WHO BENEFITS FROM NONPROFIT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? EXAMINING THE REVENUE DISTRIBUTION OF TAX‐EXEMPT DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS AMONG U.S. CITIES

ABSTRACT: Questions surrounding the distribution of benefits have served as the focus for much research on local economic development. While nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) emerged in the 1960s as one means of redistributing economic development benefits by targeting job training and business growth programs toward the urban poor, CDCs now represent only a portion of all nonprofit economic development organizations (NEDOs) in the United States. Newer forms of these organizations have emerged in recent years, carrying out diverse economic functions. This evolution of the nonprofit economic development subsector raises a critical question: Do nonprofit economic development activities remain concentrated today in poorer cities, or do wealthier cities also have high levels of nonprofit economic development activity? This study aggregates finance data for several types of NEDOs to the city level, for all U.S. cities with population 50,000 and over, in order to examine this question. Multivariate regression is used to estimate the effects of city‐level demographic, institutional, and fiscal explanations on the level of NEDO revenues per capita. The findings demonstrate that revenues from some types of NEDOs, such as CDCs, remain concentrated in higher‐poverty cities. However, wealthier cities have higher concentrations of revenue generated by nonprofit business assistance organizations and nonprofit real estate organizations. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for current federal and local policies related to tax‐exempt organizations.     

Urban sprawl and municipal budgets in Spain: A dynamic panel data analysis

Urban sprawl has recently become a matter of concern throughout Europe, but it is in southern countries where its environmental and economic impact has been most severe. This low‐density, spatially expansive urban development pattern can have a highly marked impact on municipal budgets. Thus, local governments may see sprawl as a potential source of finance, in terms of building‐associated revenues and increased transfers from upper tiers of government. At the same time, sprawl leads to increased levels of expenditure, as it may raise the provision costs of certain local public goods and requires greater investment in extending basic infrastructure for new urban development. What, therefore, is the net fiscal impact of urban sprawl? Do local governments consider the long‐run net fiscal impact of new urban growth or do they simply focus on its short‐term benefits, ignoring future development costs? This paper addresses these questions by analysing the dynamic relationship between urban sprawl and local budget variables. To do so, we estimate a panel vector autoregressive model using data for 4,000 Spanish municipalities for the period 1994–2005. Computed generalized impulse response functions show: (i) that sprawl considerably increases demand for new infrastructure; (ii) that the capital deficit generated by this new infrastructure is covered in the main by intergovernmental transfers and, to a lesser extent, by revenues linked to the real estate cycle; and (iii) that sprawl leads to a short‐term current surplus, as the increase in current revenues offsets the increase in current expenditures due to public service provision for new developments. Overall, these findings point to a moral hazard problem for local governments in which inordinate intergovernmental transfers and development revenues encourage excessive urban sprawl.     

Organizational Changes Among CDCs: Assessing the Impacts and Navigating the Challenges

Abstract: Since the 1970s, community development corporations (CDCs) have gained skills, visibility, and prominence in their efforts to rebuild very low‐income distressed communities. While the net number of organizations has increased, there has been a certain degree of flux, with some organizations going out of business, while new ones have been created. Although many CDCs are financially sound, some are facing significant financial problems that threaten their viability. When confronted by serious challenges, CDCs may be forced to go out of business, downsize, or merge with one or more other groups. This article focuses on how CDC failures, downsizings, and mergers affect individuals and communities served; how the work of CDCs can be supported by their local community; and how CDCs and their support community can anticipate and prepare for the possibility that some organizations in their area may need to dramatically change their operations. The final section explores how, if change is inevitable or desirable, CDCs can best navigate and steer the process.     

Community Foundations: What Do They Offer Community Development?

Abstract: This article provides case studies of the role of three community foundations in facilitating the establishment of community development collaboratives to galvanize support for local community development corporations (CDCs): the Cleveland Foundation, the Dade Community Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Sentiments about community foundation support or influence upon CDC activity captured from person‐to‐person interviews with CDC staff and community foundation personnel and board members are included, in addition to secondary data documenting the character and activity of community foundation assistance. The article offers lessons drawn from the three cases. Although it makes no broad generalizations, the article concludes with some recommendations for community foundations interested in community development collaboratives as a means of supporting local CDCs and identifies some areas for future research.     

