This historical publication was produced under a Statement of Work from HUD to determine the role and effect of neighborhood citizen organizations on community development activities and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in particular. The CDBG program gives cities the ability to choose what types of projects are funded, and the 1977 Act required cities to prepare citizen participation plans, but it only required public hearings. Therefore, cities varied in the types and level of community participation in the program. The authors studied the way citizens affected CDBG expenditures and activities through interviews with city officials, community organizations, city counselors, and other elected officials. Some of the report’s findings include:

• Community participation moved through the traditional modes of interest group pluralism and the lobbying of city officials.
• CDBG tends to be a Mayor’s program in cities where there is already a strong mayor.
• The important decisions concerning CDBG are made centrally.
• Involvement for low and moderate income individuals offered few prospective rewards because of limitations on eligible activities.
• Effective community group participation depends on active local leadership, coalition building, and the ability to gain technical assistance.

This report is part of the collection of scanned historical documents available to the public.