People’s Development Corporation

Ramon Rueda founded the People’s Development Corporation (PDC) after the devastation of the South Bronx in the 1970s to train residents to rebuild their own neighborhood. Harnessing government work programs, available grants, and abandoned buildings, the PDC formalized a structure and plan to rehabilitate housing stock through sweat equity and urban homesteading. While the organization suffered from internal conflicts which led to its demise by the late 1970s, it leaves an important legacy for community developers and planners in the Bronx.