Master of Urban Planning

Community Development for Social Justice

"Community development is the economic, physical and social revitalization of a community, led by the people who live in that community." --A Guide to Careers in Community Development, by Alice Shabecoff and Paul C. Brophy

Community development emerged as a grassroots movement to improve quality of life in low-income neighborhoods, communities and countries, through empowerment, capacity building, and community-based generation of wealth and asset control. Community development embraces initiatives such as local neighborhood development planning groups, grassroots self-reliant strategies, social movements, participatory planning processes, and advocacy and equity planning. At the core of community development are grassroots neighborhood and community-based groups, along with advocacy and trade organizations, unions, local social service providers, financial institutions, for-profit businesses, government/public sector agencies, foundations, philanthropies, consultants, as well as academic institutions.

The CDSJ concentration concerns community development in both domestic and international contexts. The concentration links the local and the global, as well as theory and practice, in order to understand the processes through which successful intervention occurs.

The key and elective courses offered within and outside the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) give students an understanding of community development that recognizes its underlying economic, social and political forces and structures and considers a range of actors, including the poor, racialized and disadvantaged populations, women and men, policy makers, planners and activists. These courses offer techniques and skills for participatory planning and community development through formal and informal organizations and processes.

DURP CDSJ Faculty

UIUC brings together a strong group of faculty in the area of social planning with specific concern for social justice in community development and housing. The faculty's expertise in cross cultural investigation of gender, race, ethnicity and class in processes of community development uniquely marks our Dept of Urban and Regional Planning among planning schools as a vibrant center for critical investigation of planning process and practice. Key faculty and their areas of expertise and interest in the field include:

Stacy Harwood
Participatory approaches to community development, the role of planners and universities in social justice (East St. Louis); scenario planning as a way to bring about collaboration and negotiate differences (Costa Rica); land-use practices in diverse immigrant communities(Southern California, Midwest).

Faranak Miraftab
Critical analysis of neoliberal urban policies and privatization of public services, global justice movements, grassroots and community-based mobilizations for housing and basic neighborhood services, gender, immigrants and transnational urbanism. Her empirical work spans South Africa, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.

Ken Salo
Law, power and ecology in communities polarized by racial, gendered, generational and economic hierarchies. Research aims to explain how disempowered groups within these communities use, avoid and resist dominant legal forms to secure and sustain equitable access to the ecological resources necessary for a dignified livelihood. Current projects focus on disputes between subsistence and commercial fishing communities who work South Africa's fertile west coast and the racial politics of organic and local food movements situated in east central Illinois.

CDSJ Listserv

Join the CDSJ Listserv to keep track of happenings in the Department and on campus in this field.

CDSJ Course Recommendations

Students interested in working in the field of community development, either domestically or internationally, need to develop many of the same skills as in the other areas of specialization within the planning profession—e.g., problem solving, critical thinking, communication, analytical and process skills. The Department encourages students to consider courses in other concentrations, for example, in environmental planning, economic development, urban design, and GIS to complement the courses suggested below.

Students wishing to develop professional competence in community development for social justice are strongly encouraged to take at least three of the CDSJ Core Courses listed below.

Courses in Community Development for Social Justice
Core CDSJ Courses		Other CDSJ Courses
UP 423 UP 474 UP 473 UP 494	Introduction to International Planning Neighborhood Planning Housing & Urban Policy Planning Community Economic Development	UP 420 UP 428 UP 429 UP 494 UP 478 UP 494 UP 494 UP 521 UP 587	Planning for Historic Preservation International Planning Development Study International Environmental Policies & Practices Affordable Housing Developments & Finance Community Development Workshop Gender & Dev in Russian & Former Republics Gender & Race in Community Dev Planning Seminar in International Dev Planning Qualitative Methods

Practical Experience

Academic preparation combined with volunteer, community activism and internships, opens up a diverse range of career options for students in the Community Development for Social Justice concentration (CDSJ). Students in the CDSJ concentration are strongly encouraged to complement their course work with practical experience in the area of community development. The department offers a great variety of opportunities for internship, volunteer work, and field based course work both domestically and internationally. The East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP) offers course-based experience, graduate assistantships, and client-based research/practice opportunities in the domestic context. DURP's Transnational Stream offers opportunities for field-based course work and research outside of the United States. For example, students should consider participating in the Sustainable Futures Program and the Network for European and U.S. Regional and Urban Studies (NEURUS) program, both of which are available on a regular basis.

Career Paths

Expertise in CDSJ opens several career paths for the graduating student. Students may work directly with communities as a neighborhood planner, community organizer, or advocate in a public sector or nonprofit organization, either domestically or internationally. CDSJ students may focus on community-level job creation, micro-enterprise, and wealth creation, leading to a career path in the community development finance (CDFi) or community economic development (CED) field. Students specializing in CDSJ may also concentrate on affordable housing development, leading to a career with a community development corporation (CDC) or in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit industry. The chart below schematically represents the possible career paths, potential employers, and recommended course tracks for students graduating with expertise in Community Development for Social Justice.

