This is the second edition of The Concept of Community. It has been updated from its 2008 edition and provided with an Index for easier reference. It is written from the perspective of a consummate insider. This book tells the story of the South Bronx from its near total destruction due to arson by landlords and abandonment from nearly all segments of the public and private sectors through to its rebirth. More importantly, this books describes in detail the struggle of the people of the South Bronx who picked up the pieces of failed domestic policy and how, through raw determination and collective resolve, created the platform for the area's revitalization. Mixed throughout are stories with lessons for organizing and advocacy along with philosophical grounding to ensure that any outsiders who wish to be of assistance do so in a respectful manner, trusting that with the right information, opportunity and access, people have the ability to address and resolve their own issues -- even circumstances as daunting as those of the South Bronx after fires destroyed 70 to 80% of our housing stock and forced hundreds of thousands of our neighbors to flee to adjoining neighborhoods. As reflective of the title, the ultimate takeaway from this book should be the importance of community and how its loss threatens us all and undermines our democracy. And by community, the author is not referring to what we commonly understand as a neighborhood. Community is a much more powerful concept and presumes not only commonality, but also interdependence (your gain, your loss is my gain, my loss) and collective capacity. In a world increasingly defined by isolation, alienation, and manipulation, understanding that community is the only practical medium for self-actualization, popular democracy, and control over our individual and collective lives is critical as we enter an era of increasingly aggressive climate change, debilitating inequality, racial and civil strife.
