ABSTRACT
Because a high level of social need could be found throughout Camden, nearly every government-financed plan for real estate development had to be examined not only in terms of how the plan might change the physical environment but also in terms of how the plan might affect the lives of current and future community members. During my thirteen-month assignment in Camden, I had many opportunities to observe this interplay between the evaluation of real estate development ventures and the consideration of related social issues (such as education, public safety, and workforce development), and, with others, to try to advance the former while addressing the latter. During this time, I participated in the organization of a reinvestment strategy for Lanning Square, a downtown-area neighborhood just south of Camden’s central business district, that was designed to address both development goals and social needs simultaneously and comprehensively. This strategy is worth examination, both as a reinvestment model that combines place-based development with people-oriented resource building and as an illustration of the obstacles that threaten the prospects for moving such a model to successful implementation.
