An exploration of how and why American city governments delegated the responsibility for solving urban inequality to the nonprofit sector. American cities are rife with nonprofit organizations that provide services ranging from arts to parks, and health to housing. These organizations have become so ubiquitous, it can be difficult to envision a time when they were fewer, smaller, and more limited in their roles. Turning back the clock, however, uncovers both an eye-opening story of how the nonprofit sector became such a dominant force in American society, as well as a troubling one of why this growth occurred alongside persistent poverty and widening inequality. Claire Dunning's book connects these two stories in histories of race, democracy, and capitalism, revealing an underexplored transformation in urban governance: how the federal government funded and deputized nonprofits to help individuals in need, and in so doing avoided addressing the structural inequities that necessitated such action in the first place. ​Nonprofit Neighborhoods begins in the decades after World War II, when a mix of suburbanization, segregation, and deindustrialization spelled disaster for urban areas and inaugurated a new era of policymaking that aimed to solve public problems with private solutions. From deep archival research, Dunning introduces readers to the activists, corporate executives, and politicians who advocated addressing poverty and racial exclusion through local organizations, while also raising provocative questions about the politics and possibilities of social change. The lessons of Nonprofit Neighborhoods exceed the municipal bounds of Boston, where much of the story unfolds, providing a timely history of the shift from urban crisis to urban renaissance for anyone concerned about American inequality--past, present, or future.

A look at the benefits and consequences of the rise of community-based organizations in urban development Who makes decisions that shape the housing, policies, and social programs in urban neighborhoods? Who, in other words, governs? Constructing Community offers a rich ethnographic portrait of the individuals who implement community development projects in the Fairmount Corridor, one of Boston’s poorest areas. Jeremy Levine uncovers a network of nonprofits and philanthropic foundations making governance decisions alongside public officials—a public-private structure that has implications for democratic representation and neighborhood inequality. Levine spent four years following key players in Boston’s community development field. While state senators and city councilors are often the public face of new projects, and residents seem empowered through opportunities to participate in public meetings, Levine found a shadow government of nonprofit leaders and philanthropic funders, nonelected neighborhood representatives with their own particular objectives, working behind the scenes. Tying this system together were political performances of “community”—government and nonprofit leaders, all claiming to value the community. Levine provocatively argues that there is no such thing as a singular community voice, meaning any claim of community representation is, by definition, illusory. He shows how community development is as much about constructing the idea of community as it is about the construction of physical buildings in poor neighborhoods. Constructing Community demonstrates how the nonprofit sector has become integral to urban policymaking, and the tensions and trade-offs that emerge when private nonprofits take on the work of public service provision.

"It's like being in a small town right in the middle of a big city. People belong to their neighborhood first, and that neighborhood belongs to the city." -- Karen Boyle, Seattle neighborhood activist. Seattle, Washington, has earned a national reputation as a "City of Neighborhoods" and a place where citizens take an active role in finding solutions to the problems of urban life. The efforts of Seattle's neighborhood-based councils and not-for-profit organizations were also seen as part of a national "neighborhood movement" that achieved prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. Originally completed in 1982 as a series of radio programs exploring the history and directions of the neighborhood movement, "In the City of Neighborhoods" was written and produced by award-winning journalist Arthur J. O'Donnell. The series also highlighted economic survival skills for non-profit organizations during an era of budget constraints. In this edition of In the City of Neighborhoods, O'Donnell augments his exploration of neighborhood activism with later articles covering the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome. This special section, called "It's My Backyard, Too", provides insights into the arguments and tactics of those who oppose power plants, transmission lines and other energy developments.

Since the 1950s and the advance of urban renewal, local governments and urban policy have focused heavily on the central business district. However, such development has all but ignored the inner-city neighborhoods that continue to struggle in the shadows of high-rise America. This analysis of urban neighborhoods in the United States from 1960 to 1995 presents fifteen essays by scholars of urban planning and development. Together they show how urban neighborhoods can and must be preserved as economic, cultural, and political centers.

An examination of environmental revitalization efforts in low-income communities in Boston, Barcelona, and Havana that help heal traumatized urban neighborhoods. Environmental justice as studied in a variety of disciplines is most often associated with redressing disproportionate exposure to pollution, contamination, and toxic sites. In Neighborhood as Refuge, Isabelle Anguelovski takes a broader view of environmental justice, examining wide-ranging comprehensive efforts at neighborhood environmental revitalization that include parks, urban agriculture, fresh food markets, playgrounds, housing, and waste management. She investigates and compares three minority, low-income neighborhoods that organized to improve environmental quality and livability: Casc Antic, in Barcelona; Dudley, in the Roxbury section of Boston; and Cayo Hueso, in Havana. Despite the differing histories and political contexts of these three communities, Anguelovski finds similar patterns of activism. She shows that behind successful revitalization efforts is what she calls “bottom to bottom” networking, powered by broad coalitions of residents, community organizations, architects, artists, funders, political leaders, and at times environmental advocacy groups. Anguelovski also describes how, over time, environmental projects provide psychological benefits, serving as a way to heal a marginalized and environmentally traumatized urban neighborhood. They encourage a sense of rootedness and of attachment to place, creating safe havens that offer residents a space for recovery. They also help to bolster residents' ability to deal with the negative dynamics of discrimination and provide spaces for broader political struggles including gentrification. Drawing on the cases of Barcelona, Boston, and Havana, Anguelovski presents a new holistic framework for understanding environmental justice action in cities, with the right to a healthy community environment at its core.

While the economy has boomed since the Great Recession, so too have real estate rents and gentrification in cities across North America; nonprofits priced out of formerly affordable neighborhoods lack adequate workplaces to meet their missions. Shared Space and the New Nonprofit Workplace presents a comprehensive overview of shared space as an innovative model and effective long-term solution for nonprofit organizations' need for stable and affordable office and program space. In particular, it focuses on co-locating multiple nonprofits in shared spaces, often called nonprofit centers, with shared services and a collaborative culture. This comprehensive resource provides a practical road map to develop new workspaces; documents benefits for nonprofit staff, organizations, and their communities; presents challenges and solutions from successful nonprofit shared spaces; and considers nonprofit centers' history and future trends. Further, it offers nonprofits an opportunity to engage in forward-thinking practices, such as collaborative service delivery, green building operations, and cross-sector alliances. The book will be useful to nonprofit executives, staff and board members, foundations, philanthropists, real estate and urban planning professionals interested in creating these projects, and researchers and students of the nonprofit sector.