ABOUT THE ABCD INSTITUTE

March18 blog_09John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight introduced us to a set of ideas that are challenging to the conventional wisdom of community development. 

In the late 1980s McKnight and Kretzmann, along with 18 or their associates, traveled across North America visiting over 300 neighbourhoods in 20 cities. They wanted to understand how citizenship and community prevailed in low-income neighbourhoods, despite multiple socio-economic and political challenges.

It was no surprise to them when their research findings confirmed that low-income communities facing hardship can, and often do, become stronger and prosper.

They co-authored a book in 1993, Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets, which described their findings and also set down the principles and practices of the Asset-Based approaches.

Encouraged by record sales of the book, John and Jody established the Asset-Based Community Development Institute in 1995 and since then both continue to support the growth of ABCD worldwide.


John Kretzmann and John McKnight work with the premise that every neighbourhood – even the most impoverished – is filled with human, associational and institutional assets that should be identified, connected and mobilised before seeking outside help.


John McKnight and Jody KretzmannThey both see the traditional approach to low-income neighbourhoods as one-dimensional and focused solely on the deficits of communities and not their capacities. We then view these places as the sum of their problems, concluding that they are ‘needy and problematic and deficient neighborhoods populated by needy and problematic and deficient people.

To change this, we need to stop seeing them as a collection of needs and see them as a wealth of assets that haven’t yet been identified, organised and made productive.

As Kretzmann and McKnight write:

“All the historic evidence indicates that significant community development takes place only when local community people are committed to investing themselves and their resources in the effort. This observation explains why communities are never built from the top down or from the outside in.”

However, they also add that outside resources are almost always needed, but they are effective only when requested by local leaders and matched by local efforts.

More Info & Publications from John McKnight

The role of John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight in ABCD history: A Potted (Early) History of Asset-Based Community Development

These papers are copyrighted. You have the authors’ permission to download and reproduce them for distribution; however, please include the title page to assure proper attribution.

2010s
Dzur, A., and McKnight, J. (2019). A Conversation with John McKnight, Co-Founder of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute​National Civic Review.

Filapek, J., McKnight, J. (2018) A Guide to Identifying and Sharing a Neighborhood’s Educational Assets with Young People.Evanston, Illinois: Asset-Based Community Development Institute.

McKnight, J. (2017). The Educating Neighborhood: How Villages Raise Their ChildrenConnections: An Annual Journal of the Kettering Foundation.

McKnight, J., Block, P., and Brueggemann, W.  (2016). An other kingdom: Departing the consumer culture. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Hopes, K., McKnight, J., and Lawrence, H. (2015, May). Asset based neighborhood organizing: The method of the abundant community initiative in Edmonton, CanadaEvanston, Illinois: Asset-Based Community Development Institute.

McKnight, J. (2015, 13 January). Low-income communities are not needy- they have assets. Faith and Leadership.

McKnight, J. (2014, Spring). Building a hopeful future. Connections, 2.

McKnight, J. and Block, P. (2014). The hidden treasures in your neighborhood. In S. Van Gelder (Ed.), Sustainable happiness: Live simply, live well, make a difference (pp. 101-106). Oakland, CA: Yes! Magazine.

McKnight, J. (2014). A children’s guide to dismantling our economy. The Abundant Community.

McKnight, J. (2013, Fall). Neighborhood necessities: Seven functions that only effectively organized neighborhoods can provideNational Civic Review, 102(3), 22-24.

McKnight, J. (2013, 1 May). Sensible life ~ A thought. The Abundant Community.

McKnight, J. (2013, 29 March). Defining “community and “neighborhood.

McKnight, J. (2013, 20 February). Modern Mentoring. Abundant Community.

McKnight, J. (2013). The four-legged stool. Washington, D.C.: The Kettering Foundation.

McKnight, J. (2012, December). What it takes to be a citizen in a community. Unpublished essay.

McKnight, J. (2012, October 28). Opening the neighborhood treasure chest. The New Confluence Project.

