Community Development Newsletter

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The Topic

Community development refers to issues that affect the political, social, cultural and economic life of specific neighborhoods -- and especially to the efforts of groups based in those neighborhoods to address challenges (e.g. developing housing, improving access to credit, assisting local businesses, creating jobs, maintaining public spaces) and to activate neighborhood residents as participants in local politics.

The Context

Low-income and working class communities in New York City have long faced problems -- from low-paying jobs to low-performing schools, from skyrocketing asthma rates to a lack of affordable housing. These communities often have little political power, but they are frequently the sites of vibrant activism and creativity. Out of the social upheavals of the 1960s came the multi-purpose community development corporations (the first one was in Bedford-Stuyvesant), and new community organizing groups such as ACORN and the Industrial Areas Foundation. More recently, grassroots organizing groups confront issues like police brutality and environmental justice.

If in a diverse megalopolis like New York City, there is something curious about viewing a neighborhood as a free-standing universe, still, because so many New Yorkers consider their community as an essential part of their identity, and because political conflicts tend to play out in specific places, a community is a powerful lens through which to view the city's political and social dynamics.

Reports

Department of Youth and Community Development Losing Sight of Beacon Centers
An audit by Comptroller William Thompson finds that the Department of Youth and Community Development has not maintained adequate oversight and monitoring of Beacon Program contractors to ensure they are providing services and activities to achieve program goals. Beacons are school-based community centers where young people can go when school is not in session. They are operated by community-based organizations and are expected to provide a combination of services and activities consistent with their respective neighborhood needs and interests. (July 3, 2007)

Strengthening Communities Through the Innovative Use of Public Space
The city recently proposed opening 290 city schoolyards to the public during non-school hours. This report, entitled "A Schoolyard in Brooklyn: Strengthening Families and Communities Through the Innovative Use of Public Space" tells the story of the schoolyard at P.S. 503/506 (formerly P.S. 314) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, that became a community plaza with activities for all ages. Now known as Neighborhood Center, it offers an affordable model for reclaiming urban community space and many of the city's poorly used schoolyards and parks. (June 29, 2007)

Rethinking Environmental Review
The Manhattan Institute's report "Rethinking Environmental Review” lays out steps to improve the City Environmental Quality Review process. Environmental review was instituted so that public officials would understand the full environmental implications of a project and could plan for any necessary changes to municipal infrastructure and services. Over time, the report argues, the process has evolved to focus solely on legal disclosure as a kind of "litigation insurance” and needs to be reformed and streamlined. (May 18, 2007)

Economic Impact of Times Square
Times Square generates $55 billion a year for the city's economy - more than the gross domestic product of Bolivia and Panama combined -according to a report by the Times Square Alliance, a privately-funded non-profit dedicated to improving the area. Times Square also contributes $1.1 billion in annual taxes to New York City, more than the budget for the Parks, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Community Development, Aging, and Small Business Services Departments and the public libraries combined. Eighty percent of all tourists visit the Times Square area. (May 8, 2007)

A Thousand Cuts: Workforce Development Funding
A report by the Center for an Urban Future tracks the decline in funding for workforce development, programs designed to help students, jobseekers and workers gain new credentials and skills. The study follows cuts in 28 active funding streams, administered by 11 different agencies within state or federal government. The report (in pdf format) concludes that "New Yorkers do not derive as much value as we could from these investments" because of a lack of attention and coordination of efforts. (March 27, 2007)

Sites for Beginners

Center for Community Change

The New Urban Renewal: Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods

National Housing Institute/Shelterforce Online

Reality TV

The Housing and Community Development KnowledgePlex

Recommended Sites

Inner City Press

City Limits

Books

Suggest Community Development book