Community Development Handbook

Community developers recognize that an understanding of a community’s history is necessary in order to effectively chart its future. The same reasoning applies to organizations such as the Community Development Institute network. This handbook provides its readers with a study in the knowledge and skills needed to be an effective community developer, but it begins with a short remembrance of how it grew from a plan sketched out on a restaurant paper napkin into the national presence it occupies almost four decades later.

The Community Development Handbook should be considered a desk reference for those beginning a community development career. Its chapters mirror the curriculum provided by the institutes in the network and is essential to preparation for the Professional Community Economic Developer (PCED) certification. The practice of community development is informed by the belief that people have the capacity to define their personal and community concerns and develop their solutions. Community developers have the opportunity and responsibility to facilitate this process using best practices grounded in theory. The purpose of this book is to show how this can be accomplished.