Pragmatic Period
The history of community design can be broken up into three eras: the Idealistic Period, the Pragmatic Period, and the Academic Period. The first two were coined by architect Mary Comerio in her 1984 journal article, ‘Community Design Idealism. The Pragmatic Period (or Entrepreneurial Period) was between 1976 to 1993. Community design centers adapted to a more politically conservative climate by adopting a fee-for-service model and moving away from activism-based strategies.