Asset Based Community Development (ABCD): Looking Back to Look Forward - In conversation with John McKnight about the intellectual and practical heritage of ABCD and its place in the world today, by Cormac Russell, tells the story behind ABCD. When I say "behind", I mean it provides us an intimate reflection on the people that most influenced John and the ground-breaking ideas that formed his thinking.
This book is an intimate conversation between two of the people who are most influential in today's ABCD thinking and practice. In Cormac’s own description of the book, he writes that the purpose is to:
“...provide a detailed background to Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), with a particular emphasis on the contributions of the people, such as Illich, Alinsky, Mendelsohn, Miller, Snow, Block and others, who have been most influential in shaping the conceptual framework and practice of this approach. It also provides a deep insight into Professor John McKnight's (one of the originators, and the most central figure in ABCD alongside Professor Jody Kretzmann) thinking on society and community. It offers a wealth of commentary on the challenges facing society and community, what needs to change, and how we might go about it. This publication is therefore a must read for anybody interested in social policy and community development. It will be of particular interest to those seeking to gain a deep, well informed and rounded understanding of Asset Based Community Development from its beginning to the current day.”
For all those attending the first national gathering of ABCD in Canada (April 16-18 in Kitchener, Ontario), you will each receive a copy of this book with your conference registration.
To learn more, visit the ABCD for Healthy Neighbourhoods website or the ABCD Neighbourhood wellness site.
