A growing number of colleges and universities have come to recognize the role and responsibilities they have in the economic and social fabric of their surrounding communities and regions as anchor institutions. Yet, the conditions of urban communities surrounding even the most engaged universities--including under-resourced public schools,…

Can verse mediate between the educational institution and the wider community of which it is a part? Utilising a case study of a specific taught module, this essay considers whether the performance of poetry as an experiential learning activity has a role to play in the emerging concept of the university as an anchor institution, a term that…

Anchor movements rest on the premise that people- and place-based initiatives can be mutually reinforcing. The community development movement, however, has been haunted for years by the people-place dilemma -- the idea that efforts to help people harm efforts to uplift places and vice versa. Most of the literature on the anchor strategy has…

This paper examines trends that have contributed to the changing awareness and understanding of poverty and community in the United States. It also describes and comments on the recent amalgam of place-based and people-based approaches known as comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) and community building that have grown up as a result of the…

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:…

This study investigated the historical development of the Gage Park community in Chicago, Illinois, including its population changes, education, income, racial composition, housing and crime. The results indicate that the community, which in the past has been primarily composed of persons of German ancestry, has experienced an influx of Latino and…

Concludes that "community development block grants are operating very differently from the model cities program, but they are no more effective in achieving national purposes. If those purposes are to cut red tape and to encourage cities to spend money on public works, then this program may be a great success." (Author/JM)

Describes a 10-city satellite teleconference, "If Not Us, Who?" produced by the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise and the Community Telecommunications Development Foundation. Issues discussed included redirecting gang violence into more productive activities, funding mechanisms for solving neighborhood problems, and strategies for…

Institutional and neighborhood cultures retreat from each other and form self-contained entities, or confront one another with one faction remaining dominant. A merging of the cultures can only be achieved by acknowledging the cultures that differentiate the segments of the urban community. (Author/CT)

Special Urban Issue. Papers on Urbanizing Society distributed in 1970 by the National University Extension Association (NUEA). Copies of the total report are available from Institute for Community Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48823. (DS)

Before community development strategies are implemented, the study of complex multiethnic communities will identify the problems and needs of particular ethnic groups, needs common to more than one group, and needs which different groups might perceive in different ways. (SK)

This paper describes an education project to train religious leaders in Cleveland's inner city to become community advocates and change agents. Includes results of a followup survey of participants indicating how their acquired skills are benefitting the community. (SK)

Evaluated the impact of a civil remedy program, Beat Health (Oakland, California), on drug and disorder problems under experimental field trial conditions. Findings show some improvement in the experimental residential areas, but possible displacement of drug problems in and around the commercial experimental and control sites. (SLD)

More than 6,021 groups have been identified that work to bring peace to urban streets in constructive ways. Approaches that can help bring these groups together as exemplified by the Youth Peace Movement are discussed. The transcommunal approach of the Youth Peace Movement brings together many allies at the grass roots level. (SLD)

This article discusses how the policy to allocate Community Block Grants has changed to the disadvantage of needier communmities as the result of demographic changes and an increase in entitlement communities. Options are presented for policy makers to change allocation so that more distressed communities will be targeted for funds. (VM)