Economic and Community Development Are Not Separate Agendas Economic development is a process and approach used to create jobs, assets, and an investment climate in distressed neighborhoods and cannot be separated from community development. Economic development impacts and is impacted by key social and political factors in a community ranging from access to quality education and social services to the availability of decent and affordable housing. When economic development is viewed as an important element of a larger community development strategy, significant progress can occur. The successful community development organization that Lemann heralds in his article, New Community Corporation of Newark, is a wonderful example of visionary and comprehensive approach to community building that incorporates economic development. The goal is to create a healthy sustainable community.
Economic development is simply one of the means to that end.
Lemann does not appear to grasp this. The Lemann article implies that there is both a coherent federal response to community development and a significant investment of federal resources in community development. The evidence does not support this. Federal response to community development has been paltry since the late 1960s. Community development practitioners have been working with a half empty tool box building houses with hand saws when power tools are needed.