Kavaloski, V. and Kavaloski, J. (2012, August). Associations: The vital center of democracy. Voice of the River Valley, 12. [Note: Article is about a presentation given by John McKnight.]

McKnight, J. and Block, P. (2011, Winter). The good life? It’s close to home: Rebuilding families and neighborhoods around the gifts each of us offers. Yes!, 56, 48-51.

Hurlbert, W. [Interviewer]. (2010, 24 November). Peter Block and John McKnight: The abundant community. Blog Business Success: Blog Talk Radio. Transcription by W. Lambeth.

McKnight, J. and Block, P. (2010, December). Systems and managers: Their growth threatens our welfare. Leadership Excellence, 17.

McKnight, J. & Block, P. (2010, June). Limits of consumption: Satisfaction can’t be purchased. Leadership Excellence, 18.

McKnight, J. & Block, P. (2010, May). Abundant community: Rediscover your neighborhood gifts. Personal Excellence, 13.

McKnight, J. (2010). Asset mapping in communities. In Morgan, A., Ziglio, E., and Davies, M (Eds.), Health assets in a global context: Theory, methods, action. New York: Springer.

McKnight, J., and Block, P.  (2010). The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

2000s

McKnight, J. (2009, 5 August). What we need is each other: No matter how hard they try, our very best institutions cannot do many things that only we can do. Yes! Magazine.

McKnight, J. (2009, 8 July). Community capacities and community necessities.Opening remarks at the From Clients to Citizens Forum, Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier Univeristy, Antigonish, Novia Scotia.

McKnight, J. (2007). The Summit Negotiations: Chicago, August 17, 1966-August 26, 1966. In D. Garrow (Ed.), Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement (pp. 111-145). Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing.

McKnight, J. (2005, January). A new approach to building stronger neighborhoods. Unpublished essay.

McKnight, J. (2005). Asset-based community development. The Journal of Community Work and Development, 7, 18-32.

McKnight, J. (2004, November-December). The economy of good worksMouth Magazine, 15(4), 16-18.

McKnight, J. (2003, Spring). A twenty-first century map for healthy families and communitiesWorking Strategies: Helping Families Grow Stronger, 6(5), 1-2.

McKnight, J. (2003) Community and its counterfeits. Common Ground, 143, pp. 2, 29.

McKnight, J. (2000). Rationale for a community approach to health improvement. In T. Bruce and S.U. McKane (Eds.), Community-based public health: A partnership model.Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.

1990s

Kinahan, D. (1999, Spring). When the glass is half full. Who Cares? The Toolkit for Social Change, 38-40.

McKnight, J. and Pandak, C.A. (1999, April). New community tools for improving child health: A pediatrician’s guide to local associations. Evanston and Oak Brook, IL: Community Access to Child Health, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Asset-based Community Development Institute.

McKnight, J., Sidford, H., Ivory, G., Rabkin, N. and Pavlick, K. (1999, January). Cultural assets: A roundtable discussionBusiness/Arts Quarterly, 3-13.

McKnight, J. (1999). Philanthropy & the church in the city. In J. Cistone & E. Reichard (Eds.), Common ground for the common good: The church in the city regional forum series proceedings (pp. 62-65). Cleveland:The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

An interview with John McKnight: The man who is making an old idea new again. (1998, Fall). Common Focus, 2.

McKnight, J. (1998). Hidden treasure. In M. Larned (Ed.), Stone soup for the world: Life changing stories of kindness and courageous acts of service (pp. 15-17). Berkeley, CA: Connari Press.

McKnight, J. (1998). Turning communities aroundCanadian Housing15(1), 9-12.
​French translation. Aider les collectivités à se reprendre en main. Canadian Housing (Habitation Canadienne), 15(1), 13-16.

Barnett, K. (1997, June). The future of community benefit programming: An expanded model for planning and assessing the participation of health care organizations in community health improvement activities. Berkeley: The Public Health Institute and The Western Consortium for Public Health. [Note: John McKnight is listed in acknowledgements.]

McKnight, J. (1997, May/June). John says: That’s pity peddling, misery merchandising—using pity to raise money to pay professionals to create clients. Mouth: Voice of the Disability Nation, 10-11.

