Community Economic Development

The role of economic development in communities is multi-faceted, having an array of antecedents, impacts, and implications. This volume explores the relationships between economic development and community development, focusing on the aspects that impact communities such as social capital, participation, and business development. It discusses the need for aligning the goals of community betterment more closely with economic improvement and finding ways to enhance leadership and other resources. Including both current contributions and "classics," the evolution of the relationship between’ and roles of, the two kinds of development is explored.

The articles in the volume present several theoretical perspectives of development. Most common among them are sustainable economic development and social capital theories. Utilizing these theories and data from various sources, the authors are able to suggest specific development strategies for improving community economic and quality of life outcomes. The volume offers an exploration of directions for future research, including the need for more theoretical and empirical work on the role of amenity development on rural community economic and quality-of- life outcomes. Practitioners of community and economic development, along with researchers and students will find this volume useful and relevant for both theory and application.

This book is a compilation of articles published in the Journal of the Community Development Society.

Rhonda G. Phillips, Ph.D., AICP, CEcD is a professor, a planner and community economic developer whose work fosters innovative development approaches. Her research and service outreach includes assessing community well-being and quality-of-life outcomes. She holds professional certifications in both economic development and planning.

Terry L. Besser, Ph.D. is a professor of rural sociology. Her research focuses on rural economic vitality, social capital, business networks, and business social responsibility. Most recently she has examined these topics for rural prairie towns experiencing dramatic increases in Hispanic immigration.