Publications

Community Development Innovation Review

The Community Development Innovation Review focuses on bridging the gap between theory and practice, from as many viewpoints as possible. The goal of this journal is to promote cross-sector dialogue around a range of emerging issues and related investments that advance economic resilience and mobility for low- and moderate-income communities.

Mental Health and Community Development

This issue of the Community Development Innovation Review is dedicated to the topic of mental health and community development. It advances the healthy communities conversation by explicitly recognizing the relationship between mental health and physical health as well as the role social factors play in both aspects of overall wellbeing. As the World Health Organization (WHO) says, “There is no health without mental health.” As the articles in this issue of the Review reveal, there are profound connections between poverty, place, and poor mental health. Issues like financial insecurity, housing instability, community violence, and limited economic prospects are risk factors for poor mental health—they are also the very same issues that community development seeks to address. In addition, the articles explore emerging themes in the field and their connection to mental health, such as the prevalence of trauma, community resilience in the face of climate change, and the power of arts and culture to engage and activate a community.

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Community Development Research Briefs

Research Briefs feature data and commentary on emerging community development trends.

Testing Our Hypotheses on Equitable Development: Midcourse Learning and Adapting Through SPARCC

This report examines four key hypotheses that drove the development of the Strong, Prosperous, And Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC). It details the experiences and learning among the six SPARCC regions and how these insights have shaped the evolution of the initiative.

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Community Investments

This quarterly publication focuses on community development issues and innovative solutions relevant to communities within the Federal Reserve’s 12th District.

Veterans and Community Development

In this issue of Community Investments, we look into some of the reasons why we are seeing a degree of disconnection between what veterans need and the resources available to them. As we consider how the public can address these missing links, this issue’s articles provide evidence from local initiatives demonstrating effective ways for communities to recognize, support, and collaborate with veterans in the arenas of employment, housing, education, and financial stability. Many of the efforts presented here also highlight the ways in which veterans themselves are serving and supporting their fellow veterans and their broader communities.

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Open Source Solutions

The Open Source Solutions series highlights innovative community development ideas offered by experts from across the field.

Evaluating Empowerment Economics: A Preliminary Framework for Assessing Innovations in Financial Capability

“Empowerment economics” is a multigenerational and culturally responsive approach to financial capability developed by and for low-income Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and other communities of color. This report offers a preliminary evaluation framework that is intended to make visible the innovative approaches and potential outcomes associated with empowerment economics.

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Vantage Point

The Community Indicators Project collects input from community stakeholders about the issues and trends facing low- and moderate-income communities in the 12th District.

Vantage Point: The 12th District Community Indicators Project, 2014

This issue of Vantage Point synthesizes the key themes that emerged in the 2013 community indicators survey based on the responses of 289 expert stakeholders from the 12th District.

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Working Papers

Working papers provide in-depth analysis of new community development issues from practitioners and scholars.

When Home is the Most Dangerous Place: How a Community Development Organization Learned to Get the Lead Out

2018-01

The debacle of lead-poisoned children in Flint, Michigan reminded us of the insidious and permanent impact of this toxic poison on a child’s brain. However, millions of children (and seniors) living in older homes, especially ones with flaking paint, are still being lead poisoned. Today, the vast majority of children who become poisoned by lead come from lower-income families of color—those least able to shoulder this added burden. This is where community-based nonprofit organizations—especially the 1,000+ groups that weatherize and retrofit older homes across the country—can step in and play a key role.

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Special Publications

A collection of topic-specific publications that takes an in-depth look at relevant community development issues.

Community Close-Up: East Oakland

Community Close-Up is a photo series highlighting stories of resilience from communities facing economic hardship. The first in the series centers on the voices and experiences of low-income women living and raising children in East Oakland.