Understanding the Development‐Organizing Dialectic

Abstract: Can community organizing and community development be practiced in combination through community development corporations (CDCs)? While community organizing and community development have complementary goals, they are based on potentially contradictory worldviews and occupy potentially contradictory social structural locations. Whether the two strategies can be combined in a single organization without causing severe disruption is questionable. A three‐year historical and comparative case study of CDCs involved in the Toledo Community Organizing Training and Technical Assistance Program shows the challenges faced by CDCs attempting to combine organizing and development. The analysis traces changes in the program and the CDCs through honeymoon, conflict, and resolution stages. Of the three CDCs that began the program, one dropped out early, another continued organizing as long as the program continued but then ended its organizing efforts, and a third continued its organizing efforts. The analysis confirms the dialectical relationship between community organizing and community development, showing how the two continuing CDCs differed in their contradictive management strategies.     

THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY SYSTEM: A Case Study of Politics and Institutions in Cleveland, 1967–1997

ABSTRACT: This article examines the emergence of community development corporations (CDCs) from a peripheral component of neighborhood-based community development in the late 1960s to a leading role in community development in the 1990s. An emphasis is placed on the historical development of CDCs as they have progressed from neighborhood social movements, to neighborhood-based organizations, to the current emergence of a citywide community development industry system bringing CDCs together with traditional urban institutions such as local government, corporate philanthropy, and the religious establishment. The industry system framework provides an analytical context for a case study of Cleveland's CDCs from the late 1960s through the late 1990s.     

Community Development Corporations: Critical Factors That Influence Success

With federal devolution and the ascendancy of community-based development strategies to center stage, the role of community development corporations (CDCs) has gained significance. This analysis focuses on programmatic and organizational attributes of CDCs that affect community development success. Success is defined as a CDC's contribution to the improvement of residents' access to financial resources, physical resources, human resources, economic opportunities, and political influence. Based on previous studies and our own analysis of three case studies, we posit four key factors in CDC success: mission, organizational competency, political capital, and funding. Analysis of the experiences of the case study organizations reveal the specific ways in which these factors operate and the influence of varied contextual factors.     

FROM TOXIC TOURS TO GROWING THE GRASSROOTS: TENSIONS IN CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT: Structural inequalities in American public education are inextricably tied to deep‐seated patterns of racial and economic segregation. Children in poor neighborhoods are less likely to have the household resources, neighborhood institutions, or school amenities necessary for a good, challenging education. In response, a growing number of organizations have launched initiatives to simultaneously revitalize neighborhoods and improve public education, emphasizing youth participation as an essential component in their efforts. We draw upon ethnographic data from two such organizations to examine their practice of place‐based critical pedagogy in community development. We focus on how they engage marginalized, “hard‐to‐reach” youth via (1) experiential learning, to counter high‐stakes testing models and cultivate a sense of ownership in the local community, and (2) empowered deliberative action, in contextualized ways. The tensions embedded in these organizations’ complex efforts have implications for other groups of marginalized youth engaged in community development, especially in their attempts to help students gain concrete outcomes in community development and achieve long‐term sustainability.     

Setting Agendas for Community Change: The Community Goal-Setting Strategy

ABSTRACT: Communities find it difficult to set their agendas and act, hamstrung by fragmentation, internal division and incrementalism Yet in rapidly changing environments, localities can ill-afford to let nature take its course. As a consequence a number of communities have turned to goal-setting. This paper examines community goal setting as a strategy of change. Three types of goals projects are identified the American Assembly Process, Anticipatory Democracy, and Strategic Planning. In considering their strengths and weaknesses, we ask(1) Who initiates the process for what purpose? (2) What problems are encountered? and (3) Is the public interest being served? Goal-setting, while not a replacement for government, can serve as a useful strategy to aid cities in transition.     

THE CDC MODEL OF URBAN REDEVELOPMENT: A Critique and an Alternative

ABSTRACT: This paper questions the viability of an urban redevelopment model that relies on small community development corporations (CDCs) and proposes an alternative. Because most CDCs are severely undercapitalized, they can not keep up with accelerating decay. Their existence, and the emphasis placed on their supposed successes, allow elites to blame poor neighborhood CDCs rather than external conditions for redevelopment failure. The model also emphasizes that CDCs be community–based, but because their resource base is controlled from outside the neighborhood there is really very little community control over CDCs. CDCs may even delegitimize more empowerment–focused community organizing attempts by making them appear radical. Consequently, the CDC development process may actually disorganize poor communities by creating internal competition or disrupting social networks. An alternative model of neighborhood redevelopment is proposed which emphasizes community organizing, community–controlled planning, and high–capacity multi–local CDCs held accountable through a strong community organizing process.     

UNDERSTANDING CHANGE IN POOR COMMUNITIES: WHAT IS IT AND HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN IT HAPPENS?

