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With real-life examples drawn from communities using dynamic, innovative approaches to problem-solving efforts at the local level, this issue highlights successful programs of regional social changes which can become profound regenerative agents of increasing citizen involvement at the national level. Lessons learned in systems change and government reform in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Charlotte, North Carolina, also demonstrate that although there is no one set path for systems reform, a community's development becomes linked to the changes that occurred before and contributes in some way to additional reforms in the future.

The issue offers additional examples of communities leading the way in such areas as strategic planning, community development, systems change, racial understanding, and political reform. Contributors also detail the five principles and practices that communities have used to recreate a successful, citizen-based approach to politics.

In a special focus section on Civic Infrastructure, Allan Wallis, Jarle P. Crocker, and Bill Schechter explore the perspectives of academics, public advocates, philanthropists, and community development practitioners on the uses of social capital. This article is Part One in a two-part series that concludes in NCR Volume 87, Number 4.