AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women ages 18-24. AmeriCorps NCCC members are assigned to one of five regional campuses into teams of approximately ten members and complete 2-3 month projects responding to local communities' needs throughout the United States. To…

Offers theses to encourage search for community in the changing countryside: because of its influence on social well-being, the community is alive; rural areas present special community development advantages/problems; strategies must address sources of rural problems in larger society; rural sociology can specify/measure parameters of rural…

Communities experiencing rapid growth due to energy development have serious and predictable social and human service problems, especially concerning women, the aged, and other minorities. The Wyoming Human Services Project, a model of impact mitigation, might be emulated elsewhere to modify the effects of such growth now and in the future.…

Small western boomtowns typically respond to increased social problems by placing greater demands on existing formal service systems rather than taking advantage of the potential of utilizing informal sources of help as part of a coordinated and comprehensive approach to meeting community needs. (Author/SB)

Citizens' groups in 4 small Mississippi communities banded together to form a water association in anticipation of future development in the area. (JC)

Describes institutional overload and cultural clash as principal forms of disturbances which create problems in the areas of education, community solidarity, health care, social welfare, crime and public safety, and other municipal services. Advises rural planners and developers to focus on objective indicators of these areas, for successful…

Examines rural social trends and implications of current information age for rural development. Predicts rising number of small-scale service organizations, benefiting rural areas. Examines other factors tempering optimism that rural areas can benefit from information age. Recommends investment in rural human capital, information structures, and…

Designed to discover the influence of rapidly increasing commercial recreation on social interaction, this study dealt with the nature and changing significance of community institutions. The study was conducted from 1963 to 1965 in the emerging community of Osage Beach, Missouri, as a basis for the author's doctoral dissertation. Data for the…

The guide introduces a method of identifying problems associated with rapid community growth; outlines several growth management options, and some challenges to be faced when attempting to influence related policy choices; and examines how people being impacted might cope more effectively. Part I, "Growth Impacts Assessment," provides an…

The Center for Community Organization and Area Development prods residents of a tri-state area to understand their problems and then stirs them to come up with solutions. (Editor)

The Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas consists of three counties: Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy. Poverty pervades in the Valley, especially in the colonias ("a poor, rural unincorporated community with 20 or more dwelling units, where home ownership is the rule"). Colonia residents are almost exclusively Mexican Americans.…

This paper summarizes the history of rural communities (moshavim and kibbutzim) in Israel and attempts to rehabilitate those that have experienced difficulties. The first section of the paper outlines the context of these communities, most of which are cooperatives. Before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, most of the communities…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other specified Federal agencies regarding their responsiveness to the problems and needs of small communities. A major objective was to define a "small" community and to determine how its problems and needs differ from those of a…

Growth or development affects a rural community in three separate but interrelated areas: private, social, and public sectors. Private impacts are economic shocks to businesses and citizens of the community. Social impacts affect the community structure as well as individuals within the community, i.e., increased property tax costs may create…