McKnight, J. (1997, March/April). A 21st-Century Map for Healthy Communities and FamiliesFamilies in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, vol. 78, no. 2, 117–127.

Project Friendship Society and the College of New Caledonia. (1997). The Prince George connector: A guide to local clubs, interest and support groups. Prince George, British Columbia: College of New Caledonia Press.

McKnight, J. (1996, November-December). Prepare for the coming OneThe Other Side, 6-7.

McKnight, J. and Kretzmann, J. (1996, November). Support from governments for community building. Minnesota Cities, 81(11), 8-11.

McKnight, J. (1996, September/October). A revolution of the senses. The Other Side,22-28.

McKnight, J. (1996, Fall). Counting in those who have been counted out. The Eagle News / Nociero El Aguila, 13.

Kretzman, J. and McKnight, J. (1996, Summer). Artists as assets for community building. Stone Soup, 14(4), 3. Published by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.

McKnight, J. (1996, April). Mapping community assets. In Community oriented primary care: A vision for health conference transcripts (pp. 75-86). Health Policy Institute at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center.

McKnight, J. (1997, March/April). A 21st century map for healthy communities and families. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Society 78(2), 117-127.

McKnight, J. (1995, November/December). Why ‘servanthood’ is bad. The other side,56-59.

McKnight, J. (1995, September). Is the helping hand really helping? Front & Centre, 3-4.

McKnight, J. (1995, Autumn). Community: Will we know it when we see it? Wingspread Journal, 8-10.

McKnight, J. (1995, January/February). The asset of local communityRural Health, FYI: The Magazine of the National Rural Health Association17(1), 8-10.

Kretzmann, J. & McKnight, J. (1995). Building communities from the inside outHealth & Developmet, 4, 12-18.

McKnight, J. (1995). The careless society: Community and its counterfeits. New York: BasicBooks.
French translation. La société négligent: La société et ses contrefaçons. Geneve: Editions Des Deux Continents.

McKnight, J. (1994, June 21). Stone walls, iron bars: We can’t simply lock up poverty and crime. Chicago Tribune.

McKnight, J. (1994, March). Rethinking our national incarceration policy. In National Criminal Justice Commission: Toward a vision for justice [Conference proceedings].

Cayley, D. (1994, 17 January). Community and its counterfeits: An interview with John McKnight. Ideas, 3(10), 1-26.
Reprint: Cayley, D. (2008, March-April). Community and its counterfeits: An interview with John McKnight. Mouth Magazine, 106.

McKnight, J., and Kretzmann, J. (1993). Building communities from the inside out: A path toward finding and mobilizing a community’s assetsEvanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research.
Dutch Translation. Wijkontwikkeling op eigen krachtNational Network of Resident’s Associations.
Spanish Translation. Construindo comunidades de dentro para fora. 

McKnight, J. (1993). In university and community. In Mike Money (Ed.) Health & community: Holism in practice (pp. 123-134). Cambridge, England: Green Books.

McKnight, J. (1993). Service peddlers versus community believers. Health & Development, 3, 3-7.

McKnight, J. (1993). Taking charge of health in a Chicago neighborhood. In Richard Luecke (Ed.), A new dawn in Guatemala: Toward a worldwide health vision (pp. 219-227). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

McKnight, J. (1992, Fall-Winter). Redefining community. Social Policy, 56-61.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1996, Summer). Redefining communityKettering Review, 24-30.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1997). Redefining community. Inclusion News, 16.

McKnight, J. (1992, 17 August). Diagnosis and the health of community. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1992, 6 February). Two tools for well-being: Health systems and communities. Presented at the Conference on Medicine for the 21st Century. Sponsored by the American Medical Association, The Annenberg Center at Eisenhower, the Annenberg Washington Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection agency and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Reprinted: McKnight, J. (1997). Two tools for well-being: Health systems and communities. In Meredith Minkler (Ed.), Community organizing and community building for health (pp. 20-25). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

McKnight, J. (1991, Spring-Summer). Services are bad for people: You’re either a citizen or a client. Organizing, 41-44.

