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Community Development Field
Shelterforce considers “community development” to be an extremely broad term. But there are still many conversations about the ways in which that broad work happens. Comprehensively or in coalitions of specialized organizations? Locally or regionally? Place or people? While the answers to all of these are usually “both,” there are many conversations to be had about “how.”
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Unsupported Housing: When Stability Isn’t Enough
As the country’s mental health, substance use, homelessness, and affordability crises collide, traditional affordable housing providers say they’re being pushed to fill the gaps left by underfunded supportive systems—without the money, staff, or resources to do so.
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Did the Comprehensive Community Initiatives of the 1990s, early 2000s Bring About Change?
Once a must-have for foundations, Comprehensive Community Initiatives found mixed success.
Looking Back: Democratic Philanthropy, Newark on the Rise, the Surplus Land Campaign, and More
In this first installment of updates to Shelterforce articles of old, we find that market dynamics are different in many places we’ve written about, but many of the organizations fighting the good fight are continuing to do so, even in changed times.
How Have Things Changed? We Look Back at Our Past Coverage
Did promising or ambitious initiatives pan out? Did trends that seemed to be going strong stay on course? We revisit our past coverage and ask, “Whatever happened to that?”
Lessons to Guide Future Equitable Development Planning
How did recent equitable development projects in Baton Rouge, Dallas, and South Florida fare?
Paying Community Members for Their Time
Community development organizations are recognizing that community expertise is valuable and that residents should be compensated for it.
Community Engagement Can’t Be a Checklist
Are we engaging communities meaningfully, or are we just checking off boxes?
Community Fridges Provide Vital and Visible Relief in the War on Hunger
While understandably and undeniably inefficient compared to larger-scale interventions, community fridges are new approach to a persistent problem may have broader implications for the ways we deliver services and how we envision our role in the community.
During the Pandemic, Community Development Organizations Prioritize Relief and Assistance Work
While rent relief might not be their mission, organizations are focusing on the immediate needs of residents. But with all of their staff and monetary resources being used to plug holes, some organizations believe they’re a few months or another crisis away from financial disaster.
Can We Curb Crime by Cleaning the Corner?
As communities discuss reeling in their police departments, Flint, Michigan and Binghamton, New York have turned to another tool to reduce crime.
Is the Pandemic Improving Affordable Housing Asset Management?
Resident services has long been the first to be cut in hard times—but for some housing providers that may be changing.
Let’s Re-Place the Health Opportunity Maps
The way we map health opportunity has serious flaws. How can we make those maps more reflective of communities’ lived experiences?
A Bolder Future for Housing Justice: ‘These Times Call for Radical Actions’
Housing advocates working at the local, state, and national levels discuss new research and policy recommendations for advancing housing justice.