Nationwide community problem-solving

Practical knowledge for people building stronger communities

Find practical guidance, credible resources, and action tools for the community challenge in front of you.

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COMMUNITY WORK
STARTS WITH A
GOOD QUESTION.

Explore by need

Start with the outcome you need.

Community Compass organizes information around real decisions and next steps, not technical silos or outdated sitemaps.

Browse all topic collections

Start where you live

Improve My Neighborhood

Turn a local concern into a practical project, coalition, or action plan.

Explore this topic NEIGHBORHOODS

Build the right organization

Start a Nonprofit or CDC

Test the idea, choose the right structure, and build readiness.

Explore this topic ORGANIZATIONS

Strengthen local housing

Housing & Development

Navigate affordability, abandoned property, revitalization, and development choices.

Explore this topic HOUSING

Understand the rules

Planning, Zoning & Codes

Learn the process, find controlling local requirements, and prepare informed questions.

Explore this topic PLANNING

Build from local assets

Rural & Small-Town Development

Address distance, limited capacity, infrastructure, services, and economic transition.

Explore this topic RURAL

Grow durable opportunity

Economic Development

Support local business, commercial districts, jobs, investment, and community wealth.

Explore this topic ECONOMY

Move ideas toward funding

Funding & Community Investment

Find funding pathways, prepare projects, and understand grants and capital stacks.

Explore this topic FUNDING

Build public power

Public Engagement & Advocacy

Organize participation, work with officials, gather support, and make a stronger case.

Explore this topic ADVOCACY

Protect community conditions

Environment & Infrastructure

Connect environmental health, utilities, transportation, resilience, and public investment.

Explore this topic ENVIRONMENT

Use evidence well

Data & Community Research

Find credible data, assess local conditions, and document community needs.

Explore this topic DATA

Put knowledge to work

Tools, Templates & Checklists

Use practical planning tools, meeting guides, worksheets, and implementation checklists.

Explore this topic TOOLS

Find the right door

Government & Nonprofit Resources

Locate current agencies, programs, technical assistance, and trusted national resources.

Explore this topic RESOURCES

Beyond articles

Resources built for action.

Decision guides

Understand the issue, tradeoffs, and questions to ask.

Action checklists

Move from concern to an organized next step.

Funding pathways

Match project readiness with realistic capital sources.

Data tools

Document local conditions with credible evidence.

Meeting tools

Plan productive public and community conversations.

Agency directories

Find the current office, program, or technical-assistance provider.

Browse the national directory

Ready for the next step?

Turn what you learn into a clear plan.

Mission Maps helps you get clear on the need, mission, outcomes, programs, and funding direction before you build the wrong structure.

Start with Mission Maps

Free to everyone

What’s going on in your community?

Pick the problem closest to yours and go straight to the guidance and real answers that fit it.

Abandoned or empty housesHow neighbors can find the owner, get the city involved, and deal with vacant homes and lots.A messy property or codes nobody enforcesWhat to do when a neighboring property is a problem and the city isn't acting on it.Code enforcement is after meAnswers for people who received a violation notice or feel singled out by a code officer.Fight a rezoning, variance, or unwanted projectHow to organize, object, and make your case when something is proposed near you.Understand or change zoning on my propertyThe basics of how zoning works, plus what to know before asking for a change.A church or ministry and zoningCommon questions about where congregations can meet and what permits they may need.Deed restrictions and covenantsHow to find them, what they control, and how they get enforced, changed, or expire.HOA problemsWhat to do when a homeowners association is overreaching, inactive, or not responding.Speeding, traffic, and unsafe streetsWays to document the problem, get enforcement, and push for safer street design.A dying main street or downtownHow to hold on to the businesses you have, organize the district, and refill empty storefronts.Jobs and local businessRealistic ways to support entrepreneurs, attract employers, and choose projects that fit.A small town losing people or servicesIdeas for rural places working to keep residents, services, and a future.Start a neighborhood associationThe first steps, the first meetings, and how to set one up so it lasts.Nobody comes to meetingsHow to get people interested, keep them involved, and bring renters and new voices in.Our board or group keeps fightingWays to handle conflict and get a stuck group moving again.Start a nonprofit or community development corporationWhat a CDC is, how to decide if you need one, and what to think through first.Find money for a projectWhere community projects get funded and how to raise money for a small group.Crime and safetyHow neighbors can prevent crime, work with police, and respond to drug activity.Not enough affordable housingTools communities use to add housing people can afford, in cities and rural areas.Homelessness and povertyCommunity approaches to homelessness and concentrated poverty.Clean up or beautify the neighborhoodHow to plan cleanups and small improvements that make a visible difference.Ideas for a community projectGardens, murals, parties, and other projects that bring people together.Flooding, runoff, and streamsHow communities reduce flooding and protect local waterways.Contaminated or old industrial sitesWhat it takes to clean up and reuse brownfields and closed factories.Save a historic or old buildingOptions for preservation, historic districts, and giving old buildings new uses.Get city hall to listenHow to build influence, run a petition, and work with elected officials.Figure out what our community needsWays to assess needs, set priorities, and make a plan people will support.Engage young peopleIdeas for giving teens and young adults something to do and a real role.

How to use this

Useful guidance must also be honest guidance.

Good ideas last. Laws, programs, and links change.

Preserve the principle

Retain the durable community-development insight and credit its original contributor.

Check what changes

Articles carry a reminder to confirm laws, programs, data, and funding with a current source.

Label local variation

Never turn a jurisdiction-specific rule into a nationwide statement.

Show the sources

The resource directory links directly to official agencies and programs.

Foundational contributor

Original community-development guidance by Nancy Thompson.

Community Compass draws in part on material Nancy Thompson created and edited for A Good Community. Relevant resources credit that contribution. Older guidance is labeled so you can check what may have changed, and Community Compass notes and updates are our own.