Organizing for Community Controlled Development: Renewing Civil Society - Softcover

"This book is both important and timely. Written by practitioners who are also academics, the book combines solid research, observation and practical experience that speak forcefully to the need for both local place-based development and greater citizen involvement. The examples they give of successful local efforts to renew neighborhoods demonstrate that change is possible and that resources are available for such purposes. Patricia W. Murphy and James V. Cunningham have provided a roadmap for rebuilding many of our communities and for strengthening the foundations of our democracy."

"Cunningham and Murphy have made a unique contribution to our understanding of economic development at the community level. For practitioners, students, and academicians, no other book connects the practical aspects of building an economic foundation and weaving the social fabric with such an inspiring sense of purpose. This is a work that is not only rigorous and useful, but is fun to read. Anyone who has ever tried to revive a blighted neighborhood will want to read this book."

"The authors lay out a compelling vision and a comprehensive organizing strategy for revitalizing local communities. Packed with rich case examples, this book presents a model for neighborhood planning and includes cutting-edge ideas for drawing on a community's strengths, assets and resources. This community-driven approach offers new hope for addressing problems stemming from America's growing racial divide, public indifference, the broken social contract, and economic disinvestment in low and moderate income communities. This is a must-read for community organizers, urban planners, public officials, economic developers, and neighborhood activists."

"In this book, two veteran organizers propose putting community organizing back at the heart of neighborhood development. Murphy and Cunningham see Americans living in an almost endless number and variety of such places (they estimate there are 60,000 small communities) and lay out the components that any one of these might use to fashion its own tailor-made community organizing effort. It’s a bold, comprehensive scheme worth careful reading by all in the field."

“It is a worthy book, with probably the best collection of resources anywhere for those trying to combine organizing and development.”

Organizing for Community Controlled Development is about renewing and revitalizing local living places through shared grassroots work focused on stimulating racial unity, civic vigor, and economic fairness. It proposes a detailed model for understanding the communities we call home and for guiding residents and their allies to strengthen local assets, reduce distress, and make and control needed social, political, and economic plans for change. This book's coast-to-coast and beyond set of down-to-earth case studies aims at helping readers understand what are effective and what are ineffective methods for tackling renewal.

Key Features

• Cases and their assessments: These offer ways that small communities across the globe today can honor diversity and civic responsibility and build programs that promote and facilitate year-around participation, while maintaining fruitful links to the governments, businesses, foundations and other institutions that can provide essential resources for change
• "How to" chapters: These chapters contain detailed, tested techniques for recruiting, planning, fundraising, communicating, leadership growth, and other skills and processes that are part of the book's model which combines community organizing and community economic development.
• Suggestions on how and why authentic renewal groups can lay claim to resources adequate to carry out quality programs and projects with lasting impact: Throughout, the authors propose how organizing, planning, and implementation activities can be carried out with widespread inclusion of residents and other parties of interest, thereby insuring authenticity, ownership and support.
• Technical chapters on making a long-range plan for a renewal organization: Making a plan for a small community and all its interests is covered from building social strength, securing adequate resources, building a community's financial assets, and creating affordable housing, to transforming a local shopping area, and boosting workforce development.

Intended Audience: The book was written for students who aspire to work as community organizers, and all those who practice organizing and community development whether as volunteers or professionals.