Review of environmental issues in India concludes that educational institutions can contribute to sustainable development by promoting understanding of the ecosystem; assessing a community's natural wealth; developing strategies; and promoting participation in environmental preservation projects. (SK)

Describes the challenges involved in taking distance out of the context of institutions and applying it to community development in Canada and Southeast Asia. Discusses resources facilitators used: technologies, theater and communication techniques, and the Canadian, Thai, and Filipino participants themselves. (SK)

The Agricultural Women's Leadership Network illustrates the following processes of social change in gendered organizations: (1) change begins as social networks expand to focus on issues; (2) women's organizations gain a foothold during economic crises; (3) new interdependencies bring new organizational alliances; (4) change continues as identity…

A framework for evaluating public-private partnership projects in housing and community development organizes nine criteria in three categories: (1) need for partnership (problem magnitude, duplication); (2) process (planning, structure of partnership, management of operations, resource acquisition/management); and (3) outcomes (achievement of…

An information-based rather than a knowledge-based approach to evaluation of social development programs has two advantages: (1) relative objectivity and (2) equity. Increasingly equitable flows of information are one indicator of social development. (SK)

A survey of 23 chairpersons of town unions (rural sociocultural organizations) in Nigeria indicated that self-help projects in education and rural development were concentrated in areas lacking infrastructure. Recommendations were made for an organizing framework, leadership training, government assistance, and efforts to encourage active…

The Workers' Educational Association conducted two projects in Northern England to develop community involvement through adult education. The projects demonstrated the part that local communities can play in setting their own agendas for community regeneration. (SK)

Examines how rapid economic development and population growth affect the visual environment in small towns and rural areas. Describes how agencies concerned with the impact of Fort Drum's expansion. Discusses the process of educating local community planners and the public, and a design framework for regulating land use development. (SV)

Community mapping is defined as follows: efforts to (1) understand the world as a landscape of many aspects and values; (2) identify areas that appear to have a degree of unity; (3) explain why things are the way they are; and (4) identify opportunities for positive social action and policy development. (113 references) (JOW)

Presents the story of a community that, with the support of the researcher, endeavored to peel back the layers of debris that had muffled their voices. This constructed debris--social, physical, cultural, and historical--served to reproduce the power of the other through processes of false consciousness. (Author/CCM)

Summarizes competing approaches to the role of culture in community development and use of community media--as top-down dissemination of messages or as participatory action research. Presents a case study of the use of video for community participation and empowerment in Burkina Faso. (Author/SK)

A module was developed to inform youth and community workers of the challenges to local and global environments. The experience-based program used real-life community environmental examples and considered race, gender, and disability environmental issues. (SK)

The University of New Mexico's Community and Regional Planning Program worked with two border towns that share water resources--Columbus (New Mexico) and Puerto Palomas (Chihuahua, Mexico)--to help them prepare a community comprehensive plan needed for water-project funding. The program conducted action research involving local schools and people…

Discusses three approaches to participatory research typically followed by academics: (1) initiator, (2) consultant, and (3) collaborator. Argues that participatory research is part of a larger community-change project, and that determining how academics will fit in the project requires answering several questions about the nature of individual…

A survey of rural and small-town community development groups in British Columbia (Canada) found that organization members were generally aged 36-55, were much more highly educated than the province's rural population or total population, and were more likely to be employed and to be newcomers (less than five years residence) to their communities.…