Renewal in a working-class black neighborhood

This article assesses the progress of community development corpora tions (CDCs) in renewing the physical and social environments of urban neighborhoods, particularly working-class black neighborhoods. Specifically, the author documents the work, outcomes, and challenges of CDCs in South Jamaica, Queens, one of New York City's oldest working-class black neighborhoods. In this instance, CDCs are attempting to reinstill the social community by rebuilding the physical community. Their vision of the social community is characterized by a greater concentration of owner-occupied housing units, attractive properties. and a growing middle class. To this end, the CDCs in South Jamaica have encouraged home ownership, incumbent upgrading, and middle-class resettlement. The work of CDCs in South Jamaica has yielded some positive results in terms of the trajectory of this working-class black neighborhood. However, there are daunting challenges ahead for the CDCs in South Jamaica, as well as those attempting renewal in other working-class black neighborhoods.