Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)

Book excerpt: Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), Looking Back to Look Forward is a prelude to a longer book. It is framed as a conversation between Cormac Russell, who is a leader in the Asset Based Movement in Europe, and Director of ABCD Europe and Professor John McKnight the Co-Director of the ABCD Institute.This book provides 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.