The Paterson Project was formally known as The Study of Transportation as a Factor in the Lives of Low Income Individuals and Families. It was begun at the suggestion of the State of New Jersey, Department of Community Affairs, Trenton, through the Fairleigh Dickinson University Office of Special Projects. The project was led by Dr. Gene Weltfish, a Fairleigh Dickinson professor of Anthropology. Funding was obtained by a grant from Title I Higher Educational Act of 1965, Public Law 89-329, Community Service and Continuing Education Programs. The project was active in two phases from 1968 to 1973. The purpose of the project was to provide a historical perspective and identity to residents of Paterson encouraging them to invest in their city, and to support the theory that providing better transportation would enable the local population to take advantage of jobs and, social and cultural facilities available in peripheral and suburban areas.
The first section in phase one of the project included a walking tour of Paterson to identify local populations and historical and cultural resources. The product of this field research together with academic research was a public exhibit on the history and identity of Paterson. The second and third sections of the project focused on the contemporary needs of the city's population. They were conducted by two project economists, Istvan B'Racz and M.F. Bishr, in the form of a business survey to reveal information concerning job possibilities and a household survey to discuss the local cost of living. The fourth section of the project defined the low income individuals and families in Paterson so as to understand the conditions needing remediation. This was done by conducting face to face interviews with individuals and families living in neighborhoods identified as poverty stricken. Finally, the last section of the project outlined suggestions for the future as recommended by Anthony S. Maddalena and Charles De Angelis, two prominent New York business men. The resulting reports and surveys from all sections of phase one of the project were published by Dr. Weltfish in 1971 in a report titled "Poverty and Transportation in the City of Paterson: A Study in Mobility, Social and Physical."
Due to the limited effect of the initial Paterson Project public exhibit, there was a second follow-up phase of the project begun in the September 1972 to plan and implement a more successful exhibit. The primary reason for the initial exhibit's lack of influence was limited accessibility, as it was mounted only at the main branch of the library. Therefore the goal of the second exhibit was to find a format that would disseminate historical information about Paterson as widely as possible. The project proposed a film and a medieval pageant play but neither option was carried out due to budgetary and administrative constraints. The final recommendation was to implement a related kindergarten through high school education program in the Paterson Public Schools.
This collection provides documentary evidence of the work proposed and/or executed in the course of the Paterson Project, a Fairleigh Dickinson University led project aimed at identifying the transportation related struggles of low income residents of Paterson, NJ and providing hope and inspiration to those residents through education. Materials in this collection date from 1968 to 1978.
Papers and reports written by participants in the project including Dr. Gene Weltfish, M.F. Bishr, Dr. Edward M. Keenan, Lenore M. Rennenkampf, Istvan B'Racz, Janet Bonyhard, Barry Franklin, and H. Flaxman.
Maps, newspaper clippings, brochures, programs, and newsletters created during the course of the project or containing supporting information.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in the Paterson Project Collection may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
Paterson Project Collection. North Jersey History Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Processed by Anne Trepcos, Summer 2006