San Berillo Conundrum

Community Development Community Organizations International Housing Organizing

            Catania           San Berillo proper, we might say, is a historic district near the city center of Catania, the second-largest city in Sicily.  The narrow alleys and unique, but too often deteriorated and hardly habitable housing structures, all tell stories of life, history, and the culture of the community. Now as I walked for several …

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School-Violence-Poverty Index Might Unlock Opportunity Bargains

Community Development Housing Poverty Race

              Pearl River     I approach so-called “opportunity indexes” with a heavy dose of skepticism, largely because I worry about an urban strategy that dilutes concern for the whole community by carving out islands for special treatment.  This has been the bane of community development corporations, focusing on specific neighborhoods or areas, and, despite attracting …

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