© Columbia University Press
Democracy in Action: Community Organizing and Urban Change
Paper, 296 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-12673-1
$32.00
/ £22.00
December, 2003
Cloth, 296 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-12672-4
$90.00
/ £62.00
"The work's sharp-edged logic is bracing and it's culminating argument quite suggestive. By bringing together the too-often separated worlds of social movement theorists and community organizers." — William Sites, Social Serive Review
"Students, residents and community organizers will benefit from the most detailed comparison of contrasting organizing models ever written." — Mike Eichler, MSW, Journal of Community Practice
"This book stimulates readers to think about these complex issues... It is strongly recommended." — Journal of Sociology and Social Wlefare
"Democracy in Action is both a splendid critical analysis of the value and power of community organizing and a practical guide to the efficacy of various models of community organizing. Invaluable for a broad audience concerned with grassroots civic renewal." — Robert Fisher, author of Let the People Decide and co-author of Settlement Houses Under Siege: The Struggle to Sustain Community Organizations in New York City
"At a time when the American public is characterized as apathetic and cynical, Kristina Smock shines a powerful analytic spotlight on the vibrant world of local community organizing—groups which engage many thousands of our neighbors. Smock uses thorough case studies to discover and illuminate five distinctive approaches to contemporary community organizing, each of which exhibits both strengths and weaknesses. These categories of strategies--power-based, community building, civic, women-centered and transformative--help us to understand and appreciate the often invisible world of community organizing. Perhaps more importantly, these accounts represent a powerful testimony to the vibrancy of local citizen commitments. This book will help to orient both community-oriented scholars and activists for years to come." — Jody Kretzmann, Northwestern University