Name_________________________________________________Date________________________________________ Assignment 4 - Urban Development Essay *Due on Chalk and Wire December 2* Select a city or town, and two different years. In an essay of 750-1000 words, compare that city or town between those two years to address how and why that place has developed in the way it has. · Has that place grown or diminished? In terms of space, population, economic activity? · Have the demographics of that place changed over time? · What factors influenced this growth or demographic shift? · How has that place worked with its natural environment and situation differently over time? · What industries, opportunities, or geographic features (such as accessibility) influenced the development of that place? · How has that place attempted to overcome or reshape its natural environment differently over time? · How have the lives of average people living in that place changed as a result of the development of that place? Your assignment will be assessed based on the following rubric. Rubric Research _____/6 1-2 The essay does not effectively integrate or cite its sources Little or no context is provided for the sources 3-4 The essay either effectively integrates or cites its sources, but not both Limited context is provided for the sources 5-6 The essay effectively integrates and cites its sources Effective context is provided for the sources Writing Mechanics _____/4 1 There are frequent errors in spelling or grammar which interfere with understanding 2 There are many errors in spelling or grammar which interfere with understanding at times 3 There are few errors in spelling or grammar, the writing is easily understood 4 There are no errors in spelling and grammar, the writing is clear and well-constructed Content _____/10 1-2 The essay is poorly organized The essay contains little or no analysis 3-4 There is an attempt to organize the essay There is some limited analysis, but the essay is primarily descriptive 5-6 The essay is generally clear and organized, although there is some repetition The essay includes analysis but this is not sustained throughout 7-8 The essay is generally clear and organized, and free of repetition The essay contains analysis, although it may not be fully developed 9-10 The essay is clear and coherent The essay contains well-developed analysis _____/20 1. According to Systems of software researched and give two suggestions about how to use software to manage NEU’S affinity group. 2.500 words in length Introduction and Background a.       OIDI description and overview of Northeastern’s affinity groups The office of Institutional diversity & Inclusion (OIDI) at the Northeastern University is responsible for managing faculty and staff affinity groups which they refer to as employee resource groups or ERGs.The OIDI office aims at promoting equal opportunity, affirmative action, diversity and social justice while building a cl ...

1. Name________________________________________________
_Date________________________________________
Assignment 4 - Urban Development Essay
*Due on Chalk and Wire December 2*
Select a city or town, and two different years. In an essay of
750-1000 words, compare that city or town between those two
years to address how and why that place has developed in the
way it has.
· Has that place grown or diminished? In terms of space,
population, economic activity?
· Have the demographics of that place changed over time?
· What factors influenced this growth or demographic shift?
· How has that place worked with its natural environment and
situation differently over time?
· What industries, opportunities, or geographic features (such as
accessibility) influenced the development of that place?
· How has that place attempted to overcome or reshape its
natural environment differently over time?
· How have the lives of average people living in that place
changed as a result of the development of that place?
Your assignment will be assessed based on the following rubric.
Rubric
Research _____/6
1-2
The essay does not effectively integrate or cite its sources
Little or no context is provided for the sources
3-4

2. The essay either effectively integrates or cites its sources, but
not both
Limited context is provided for the sources
5-6
The essay effectively integrates and cites its sources
Effective context is provided for the sources
Writing Mechanics _____/4
1
There are frequent errors in spelling or grammar which interfere
with understanding
2
There are many errors in spelling or grammar which interfere
with understanding at times
3
There are few errors in spelling or grammar, the writing is
easily understood
4
There are no errors in spelling and grammar, the writing is clear
and well-constructed
Content _____/10
1-2
The essay is poorly organized
The essay contains little or no analysis
3-4
There is an attempt to organize the essay
There is some limited analysis, but the essay is primarily
descriptive
5-6

3. The essay is generally clear and organized, although there is
some repetition
The essay includes analysis but this is not sustained throughout
7-8
The essay is generally clear and organized, and free of
repetition
The essay contains analysis, although it may not be fully
developed
9-10
The essay is clear and coherent
The essay contains well-developed analysis
_____/20
1. According to Systems of software researched and give two
suggestions about how to use software to manage NEU’S
affinity group.
2.500 words in length
Introduction and Background
a. OIDI description and overview of Northeastern’s affinity
groups
The office of Institutional diversity & Inclusion (OIDI) at the
Northeastern University is responsible for managing faculty and
staff affinity groups which they refer to as employee resource
groups or ERGs.The OIDI office aims at promoting equal
opportunity, affirmative action, diversity and social justice
while building a climate of inclusion. All this can be achieved
through the utilization of the affinity groups within the
university.
b. Affinity group / ERG background and purpose
The affinity groups at Northeastern University are aimed at

