Investing in What Works - A Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Low Income Investment Fund Book

Oct 13, 2026

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Investing in What Works examines community development as a long-term effort to build sustainable communities and reduce poverty. The text includes a foreword and multiple thematic sections covering the past, present, and future of community development, the evolution of American poverty, and policy, field, and academic perspectives. Contributions address equity agendas, community wealth building, impact investing, rural development, health links, housing models, and strategies for scaling effective practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages438

Reading Time2 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Building Sustainable Communities

Community Development: Past and Present

The Past, Present, and Future of Community Development in the United States

The Continuing Evolution of American Poverty and Its Implications for Community Development

Open Forum: Voices and Opinions from Leaders in Policy, the Field, and Academia

From Leaders in Policy

From Leaders in the Field

From Leaders in Academia

Mapping the Future: Synthesizing Themes and Ideas for Next Steps

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO 101 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94105 LOW INCOME INVESTMENT FUND 100 Pine Street, Suite 1800 San Francisco, CA 94111 Senior Editors: Nancy O. Andrews David J. Erickson Contributing Editors: Ian J. Galloway Ellen S. Seidman Copyright © 2012. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Low Income Investment Fund. This book may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that it is: 1. For noncommercial, personal, or educational purposes only (i.e., not for private gain), and 2. Appropriately credited to its author or authors, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the Low Income Investment Fund. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Federal Reserve System, or the Low Income Investment Fund. ISBN 978-0-615-68152-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2012947084 Printed in the United States of America In Memory of Cushing Niles Dolbeare Cushing N. Dolbeare was often called the grandmother of the modern day housing movement. Her unflinching honesty and unassuming demeanor allowed her to find common ground along the entire political spectrum. Cushing inspired the pioneers of the community development movement, many of whom are acknowledged in the pages of this book. Her example is one that we will emulate for decades to come. TABLE OF CONTENTS vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 FOREWORD Building Sustainable Communities Elizabeth A. Duke, Governor, Board of Governors ofthe Federal Reserve System I COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: PAST AND PRESENT 10 The Past, Present, and Future of Community Development in the United States Alexander von Hoffman, Harvard University 55 The Continuing Evolution of American Poverty and Its Implications for Community Development Alan Berube, Brookings Institution 72 II 107 133 140 150 162 170 184 Crossing Over to an Improved Era of Community Development Eric Belsky, Harvard University Jennifer Fauth, City of New York OPEN FORUM: VOICES AND OPINIONS FROM LEADERS IN POLICY, THE FIELD, AND ACADEMIA FROM LEADERS IN POLICY Fighting Poverty through Community Development Shaun Donovan, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services FROM LEADERS IN THE FIELD America’s Tomorrow: Race, Place, and the Equity Agenda Angela Glover Blackwell, PolicyLink People Transforming Communities. For Good. Angela Blanchard, Neighborhood Centers, Inc. Future of Community Development: How CDFIs Can Best Ride the Impact Investing Wave Antony Bugg-Levine, Nonprofit Finance Fund Community Development in Rural America: Collaborative, Regional, and Comprehensive Cynthia M. Duncan, AGree It Takes a Neighborhood: Purpose Built Communities and Neighborhood Transformation Shirley Franklin, Purpose Built Communities David Edwards, IBM Corporation The Future of Community Development Paul Grogan, The Boston Foundation 192 From Community to Prosperity Ben Hecht, Living Cities 204 Owning Your Own Job Is a Beautiful Thing: Community Wealth Building in Cleveland, Ohio Ted Howard, Democracy Collaborative 215 Why Health, Poverty, and Community Development Are Inseparable Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 226 The World Has Changed and So Must We Clara Miller, F. B. Heron Foundation 237 Getting to Scale: The Need for a New Model in Housing and Community Development Sister Lillian Murphy, Mercy Housing Janet Falk, Mercy Housing 246 What Problem Are We Trying to Solve? Mark A. Pinsky, Opportunity Finance Network 255 Transit-Oriented Development Is Good Community Development John Robert Smith, Reconnecting America Allison Brooks, Reconnecting America 264 Household and Community Financial Stability: Essential and Interconnected Jennifer Tescher, Center for Financial Services Innovation FROM LEADE

FAQs

What is the book’s focus?

The book focuses on community development as a strategy to build sustainable communities and address poverty, including its past, present, and future.

How does the document structure its viewpoints?

It includes an open forum that brings together leaders from policy, the field, and academia to share voices and opinions on community development.

Which themes are highlighted in the later sections?

Later sections address mapping the future through themes like integration and innovation, scaling approaches, and new vision, strategy, and organization for community development.

Oct 13, 2026

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