LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD: DIRECTIONS OF CHANGE FOR THE JOURNAL

Looking Back Over the past five years as editor of the Journal of the Community Development Society I have had a unique opportunity to observe directions taken in various research topics and academic disciplines. This observation has been based on receipt of numerous manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal, e-mail communications with members of the Community Development Society of America and readers of its flagship journal, and on numerous conversations with practitioners and researchers alike. Our commitments are varied, and the applied and basic focus that drives them clearly reflects deep commitments. Simply said, we are a diverse and energized group. The latter characteristic is perhaps our best trait. Our work cannot be summarized in a few catch phrases, and our approaches to solving community problems reflect this inherent complexity. Economists, anthropologists, political scientists, sociologists, human development specialists, and a range of practitioners, both from the United States and abroad, have submitted their manuscripts, gone through our review process, and published material in the Journal. During my tenure as editor, we received more than 160 manuscripts, addressing a full spectrum of community development issues. Of these articles, 66 were eventually published (or accepted for publication) in the Journal; 39 were either rejected or withdrawn from the review process by the author. The remaining manuscripts remain in the review process in various stages. The breadth of subject matter included more than 30 categories (see Table 1), ranging from those that focused on the changing role of telecommunications, to modern problems associated with agricultural issues. Many addressed broad general community issues, including empowerment, infrastructure, decision making, rural development, diversity [the theme of the special issue published as Volume 31 (2)], and delivery of community services. Increasingly, we received and published manuscripts with an international focus. One of the major measures of our efforts is the fact that we involved 288 people in the review process. Each of these individuals provided invaluable service to the authors of the various papers published (and rejected), to the readers of the Journal, to our society, and to me as editor. Their selfless commitment enabled us to produce the last five volumes. I remain amazed and grateful for their assistance. I am quite sure that Ted Bradshaw will be able to count on continued support from these folks. Looking Forward My particular perspective on community development, and my comments on the directions in which I see the Society moving, is informed by the interactional school of community studies as originally framed by Kaufman and Wilkinson and elaborated by their students. This viewpoint is marked by three central components of community: (1) A geographic or territorial dimension, which is referred to as "locality" (this simply refers to where people live and meet their daily needs together); (2) a human life dimension, which addresses the fact that a place also is characterized by the presence of people who live in a particular local society (a local society is generally marked by a relatively complete social organization through which members satisfy their needs--crudely, this dimension refers to the institutions and collective goals of a locality); and finally (3) this perspective focuses on the process of locality-oriented social actions. Particular attention is given to the phases and roles of collective action (Wilkinson, 1970, 1991) which are seen to be strong indicators of the local processes through which community residents express their common interests in the local society. The focus on collective action sets an interactional framework apart from other approaches to community development. Knowing the what, where, or who of a particular place tells us very little about how people interact. …