SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUMMER PROGRAM

This year marks the fourth consecutive summer ICA has hosted a program aimed to immerse university students in the arena of sustainable community development.

​This summer's Sustainable Community Development Intensive (SCDI) course was designed to complement academic coursework for students interested in pursuing a career in the field of community development.  

Staff and SCDI participants working

SCDI emphasized application of ICA's participatory processes. Students from four Chicago-based institutions, along with a student from Macalester College in Minnesota, participated in the program. Andreus Fox, the grandson of Fifth City resident Lily Fox, also participated in the program.

Students learned tools to help communities and groups create a vision, identify root problems, and plan for action and implementation. The methods were put to practical use to help ICA staff plan for the solar unveiling event happening this September. ​

Thus far, ICA has offered summer courses focused on theory and community engagement. The learning from this summer was that adding participatory processes to the sustainable community development curriculum enhances the students' experience. Next year, ICA will host an 8 week long, holistic course combining methods, theory, and civic engagement.