In “Communities Develop”, James DeFelippis and Susan Seagert offer deep insights into the role as well as the inner workings of the concept of “community”. Their ideas on the function of communities, and how these may exist within a modern, urban setting, are different from anything we have discussed so far.  DeFelippis and Seagert propose that the role of community should not exist within the urban setting, as urbanization acts as a strategy for capitalist growth. These communities within urban centers then act upon consumerist routines which ultimately buy right back into capitalism.  This chapter then touches on what may arise when a community’s needs are not being met by this model, “community development”, as the the focus of O’Connor’s chapter, as well as the seeming context of this class.

Alice O’Connor’s chapter instead focuses in on the rise of community development, and how it has been a response to issues, namely poverty, that arise within individual communities. O’Connor is a Professor of public policy, and focuses specifically on social policy regarding poverty. Public Policy, according to this chapter, is at war with the actual needs of community,  and reinstates issues of poverty, segregation, and general lack of well being. Federal spending then cannot simply repair all the damages within communities as a result of rapid industrialization and growth. Limited government interference is what puts into question the role of development as a volunteer effort rather than a federal responsibility, or what constitutes “public” and “private”. America has this strange culture which associates “private” as something exclusive, and valuable, which goes further to promote two tier urbanism, as well as the exclusion of low income and minority populations from planning processes.  O’Connor also cited the New Deal as a failed federal strategy to revive communities. The New Deal, as a large scale project to revive local economy,  was not specific enough in what funding could be used for. In not citing where the funds would be allocated, the New Deal worked as a means of attaining home ownership and upward growth for Americans. This plan was only viable for the middle class, and its goal of revitalizing struggling communities was not met.  Later on, urban renewal would be the developed strategy to “cure the problem of  poverty”  within cities.

These articles helped lay the groundwork for what we are currently studying. They put the current situation of cities as well as the economic divide into context.