4. providing social engagement, professional development
programs, and networking opportunities for the members. The
university aims at attracting highly accomplished professionals
from different cultures and backgrounds, which will enable the
underrepresented groups to be included. Currently, there are
five affinity groups within the university which are involved in
amazing programs and have outlined various upcoming
programs.
NU DREAM is an affinity group for the faculty and staff of
color and it is designed to encourage personal and professional
growth by increasing interaction, communication and
community awareness amongst faculty and staff of color at the
Northeastern University. The goals of this groups are achieved
through developmental workshops in areas such as networking,
career progression, mentorship and social opportunities. The
word DREAM is an acronym for what is expected of its
members. They are expected to Dream, take Risks, Educate
themselves, Act upon their vision and find a Mentor.
The LGBTQA+ is a faculty and staff affinity group whose goal
is to create a safer space for professional development and
community building among the LGBTQA+. The group aims at
providing personal and professional opportunities that will
encourage faculty and staff within the LGBTQA+ community to
become more fulfilled members of the university community.
The Northeastern University Future Leaders (NUFL) is also a
faculty and staff affinity group which aims at providing a space
for young professionals , future leaders and others in the early
to middle stages of their career trajectories who are seeking to
develop and strengthen their long-term opportunities and impact
across the Northeastern’s global campuses. They provide
mentoring, professional development, networking opportunities
and a sense of community across departments for young
professionals and those that are fairly new to the university.
The Native and indigenous Affinity group aims at bringing
together natives and indigenous members of the faculty, staff
and student body and to provide a platform for them to

5. converse.
NU parents is a faculty and staff affinity group for working
parents. This affinity group is for the faculty and staff who are
parents r expecting parents. There are events for each phase of
parenthood aimed at providing a conducive environment for the
staff to aren’t their children and carry out their work duties.
Team objectives
NU DREAM
· Participants will define professional goals and motivation.
· Participants will identify talents, strengths and skills.
· Participants will strengthen current liabilities.
· Participants will expand their personal and professional
networks.
· To enhance sense of community among staff of color.
NUFL
· Personal and professional development.
· Career advancement.
· Community and social engagement.
NU parents
· Definition of professional goals and motivations by the
participants.
· Participants will identify subgroups based on identities and
affiliations.
· Participants will create leads of committees to fulfill the
goals.
· Participants will expand their personal and professional
networks.
· Participants will strive to enhance a sense of community
among staff and faculty who are working parents.
Project monitoring includes the following aspects:
· Know what problems need to be solved in the process;
· Whether there are new requirements or changes in
requirements;
· Maintain communication with sponsor and get feedback

6. from sponsor timely;
· Collect project measurement data and analyze the data of
monitoring indicators;
· Report project status to sponsor, project team and
supervisor.
Overview of Your Research
Boston College is one of the organizations which is greatly
committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It has
several affinity groups which help the university by supporting
community building, providing visibility and practical support
to the diversity and inclusion efforts. At BC, the recognized
affinity groups receive financial support through a budget which
is determined annually, they have access to a meeting space,
can use the name of the college and other identifications such as
the logo when carrying out approved activities and they have
access to technology including website support. They are also
able to be afforded logistical and other support from the office
for Institutional Diversity and representation on the BC
Diversity Advisory Committee.
a. Systems of software researched.
Provider Name
Web address
Key Features/ focusing area
Customers
Our office
https://www.ouroffice.io/
[email protected]
Measure, benchmark& Improve Diversity & Inclusion
Not explicitly stated
Affirmity
https://www.affirmity.com/diversity/diversity-insights/
[email protected]

7. comprehensive, accurate data, effective tools, and expert data
analysis and reporting
Not stated Explicitly
Pivotal
https://pivotal.io/careers/diversity
[email protected]
Executive Leadership, Data strategy, awareness &
communication,
Operating model,
Clear expectation,
Inclusion education
Grassroot support, employee enablement, recruitment
https://pivotal.io/industries/
Key customers with industry specification
b. Limitations on the research
During the research, I emailed a number of the organizations
but none was able to respond. Therefore, a majority of the
research that I carried out was from the internet.
Budget
Name of Expenditure
Budgeted Amount

8. ($)
Actual Cost
($)
Variance
($)
Notes
1. Expenses related to regularly scheduled meeting (e.g.
refreshments)
2. Amounts contributed to activities co-sponsored with
other groups (one row per activity)
3. Special events or activities (e.g. retreats/events with
paid speakers etc.)(one row per activity)
4. Other activities – please specify (one line per activity)
Total:
This is a sample of the spreadsheet utilized at Boston College to
track expenses. There is more than one affinity group at the

