Suchergebnisse

Much contemporary policy seeking to address the problems of urban poverty and the failures of public housing focuses on deconcentrating poverty through the relocation of public housing residents to less-poor neighborhoods or by replacing large public housing complexes with mixed-income developments. Lying behind these efforts is a set of generally integrationist goals, aiming to remove public housing residents from contexts of isolation and concentrated disadvantage and settle them in safer, healthier, and more supportive environments that better connect them to resources, relationships, and opportunities. Although some of the goals of these efforts are being met, the broader integrationist goals are proving elusive. Focusing on the mixed-income component of Chicago's Plan for Transformation—the most ambitious effort to remake public housing in the country—this article argues that a range of institutional actors (including developers, property management, community-based organizations, and the housing authority) and organizational behaviors (around design, service provision, intervention, deliberation, and representation) shape dynamics that reproduce exclusion and work against the integrationist goals of these policies.

Communities have long been seen as of central importance to individuals and families, and as critical lever for change. In recent years, the emphasis on community as an organizing principle to address a range of social problems and developmental needs of children and families has been increasing. This paper explores the question of why community is important for children and families, what communities can provide for their well-being, and how they might be strengthened. It outlines some of the reasons behind the interest in community as a locus for policy and practice, explores the idea of 'community capacity' and how to build it, and distills the principal strategies used by contemporary efforts to build capacity in disadvantaged communities. Finally, it examines both the promise and the limitations of a community capacity framework as an orientation toward social change and as an approach for addressing the needs of disadvantaged children and families.