This is the first scholarly analysis that examines the development and achievements of the American community development movement. Community development is now a multi-billion industry in the US. Hundreds of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), located in all regions of the country, have successfully forged locally-based strategies that provide affordable housing, foster business development, and provide much needed community facilities, including innumerable charter schools, in highly distressed communities in inner city neighborhoods, rural communities, and also in American Indian areas. In many areas of the US, CDFIs represent a viable alternative to the mainstream banking industry. This volume documents the positive impact the CDFI industry has had in distressed urban and rural areas in the US.

The role of economic development in communities is multi-faceted, having an array of antecedents, impacts, and implications. This volume explores the relationships between economic development and community development, focusing on the aspects that impact communities such as social capital, participation, and business development. It discusses the need for aligning the goals of community betterment more closely with economic improvement and finding ways to enhance leadership and other resources. Including both current contributions and "classics," the evolution of the relationship between’ and roles of, the two kinds of development is explored. The articles in the volume present several theoretical perspectives of development. Most common among them are sustainable economic development and social capital theories. Utilizing these theories and data from various sources, the authors are able to suggest specific development strategies for improving community economic and quality of life outcomes. The volume offers an exploration of directions for future research, including the need for more theoretical and empirical work on the role of amenity development on rural community economic and quality-of- life outcomes. Practitioners of community and economic development, along with researchers and students will find this volume useful and relevant for both theory and application. This book is a compilation of articles published in the Journal of the Community Development Society.

Over the last several decades, academic discourse on racial inequality has focused primarily on political and social issues with significantly less attention on the complex interplay between race and economics. African Americans in the U.S. Economy represents a contribution to recent scholarship that seeks to lessen this imbalance. This book builds upon, and significantly extends, the principles, terminology, and methods of standard economics and black political economy. Influenced by path-breaking studies presented in several scholarly economic journals, this volume is designed to provide a political-economic analysis of the past and present economic status of African Americans. The chapters in this volume represent the work of some of the nation's most distinguished scholars on the various topics presented. The individual chapters cover several well-defined areas, including black employment and unemployment, labor market discrimination, black entrepreneurship, racial economic inequality, urban revitalization, and black economic development. The book is written in a style free of the technical jargon that characterizes most economics textbooks. While the book is methodologically sophisticated, it is accessible to a wide range of students and the general public and will appeal to academicians and practitioners alike.

One of the goals of regional policies is to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in the nation's smaller and more remote communities. Policymakers are becoming increasingly interested in the Community Economic Development approach as a way of achieving this aim. In Entrepreneurship and Community Economic Development Monica Diochon examines the development processes adopted by two rural, single-industry Canadian communities confronting the collapse of their economic bases. She argues that a community's effectiveness in influencing economic development depends on the extent to which entrepreneurship is encouraged and shows that, while a number of factors influence enterprise, economic activities that are community-determined and provide varied opportunities to participate in achieving short-term self-sustaining strategic outcomes are particularly important.

Local Food Systems and Community Economic Development provides scholarly and practical knowledge on a range of issues often associated with local food system development. Many people agree that there are unintended consequences associated with the manner in which our food supply chain has evolved. These concerns range in focus from health, to environment, to economic structure, to social justice. But, for each argument critical of our current food system, there are to be found strong counter-arguments; the popular press is replete with stories that lean toward taking specific sides in these arguments, often demonizing those on the other side. In this volume local food scholars strive to be fair, balanced, and as factual as possible in their arguments. This even-handed approach is appropriate as it should foster more sustainable community change and should lead us toward a stronger foundation for scholarly inquiry and ultimately more respect and credibility for efforts to better understand the phenomenon of local and regional food system development. Amidst a deepening interest in local food systems as a community economic development strategy, Local Food Systems and Community Economic Development will be of great interest to scholars of community development, rural studies, agriculture, food systems, and rural economy. The chapters originally published as a special issue of Community Development.

How do we create employment, grow businesses, and build greater economic resilience in our low-income communities? How do we create economic development for everyone, everywhere – including rural towns, inner-city neighborhoods, aging suburbs, and regions such as Appalachia, American Indian reservations, the Mexican border, and the Mississippi Delta – and not just in elite communities? Economic Development for Everyone collects, organizes, and reviews much of the current research available on creating economic development in low-income communities. Part I offers an overview of the harsh realities facing low-income communities in the US today; their many economic and social challenges; debates on whether to try reviving local economies vs. relocating residents; and current trends in economic development that emphasize high-tech industry and high levels of human capital. Part II organizes the sprawling literature of applied economic development research into a practical framework of five dynamic dimensions: empower your residents: begin with basic education; enhance your community: build on existing assets; encourage your entrepreneurs; diversify your economy; and sustain your development. This book, assembled and presented in a unified framework, will be invaluable for students and new researchers of economic development in low-income communities, and will offer new perspectives for established researchers, professional economic developers and planners, and public officials. Development practitioners and community leaders will also find new ideas and opportunities, along with a broad view on how the many complex parts of economic development interconnect.