The Politics of Uneven Regional Development: Underdevelopment and Response in Southern Illinois

Abstract

Community development practitioners typically deal with specific community problems on a daily basis and, consequently, develop programs to address those problems–often with mixed results. Part of the difficulty in determining which strategies have a better possibility of succeeding may be the need to place specific problems of uneven development within a broader theoretical analysis of their root causes. Such an analysis can help target strategies by identifying the symptoms and causes of uneven development. Community development practitioners must also clarify their role in resolving community development problems: do they function as facilitators of empowerment or as providers of solutions? To illustrate these two related community development issues, this paper examines southern Illinois as a case study of an underdeveloped region. The analysis frames an understanding of southern Illinois' underdevelopment as a political process that includes grass roots initiatives to respond to underdevelopment. Several local initiative strategies found in southern Illinois and elsewhere are highlighted.