9. college which have different budgets hence making it difficult
to outline a specific budget using the outline. The annual report
is often used to determine the annual budget for the group.
Therefore, failure to submit an annual report makes it
impossible to arrive at an appropriate allocation for the group.
When it is not possible to allocate the appropriate budget, the
group is often required to request for funding and other
resources for events on a case by case basis.
Scope
The end result for this project would be better management of
NEU’s affinity groups. To achieve the end results, there are
several phases which will be undertaken. They include:
· An analysis of the existing way of managing NEU’s
affinity groups. This will help in identifying any shortcomings
and areas that need improvement.
· This will be followed by identifying other organizations
which have affinity groups and have shown a level of success in
their management. An example of this organization is Boston
College.
· An analysis of how this organization manages their
affinity groups will be carried out to determine the reasons for
their success.
· The identified areas will then be incorporated into the
management of the affinity groups at NEU which will help to
improve the way that they are being managed.
Monitoring and Evaluation
To enable monitoring of project of the progress, there will be
reporting which is required at very stage. It would then be
evaluated against the proposal of the project.
The indicator for the objectives would be identification of the
successful management practices being implemented by other
organizations. An indicator for the results would be
implementation of these practices in NEU’s affinity groups
which would subsequently lead to better management of the

10. groups.
Recommendations: add two recommendations about how to
manage NEU’S affinity group. Totally 500 words.
1. Boston College has done a commendable job in managing
their affinity groups. Their approach on annual reporting is
helping the college to keep track of the activities of this group
while providing the much needed finances to plan their events.
The annual report is also used to determine the appropriate
budget to be allocated to the different affinity groups. This
enables accountability and better utilization of the finances
which have been allocated to them.
This is the approach which should be taken by Northeastern
University. The budget should be set depending on the activities
of the group and not a standard one. This way, the affinity
groups will be encouraged to involve themselves more in
activities so that they may be allocated a greater budget. This
approach also enables accountability for the financial resources
which have been allocated to the affinity groups.
2. Each of the members at the affinity groups should have
specific roles. This is very important since it helps in making
the members committed. When members have specific roles, it
will make things easier for the groups since each of the
members has something to bring to the group. That will also
help in ensuring that none of the members will take advantage
of the others. The members are different from each other in one
way or another and that contributes in showing that they all
seem to have different abilities and strengths. Therefore, each
of the members should be assigned to the tasks that they can
perfectly handle. Assigning specific roles to the group members
will also help in ensuring that each of the team members will
feel some sort of responsibility towards that group. That is
because having a role in the group means that the group has
certain expectations from each of the members. Cohesiveness

11. will also be achieved in a situation where the specific roles are
assigned. That is because people are seen to be more cohesive
in their performance in a situation where each of the members
recognizes what is expected of them. As a result, all the group
members will cooperate in achieving the group objectives. In a
situation n where one gets to work on a task that they are
familiar with, it will result to a better performance of the group
since the group members will have the opportunity to share
their information and also have a better engagement between
themselves. Assigning specific roles will also help the affinity
groups manage to come up with solutions that are constructive
for the problems that they might experience along the way.
Assigning specific roles to the team members will be of great
help in ensuring that the objectives for every affinity group are
achieved. Since the entire group members will be working
towards achieving their specific goals, which will then translate
to the overall achievement of the goals that the affinity groups
have set.
3. Northeastern University is an institution that incorporates
different people. The infinity groups, should, therefore put more
focus on creating diversity awareness in the institution. The
groups should have various programs that aim at increasing the
awareness of diversity in the institution. The programs should
be well planned to ensure that they are effective and successful
as well. Increasing awareness regarding diversity is important
for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is that it will help
in identifying the different cultures and the differences that
people in the institution have. That will help in ensuring that
people will get to understand the importance of respecting the
differences in their cultures, ideologies, perspective towards
life, and ethnicity among many other factors. Increased
awareness diversity will also be important since it will be of
great help in ensuring that people in the institution can use their
differences to help each other and also help each other see
things from various perspectives. When people in the school
understand how significant diversity is, they will be motivated

