ANHD 2016 Building the Community Development Movement
It is easy to forget the New York City of 25 years ago. Many neighborhoods suffered from disinvestment and abandonment as entire communities were written off by banks, developers, and even the government. But these neighborhoods were not written off by their residents, many of whom organized to form local groups called Community Development Corporations – or CDCs.
Through these organizations, neighborhoods started on the long road back. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, CDCs served as the catalyst for neighborhood recovery – not only through rebuilding the housing stock and other local institutions, but also through delivering the comprehensive services needed by these communities.
