In this paper, we present the project, Community Drive, as well as the theoretical and empirical background on which the project is based. Through technical and humanistic collaboration, the project aims to create models that allow children and young people to participate in overcoming future challenges in cities by becoming active and…

NIMBYism, the popular and short form for "Not In My Back Yard", describes the resistance and outright opposition by residents, either within a distinct place such as a neighbourhood, or, more broadly, in a larger civic area right up to a town or city level, against some planned nearby facility, service, or changed land use. NIMBYism is also about…

Briefly reports observations made of Washington, D. C. neighborhoods, describing how these areas are functional or dysfunctional for children and families. Suggests ways the urban environment can be improved to support community life. (RH)

The influx of middle class individuals and families from the suburbs to the cities is reversing the trend of decay in American cities. Rehabilitation and revitalization are underway in many downtown areas. (RLV)

Physical-economic models of neighborhood change, popularly used by neighborhood planners, are beginning to give way to more politically oriented models. Such models do not call for blind community control, but for facilitating the development of neighborhood political capacities. (Author/RLV)

Considers (1) how judicious planning and administration of public parks in urban areas can act to bridge racial divisions; and (2) how park administrators can, by creating neighborhood parks, give new focus to neighborhoods and prevent their further deterioration. (Author/GC)

In the 'Our Town' project, 20 urban children designed and built an intervention in their neighborhood. The process involved extensive collaboration with the community at large and resulted in a park. This construction was developed in direct contrast to a more typical adult conception of a playground. Children's concerns in their design included…

The problems of cities influence the amount of state aid which is given. More aid is allocated in states with needier cities. Reformist political climates have also helped to gain state allotments for distressed cities. The record of states in this matter is better than that of the federal government. (VM)

This paper examines the attempts to rebuild downtown Detroit. Two models for redevelopment are examined: (1) the use of private sector investment as exemplified by the Renaissance Center Complex; and (2) the "solidary neighborhood" model, which involves the use of community labor and participation. The "Renaissance model" of…

A park and promenade along a city river front have restored a decaying area and revitalized a problem neighborhood. (JD)

This document presents a case study of the controversy between freeway developers associated with the Washington State Highway Department and citizens of Montlake community, Seattle. The intent is to provide information to other neighborhood and community groups on successful citizen activism strategies. In the opening section, a chronology of…

The "CURA Reporter" is published quarterly to provide information about the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), an all-University applied research and technical assistance center at the University of Minnesota that connects faculty and students with community organizations and public institutions working on significant public…

The Centralia 21st Century Visioning Project was undertaken by the city of Centralia, in Washington, and Centralia College to determine a vision for the city for the next century based on citizen and business input. In summer 1994, the college conducted a survey of 185 businesses from the city's downtown core to gather retailers' perceptions on…

The urban neighborhood, long of interest to city planners and sociologists, has in recent years become of increasing concern to public policy-makers. This new concern has called attention to a large gap in the municipal policy-maker's information resources. Social scientists have employed a field method, participant-observation, that can…