Women Creating Social Capital and Social Change

Authors

Marilyn Gittell, CUNY Graduate School and University Center
Isolda Ortega-Bustamante, CUNY Graduate School and University Center
Tracey Steffy, CUNY Graduate School and University Center

Abstract

As Community Development Organizations (CDOs) are the primary vehicle for development in low-income neighborhoods, scholars have begun to examine them in terms of the degree to which they increase citizen participation, increase civic capacity, as well as stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods through the creation of social capital. According to Putnam, civic action requires the existence of social capital; he defines social capital as "norms, trust, and networks." As Gittell and Vidal note, there has been a "virtual industry of interest and action created around the implication of Putnam's findings for the development of low-income communities."

This article is an excerpt from a study published by the Howard Samuels State Management and Policy Center, The Graduate School and The University Center of the City University of New York entitled, "Women Creating Social Capital and Social Change: A Study of Women-led Community Development Organizations."

Recommended Citation

Gittell, Marilyn; Ortega-Bustamante, Isolda; and Steffy, Tracey (2000) "Women Creating Social Capital and Social Change," Trotter Review: Vol. 12: Iss. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/trotter_review/vol12/iss1/7