12. to be part of the affinity groups and that will help in increasing
membership in the affinity groups. This recommendation is
important since it will help in ensuring that the students, staff,
parents, and faculty can all come together and work together
with the aim of creating a diverse institution. Diversity in the
institution will also help in creating a perfect environment for
everyone thus ensuring that no one will feel left out in any way.
There are various ways through which the affinity groups can
end up increasing diversity awareness in the institution. One of
them is through frequent communication. The affinity groups
should always be vocal regarding awareness and its importance.
They should urge the members to learn regarding the various
backgrounds for them to have a better understanding of other
people. Increased awareness regarding diversity will make the
affinity groups more significant since they will ensure that the
different groups will get to understand and also value what is
offered by the other cultures. It will also act as a form of
encouragement to the people for them to make some sort of
contribution to their diverse groups. Coming up with programs
aimed at increasing diversity awareness will also help in
acknowledging the fact that the different contributions and
perceptions that result from the different cultures are all valid
and thus they should all be respected. As a result, the affinity
groups will have an easy time achieving their objectives since
they will be working towards a noble cause.
4.
5.

13. Timeframe
Description of Work
Start and End Dates
Phase One
Project plan
October 13
Phase Two
Project draft
November 10
Phase Three
Final project
December 8
Introduction and Background
a. OIDI description and overview of Northeastern’s affinity
groups
The office of Institutional diversity & Inclusion (OIDI) at the
Northeastern University is responsible for managing faculty and
staff affinity groups which they refer to as employee resource
groups or ERGs. The OIDI office aims at promoting equal
opportunity, affirmative action, diversity and social justice
while building a climate of inclusion. All this can be achieved
through the utilization of the affinity groups within the
university.
a. Affinity group / ERG background and purpose
The affinity groups at Northeastern University are aimed at

14. providing social engagement, professional development
programs, and networking opportunities for the members. The
university aims at attracting highly accomplished professionals
from different cultures and backgrounds, which will enable the
underrepresented groups to be included. Currently, there are
five affinity groups within the university which are involved in
amazing programs and have outlined various upcoming
programs.
NU DREAM is an affinity group for the faculty and staff of
color and it is designed to encourage personal and professional
growth by increasing interaction, communication and
community awareness amongst faculty and staff of color at the
Northeastern University. The goals of this groups are achieved
through developmental workshops in areas such as networking,
career progression, mentorship and social opportunities. The
word DREAM is an acronym for what is expected of its
members. They are expected to Dream, take Risks, Educate
themselves, Act upon their vision and find a Mentor. The
LGBTQA+ is a faculty and staff affinity group whose goal is to
create a safer space for professional development and
community building among the LGBTQA+. The group aims at
providing personal and professional opportunities that will
encourage faculty and staff within the LGBTQA+ community to
become more fulfilled members of the university community.
The Northeastern University Future Leaders (NUFL) is also a
faculty and staff affinity group which aims at providing a space
for young professionals , future leaders and others in the early
to middle stages of their career trajectories who are seeking to
develop and strengthen their long-term opportunities and impact
across the Northeastern’s global campuses. They provide
mentoring, professional development, networking opportunities
and a sense of community across departments for the young
professionals and those that are fairly new to the university.
The Native and indigenous Affinity group aims at bringing
together natives and indigenous members of the faculty, staff
and student body and to provide a platform for them to

15. converse. NU parents is a faculty and staff affinity group for
working parents. This affinity group is for the faculty and staff
who are parents r expecting parents. There are events for each
phase of parenthood aimed at providing a conducive
environment for the staff to aren’t their children and carry out
their work duties.
Team objectives
NU DREAM
· Participants will define professional goals and motivation.
· Participants will identify talents, strengths and skills.
· Participants will strengthen current liabilities.
· Participants will expand their personal and professional
networks.
· To enhance sense of community among staff of color.
NUFL
· Personal and professional development.
· Career advancement.
· Community and social engagement.
NU parents
· Definition of professional goals and motivations by the
participants.
· Participants will identify subgroups based on identities and
affiliations.
· Participants will create leads of committees to fulfill the
goals.
· Participants will expand their personal and professional
networks.
· Participants will strive to enhance a sense of community
among staff and faculty who are working parents.
Key stakeholders ()
Project monitoring includes the following aspects: (I can edit by
myself)
· Know what problems need to be solved;
· Whether there are new requirements or changes in

