Comprehensive community initiatives as place--based strategies for change: An analysis of the LISC/Chicago New Communities Program

Planners, community development professionals and local governments often look to place-based strategies to create community change in disinvested urban neighborhoods. These strategies aim to create change at the local level and seek to involve community residents in their design. This thesis explores the concept of the comprehensive community initiative, an integrated, holistic approach to neighborhood development. Using the Local Initiative Support Corporation/ Chicago New Communities Program as a case study; the structure, design and process of the program are analyzed. Implications for community organizing, neighborhood planning and revitalization are discussed. The lessons learned from the program are examined in the context of emerging place-based federal legislation such as Promise and Choice Neighborhoods.