Making a Place for Community: Local Democracy in a Global Era

Scenes from small-town America in the 21st century: Downtown shops are boarded up as Wal-Marts sprawl across the landscape. Factories close, lured to the next state by government handouts. Traffic jams snarl country roads. Yet, for every declining Hartford, CT there's a boomtown like Athens, GA. Why? What is wrong with our communities? The problem, argue the authors of this visionary work, is not in our lack of civic pride but in the "triple threat" our towns and cities face: globalization, the chase for jobs and the challenge of sprawl. These forces-which we created with misguided policies-destroy not only local democracy, but America's long-term economic health. Grounded in decades of research, Making a Place for Community offers brilliant solutions that defy conventional wisdom. Without busting the budget and halting development, the authors' smart new policies and grass-roots solutions, from land trusts to local ownership, show how to reign in sprawl and anchor jobs in the community. Until we face the issues of decay and isolation at the local level, any attempts to "revitalize" downtown or restore "family values" are sure to fail. Making a Place for Community is a vivid blueprint for rebuilding the heart of American life--its towns and cities.

Table of Contents:
Forward: Benjamin BarberPreface: Toward the Reconstruction of American Community and DemocracyPart I.The triple Threat to Community and DemocracyIntroduction: The Case for Community Economic Stability: Economics and Political-Economics1.Globalization and Free trade2.The Chase for Jobs3.The Challenge of SprawlPart II.Place-Based Policy AlternativesNote to Part II4.Federal Job Stabilizing Policies5. Conventional Strategies6.State and Municipal Enterprise 7.Local MunicipalitiesPart III.Place-Based Economic StructuresNote to Part III8.Supporting Employee Ownership9.Community Development Corporations and Community Development Financial Institutions10. Alternative Ownership Models:Non-Profits and Co-Ops11. Community Land trusts and Community AgriculturePart IV. The Global ContextNote to Part IV.12.Restructuring Global Economic Institutions13.Alternative Approaches to TradeConclusion: Political-Economic Policies for the Next Stage of Democratic Development

About the Author :
Gar Alperovitz, the Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland, has a leading voice in the communitarian movement for 30 years. His book, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb is the definitive history of the subject. He serves on the editorial board of Tikkun, and his articles appear frequently in The Nation, The Boston Review and TheWashington Post. Thad Williamson is a researcher at Harvard University. He has written for The Nation, InThese Times and Monthly Review. David L. Imbroscio is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville.

Review :
"Comprehensive, balanced, and well documented, Making aPlace for Community is a monumental collection of valuable research, experience, data and policy guidance on building strong local economies. Essential reading for every city, county and state official and engaged citizen and an invaluable reference source to which they will return for years to come.lo--David C. Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World." "The restoration of American democracy will begin--if it begins at all--in the lives of communities, not Washington DC or state capitals. Making a Place forCommunity provides an illuminating and rigorous tour of the existing landscape of community life and the ongoing efforts to foster development. It is a terrific catalogue of promising ideas.lo--William Greider, author of OneWorld, Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of GlobalCapitalism." "A breathtaking synthesis of the latest research on the essential role of strong community economies in revitalizing American democracy. It contains hundreds of exciting examples of successful policies, businesses, and movements that demonstrate that localization IS a viable alternative to perils of globalization. Every local politicians, policymakers, and activist should read, understand, and use this book." -- Michael H. Shuman, author of Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communitiesin a Global Age "Students interested in the intersection of social science and social policy must read this important book. The authors¹ vision of the adverse impact of globalization, internal capital mobility, and suburban sprawl on American communities is compelling. This vision provides the basis for a new and comprehensive policy agenda to achieve community economic stability and for understanding why such stability is so important for the future of American democracy. Making a Place for Community is replete with theoretical insights, strong substantive arguments, and thoughtful policy analyses." -- William Julius Wilson, author of When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor "An indispensable primer for the new century." -- From the foreword by Benjamin Barber, author of Jihad v. McWorld