizable to a larger population. Nor can they be used to make predictions. Rather the studies can be likened to a series of photographs which give the reader real life images. Photographs can be an important means of conveying information, as former Washington, D.C. Mayor Berry found out when pictures of him in a hotel room were released several years ago. The pictures told us nothing about other mayors, but a great deal about Berry! One must take care not to overgeneralize. Readers should not take non-scientific results as characteristic of all of Polytechnic Heights.

Information is the justification for this project. Not only officials at Texas Wesleyan, but city officials, Polytechnic Heights residents, Texas Wesleyan students and alumni and other residents of Fort Worth are interested in the changes of this neighborhood. This is not a final product, but rather a beginning. It is hoped that this volume will stimulate further research and discussion. This is truly an area worthy of research – from social conditions to social policy, from crime to self-image, from educational influences to moral atmospheres, from racial factors to socioeconomic factors.

We begin our snapshot examination of Polytechnic Heights with a look at the history of the area and the formation of the university. Quentin McGown, our local historian, provides a birds-eye view of the past. This is followed by an interview with four grand old ladies of Polytechnic Heights. All lived in the neighborhood in the 1930s. Two of the ladies came from a family that originally homesteaded the land on which the community and the school is located. The four friends discuss changes to the community, the threat of gangs and crime, and why they didn’t leave with delightful and revealing insight. Naren Jackson came to Polytechnic Heights in the 1940s as a youthful resident of the Masonic Home. He reminisces about the past and explains his desire to help rejuvenate the area. Those unfamiliar with the neighborhood’s past can look through his eyes to see the neighborhood as it was in its glory. Shanna Hollis, a student, studied the housing situation and the problems some residents face.

Lower income neighborhoods often receive inadequate government services. Jan Nichols studied the condition of the roads in Polytechnic Heights. She discovered that the "squeaky wheel" syndrome and favoritism combine to give Polytechnic Heights more streets in need of repair. Yet she found fewer Poly residents who had complained to the city than residents in the TCU area. Nichols study points to the complex issues involved in providing city services.

For an area to prosper, businesses need to be encouraged. Teri Houston-Martin looked at factors of concern to business owners, both those located in the area and those who are potential local entrepreneurs. Safety and crime prevention is a major issue on the mind of all the business owners she interviewed, but so is infrastructure – availability of utilities and adequate buildings.

Scott Jones talked with area residents about crime. The people he spoke with recognize their role in reducing crime. His respondents believe crime has declined in recent years and, somewhat surprisingly, most do not feel unsafe in the neighborhood. The majority of those who were victim of crime were males.

Several students studied the people of Polytechnic Heights. John Kowalak, a local grocer as well as Wesleyan student, noted the foods purchased by local residents. To his surprise, it was not those with less education or those on welfare who made less healthy purchases. Carolyn McDaniel also studied nutrition; she focused on the elderly. Her investigation reveals that the majority of elderly are no longer white.

Carrie Pricer and Jennifer Riddlesperger look at incidents of abuse in Poly and compare it to other areas of Fort Worth. Abuse happens in every strata, but those with less income face more stressful situations and are especially susceptible to this type of family problem. These two studies encourage greater local community awareness of this issue. Edna Roberts and Deborah Jackson look at the issue of teenage pregnancy and one of the solutions to the phenomenon of unwanted youth - adoption.

The family is an important factor in the stability of a neighborhood, as revealed in the study of Lea Ann Weddel. Her interviews with local prostitutes revealed that many were abused and most came from unhappy homes. Temple Pate studied the homeless, who for one reason or another have no place of their own to sleep. She was surprised to find that these unfortunate individuals are not so far from our own situation as we might think. One homeless father she interviewed was a city employee.

Education is an important factor in rejuvenation of the neighborhood. Deborah Jackson discusses some of the problems that minority students face in education. Interviews of high school students in Polytechnic Heights by Teddy Jacobs revealed that those who do well academically are shy about acknowledging their accomplishments, whereas those who are failing seem proud of the fact. Kayla Thomas interviewed some homeless to find out why they did not finish high school.

Texas Wesleyan is an integral part of the neighborhood, and this volume would not be complete without some studies of the university life. Texas Wesleyan has a high proportion of non-traditional and minority students. Susan Robertson compared the academic achievement of traditional students with the non-traditional students who attend classes in the evening or on the weekend. As she expected, non-traditional students are more serious, have better attendance records and a higher GPA.

Almost every semester students study drinking on campus. The two studies included here indicate that there are heavy drinkers at Texas Wesleyan, and that a surprising number have been involved in alcohol related problem behavior. Lisa Orlando looked at why students decide to leave Texas Wesleyan. She found that students who stay are more involved in campus activities and have better relationships with faculty. School type and financial aid were important factors in initially choosing Texas Wesleyan.

Some parents are hesitant to send students to Texas Wesleyan because the reputation of Polytechnic Heights as a high crime area. Daniel Gonzales compared incidence of crime on the Texas Wesleyan campus and other universities in the area. Despite its location, there was no appreciable difference in the incidence of crime.

Finally, LaBrent Nealy talked with local residents about Texas Wesleyan. Although everyone that he talked with knew about Texas Wesleyan, not everyone has visited the campus. Several of his respondents had criticisms of the University, although most are supportive.

A former Texas Wesleyan President coined the term New Urban University. He may or may not have been aware of the body of social research in this area. It is one of the signs of our time that we have inner cities that were once thriving and respectable and subsequently were overtaken by crime, drugs and violence. For many, inner cities are to be avoided. They are places where the unfortunate minorities live, and where all who can leave.

Some of that applies to Polytechnic Heights. But as the reader will see, the despair and hopelessness often found in inner city areas is not necessarily characteristic of residents in southeast Fort Worth. In the early 1900s changes in the city of Chicago became a laboratory for sociologists in that city. Polytechnic Heights is a ready made social laboratory for students and others at Texas Wesleyan. This book only scratches the surface.

Thanks go to all those who helped in putting this volume together, and all those who encouraged the project. Quentin McGown with his interest in the history of Texas Wesleyan, provided inspiration and support throughout. Sara Hooser provided invaluable help in contacting local government and organization officials. Florence Towe and Connie Hilliard each read through the manuscript and provided valuable editorial comments. Naren Jackson has been a major participant in any efforts to revitalize the area, including this project.