Wayne State University
Department of Geography and Urban Planning
UP 6340: Community Development
Fall 2005
INSTRUCTOR
Prof. Avis C. Vidal
Office: 225 State Hall
Tel: 313 577-8842
Fax: 313-577-0022
Email: a.vidal@wayne.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday, 4:00 – 5:30 and by appointment
MEETING PLACE AND CLASS TIME
035 State Hall
Monday 5:30-8:15pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course provides a thorough overview of contemporary community development practice in U.S. cities. It will consider both “top-down” and “bottom-up” development approaches, including the origins of those approaches, but will focus heavily on community development corporations and other community-based organizations. It will address both housing and economic development aspects of neighborhood revitalization, with some attention to social and political aspects of development.
READINGS
Reading assignments are detailed in the attached syllabus. They are drawn from two books recommended for purchase and a course pack of Xeroxed readings. The logistics of the course pack will be discussed in class. The books recommended for purchase are:
Ronald F. Ferguson and William T. Dickens, eds. Urban Problems and Community Development. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1999. (Cited in the syllabus as Ferguson and Dickens.)
Herbert J. Rubin. Renewing Hope Within Neighborhoods of Despair: The Community-Based Development Model. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000. (Cited in the syllabus as Rubin.)
Christopher Walker and Mark Weinheimer. Community Development in the 1990s. Washington, D. C.: The Urban Institute, 1998. (Cited in the syllabus as Walker and Weinheimer.)
Ferguson and Dickens and Rubin are available for purchase at Marwil's Bookstore. Walker and Weinheimer can be ordered directly from the publisher at http://www.uipress.org/; shipping is free.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Course requirements include two short papers, a presentation to the class, an in-class final examination, and active classroom participation. The first paper is a policy paper; the assignment will be handed out two weeks before the paper is due; it will not require independent research. The second paper provides students with an opportunity to examine in depth an implementation approach or tool of personal interest; topics will be determined in consultation with the instructor, and the content of this paper will be presented to the class on the day when that topic is pertinent. This paper will require some independent research. The final exam will cover the entirety of the semester’s work. Active classroom participation by students -- based on prior preparation of reading materials -- is required throughout the course.
Grades will be based on the papers, exam, and class participation, as shown:
Two Papers 20% each
Final Exam 35%
Class Presentation 10%
Class Participation 15%
The grade of any written assignment submitted late will be reduced by one marking grade (e.g. from a "B+" to a "B"). All written assignments must be completed to receive a course grade. A course grade of "Incomplete" will be granted only in exceptional circumstances and must be arranged, in writing, before the last class session. (See also discussion of grades in the Graduate Bulletin.)
STANDARDS OF STUDENT CONDUCT
Students are encouraged to form study groups to prepare the materials in the reading for class discussion. However, all written work is to be your individual work.
CLASS SCHEDULE
September 12 – Definitions of Community Development and Alternative Approaches
September 19 – Federal Policy Context and the Emergence of the Community Development Model
September 26 – The CDC Model
October 3 - CDCs – History and Accomplishments – Policy Paper Due
October 10 – Housing – Neighborhood Entry Point and Foundation of an Industry (NOTE: Columbus Day, but not a holiday)
October 17 – Commercial Development and Business Development
October 24 – Access to Capital – the Private Market
October 31 – Access to Capital – Alternatives to the Private Market
November 7 – Community Organizing – Alternative Approaches – Implementation Paper Due
November 14 – The Role of Local Government
November 21 – The Role of the Intermediaries
November 28 – Capacity Building
December 5 – Evaluating Community Development
December 12 – Alternative Approaches: Empowerment Zones and Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs)
December 19 – Final Exam
COURSE SYLLABUS
September 12 – Definitions of Community Development and Alternative Approaches
Matthew Edel, “’People’ vs ‘Places’ in Urban Impact Analysis,” in Norman J. Glickman, ed., The Urban Impacts of Federal Policies. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980, pp. 175-191.
