Community Economic Development: Strategies and Practices of the 1980s

Community economic development is the self-help development of local jobs, businesses, and human resources by and for communities. This strategy gained prominence in the 1960s with the invention and public and private support of the community development corporation. The initial handful of community development corporations acted as comprehensive planners, developers, and entrepreneurs for their economically depressed communities. Today, community development corporations number more than 1000 and are more specialized and strategic in their initiatives, which now also include advocacy and legislative lobbying. This article examines the community economic development strategies of the 1980s. It reviews articles about community economic development in two newsletters, The Neighborhood Works and City Limits, between 1983 and 1988. Today's more diverse set of community institutions are pursuing four types of community economic development: public/private balance sheet, capital pools, enterprise development, and new market strategies. After 25 years, basic questions about the theory and performance of community economic development still need refinement and updating. Four broad questions require sustained reflection: Why is community economic development necessary? Who does community economic development? What does community economic development do? How has community economic development performed? The economic and social disparities that gave rise to community economic development in the 1960s remain today. While downtowns glitters, many neighborhoods continued to suffer the legacy of disinvestment and powerlessness. Community economic development is part of the answer, but it requires more public and private support if it is to fulfill its promise.