The Community Development Society (CDS) is the longest standing professional society in the field, having been founded in 1969, amidst an era of social change. Today, CDS embraces a renewed commitment to social justice, solidarity, and equity centered community change. For our professional Society, this requires revising our Principles of Good Practice with a broader membership, changing how we operate, and expanding what we offer to our Members and the field of practice.

The field of Community Development is fragmented by many disciplinary homes, areas of specialization, and geographic emphases. By convening around shared visions of community quality of life, health, resilience, justice, and sustainability, we can find new ways to enhance the community development ecosystem and industry. Systemic improvement is sought through cross-pollination among activists, practitioners, and scholars; across numerous types of expertise in community building, community development, and community economic development; and across civic, public, nonprofit, and private sectors.

The 2023 conference theme, ‘Hood and Holler: Similarities and Differences in Urban and Rural Community Development, provides an exciting opportunity for this type of exchange and mutual learning. We seek to lift up histories of economic exploitation and disinvestment, cultural and institutional marginalization, and structural power differentials that shape urban and rural communities alike. While challenges and opportunities in urban and rural communities can differ dramatically, many similarities are found, including how systems of privilege perpetuate:

• Poverty, income inequalities, and wealth gaps
• Disparities in health and educational outcomes
• Uneven burdens of environmental hazards and impacts of climate change
• Insufficient housing quality, affordability, and accessibility
• Lack of necessary goods and services (e.g., broadband access, healthcare, food deserts)
• Limited local employment opportunities
• Limited local organizational and institutional support or capacity

Furthermore, as communities confront these challenges, they share similar community building strategies and social action that center:

• Passionate neighbors seeking change
• Developing critical consciousness
• Education for political action
• Equity-oriented, peaceful change
• Cultural and environmental assets unique to the people and place
• Collective care and mutual aid

Community developers from all walks of life grapple with these local challenges and leverage local opportunities in myriad ways. Concurrent sessions will include academic paper presentations, program and project presentations, storytelling circles, and roundtables from activists, practitioners, and scholars.