Transit lines are life blood

Greening the Empire State: Exploring New York's Energy Options

Transit Lines are Life Blood
Baruch School of Public Affairs
Gotham Gazette
Gotham Gazette Web
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The Topic
Community development refers to issues that affect the political, social, cultural and economic life of specific neighborhoods -- and especially to the efforts of groups based in those neighborhoods to address challenges (e.g. developing housing, improving access to credit, assisting local businesses, creating jobs, maintaining public spaces) and to activate neighborhood residents as participants in local politics.
The Context
Low-income and working class communities in New York City have long faced problems -- from low-paying jobs to low-performing schools, from skyrocketing asthma rates to a lack of affordable housing. These communities often have little political power, but they are frequently the sites of vibrant activism and creativity. Out of the social upheavals of the 1960s came the multi-purpose community development corporations (the first one was in Bedford-Stuyvesant), and new community organizing groups such as ACORN and the Industrial Areas Foundation. More recently, grassroots organizing groups confront issues like police brutality and environmental justice.

If in a diverse megalopolis like New York City, there is something curious about viewing a neighborhood as a free-standing universe, still, because so many New Yorkers consider their community as an essential part of their identity, and because political conflicts tend to play out in specific places, a community is a powerful lens through which to view the city's political and social dynamics.

Best Books About Community Development

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