Examines an ongoing community development project in a primarily African-American county in Georgia. Identifies characteristics of the local development effort and compares them to the elements in the black organizational autonomy model of community development. (Author/JOW)

Presents results from a study of three community development models. The data are used to construct a model of the community development process as it is remembered and experienced by community workers and citizen participants involved. The model shows the change process in community development activities. (JOW)

This study presents the successes and failures in the delivery of services to low income communities. Executive directors of community-based organizations throughout the county were asked to describe their most and least successful community-based service delivery projects. The service ventures then were classified based on the extent to which the…

Six community workers' interviews were subjected to vocabulary scanning; factorial analysis graphics plotted words most frequently used. The workers' world views and understanding of social change emerged. One group favored local development, planned change, a facilitator role, and collaboration. The other preferred a social action model of…

In a community experiencing racial tensions between African American and Hispanic residents, a community organization was created to empower residents to achieve overarching community goals. Low participation, differences in levels and views of empowerment, and lack of efficacy were encountered, illustrating the difficulty of applying theory to…

Evaluation of 78 multicommunity development organizations (MDOs) sharing economic development resources found that MDOs with higher levels of job retention were in areas with low per-capita income and more manufacturing. MDOs with larger staffs and budgets were more successful at job creation and retention. Community size and MDO age also…

Describes a strategy for a community development program that was to identify and connect needs and services through coordinated networks of organized citizens, businesses, agency staff, and local government. Reports that the strategy resulted in such programs as a county information service, a family life center, an interagency council, and a…

Disengagement, the final phase in the community development process, receives little attention in the literature. Many community development practitioners make decisions regarding disengagement intuitively. This exploratory study of disengagement from community units was based on interviews with eleven University of Missouri Extension Community…

Participant observation and intensive interviews of fifty people from a rural midwestern community provided information on the importance of women in women's organizations and in behind-the-scenes arenas of local politics and economics. Bringing women into community studies expands the concept of community into private, familial arenas where…

Recent growth of rural communities and economies will change the role that community developers play. Based on the survey responses of 533 new migrants to five types of California rural communities, data indicate that the major role of community developers will be to coordinate and facilitate organizations in rural areas. (Author/SSH)