This article argues for a citizen social science methodology in which residents from the sites of inquiry play a central role in key activities of the research process and beyond: research design and data collection, presentation and publication of findings, and design and implementation of urban interventions that address challenges to quality of…

Cites the rush to administrative decentralization and community participation. Suggests that controversy arises when school critics want to move to community control, a concept that has not yet accomplished what advocates claim for it. (JF)

Describes a personal experience in the effort to avoid widespread herbicide spraying. Provides insights for building a successful campaign: involvement, finding support, acceptance of differences of opinion, autonomy from political factions, and not assuming people are closed to healthier alternatives. (MCO)

Describes the establishment and results of a study committee asked to review existing pesticide policy, vegetation management programs and provide improvement recommendations in Thurston County, Washington. (MCO)

This article provides a brief account of a pilot project designed to enhance the Black community's involvement in the legislative process through a series of community meetings. The specific needs and concerns of the community participants are outlined. (Author)

Community activities of Black, former student activists, and nonactivists who attended college during the 1960s were investigated in a longitudinal study conducted in 1969 and 1978. Community involvement among both groups was similar. Although the sample size is small, this is the only study where the data was obtained while subjects were still…

Citizen involvement in the public decision-making process can be facilitated if appropriate forms and functions of involvement are used. The issue cycle, which can help public officials to ensure that citizens have constructive and timely input into the decision-making process, involves awareness of some condition in the community; community…

The role of the public has generally been dismissed as a significant factor influencing the process of curriculum formation in large urban school districts. This paper presents an indepth case study focusing on the role of the public in curriculum formation in one school district over a 21-year period during portions of the tenure of 3…

This guide is written for teenagers who may be considering becoming active in their communities. It explains ways teens can increase their power and effectiveness in community life and some of the things they will encounter along the way. It begins by emphasizing the importance of community service, illustrating the ways that teens already may be…

Architecture as social action is discussed with the challenge being to find ways to make skills sensitive and responsive to local contexts and permit architecture to assume its appropriate form. Some techniques discussed are: storefront offices, architectural clinics, planning councils, mapping and gaming. (MLW)

This paper reports on the progress of eight Chicago-based community initiatives designed to redefine social services and broaden social responsibility for the development of children and families. The paper has three sections describing: (1) general background on the children, youth, and families initiative; (2) early lessons from an initiative in…

A model and supportive materials are presented for design and implementation of a program for involving citizens in decision-making concerning significant environmental issues. Chapter topics include: why citizen involvement? (potential benefits of the process); theoretical basis for citizen involvement (three fundamental perspectives underlying…

This study examines, by adaptation of the Likert-type scale, the attitudes of a random sample of Bayfield citizens toward a new national park comprising 20 of the Apostle Islands and 42,000 acres of Lake Superior shoreline in northern Wisconsin, and its possible impact on the community. With the use of correlation analysis and regression…

The 1977 Assembly focused on community forums, planned events providing an opportunity for broad participation and informed discussion of current issues of concern to local citizens. The background papers and recommendations of the Assembly are included in this report. "Why the Community College Should Be the Institutional Base," by…

Two longitudinal field studies of the process of information dissemination through newspapers were conducted on two different public affairs topics (regional planning and routing of a high voltage power line) in four communities to examine the role of newspapers in increasing levels of conflict and in creating greater levels of awareness and…