Progressive reform, gender and institutional structure: A critical analysis of citizen participation in Detroit's Community Development Corporations (CDCs)

This article examines the institutional context in which community-based organisations are embedded. Two emergent themes in the literature on community development are examined critically: the woman-centered model for community organising; and the thesis concerning the community development industry system. The analysis is based upon data from field research with community development corporations (CDC) in Detroit, Michigan. The findings from this research indicate that the prospects for developing progressive community development strategies in grassroots organisations are constrained by barriers to financial resources and limited access to the policy-making process. As a result, recommendations are forwarded for the creation of autonomous funding sources, expanded democratic decision-making in community-based organisations and the linking of progressive reform to broad-based coalition building and multiple oppression politics.