Visiting Spanish Professor Publishes New Book

From staff reports

Dr. Pello Huesa

Dr. Pello Huesa, visiting assistant professor of Spanish, has just published a book with a well-known French publisher, éditions L’Harmattan. The book, “Le dÉveloppement économique communautaire aux états-Unis,” consists of three volumes and is based on his doctoral dissertation in urban planning at the University of Grenoble in France.

The dissertation deals with economic redevelopment in areas of urban decline in the United States and, more precisely, with community economic development as an approach to improving living conditions using local and global strategies. The working hypothesis assumes that the American system of community economic development constitutes an expression of traditional U.S. public-private partnership, an empirical adaptation to the resolution of neglected social problems rather than a deep social movement.

The first volume, “La transformation urbaine,” examines the question of urban decline as it is studied in American literature on the issue. The author follows either the ecological approach or the critical approach.

The second volume, “Les sociétés de développement communautaire,” is dedicated to the analysis of the emergence and the characteristics of community economic development in the United States. It consists of a gathering of data on community development corporations (CDCs): their nature, history, activities and their support systems. Particular attention is given to the lack of financial services in poor communities and to the roles of philanthropy and intermediary organizations in community economic development.

The third volume, “Les hispaniques,” studies Hispanic community development corporations in the United States. The subject is first framed by the presentation of the results of a survey conducted on Hispanic CDCs. This is followed by a case study of the Latino Economic Development Corp., a Hispanic CDC in Washington, D.C. The author analyzes the community and the political context of Washington, D.C., as well as the relationships between the communities, the local politicians and the local government.

Dr. Huesa is from the Basque region of northern Spain. In addition to his native Basque language, he speaks French, Spanish and English. He has been teaching at Sweet Briar College since the fall of 2003. He started his teaching career at the University of Grenoble, where he lived for five years and where he defended his dissertation in 2000. In the United States, he has taught at Mary Washington College and the University of Virginia. He lives with his wife and three daughters in Charlottesville, where his wife does research in the UVA microbiology department.

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