Sean Zielenbach. The Art of Revitalization: Improving Conditions in Inner City Neighborhoods. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 2000, pp. 1-32.
Ferguson and Dickens, “Introduction,” pp. 1-20.
John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight. Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 1993, pp. 1-5. Download from http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/
September 19 – Federal Policy Context and the Emergence of the Community Development Model
W. Dennis Keating, “Introduction” and “Federal Policy and Poor Urban Neighborhoods,” in W. Dennis Keating and Norman Krumholz, eds. Rebuilding Urban Neighborhoods: Achievements, Opportunities and Limits. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999, pp. 1-6 and 14-32.
Alice O’Conner, “Swimming against the Tide: A Brief History of Federal Policy in Poor Communities,” and Joseph McNeely, “Comment,” in Ferguson and Dickens, pp. 77-137.
September 26 – The CDC Model
Rubin, Chapters 1, 3 and 6.
A classic article on this topic is Randy Stoecker, “The CDC Model of Urban Redevelopment: A Critique and an Alternative,” Journal of Urban Affairs, 1997, vol 19, no. 1, pp. 1-22, and rejoinders to it by Rachel Bratt and W. Dennis Keating.
October 3 - CDCs – History and Accomplishments
Avis C. Vidal, “CDCs as Agents of Neighborhood Change: The State of the Art,” in W. Dennis Keating, Norman Krumholz and Philip Star, eds. Revitalizing Urban Neighborhoods. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1996.
National Congress for Community Economic Development. “Coming of Age: Trends and Achievements of Community-Based Development Organizations.” Washington, D.C.: NCCED, n.d.
Walker and Weinheimer, Executive Summary, pp 1-4, Chapter 1.
Avis C. Vidal. Rebuilding Communities: A National Study of Urban Community Development Corporations. New York: Community Development Research Center, New School University, 1992; skim pp. 63-73; read pp. 73-104.
Policy Paper Due
October 10 – Housing – Neighborhood Entry Point and Foundation of an Industry
Kenneth T. Rosen and Ted Dienstfrey, “The Economics of Housing Services in Low-Income Neighborhoods,” in Ferguson and Dickens.
Walker and Weinheimer, Chapter 4.
Rachel Bratt, Avis Vidal, Alex Schwartz, Langley Keyes, and Jim Stockard, “The Status of Nonprofit-Owned Affordable Housing,” Journal of the American Planning Association, Winter 1998, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 39-51.
William M. Rohe, George McCarthy, and Shannon Van Zandt, “The Social Benefits and Costs of Homeownership: a Critical Assessment of the Research,” Working Paper No. 00-01. Washington, D.C.: Research Institute for Housing America, 2000, pp. 18-32.
George McCarthy, Shannon Van Zandt, and William M. Rohe, “The Economic Benefits and Costs of Homeownership: a Critical Assessment of the Research,” Working Paper No. 01-02. Washington, D.C.: Research Institute for Housing America, 2001, skim pp5-16, read pp. 17-32 and 43-46.
Both of the above publications can be downloaded from
www.housingamerica.org
October 17 – Commercial Development and Business Development
Richard B. Peiser with Anne B. Frej. Professional Real Estate Development: The ULI Guide to the Business, 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Land Institute, 2003, pp. 301-5 and 338-9.
Kenneth T. Rosen, Grace J. Kim, and Avani A. Patel. “Shopping the City: Real Estate Finance and Urban Retail Development.” Discussion Paper prepared for the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, July 2003, Introduction and pp. 17-25. Download at www.brook.edu
Initiatives for a Competitive Inner City. “The Changing Models of Inner City Grocery Retailing.” Boston, 2002. Download at www.icic.org
Karl F. Seidman, “Inner City Commercial Revitalization: Applying the Main Street Model”, unpublished paper, March 2003.
Marc Bendick, Jr. and Mary Lou Egan, “Linking Business Development and Community Development in America’s Inner Cities.” Journal of Planning Literature, August 1993.
