This is a genuine innovation, because it is the ONLY text available which demonstrates how social science theory/research can be APPLIED to successful collaborative work with community groups. "Sustainable Communities on an Aging Planet is a course I am designing for Fall, 1996. This text is exactly what I need for the course. I was very impressed with the case material." --Stan Ingman, University of North Texas "I will be teaching a new course next semester entitled ′Community Building.′ I would love to have a text that emphasizes case studies, while providing some information on needs assessment and evaluation research. It looks like [this book] would be exactly what I need." --Roland Liebert, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana Twenty-seven instructive cases, originally written for this volume, are framed by two introductory chapters and a concluding chapter, which draw out the principles and perspectives underlying the case materials. Each case also concludes with extensive editorial commentary.