Series II. Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) Project Files, 1956-1966, 1978, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes reports, correspondence, memos, proposals, working papers, notes, drafts, and print matter prepared by the Joint Center and/or CVG staff. Much of the material concerns proposals for an urban development corporation (corporacion de desarrollo urbano) to handle managerial matters for the CVG, the nature of the local municipal government, and the legal research, analyses and draft legislation related to those. The print matter in the series includes the decree establishing the CVG, overviews of the project, and some newsletters and annual reports of the CVG. A substantial number of the documents are in Spanish. The container list provides specific highlights of particular documents in the files.
Arrangement Note
The series is generally organized by document type. The series opens with various reports and papers, followed by correspondence, and closes with files of rough notes and reference material. Two reports related to the CVG are found in Series III, in the Tenants Right folder (Box 5, folder 8-9).
Biographical / Historical
The Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) was founded in 1960 as an agency of the Venezuelan government. Its purpose was the large scale economic development of Venezuela's Guayana region, including the creation of a new city, Santo Tomé de Guayana (now known as Ciudad Guayana), which would serve as the area's industrial center. The region was rich in natural resources, including iron ore and gold, as well as energy sources, notably hydroelectric power, yet was sparsely settled and developed. With the creation of the CVG, a steel mill was started in 1960 and the Guri Dam was begun in 1963 on the Caroni River. A new municipal government was elected in December 1963.
In 1961, the CVG contracted with the Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard for technical advisory and consulting services in all phases of the city and region development work, including economic development, urban design, and public policy requirements. The Joint Center was created in 1959 as a research organization bringing together the academic staff of both MIT and Harvard to address urban issues.
Among the staff hired by the Joint Center to work in Venezuela on the CVG project was a new law school graduate, John Zuccotti. Zuccotti was hired to start in June 1963 with his work concluding in September 1964, with a possible extension to December 1964. Zuccotti worked with the team responsible for preparing an organizational framework for implementing the city's community service program. Specifically, Zuccotti assisted in preparing new by-laws for CVG and a charter for a subsidiary of the corporation to facilitate CVG's goals, drafting a preliminary charter for a housing foundation to administer the housing program, preparing a basic contract for "self-help" housing, and preparing legislation for the new municipal government. In his work with the CVG and Joint Center, Zuccotti was engaged with the core issues that he would be associated with for his rest of his career—land tenure, land use, housing, urban planning, and their connections to economic development.
(The above note was based largely on documents found in the collection.)
Booklets. Joint Center for Urban Studies, 1964?, circa 1978
Scope and Contents Note
Includes two copies of the booklet "Developing Venezuela's Guayana" (1964?), which provides an overview of the project, and a publicity booklet "Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University," which provides an overview of the Center as of circa 1978. Both are in English.
Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG). Print Matter (3 folders), 1963-1964
Scope and Contents Note
Includes booklet Guayana: Cornerstone of the Development of Venezuela (August 1963), which serves as an English language primer on the subject matter of this series. Other print matter, all in Spanish, includes CVG's Informe Anual (annual report) for 1963; the brochure "Antecedents," a "separata" of CVG's Informe Anual; and Revista Santo Tome de Guayana, published by CVG, issues for year II, numbers 2, 3, and 4 (January-August 1964).
"A Report to the Joint Center for Urban Studies...Concerning Some Aspects of the Projected Guayana City", 1962?
Scope and Contents Note
Report by William Alonso of Harvard. Written in English.
"Policies for Land Tenure and Disposal (Including the Question of Plusvalia)", 1962 November
Scope and Contents Note
Report to CVG by William A. Doebele, Jr., Aura Mercedes Garcia-Pike, and Steven Kass. The bulk of the report is in English, but some sections are in Spanish.
"Governing Guayana: Roles and Responsibilities in the Public Management of Santo Tome" (draft), 1963 August
Scope and Contents Note
A CVG Staff Working Paper, prepared by the Summer Study Group in Public Administration. Written in English.
"A Review and Evaluation of the Original March 1962 Hypotheses on Guayana Region Development", 1963 September
Scope and Contents Note
CVG Staff Working Paper. Written in English.
"Physical Development Strategy for Ciudad Guayana" (revised version, draft), 1964 November
Scope and Contents Note
By William Porter of the Division Estudios Planificacion e Investicacion.
