This is the first scholarly analysis that examines the development and achievements of the American community development movement. Community development is now a multi-billion industry in the US. Hundreds of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), located in all regions of the country, have successfully forged locally-based strategies that provide affordable housing, foster business development, and provide much needed community facilities, including innumerable charter schools, in highly distressed communities in inner city neighborhoods, rural communities, and also in American Indian areas. In many areas of the US, CDFIs represent a viable alternative to the mainstream banking industry. This volume documents the positive impact the CDFI industry has had in distressed urban and rural areas in the US.

James L. Greer is an independent scholar with a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago, USA. His research interests include, along with American community economic development, early New Deal housing and banking policies, home mortgage redlining, and the patterning of economic growth in the American metropolitan areas. Oscar Gonzales is a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Maryland, USA. He holds a BA and MA from Yale University, USA. His research focuses on economic and community development in low-income communities. Previously, he held positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Congressional Research Service.