Career Path	Potential Employers	Recommended Courses & Electives
Community development, neighborhood planning, community organizing & advocacy	Nonprofit and non-governmental organizations such as CDCs, neighborhood organizations, or international development agencies that become directly involved in implementing projects or programs with disadvantaged communities. Public sector agencies operating at various levels and tiers of government including local, regional, state and federal/national, particularly in planning department, public housing, community and economic development departments Potential employers also include university extension programs such as East St Louis Action Research Project and non-profit organizations and community based organizations that work with disadvantaged communities, such as Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and Pacific Institute for Community Organizing (PICO). In the international context these include non-profit and non-governmental organizations that work with local grassroots groups and/or social movements; e.g., Green Belt Movement Kenya, 50 Years is Enough, Washington, D.C.	UP 423 (Introduction to International Planning) or UP 474 (Neighborhood Planning) are recommended for this career path. Other electives include UP 429 (International Planning Seminar), UP 478 (Community Development Workshop), UP 494 (Gender and Race in Community Development Planning), UP 521 (Seminar in International Development Planning), and UP 587 (Qualitative Methods). Also see electives in Globalization and Development and Community Development, Group Process and Collective Action.
Community development finance, community economic development planner/	International: bilateral and multilateral development organizations such as USAID, CIDA; DFID, or non-profit foundations such as Ford, McArthur, or international development organizations such as OXFAM and the Grameen Bank (India) that fund micro enterprise and local community development projects. Domestic: financial intermediaries or capital providers who provide loans, charitable grants, training and technical assistance, examples include South Shore Bank in Chicago; Self-Help Credit Union in Durham, North Carolina; LISC; Enterprise Foundation; Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and Women's self employment project (Chicago).	UP 494 (Affordable Housing Development Finance) and UP 494 (Community Economic Development) are strongly recommended for this career path. Other electives include UP 445 (Economic Development Policy), UP 407 (State and Local Government Finance), ACE 255 (Economics of Rural Poverty and Development), ACE 476 (Family Economics), BADM 445 (Small Business Consulting), and FIN 445 (Real Estate Investment). Also see electives in Local & Regional Economic Development and courses under the Poverty and Social Welfare category below.
Affordable housing development	CDCs involved in housing development and management, tax credit syndicators such as Enterprise Social Investment Corporation or the National Equity Fund/LISC, a state housing finance agency disbursing low income housing tax credits, or as a consultant to developers and architects, asset management companies, law firms or others involved in affordable markets.	UP 494 (Affordable Housing Development Finance) is strongly recommended for this career path. Note that FIN 445 (Real Estate Investment) is a prerequisite for the Affordable Housing Development Finance course. Possible electives include UP 420 (Planning for Historic Preservation), ARCH 576 (Architectural Seminar with Dearborn), FIN 444 (Urban Real Estate Valuation), LA 335 (Community Design and Open Space Studio with Lawson), LAW 623 (Real Estate Transactions), and LAW 624 (Real Estate Finance) Also courses under the Local & Regional Economic Development concentration and under the category Design, Place and Space below.

Other Faculty on Campus

There are many other faculty on campus teaching and conducting research on topics relevant to Community Development for Social Justice. They include, among others, Assata Zerai, Lynn Dearborn, Antonia Darder, Thomas Schwandt, David Wilson, Ann Reisner, Augusto Espiritu, Dianne Harris, Rebecca Ginsburg, Ann Bishop, Bruce Wicks, Zsuzsa Gille, and Jan Nederveen-Pieterse.

Other CDSJ-Related Courses in the University

There are a wide variety of courses across campus on topics related to community development for social justice. For example, the Department of Human and Community Development's Community Studies and Outreach (CSO) Ph.D. Concentration in ACES offers many courses of close relevance to CDSJ students. The Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) has recently developed a Community Informatics Corps (CIC) for its master's degree program. Community informatics is the field of study and practice devoted to understanding how information processes and technologies are used to help communities achieve their goals. The following table organizes various courses into major substantive categories that may be of interest to planning master's and PhD students.