Correspondence, 1962, 1962
Scope and Contents Note
Includes "Work Outline for Plan for the Economic Development of the Guayana Region, 1960--70--80--2000" by Alexander Ganz (20 March 1962); notes from James N. Kise to Wilhelm V. von Moltke regarding locational characteristics of industries referred to in a report by George Perazich; notes from an interview with Dr. Moles (in Spanish); memo from Richard M. Soberman to Alexander Ganz concerning transport requirements in the Guayana region; and the Joint Center for Urban Studies job offer and description from William A. Doebele, Jr. to Zuccotti (December 1962).
Correspondence, 1963 (2 folders), 1963
Scope and Contents Note
Includes final arrangements for Zuccotti's employment and responsibilties in Venezuela; an outline for a development strategy for Santo Tome de Guayana by Willo von Moltke; exchanges on legal points between Zuccotti and Dr. Tomas Polanco (some in Spanish); Zuccotti's summary of legal problems in establishing shopping centers; Zuccotti's summary of the project to Ronald Campbell to garner support for an article in Fortune magazine; and memos and notes on creating an Urban Development Corporation as a subsidiary of CVG to perform ongoing managerial tasks.
Correspondence, 1964 (2 folders), 1964
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Zuccotti's analysis for a Corporacion de Desarrollo Urbano (Urban Development Corporation); exchanges between Zuccotti and Robert C. Wood of MIT and Lloyd Rodwin of the Joint Center with details on various program activities, including the creation of a housing foundation and dealing with local municipal governance matters. Some correspondence between Zuccotti and local managers is in Spanish.
Project Notes, circa 1964
Scope and Contents Note
Includes various notes and reference material, most undated. Includes a presupruesto (budget) for the Division de Estudios, Planification e Investigacion, Desarrollo Humano (June 1964) (in Spanish); a working draft of an agreement between the CVG and MIT for continued technical assistance (1964); Zuccotti's summary of a meeting with Bill Doebele concerning Doebele's interview with a real estate operator; a memo on "The Establishment of a 'Technical School' in Venezuela" (in English) and a memo on "Educacion Extracurricular" (in Spanish); a memo from attorney Tomas Polanco concerning the developing city (in Spanish); and various other notes and reference material.
A Statement of the Laws of Venezuela in Matters Affecting Business, 1956
Scope and Contents Note
In English. 2nd edition, revised & enlarged. Written by Luis Loreto and Rene Lepervanche Parparcen. Published by Pan American Union.
Statutes Establishing the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, 1960-1961
Scope and Contents Note
Includes copies of the decree published in Gaceta Oficial de la Republica de Venezuela, the "Reglamento de Organization Interna" for CVG, and other related documents. In Spanish.
Urban Development Corporation Planning (2 folders), 1960-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Includes various documents that appear related to the aim of creating an urban development corporation. Includes a paper "Corporacion de Desarrollo Urbano" written by Zuccotti; a draft in English of a Constituent Document creating the Caroni Housing Foundation; a draft or typescript of a decree in Spanish establishing the Fundacion de la Vivienda del Caroni (FUNVICA); a memo from Aramis Gutierrez to Hector Font concerning the activities in connection with FUNVICA; a draft "Acta Constitutiva y Estatutos de CVG Desarrollo Urbano, C.A. (CODEURRCA)"; the booklet "Administracion Municipal. Segunda Convencion Nacional de Municipalidades. Manual de Organizacion I" (1960), the "Gaceta Municipal del Distrito Federal" for 20 September 1963, and other statutory documents. Most of the documents are in Spanish.
Notes on Interpretations of Legal Authorities, circa 1963-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a "Proposicion de Ley Organica del Regimen Municipal, de Venezuela" (April 1964) and various notes and drafts that appear to be legal analyses and interpretations of Venezuelan law concerning the CVG and the juridic personality of municipalities. Most of the documents are in Spanish.
Reflections on Venezuelan Development (3 folders), circa 1965-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Primarily includes handwritten documents that appear to be reflections in 1966 by Zuccotti on the CVG initiative in Venezuela and an outline by him of a proposed case study about the municipal government of Santo Tome de Guayana. There are also two versions of a draft paper "Legal Issues of Regional Development" by William A. Doebele, Jr. These documents appear to date from Zuccotti's time at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. See those files (Series III), specifically the folder on "Tenants' Rights," for two papers written by the CVG staff: "Planning and Administration of New Towns" (June 1963) and "Recommended Policies for Land Tenure in the City of Santo Tome de Guayana" (September 1963).
Address Book & Business Cards, circa 1963-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among many others, Zuccotti's business card from the Joint Center for Urban Studies.
Miscellaneous Documents, circa 1964-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a list of names with associated gifts perhaps intended for them, a bilingual "Do Not Disturb" sign, and a personal budget.