The Community Development Reader
The Community Development Reader is the first comprehensive reader in the past thirty years that brings together practice, theory and critique concerning communities as sites of social change. With chapters written by some of the leading scholars and practitioners in the field, the book presents a diverse set of perspectives on community development. These selections inform the reader about established and emerging community development institutions and practices as well as the main debates in the field. The second edition is significantly updated and expanded to include a section on globalization as well as new chapters on the foreclosure crisis, and emerging forms of community .
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
James DeFilippis is an Associate Professor in the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He is the author of Unmaking Goliath: Community Control in the Face of Global Capital, and co-author (with Robert Fisher and Eric Shragge) of Contesting Community: The Limits and Potential of Local Organizing.
Susan Saegert is Professor of Environmental Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center, where she was also the first director of the Center for the Study of Women and Society. Dr. Saegert has published five books including Social Capital in Poor Communities with Phil Thompson and Mark Warren (Russell Sage, 2001), and From Abandonment to Hope: Community Households in Harlem, with Jackie Leavitt (Columbia University Press, 1990).
"This updated anthology is a welcome addition for those who teach community development. It is a thorough and comprehensive treatment of the field that covers questions of practice and theory. A new section on globalization and contributions on sustainability make it the best single source for students of community development."
--Edward G. Goetz, Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
"Community development practitioners like me learn largely from our successes and failures at the most granular street level, as well as dialogue with colleagues and policy makers. The Community Development Reader provides a multitude of insightful and up to date chapters on community development strategies and institutions as well as critical examination of the challenges we face. I found the chapters on food systems and environmental sustainability particularly relevant to our current initiatives."
--Nancy Biberman, President, Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco)
"I rely on The Community Development Reader as a unique book that is unparalleled. No other book examines the concept of communities and develops the theme into a rich and powerful examination of the city as a complex array of processes. While it is an edited volume, The CDR reads like a single-authored work, as it seamlessly incorporates significant essays from leading scholars."
--Immanuel Ness, Political Science, Brooklyn College
"The book is fascinating: the writings are well organized, the concepts are easy to understand, and the stories are very appropriate for my students. It covers a wide arrange of topics in community development practices, including a variety of dimensions of community development, from fund-raising, to organization management, to involving the community. The topics give our students a lot to discuss and debate about - great for critical thinking."
--Jia Lu, Architecture and Planning, Catholic University
