As an avenue for progressive politics in a nation still skeptical
of change, community organizing today faces significant challenges.
This book assesses that activity within the context of political,
cultural, social, and economic changes in cities--from World War II
to the present--to show how community-based organizations have
responded to these challenges.
"Transforming the City" is the first book to examine the current
state of community organizing in American cities, analyzing its
place in contemporary progressive politics and assessing whether it
has changed in response to changes in the political economy.
Leading urban scholars from a wide range of disciplines offer
original commentaries on the strengths and limitations of community
organizing, a form of political and civic engagement that is too
often overlooked by those who bemoan the decline in social
capital.
While embracing community organizing as a way to cope with the
problems afflicting inner cities, these essays acknowledge the
challenges inherent in globalization, de-industrialization, the
demise of ward-based politics, and the values that shape
contemporary American culture. They argue that larger changes in
the political economy have reshaped the local ecology of civic
engagement, thereby affecting the focus, orientation, and
effectiveness of community organizing.
The book features case studies from Chicago to New Orleans to El
Paso, covering community organizations from many organizing
networks and models, such as ACORN, IAF, PICO, and DART. These
cases address key policy areas such as education and housing, and
the role of race in these issues and in organizing in general. By
examining the actual practice of this form of democratic politics,
they also show the potential of community organizing for addressing
concerns about Americans' disengagement from civic and political
life.
Whether pursuing longstanding problems about housing or more
recent issues such as wages paid by big-box retailers, community
organizing continues to have an important role to play as part of a
broader progressive movement. As America decides what kind of
society it wants to be, these insightful articles illuminate those
larger trends in the local ecology that are forcing organizers to
alter their strategies, operations, and visions for the future.
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