This is the first scholarly analysis that examines the development and achievements of the American community development movement. Community development is now a multi-billion industry in the US. Hundreds of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), located in all regions of the country, have successfully forged locally-based strategies that provide affordable housing, foster business development, and provide much needed community facilities, including innumerable charter schools, in highly distressed communities in inner city neighborhoods, rural communities, and also in American Indian areas. In many areas of the US, CDFIs represent a viable alternative to the mainstream banking industry. This volume documents the positive impact the CDFI industry has had in distressed urban and rural areas in the US.
"Throughout the six chapters, the authors intimately detail the significance and impact of the American community development movement to create initiatives and alternatives to the traditional resources in which the private market system cannot or does not participate. ... the book is a comprehensive compendium and a valuable resource guide filled with significant substantive statistical data as well as an excellent critical analysis and evaluation of programs ... . Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." (S. R. Kahn, Choice, Vol. 54 (10), June, 2017)