In an era of increasing complexity, the majority of local land-use decisions in the United States are made by volunteer citizen planners. Often these elected or appointed volunteers enter their positions with a passion for their communities but without appropriate background training. The Michigan Citizen Planner Program was developed to address…

When planning and evaluating community-level initiatives focused on policy and environment change, it is useful to have estimates of the impact on behavioral outcomes of particular strategies (e.g., building a new walking trail to promote physical activity). We have created a measure of estimated strategy-level impact--"population dose"--based on…

At their best, adult community learning partnerships not only offer the least educated adults a second chance, they can motivate a whole community by developing a culture of learning. Critical to success is careful planning to meet the needs of individuals and groups of learners, especially those who have been away from learning for many years. At…

In this article we take a closer look at a developing university-community engagement project being undertaken between California State University, Fresno, and the City of Fresno. A history of the project is provided, along with a review of the relevant literature and a summary of what pieces of the puzzle we feel should be in place for a…

In many American communities today, the methods of construction, as well as the almost exclusive orientation to the convenience of the automobile, limit the functioning and independence of the aging population, and offer little opportunity for human interaction. Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big" series of books points toward a new way of…

The University Green program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is an urban forestry partnership between four universities and their surrounding communities. The program offers excellent strategies for fostering improved college-community relations and stewardship by students and residents alike. University Green aims to improve the…

This article is essentially written as two linked parts. The first part considers how space, spatiality and history can contribute to understanding and "doing something about" the sustainability of rural communities. This is done by extensive reference to Soja's (1989 & 1996) space and spatial theorising and selective perspectives of…

The purpose of this report is to disseminate the findings from an analysis of the proposals submitted by English councils under the Sustainable Communities Act for England 2007 (SCA), conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in August/September 2009, as requested by the Local Government Association (LGA). It aims to…

International community development is a fertile area of research for environmental education scholars and practitioners. Although the community development field is well established, there is relatively little focus on education and learning in community development literature, especially in developing country settings. Particularly,…

In 1991, the Australian Parliament implemented a formal 10-year process of reconciliation. The aim of the process was to reconcile Indigenous and non-Indigenous people by the end of 2000. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) was established to promote the process. The process had three broad goals: improving education, addressing…

This essay explores Eastern Washington University's East Central Neighborhood Partnership Center project, which utilized coordinated community service-learning classes and internships to create a neighborhood revitalization plan in partnership with a neighborhood council and community-based organizations. The author explores the ways in which the…

In May 2002, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) published the first self-evaluation framework for community learning and development (CLD) in Scotland. HM Inspectors used "How Good is Our Community Learning and Development?" (HGIOCLD?) to conduct a programme of inspections of local areas within all 32 local authorities. A…

Bordering on North Carolina, the Dan River region of Southside Virginia is a largely rural area south of the state capitol, Richmond, and 135 miles east of Virginia Tech's main residential campus in Blacksburg. The structural problems evident today in this expanse of wooded areas, fields, small cities, and towns were born, in large measure, of the…

Educational television has made great strides in the five years which have elapsed since the Federal Communications Commission set aside television channels for the exclusive use of education. Such stations are located in 29 communities of the United States, representing large cities, university centers and, in several instances, serving entire…