October 24 – Access to Capital – the Private Market
Gregory D. Squires, “Community Reinvestment: An Emerging Social Movement,” in Gregory D. Squires, ed., From Redlining to Reinvestment: Community Responses to Urban Disinvestment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pp. 1-37.
Gregory D. Squires, “”Friend or Foe? The Federal Government and Community Reinvestment,” in Revitalizing Urban Neighborhoods, W. Dennis Keating, Norman Krumholz and Philip Star, eds. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1996, pp. 222-234.
Reading on predatory lending, to be assigned.
October 31 – Access to Capital – Alternatives to the Private Market
Lehn Benjamin, Julia Sass Rubin, and Sean Zielenbach,”Community Development Financial Institutions: Current Issues and Future Prospects,” downloaded from
http://www.federalreserve.gov/communityaffairs/national/CA_Conf_SusCommDev/papers.htm, 2003.
Avis C. Vidal, “Reintegrating Disadvantaged Communities into the Fabric of Urban Life,” in Housing Policy Debate, v. 6, n. 1, 1995, pp. 188-204.
November 7 -- Community Organizing – Alternative Approaches
Gary Delgado. Beyond the Politics of Place: New Directions on Community Organizing in the 1990s. Oakland, CA: Applied Research Center, n.d., pp. 9-30.
Mark R. Warren, “Community building and political power,” in The American Behavioral Scientist, September 1998, Vol 42, Issue 3, pp. 78-92, downloadable at:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?index=6&did=000000033178011&SrchMode=3&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1067272179&clientId=14288
Patricia Watkins Murphy and James V. Cunningham. Organizing for Community Controlled Development: Renewing Civil Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2003, pp. 11-37.
Ferguson, selected pages from “Conclusion” in Ferguson and Dickens, pp. 589-604.
Implementation Paper Due
November 14– The Role of Local Government
Rubin, Chapter 4.
Walker and Weinheimer, Chapter 6.
Margaret Weir. “Power, Money and Politics in Community Development,” in Ferguson and Dickens, pp. 139-178.
Neil Mayer and Langley Keyes. City Government’s Role in the Community Development System. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 2005.
November 21 –– The Role of the Intermediaries
Community Development Intermediary Systems in the United States: Origins, Evolution and Functions,” in Housing Policy Debate, 1998, vol. 9, pp. 575-594.
Rubin, Chapter 5.
Avis C. Vidal, Arnold M. Howitt and Kathleen P. Foster.
Stimulating Community Development: An Assessment of the Local Initiatives
Support Corporation. Cambridge, MA: State, Local and Intergovernmental Center, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, June 1986, “Key Findings” and “Chapter 1.
November 28– Capacity Building
Walker and Weinheimer, Chapters 2 and 3.
Rob Chaskin, Prudence Brown, Avis Vidal and Sudhir Venkatesh. Building Community Capacity. Amsterdam: Aldine de Gruyter, 2001, pp. 7-26 and 61-91.
Langley Keyes and Avis Vidal. Beyond Housing: Growing Community Development Systems. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 2005.
December 5 – Evaluating Community Development
Peter H. Rossi, “Evaluating Community Development Programs: Problems and Prospects,” in Ferguson and Dickens.
William M. Rohe, “Do Community Development Corporations Live Up to Their Billing? A Review and Critique of the Research Findings,” in C. Theodore Koebel, ed., Shelter and Society: Theory, Research, and Policy for Nonprofit Housing. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998, pp. 177-200.
George Galster, et al.. The Impact of Community Development Corporations on Urban Neighborhoods. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 2005
December 12 – Alternative Approaches: Empowerment Zones and Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs)
Publication from the Annie E. Casey Foundation on comprehensive community initiatives, to be determined.
Scott Hebert, Avis Vidal, Greg Mills, Franklin James, and Debbie Gruenstein. Interim Assessment of the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) Program: A Progress Report. Washington, D.C.: U. S Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2001. Executive Summary and Chapter 6.
December 19 – Final Exam