This issue of Community Development signals the start of the 49th volume for our international, peer-reviewed journal of the Community Development Society. Included is a set of papers that informs the field of community development by assessing the impact of local religious and social priorities on food assistance delivery, social economies, and the advantages and challenges of university-community partnerships. Additionally, there are studies on the role of agriculture in sustaining communities, individual-constraints in achieving community attachment, and a review of themes in community resilience. These papers represent interesting and important issues of community development across the US and internationally. This issue also includes a set of book reviews on topics relevant to the readership.
As Co-Editors, we want to continue to stimulate new thinking and spur innovative research for future issues and volumes as we head toward the 50th volume in 2019. Perhaps policies and programs heretofore conceptualized as distinct from community development can and should be brought into the fold. In so doing, new light may be shed on community development research and practice in ways that diversify previously held conceptions and perceptions. Employing new lenses will create new pathways for investigation and inclusion within the field. For example, we bring to the table our interests in exploring the linkages between formal and informal education with community development processes and priorities. Additionally, we suggest linkages to healthcare, food systems, local government, and energy as factors that nuance these linkages.
We invite your ideas for individual papers, as well as themed and special issues. Engage with your colleagues in discussions of a theme, or more formally partner and propose a special issue for Community Development. We look forward to talking with you about new ideas and unexplored pathways as we move forward.
Co-Editors, Community Development
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