Community clusters allow small towns to combine their efforts to enhance economic development, promote tourism, or share public services. Two successful clusters of communities in Iowa are the Area Community Commonwealth and the North Iowa Rural Area Development. Both clusters participated in Iowa State University's Cooperative Extension Service…

Rural economic development requires local consensus and a coordinated effort by community leaders and the public at large. In 12 rural Georgia counties, the University of Georgia is implementing a Rural Revitalization Initiative (RRI) that emphasizes collaboration of public officials and private individuals across disciplines, professions,…

Through education, substantial gains in village development can be expected if national and local efforts can harness (1) the constructive forces of social, economic, and technological change, (2) individual and group incentives, and (3) applications of the community principle to the problems of the people. (SH)

This booklet contains summaries of workshop presentations at the conference on community development. This conference brought local community officials and leaders together with interested citizens to learn about successful rural community development activities occurring in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Sessions covered four main…

Asset mapping is an effective tool for understanding the wealth of talent and resources that exists in each community--even those with small populations or suffering from poverty and economic distress. The long-term development of a community rests on its ability to uncover and build on the strengths and assets of its people, institutions, and…

This speech examines how people perceive relationships among families, communities, and governments, and how these perceptions influence current family and community policies and programs. It also suggests new ways of understanding the nature of the social world and offers examples of policies and programs that stem from traditional beliefs and…

This manual describes an educational program for helping rural, small community leaders, decision-makers, and residents analyze their communities, think about alternatives, and plan economic development action strategies. The program is an effort to help communities explore short- and long-term development strategies, gain a vision of their…

Suggests strategies for reviving small rural communities. Discusses community development meetings, developing effective leadership, and involving youth and women. Discusses importance of development programs, effective media, good educational systems, and other community institutions. Emphasizes important role of local youth programs, schools,…

Decentralization and budget reduction in the public sector, and globalization and downsizing in the private sector have placed more responsibility on localities to address challenges to the health of their economies, ecosystems, and people. Community development theory and practice are also changing, evidenced by changes in vocabulary. Community…

The Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) is a national program that supports the efforts of community colleges in distressed rural areas to move their people and communities toward prosperity. RCCI's goals are increasing access to education and developing regional economies. RCCI demonstration sites have produced a wealth of information about…

The Duke Endowment's Program for the Rural Carolinas is a 5-year effort to assist the revitalization of rural communities. Guiding principles of the program are that the rural Carolinas matter, this generation of workers matters, effective community development involves the entire community, solutions must be locally determined, healthy…

This paper argues that the goal of community development should be to provide more than material gains such as fast economic growth. The paper provides two case studies from Ethiopia which demonstrate how proper implementation of community development processes and principles might lead to successful attainment of tangible and intangible…

This discussion guide is designed to help people examine the state of work in their community, explore changes, and strategize about what they can do to forge creative solutions and improve the community's worklife. It is especially appropriate for use in a study circle setting. The discussion materials are arranged into four sessions: (1) the…

At the hearing recorded in this document, which was held at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama, testimony and prepared statements were received concerning the role of urban universities in economic and community development, with special attention to other forms of incentives that the Federal Government could be providing to…

Concerned with the role of education in the development of rural areas, this report summarizes some of the major findings of the Australian Education and Local Development (ELD) projects combined with information collected from New Zealand rural areas during 1983. The five major studies contributing to the report are: (1) a case study of the…