Thinking Out Loud

Eileen Figel, Institute director

Welcome to our blog. In this space, Institute staff and our colleagues around the country will share news and views on our work, our neighborhoods and the field of comprehensive community development.

It’s an opportunity to Think Out Loud – and for you to offer your comments. We welcome YOUR thoughts about our blog posts. So, comment on them here, or if you like, send me an email. We look forward to a provocative, interactive discussion. - Eileen Figel, Institute director

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Life after Sandy: Dec 11, 2012; More than half a dozen key LISC staff on the East Coast participated in a roundtable to discuss the effects of Hurricane Sandy and what it means for their cities and communities moving forward.
Changes at the Institute: Joel Bookman and Eileen Figel, Dec 9, 2012; Operations for the Institute move to LISC headquarters in New York.
Washington monument: Eileen Figel, Nov 12, 2012; A new book carefully chronicles what it took to build the community development field in Washington D.C.—and what it has meant for the city.
Local thoughts on the big picture: Eileen Figel, Oct 22, 2012; Community practitioners give their insight into the thoughtful essays of the new book Investing in What Works for America's Communities .
Community democracy: Jenifer Wagley, Oct 21, 2012; In Houston, a commitment to new ways of building neighborhood leadership, engagement and civic capacity.
Mixed and matched: Jennifer Rodríguez, Oct 21, 2012; Pairing improvements to local infrastructure with social services and other supports is making a difference in low-income communities in Eastern North Philadelphia.
More alike than different: Micah Gursky, Oct 21, 2012; What works in rural community development is what works in cities—especially when you plan for any differences in scale.
Planning for rural demographics: John Niederman, Oct 21, 2012; In Huntington, Indiana, a nonprofit is jumpstarting a conversation about how comprehensive community development can help reverse long-term population loss.
Public safety in numbers: Jacqueline Samuel, Oct 21, 2012; In South Chicago, a local organizer explains that when violence threatens to take over a community, it takes the whole community to fight back.
Help for struggling commercial corridors: Joel Bookman, Sep 24, 2012; The new MetroEdge tab gives information about how this commercial corridor support program works, as well as examples of how it has made a difference around the country.
Back from disaster: Eileen Figel, Sep 10, 2012; Recovery efforts work best when they’re strategic, broadly focused and targeted to the communities that need the most help.
Childhood's trend: Carl Vogel, Sep 4, 2012; A new databook shows how improving low-income communities can have a profound impact on the future of the local kids.
Massachusetts model: Eileen Figel, Aug 20, 2012; A new tax credit program in the Bay State helps attract private investment to low-income communities.
Parks and recreation: Gordon Walek, Aug 6, 2012; A string of community parks in the South Bronx shows how hard it can be to change a neighborhood—and why it’s worth the wait.
When policy comes from the neighborhood: Dominique Williams, Jul 30, 2012; A change in perspective came when the City asked for public health policy recommendations from Chicago community groups.
Surviving and thriving in the new normal: Jim Capraro, Jul 23, 2012; The American economy might be on the rebound. If neighborhoods are to share in the recovery, they’ll need to adapt to some structural changes.
Building on a legacy: Carl Vogel, Jul 16, 2012; Lessons in how to think about getting the most from America's "legacy cities" can be applied to neighborhoods as well.
Is there a better way to think about scale?: Joe Kriesberg, Jul 9, 2012; It's easier to grow or replicate a successful program when you have the right resources.
Cultural assets feed a commercial corridor: Joseph Horiye, Jun 18, 2012; In San Diego, the City Heights community is using its diversity to create an international destination point on El Cajon Boulevard.
Parking lots and possibilities: Carl Vogel, Jun 11, 2012; A new book asks us to rethink the lowly parking lot, which brings up the question, what else can be a resource in rebuilding our neighborhoods?
A portrait of the artist as a young real estate developer: Gordon Walek, Jun 4, 2012; On Chicago’s South Side, Theaster Gates—an artist with a background in urban planning—is building a community.
Commitment from the flames: Eileen Figel, May 21, 2012; At the 20-year anniversary of the civil unrest in Los Angeles, the staff of LISC Los Angeles remembers the event and reminds us of what we learned about opportunity.
Why talk about "why": Jim Capraro, May 14, 2012; An inspiring TED video gives a compelling argument about how to change—and communicate about—your work.
Community, relationships and the power of place: Eileen Figel, May 7, 2012; Robert Sampson's new book shows that collective efficacy at the neighborhood level is a living entity--and that means place matters.
Unsafe streets: Carl Vogel, Apr 30, 2012; New research shows that poor neighborhoods are much more dangerous for drivers and pedestrians