In 1974, residents of East Humboldt Park, one of the oldest working class communities in Chicago, Illinois, gathered together in a common effort to reverse the process of urban decay and deterioration in their community. With the help of a hired consultant, the citizens planned the future of their community, a process that was completed in 1976, and resulted in a three year program for improvement of the area. Activities during the planning process intersected with many of the forces that affect urban life including political leadership, flight to the suburbs, downtown business interests, religious institutions, rekindling of old neighborhoods, the upward mobility of in-migrants, racial and ethnic transition, the traffic of new expressways, and comprehensive planning for the city as a whole. This report focuses on the dilemmas that the planners faced in relation to these forces, and the strategies that they adopted to resolve emergent problems. The report concludes by discussing the comprehensive neighborhood plan that the community planners formulated, entitled "Program for Improvement: 1977-1980." The program is described as an alternate strategy for inner city neighborhood improvement, that does not require replacement of poor and moderate income residents with an established middle class. Potential problems and prospects for implementation of the program are explored. (MJL)