16. requirements;
· Coordinate the relationship between all parties of the project
team, promote the cooperation of the project team;
· Maintain communication with customers and get feedback
from customers timely;
· Collect project measurement data and analyze the data of
monitoring indicators;
· Report project status to customer, project team and supervisor.
Overview of Your Research
Boston College is one of the organization which is greatly
committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It has
several affinity groups which help the university by supporting
community building, providing visibility and practical support
to the diversity and inclusion efforts. At BC, the recognized
affinity groups receive financial support through a budget which
is determined annually, they have access to a meeting space,
can use the name of the college and other identifications such as
the logo when carrying out approved activities and they have
access to technology including website support. They are also
able to be afforded logistical and other support from the office
for Institutional Diversity and representation on the BC
Diversity Advisory Committee.
a. Systems of software researched
Affirmity
From the online search, there was no indication of the
organizations which were utilizing this type of software.
However, it has been shown to provide a wide range of benefits
to its users. They include:
· Reducing administrative burden of ERG management which
saves time and allows the diversity officers to enhance, grow,
and scale ERGs across the organization.
· Helps in connecting employees within the organization with
diversity focused events using the software which is able to
integrate and automate all the processes of the ERGs.

17. · The software supports sophisticated metrics and is able to deal
with real time data which enables the diversity leaders to track
employee resource group activities and measure engagement for
a clear view of ROI.
It has a wide range of features which carry out different
functions
· Event management enables the creation of events by region,
individual ERGs, and group subchapters with integrated
calendars. It’s possible to set group level KIPs which helps in
monitoring participation trends and member growth.
· On demand reporting can be achieved through gaining real
time updates, total data visualization, and actionable workforce
analytics through accessible graphs and efficient reporting
processes.
· Online social collaboration is achieved by encouraging
employee engagement and facilitate D&I conversations with
public or private groups. It is possible to create segment groups
so as to promote employee self-identification and deeper
inclusion.
· Configurable snapshots. Build dashboards unique to each
admin and ERG leader role, and customize employee views
based on group membership.
· Budget and ROI tracking. Prepare financial targets, manage
budget requests and approvals, and track program funds to
measure the holistic business impact on your D&I investments.
· Mobile application. It simplifies the user experience and
employee access to ERG event information.
1. Limitations on the research
During the research, I emailed a number of the organizations
but none was able to respond. Therefore, a majority of the
research that I carried out was from the internet.
Budget
Name of Expenditure

18. Budgeted Amount
($)
Actual Cost
($)
Variance
($)
Notes
1. Expenses related to regularly scheduled meeting (e.g.
refreshments)
0. Amounts contributed to activities co-sponsored with other
groups (one row per activity)
0. Special events or activities (e.g. retreats/events with paid
speakers etc.)(one row per activity)
0. Other activities – please specify (one line per activity)
Total:

19. This is a sample of the spreadsheet utilized at Boston College to
track expenses. There is more than one affinity group at the
college which have different budgets hence making it difficult
to outline a specific budget using the outline. The annual report
is often used to determine the annual budget for the group.
Therefore, failure to submit an annual report makes it
impossible to arrive at an appropriate allocation for the group.
When it is not possible to allocate the appropriate budget, the
group is often required to request for funding and other
resources for events on a case by case basis.
Scope
The end result for this project would be better management of
NEU’s affinity groups. To achieve the end results, there are
several phases which will be undertaken. They include:
· An analysis of the existing way of managing NEU’s affinity
groups. This will help in identifying any shortcomings and areas
that need improvement.
· This will be followed by identifying other organizations which
have affinity groups and have shown a level of success in their
management. An example of this organization is Boston
College.
· An analysis of how this organizations manage their affinity
groups will be carried out to determine the reasons for their
success.
· The identified areas will then be incorporated into the
management of the affinity groups at NEU which will help to
improve the way that they are being managed.
Monitoring and Evaluation
To enable monitoring of project of the progress, there will be
reporting which is required at very stage. It would then be
evaluated against the proposal of the project.
The indicator for the objectives would be identification of the
successful management practices being implemented by other
organizations. An indicator for the results would be
implementation of these practices in NEU’s affinity groups

20. which would subsequently lead to better management of the
groups.
Recommendations:
Boston College has done a commendable job in managing their
affinity groups. Their approach on annual reporting is helping
the college to keep track of the activities of this groups while
providing the much needed finances to plan their events. The
annual report is also used to determine the appropriate budget to
be allocated to the different affinity groups. This enables
accountability and better utilization of the finances which have
been allocated to them.
This is the approach which should be taken by Northeastern
University. The budget should be set depending on the activities
of the group and not a standard one. This way, the affinity
groups will be encouraged to involve themselves more in
activities so that they may be allocated a greater budget. This
approach also enables accountability for the financial resources
which have been allocated to the affinity groups.
Timeframe (I can write by myself)
Description of Work
Start and End Dates
Phase One
…
…
Phase Two
…
…
Phase Three
…
…