Welfare Reform on the Web (May 2008): Community Regeneration and Development - overseas

Community development reader

J. DeFilippis and S Saegert (editors)

Abingdon: Routledge, 2008

This anthology on community development in the USA aims to provide accurate accounts of the challenges and struggles of people to influence their shared landscapes in ways that enable them, not just to survive, but to flourish in the face of the vagaries and threats of the larger world. The book strives to be both critical and practice oriented. The latter elements provide a record of important efforts to solve local problems such as the chronic shortage of affordable housing for moderate and low-income households, the creation of new institutions, and the promotion of inclusive civic communities through novel strategies for community organizing.

The World Bank, community development and education for social justice

L. Kane

Community Development Journal, vol. 43, 2008, p. 194-209

Though the World Bank has long been subject to criticism, in recent times it has changed its image and received a more favourable press. It now claims to support poverty reduction through adult education and community development. This article argues that the Bank's core values are antithetical to the notion of education for social justice. It explores the Bank's current and past record, its political and ideological makeup, the educational reforms it promotes and its relationship with community development. It concludes by reflecting on how, if at all, community workers might relate to it.