Developing Countries, Developing Communities

Revision with unchanged content. In developing countries, the establishment and growth of healthy communities is commonly hampered, and often times entirely prevented, by the combined problems of poverty, violence, disease, geography, and weather. Without the ability to generate balanced economies and social support, the people of these countries struggle for survival in unpredictable and often dangerous circumstances. If these countries cannot improve conditions at the local level, how can their populations improve living conditions at the local level? This work explores the possibilities of community development in third world countries by means of company towns, using available natural resources as a catylist for creating employment, providing housing, and introducing social programs as the begginings of a healthy community. Using a rural site in Haiti as a test study, pertinent topics include historic company towns and paternalism, traditional urban design, housing typologies, and vernacular architecture. The book is written for urban designers, architects, developers, students, social workers, and volunteers interested in similar topics and the improvement of developing countries.