Building Communities from the Inside Out

Book Distributed Exclusively By: ACTA Publications, 4848 North Clark Street, Chicago: 60640
Phone: 800.397.2282 / Fax: 800.397.0079

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NOTE: Much of the material from the book I review below can be found here

In the introduction to their book, Building Communities From the Inside Out, John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight contend that, when faced with the problems of dying inner-city communities, “well-intended people [seek] solutions by taking one of two divergent paths. The first, which begins by focusing on a community’s needs, deficiencies and problems, is still by far the most traveled, and commands the fast majority of our financial and human resources.” The second, less traveled path “begins with a clear commitment to discovering a community’s capacities and assets” (1).

The first path, although well traveled, tends only to reinforce the socially oppressive patterns in a community. Here, research reveals the community's “needs” to the specialists who then create the programs that address the needs, then,

“Public, private and non-profit human service systems, often supported by university research and foundation funding, translate the programs into local activities that teach people the nature and extent of their problems, and the value of services as the answer to their problems. As a result, many lower income urban neighborhoods are now environments of service where behaviors are affected because residents come to believe that their well-being depends upon being a client. They begin to see themselves as people with special needs that can only be met by outsiders. . .” (2).

So, basically, the first path unwittingly augments the sick system in these neighborhoods by latently emphasizing the problem/need in every program it generates. This is a reasonable assertion.

The second path begins in the opposite direction: it begins by asking “What capabilities do the people in this neighborhood possess? And it “leads toward the development of policies and activities based on the capacities, skills and assets of lower income people and their neighborhoods” (5). Where needs based programming implants the DNA of NEED into each social activity, assets based programming implants the DNA of ASSET into each activity. This makes a lot of sense to me (I mean, you see it played out all the time in educational settings: kids that get placed in advanced classes have ADVANCED written into their beings, whereas kids who are placed in remedial or “B” or whatever have SLOW written into them).

The practical tools in this book are all about finding and developing your communities assets, and there’s a lot of great tools to use. Here’s a basic outline:

Chapter 1- Releasing Individual Capacities


Mapping Individual Capacities: An Inventory (get online version)

• A Detailed Survey (Capacity Inventory Survey: Skills, Community Skills, Enterprising Interests and Experience; Personal Information)

Examples of Capacity-Based Connections and Programs for

• Youth
• Senoirs
• People with Disabilities
• Welfare Recipients
• Local Artists

Chapter 2- Releasing the Power of Local Associations and Organizations

• Associations
• Religions Institutions
• Cultural Organizations

Chapter 3- Capturing Local Institutions for Community Building

• Parks
• Libraries
• Schools
• Community Colleges
• Police
• Hospitals

Chapter 4- Rebuilding the Community Economy

• The Economic Uses of Non-Economic Institutions
• Alternative Credit Institutions
• Physical Assets (Vacant and Abandoned Space, Waste and Energy)

Chapter 5- Asset-Based Community Development: Mobilizing an Entire Community

Five Steps Toward Whole Community Mobilization

• Mapping Assets
• Building Relationships
• Mobilizing for Economic Development and Information Sharing
• Convening the Community to Develop and Information Sharing
• Leveraging Outside Resources to Support Locally Driven Development

Chapter 6- Providing Support for Asset-Based Development: Policies and Guidelines

• Support from Funders
• Support from Governments
• Final Thoughts on the Limits and Potential of Buildings Communities from the Inside Out