Community Development, Group Processes and Collective Action Students with professional interests in CDSJ should have both a conceptual understanding about planning processes, conflict and collective action as well as some hands-on practical experience in facilitation, conflict resolution and community organizing and project-based work.
AGCM 430 AGED 360 CI 422 EOL 490 HCD 517 HCD 533 HCD 595 HDFS 426 LAW 685 LIR 542 LIR 543 LIR 567	Comm in Env Social Movements Integrating Leadership Families, Communities, Schools Mediation Practices and Research Community Studies Theory Community in American Society Community Dev Topics & Theories Family Conflict Management Dispute Resolution Collective Bargaining Workplace Dispute Resolution Negotiation in HR Decisions	LIS490CIC NRES 540 PS 507 PS 410 PS 451 PSYC 550 RSOC 443 SOC 470 SOC 467 SOCW 522 SPCM 424 SPCM 536 THEA 418	Community Informatics Corps Public Involvement in Res Mgmt Collect Action & Interest Grps Neighborhoods and Politics Citizens & Democratic Process Comm Psych and Soc Syst Change Social Change in Dev Areas Social Movements Power and Empowerment SW Practice in Communities Campaign Messages & Strategies Seminar Group Discussion Social Issues Theater
Design, Place and Space Students interested in the intersection of design, race and culture should consider these courses as well as DURP's concentration in Community Design.
ARCH 424 ARCH 576 CHLH 407 GEOG 483 GEOG 494	Gender and Race in Architecture Cultural Context of Design Disability, Culture & Society Urban Geography Seminar in Social Geography	HCD 532 LA 470 LA 562 LA 587 RST 457 SOC 521	Topics Comm & Rural Studies Social/Cultural Design Issues Social Construction of Space Urban Public Spaces Tourism Development Sociology of Race and Racism
Globalization and Development Students who are interested in the CDSJ concentration with an international focus can benefit from a range of resources on campus, including area and cultural programs, global studies centers, as well as a wide range of course offerings that concern global and development issues. A few are listed below, but there are many more.
ANTH 466 ANTH 484 ANTH 502 CHLH 510 EPS 530 GEOG 410 HIST 472 LAW 657 LAW 798	Class, Culture and Society Asian Diasporas Ethnicity and Nationalism Public Health Dev Education and Globalization Geography of Dev and Underdev Immigrant America International Human Rights Law Globalization	LIR 555 LLS 435 NRES 439 PS 457 PS 583 SOC 462 SOC 560 SOC 561 SOC 562	Labor in Less Developed Count Commodifying Difference Env and Sustainable Dev Governing Globalization International Organizations Global Racial Stratification Globalization Dynamics Debates Development Theories Seminar in Transnational Studies
Poverty and Social Welfare
ACE 255	Economics of Rural Poverty & Dev	ACE 476 LAW 792	Family Economics Poverty Law
Public Finance and Economic Development
BADM 445 FIN 444 FIN 445 LAW 622	Small Business Consulting Urban Real Estate Valuation Real Estate Investment Land Use Planning	LAW 623 LAW 624 LAW 625 LAW 794	Real Estate Transactions Real Estate Finance State and Local Government Real Estate Development
Research Methods/Alternative Methodologies Students interested in qualitative research, particularly around issues related to community, equality and justice, should consider these electives. CDSJ doctoral students should also consider these courses to prepare for qualifying exams and the dissertation proposal.
AFRO 490 ANTH 410 ANTH 464 ANTRO 414 EPS 516 EPSY 470 EPSY 577	Africana Theories Research Design in Anth Ethnography of Local Cultures Writing Ethnography Social Theories and Education Intro to Evaluation Theory Foundations Qual Methodology	EPSY 578 EPSY 590 GWS 570 HCD 591 HCD 592 PSYC 336 SOC 583	Qualitative Inquiry Methods Program Eval/Soc Research Methods Feminist Research Soc Science Qualitative Methods GRID Research Methods Topics in Clin/Comm Psyc Qualitative Research Methods>

Lectures, Seminars & Workshops on Campus

Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Workshops
DURP Brown Bag Lunch Seminars
Women and Gender Studies Brown Bag Speaker Series
Geography Colloquia Series
Illinois Leadership Initiative Speakers and Workshops
Office for Student Conflict Resolution (Mediation Workshops)
Real Estate and Business School Seminar series
Transnational Seminar Series and Workshops
Women in a Global Perspective Speaker Series

Projects

Programs & Centers

Off-Campus Resources

The Community Development Society provides leadership to professionals and citizens across the spectrum of community development. Members have multiple opportunities to learn what's new in the profession, to exchange ideas, to obtain the most current research and reference information available and to share professional expertise.

The mission of COMM-ORG is to link academics and activists, and theory and practice, toward the goal of improving community organizing and its related crafts. The project is supported by the University of Wisconsin Department Of Rural Sociology and the University of Wisconsin Extension Center for Community and Economic Development.

KnowledgePlex® offers best practices, discussions, research and more for professionals working on affordable housing and community development.

The National Congress for Community Economic Development is the trade association for community development corporations (CDCs) and the community economic development (CED) industry.

Planners Network is an association of professionals, activists, academics, and students involved in physical, social, economic, and environmental planning in urban and rural areas, who promote fundamental change in our political and economic systems.

Academic Programs

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