Friday, December 4, 2009

Is Community Development Dead?


It seems with the current economic crisis, states and city's budgets, and the foreclosure crisis that community development work would be a top priority. With a long history and past community development corporations (CDC) have been able to make positive and long term changes in all different communities. Yet, today when they are needed most it seems that public and private support no longer agrees.

Noel Nix, an urban planning student at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute, has spent the last several months examining these issues and has compiled a report entitled "Community Development at a Crossroads: CDCs, CCIs, and the Future of an Industry". It is required reading for anyone who has a stake or interest in exploring how to move the work of building healthy neighborhoods forward.

Your thoughts?

1 comment:

Nancy Thompson said...

We at Useful Community Development certainly hope that community development isn't dead! It seems that community development is simply much less focused as an activity than in the "good old days" of the 1970s. We agree that CDCs did much positive work, and quietly continue. Another round of innovation in the branding, mission, and governance of CDCs is needed. Let's just start trying stuff and reporting on the results, America and the world!