Community building is an approach to urban poverty that rejects a programmatic approach in favor of efforts that catalyze personal relationships and social networks to improve community life. Community building analyzes urban poverty as a web of interwoven problems that can lock families out of opportunity permanently. Community building initiatives try to address the economic, social, and political marginalization of urban communities. The best community initiatives make progress on most fronts, but none has had equal success on all fronts. In examining initiatives with something to share, this report focuses on initiatives that have the most to teach in specific areas. Engaging government systems is illustrated by a case study of the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority (Georgia). The Comprehensive Community Revitalization Project in the South Bronx (New York) illustrates the importance of building local institutions that can provide needed services. Investing in outreach and organizing is illustrated by Community Building in Partnership, Baltimore (Maryland). Involving the corporate sector in social, political, and economic agenda is illustrated by the Atlanta Project (Georgia). Oakland's Urban Strategies Council (California) shows the importance of developing new structures to facilitate activities on many fronts. Part One closes with four personal accounts that show community-building strategies in use. Part Two examines issues from the field in the five areas explored through case studies, and the conclusion discusses the unfinished business of community building. (SLD)