An Introduction to Community Development

Beginning with the foundations of community development, An Introduction to Community Development offers a comprehensive and practical approach to planning for communities. Road-tested in the authors’ own teaching, and through the training they provide for practicing planners, it enables students to begin making connections between academic study and practical know-how from both private and public sector contexts.

An Introduction to Community Development shows how planners can utilize local economic interests and integrate finance and marketing considerations into their strategy. Most importantly, the book is strongly focused on outcomes, encouraging students to ask: what is best practice when it comes to planning for communities, and how do we accurately measure the results of planning practice?

This newly revised and updated edition includes:

increased coverage of sustainability issues,

discussion of localism and its relation to community development,

quality of life, community well-being and public health considerations,

and content on local food systems.

Each chapter provides a range of reading materials for the student, supplemented with text boxes, a chapter outline, keywords, and reference lists, and new skills based exercises at the end of each chapter to help students turn their learning into action, making this the most user-friendly text for community development now available.

Rhonda Phillips, Ph.D., AICP, is Dean of Purdue University’s Honors College, USA, and a Professor in the Agricultural Economics Department. Previously, at Arizona State University, USA, she served as Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development; Senior Sustainability Scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability; and Affiliate Faculty in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Rhonda is author or editor of 18 books, including Sustainable Communities: Creating a Durable Local Economy (Routledge Earthscan, 2013, co-editor). She is editor of the book series Community Development Research and Practice (Community Development Society and Routledge) and serves as the President of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (www.isqols.org).

Robert H. Pittman, Ph.D., PCED, is Founder and Executive Director of the Janus Institute and Janus Forum, USA, whose mission is to advance the community and economic development profession and help communities in new and innovative ways. Attendees include leading community and economic developers from around the country and overseas, state directors, corporate executives, and other stakeholders in community and economic development. Pittman has held a number of executive positions in the field of community and economic development, including Director of the Global Business Location and Economic Development Consulting Group at Lockwood Greene, USA, and Deputy Director of the International Development Research Council (now Corenet). He also served as Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas, USA. He is a widely published author and frequent speaker in the field of community and economic development, and a Honorary Life Member of the Southern Economic Development Council.