ABSTRACT: This article considers the way different interest groups within the community development field think about social change, and in particular how their assumptions about community‐driven social change determine the strategies they believe will eventually transform poor communities. A review of the literature indicates that the community change concept embraced by policy analysts and philanthropic evaluators is inherently different from the one held by community development practitioners. Empirical findings from in‐depth interviews with the executive directors of community development corporations (CDCs) reveal a person‐focused understanding of community change that is in conflict with the physical redevelopment expectations of those who analyze and evaluate the impacts of their work. The author presents research findings that operationalize the community change perspectives of CDC practitioners and cohere with classical and contemporary social theories of community and change. A CDC practice‐based approach to understanding community change is recommended.     

Policy gaps: future challenges for research

This commentary considers the Building Research &; Information special issue (volume 43/4) entitled ‘Closing the Policy Gaps: From Formulation to Outcomes'. Although the call for papers received an international response, the special issue has a focus on cases of policy-making and outcomes in the UK. A critical review is presented addressing several questions for the international research, consultancy and policy-making communities. What can these international communities learn from the presented examples? How do variations in governance regimes and structures influence policy formulation and outcomes, particularly the reduction in policy ‘gaps’? What future steps could be taken to produce more internationally oriented comparative research on policy-making and implementation regarding the built environment and urban–regional development? How can evidence and analysis be used to build theory? Do the research and consultancy communities need to improve their policy literacy? What lessons can the research community, in particular, learn from this process in advising on policy formation and implementation processes?     

MIGRANT CIVIL SOCIETY: NEW VOICES IN THE STRUGGLE OVER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT: Port‐of‐entry immigrant neighborhoods have long been a feature of the American city. Dense cross‐border networks are reshaping port‐of‐entry immigrant neighborhoods and creating “transnational communities” where forces of global economic restructuring and practices of everyday life combine into a distinctive form of urbanization. Yet immigration has also created tensions and conflicts. Lack of affordable housing, inadequate access to quality schools, substandard employment, and unmet basic needs are among the problems facing large segments of society. Their resolution has been rendered more problematic by questions concerning the immigration status of many residents. The lack of recourse for undocumented immigrants to the state has meant that the task of resolving these social problems has been displaced onto civil society. This article considers the role of nonprofit, community organizations and social movement organizations—part of an emergent migrant civil society—in responding to a variety of social and economic concerns affecting residents of Albany Park. The community area of Albany Park on Chicago's north side has for decades served as a first destination for immigrants. In 2000 the foreign‐born population in Albany Park climbed to 52%, making it one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago. Through an examination of neighborhood social struggles we consider the ways in which transnational flows of people, commerce, culture, and social practices come to ground in neighborhoods like Albany Park. Then we present two case studies of social activism by segments of migrant civil society. The first examines the antigentrification movement launched by the Balanced Development Coalition, while the second considers workers' rights activism in support of day laborers. Finally, we reflect on the implications of the Albany Park cases for the study of migrant civil society more broadly.     

FUNDRAISING COALITIONS IN OPEN SEAT MAYORAL ELECTIONS

ABSTRACT: Mayoral candidates need to assemble a fundraising coalition so they can raise sufficient funds to be competitive. What is the nature of those coalitions? Are they narrow partnerships of like‐minded interests, or are they broad alliances encompassing many different groups? Also, are the coalitions assembled by opposing candidates fundamentally different, or do most candidates receive their funds from the same sources? This article explores these questions through an analysis of five open seat mayoral elections in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Most candidates assemble broad coalitions of many different groups, and because of this breadth candidates often have internally inconsistent coalitions (especially labor‐backed candidates). Further, the fundraising coalitions of opposing candidates are usually quite similar. The results show that mayoral elections are not characterized by competing coalitions of donors and that voters who desire to use financial backing as a factor influencing their decision have limited choices.     

CHALLENGES FOR NONPROFIT HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS CREATED BY THE PRIVATE HOUSING MARKET

ABSTRACT: Community development corporations (CDCs) and other large nonprofit housing organizations are major producers of housing for low‐income households. One of the least recognized and examined set of challenges facing these groups relates to how the workings of the private housing market—both weak and strong market conditions—impact their ability to carry out their mission. After presenting examples of how housing market conditions create challenges for nonprofits, the article explores how organizational strategic planning can help the nonprofit to more explicitly focus on housing market dynamics and plan its activities taking into account these concerns. An analysis of the two major training programs for nonprofit housing organizations that were available during 2007 revealed that out of the 216 different courses offered by NeighborWorks America and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, only 8% appear to relate closely to housing market dynamics and land‐use issues and 3% relate to strategic planning. Initiatives that would assist nonprofits to both recognize the importance of the private housing market and to assist them in developing strategies for confronting market‐based challenges are presented.     

PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: ENCOUNTERING FREIRE IN THE URBAN BARRIO

ABSTRACT: The community‐based approach to health research and intervention is a model of inquiry rooted in Freire's participatory action research (PAR). We need to show, in concept and practice, what it is about PAR that may be well suited for the types of health issues we encounter in inner‐city environments. What type of learning results, how does this respond to particular health issues in the urban context, and what are the particular challenges faced in translating Freire's model into today's urban setting? To investigate these questions, we describe a recent PAR project in Southeast Los Angeles, California—an area known to some as “Asthmatown.” One salient finding of the research is that PAR allows the integration of complex and multiple forms of knowledge, and this is a necessary response to the complex and multiplex nature of cumulative impacts. There are challenges to translating the model to the urban setting, however, such as the difficulties of participation in today's urban milieu. The research leads to some lessons for practitioners, such as the need to build “constant” elements into PAR projects. Lastly, we reflect on implications of this model for institutional reform.     

RENEWAL IN A WORKING-CLASS BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD

ABSTRACT: This article assesses the progress of community development corporations (CDCs) in renewing the physical and social environments of urban neighborhoods, particularly working-class black neighborhoods. Specifically, the author documents the work, outcomes, and challenges of CDCs in South Jamaica, Queens, one of New York City's oldest working-class black neighborhoods. In this instance, CDCs are attempting to reinstill the social community by rebuilding the physical community. Their vision of the social community is characterized by a greater concentration of owner-occupied housing units, attractive properties, and a growing middle class. To this end, the CDCs in South Jamaica have encouraged home owner-ship, incumbent upgrading, and middle-class resettlement. The work of CDCs in South Jamaica has yielded some positive results in terms of the trajectory of this working-class black neighborhood. However, there are daunting challenges ahead for the CDCs in South Jamaica, as well as those attempting renewal in other working-class black neighborhoods.     

Achieving Social Justice in Estate Regeneration: The Impact of Physical Image Construction

Like many other countries, Australia is grappling with the issues around the future of large public housing estates. This paper explores questions about physical image construction in six estates undergoing regeneration. Whilst improved housing amenity and image of the areas are crucial components of estate regeneration, it is argued that these aspects will not automatically benefit existing socio-economically disadvantaged residents. In the current political context, three key questions are raised: (1) In whose images the estates are being recreated, housing authorities, private property developers or residents?; (2) Whether the physical images are being imposed or democratised and used for the purposes of community development?; and (3) What the overall consequences and housing policy implications are likely to be? It is argued that the entry of market capital and the buying and selling of place through physical image reconstruction, to attract more affluent residents to the estates, is likely to add to rather than ameliorate the inequality of current public housing residents.     

States,Cultures, and Community Organizing: Two Tales of Two Neighborhoods

How do differences between the United States and Canadian political systems affect community organizing? We compare case studies of two neighborhoods: the Drouillard Road neighborhood in Windsor, Ontario, Canada; and the Birmingham neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio, United States. Toledo and Windsor are similar in important ways, with both heavily dependent on Detroit‐based automotive industry, and relatively similar in ethnic and class makeup. The neighborhoods also have similar demographic profiles with a high proportion of Eastern European immigrants and Catholics. Both neighborhoods witnessed threats to their existence in the 1970s, developed an energetic community organizing response to those threats, and then went separate directions. Drouillard Road quickly moved into social services and community development. Birmingham expanded its community organizing across the east side of Toledo, but then was torn apart by internal conflict when it shifted to community development. Our analysis shows that the contrasting paths of the two organizations can be more fully understood in light of national differences in political structure and political culture between Canada and the United States.     

Refusing to Appropriate: The Emerging Discourse on Planning and Race

Abstract

The local planning process has become more urgent in light of recent global changes: economic, social, and spatial restructuring and the parallel concentration of capital, technology, and information in smaller numbers of transnational corporations. The ability of communities to plan and determine their futures is at stake. Yet communities are not homogenous, and as we speak of improving the planning process, we must ask questions about what it will take to ensure the participation and influence of those who in the past have been the victims of that process. How can the planning process be opened to communities who have been bulldozed by urban renewal, redlined into apartheid-like conditions, deserted by capital, or indeed, revitalized virtually out of existence? The commitment to social justice requires planning professionals to look closely at the deadly consequences of uneven development and ask “What can we do to make the community planning process more equitable?”