Community Development

Community Development activities are funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME entitlement funds, provided annually through the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development provides the following description of their Community Planning and Development office:

The Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) seeks to develop viable communities by promoting integrated approaches that provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunities for low and moderate income persons. The primary means towards this end is the development of partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including for profit and nonprofit organizations.

Consistent with these objectives, the Office of Community Planning and Development has developed a set of underlying principles that are used in carrying out its mission.

• Community building begins with job creation, employment, and creation of safe, decent and affordable housing.
• Planning and execution of community development initiatives must be bottom up and community driven.
• Complex problems require coordinated, comprehensive, and sustainable solutions.
• Government must be streamlined to be made more efficient and effective.
• Citizen participation in Federal, State and local government can be increased through communication and better access to information.

CPD seeks to encourage empowerment of local residents by helping to give them a voice in the future of their neighborhoods; stimulate the creation of community based organizations; and enhance the management skills of existing organizations so they can achieve greater production capacity. Housing and community development are not viewed as separate programs, but rather as among the myriad elements that make up a comprehensive vision of community development. These groups are at the heart of a bottom up housing and community development strategy.

The City of Longview Community Development office embraces this viewpoint and strives to implement the philosophy in a manner that provides the greatest benefit to the citizens and residents of the city.