Why are many urban universities' relationships with their surrounding communities fraught despite university efforts at community engagement? Relationships between the factors underlying university-driven neighborhood change remain largely unexplored. In this article, I take the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) as a case study and examine the…

In this article, Michael McAfee and Mauricio Torre reflect on the successes and challenges of the Promise Neighborhoods movement as it works toward education equity, and on what it takes to effect large-scale, sustainable change for low-income communities and communities of color. Together they discuss the Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood project…

NIMBYism, the popular and short form for "Not In My Back Yard", describes the resistance and outright opposition by residents, either within a distinct place such as a neighbourhood, or, more broadly, in a larger civic area right up to a town or city level, against some planned nearby facility, service, or changed land use. NIMBYism is also about…

Often in green communities, homeowner understanding is left out of the project. We evaluated the impact of a new environmental education program installed in a green community, Town of Harmony, Florida. Consisting of educational kiosks, website, and brochure, we evaluated whether Harmony residents' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors…

The essays in this collection promote a conception of community development that entails building practical capacities to improve the quality of life among residents of targeted neighborhoods. The causes, consequences, and potential solutions of urban problems that lie both inside and outside neighborhood borders are emphasized. The chapters are:…

Briefly reports observations made of Washington, D. C. neighborhoods, describing how these areas are functional or dysfunctional for children and families. Suggests ways the urban environment can be improved to support community life. (RH)

The effects of such demographic variables as the baby boom and childless marriages on the demand for urban housing are discussed. (RLV)

This article traces the history and development of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. This foundation has been notably successful in preserving neighborhoods for their original inhabitants and now has the first urban renewal program to be based on historic preservation for poor people. (BT)

The influx of middle class individuals and families from the suburbs to the cities is reversing the trend of decay in American cities. Rehabilitation and revitalization are underway in many downtown areas. (RLV)

This article examines an effort to use urban schools to promote the revitalization of a large northeastern city in the United States. In order to attract and retain professional families to a regenerated central city, downtown schools are re-branded and promoted to such families as suitable for their children. The article draws on interviews and…

The potential of the community development corporation (CDC) as a vital component of inner-city development politics is explored and its limitations are outlined. In some neighborhoods, nonprofit CDCs have helped build an alternative social production process and have advanced a new and progressive development regime. (SLD)

This paper examines the attempts to rebuild downtown Detroit. Two models for redevelopment are examined: (1) the use of private sector investment as exemplified by the Renaissance Center Complex; and (2) the "solidary neighborhood" model, which involves the use of community labor and participation. The "Renaissance model" of…

A park and promenade along a city river front have restored a decaying area and revitalized a problem neighborhood. (JD)

This report summarizes the preliminary results of Phase II of an evaluation of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit lending and grantmaking institution founded in 1980 to draw private sector financial and technical resources into the development of deteriorated communities and neighborhoods. In this second phase…

This report documents results of Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester Neighborhood Transformation (NT) Initiative, focusing on key decisions that helped shape the initiative. NT was one of the first attempts to systematically bring together diverse strands of thinking about comprehensive community change to overcome conditions that undermine…