ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the origins of the Community Development Project (CDP) and at some of their extensive research, concentrating on housing and local economies. It focuses on their social action programmes and their final demise. Uniquely positioned to carry out research into the causes of deprivation, the CDPs had a great deal of promise. Community workers were well placed to offer support and advice, but their view of community development as a vehicle to raise consciousness and to pursue social action through confrontation with local authorities and the Home Office only led to the CDPs becoming fragmented and irrelevant. The CDP had got off to an uncertain start, had a weak organisational structure and were based on contentious assumptions, none of which boded well for the future. CDP teams painted an all too familiar picture of communities suffering from the impact of low incomes and long-term poverty.
