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…

Saint Louis University has taken to heart its responsibility to the communities surrounding its metropolitan campuses in a series of cooperative neighborhood renewal projects. With both financial resources and ongoing commitment, the university has brought about substantial revitalization. (MSE)

Xavier University of Louisiana decided "not to follow the traditional path" and brought about a rich and mutually fulfilling relationship with its community. (Editor)

Describes a special Head Start initiative called Free to Grow: Head Start Partnerships to Promote Substance-Free Communities. Notes five such Head Start programs in Puerto Rico, Kentucky, California, Colorado, and New York that have designed substance abuse prevention models to strengthen families and neighborhoods by providing a healthy…

Describes HOPE VI, a federal housing program that finances new public housing development, examining the spatial organization of one site that has played an integral role in housing the poor. Demonstrates the layers of interactions involved in implementation of the housing program, noting limitations of the program to provide suitable housing for…

This practicum was designed to bridge the gap between strong values held by a Lutheran school and output from learners in the school that reflected these values. Using the "I Can Make a Difference" model, students in grades five through eight worked during weekly enrichment periods for 12 weeks to select and solve real life problems. The…

The nature of youth gangs is explored, with suggestions for gang prevention and intervention. The emphasis is on organizing citizens, especially at the neighborhood level, to affect all community institutions. Suggestions are offered for citizens' groups to look at critical areas in schooling, incarceration, law enforcement, community programs,…

The lives of poor minority city residents demonstrate the diversity, multiple potentials, and vulnerability to external structures. In spite of the stereotypes of failure and the very real problems of the urban poor, there are many strengths among the so-called urban underclass and there are aspects of life that are successful and productive. In…

Using a case study approach, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed the results of 12 projects funded under the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) Program, which provided $3 billion in grants to distressed communities for economic revitalization and neighborhood reclamation projects. GAO found that the projects exceeded investment…

There are two contemporary urban reform thrusts working in parallel, one being the move toward coordinated children's services through the public schools (full-service schooling), and the other a press toward the economic and social regeneration of poor neighborhoods. The interest in a much-broadened mission for the public school (toward…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of University Partnerships helps support the process of forming higher education-community development partnerships through its Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC) and Joint Community Development (JCD) initiatives. This handbook describes COPC and JCD initiatives for building…

Discusses a universal 2-year national service plan for all American youth, not unlike Federal revenue sharing. (Editor/IR))

A university-assisted participatory action project, the West Philadelphia Improvement Corps (WEPIC), has worked with several schools in Philadelphia to develop comprehensive community school projects. WEPIC is now a school-based neighborhood and school revitalization movement that attempts to serve, educate, involve, and activate all members of…

In Dalton (Georgia), a day-care center with a history of quality care and community support gets a new building. Discusses features of a quality child care program and the positive impacts that quality child care has on parental pride and self-esteem, the business community, and society in general. (TD)

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…