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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.”
The Latest
Federal Grant Rule Change Threatens Community Access to Public Funds
A proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget would facilitate political interference in federal grant disbursements across all agencies. The deadline for public comment is July 13.
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Mel Watt, Get to Work!
Monday marked a big victory for housing advocates as Rep. Mel Watt was sworn in to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He replaces Edward DeMarco, who many housing advocates […]
The Quest to Create Standards for Affordable Homeownership
Stakeholder engagement is the heart of any successful community development effort. If you’ve ever worked for a community organization or been involved in a community project, you’ve probably spent a […]
The Push for Public School
Confusion, ambivalence and anger all seem to accompany many discussions of public education. High stakes testing, positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS) , wrap around services, isolation rooms, and common core […]
A Year of Progress….Let’s Not Screw it Up!
There was major action on the home opportunity front this past year, the result of persistent activism by advocates, joined by millions of everyday Americans. The gains set the stage […]
Cause of Death: Rural Life?
Every once in a while I read that the federal government has come up with some new definitions for “rural,” and “urban.” Along with these attempts at statistical exactness come […]
Titling Homes as Homes: A Novel Idea
I wrote in June that housing advocates should look to today's manufactured home as a tool to meet affordable housing demand. After all, it is less costly than many other […]
Is “Creating Community” Still the End Goal of Community Development?
This is the final part of my series on community organizing and community development. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2. Beyond Traditional Outcomes I just argued that more […]
Take Note: Berlin Thrives with a Declining Population and Housing Surplus
A few months ago I wrote a piece for Shelterforce and a related piece for Rooflines on Mumbai. There I argued that our ideas and practices about housing and community […]
CDCs: You Don’t Have to Develop Real Estate to Be a Success
This is part two of my post on community development and community organizing. In my first post, I argued that community development corporations needed to revitalize their relationship to community […]
U.S. Catholic Funders: Resist Calls to Abandon Social Justice
In the last few years community organizers have learned it’s in their self-interest to become astute Vatican watchers. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) which is run by the US Conference […]
CDFIs: A New Force in Homeownership?
It has been a big year for community development financial institutions (CDFIs), the innovative, mission-driven organizations that provide much-needed financial services in underserved, low- and moderate-income communities across the United […]
Can Organizing Resuscitate Community Development?
There has been a lot written about the uncertain future of community development and the way forward for community development to survive—about capital flows, about the need for scale, for […]