McKnight, J. (1990, 8 November). John McKnight Address to The New Haven Foundation.

Raspberry, W. (1990, 3 April). Above all, ‘experts’ should do no harm. Chicago Tribune. [Article is about John McKnight’s approach to community development.]

McKnight, J. (1990). A British Columbian legacy. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

McKnight, J., and Kretzmann, J. P. (1990). Mapping community capacity. Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University.
Reprint: McKnight, J. and Kretzmann, J. (1992). Mapping community capacity. New Designs for Youth Development, 10(1), 9-15.
Reprint: McKnight, J., and Kretzmann, J. P. (2012). Mapping Community Capacity. In Meredith Minkler (Ed.), Community Organizing and Community Building for Health and Welfare (pp. 171-186). New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London: Rutgers University Press.

1980s

McKnight, J. (1989, Summer). Do no harm: Policy options that meet human needs.Social Policy, 20(1), 5-15.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1996, Fall/Winter). Do no harm. The Community Journal: Building a Better Virginia Together, 12-13.

McKnight, J. (1989). Beyond community services. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1989). Organizing the community. In M.H. Linz, P. McAnnally, and C. Wieck (Eds.), Case management: Historic, current & future (pp. 21-30). Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.

McKnight, J. (1988, Fall). Building healthy communities. National [magazine of the Canadian Mental Health Association], 3-4.

O’Connell, M. (1988, Septiembre). El regalo de la hospidalidad: Cómo abrir las puertas a la vida de communidad para los impedidos. Northwestern University Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research. [Note: John McKnight is listed as primary investigator on the project.]

McKnight, J. (1988, Spring). Where can health communication be found? The Journal of Applied Communication Research, 16(1), 39-43.

McKnight, J. (1988, Winter). CenterpieceUrban Affairs News, 8-9.

McKnight, J. (1987). Communities that help people. Proceedings of the Calgary Service Planning for Alberta’s Community Rehabilitation Services. The Spokesman, 3-7.

McKnight, J. (1987). Joyful gerrymanders: Redrawing the social policy map. Jubilee4(1), 24-28. Social Concerns and the Episcopal Church.

McKnight, J. (1987). The future of low-income neighborhoods and the people who reside there: A capacity strategy for neighborhood development. Evanston: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research.  

McKnight, J. (1986, June). Things go better with neighbors (Mary O’Connell interviews John McKnight). Salt, 6(6), 4-11. Chicago: Claretian Brothers and Fathers.

McKnight, J. (1986, Spring). Where do they come from? ForumThe Donors Forum of Chicago, 3.

McKnight, J. (1986, February/March). Social services and the poor: Who needs who?Utne Reader, 14, 118-121.

McKnight, J. (1986). De-medicalization and possibilities for health. In P. Ekins (Ed.), The living economy: A new economics in the making (pp. 122-127). London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

McKnight, J. (n.d.). Demedicalization and the possibilities of health. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1986). Looking at capacity, not deficiency. In M. Lipsitz (Ed.), Revitalizing our cities: New approaches to solving urban problems (pp. 101-106). Washington, D.C: The Fund for an American Renaissance and the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise.

McKnight, J. (1986). The need for oldness. Center on Aging, 2, 2-5. McGaw Medical Center, Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1986). Thinking about crime, sacrifice and community. Augustus: A Journal of Progressive Human ServicesIX(8), 10-16.

McKnight, J. (1986). Well-being: The new threshold to the old medicine. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 6, 1-5.

McKnight, J. (1985, November). Regenerating community. Presentation at Empowerment through partnership: A search conference on mental health advocacy. Ottawa, CA.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1987, Winter). Regenerating community. Social Policy,54-58.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1988). Regenerating community. In D. Gold and J. McGill (Eds.), The pursuit of leisure: Enriching lives with people who have a disability (pp. 9-22). Downsview, ON: G. Allan Roeher Institute.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1989, Fall). Regenerating community. Kettering Review, 40-50.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1995, Summer). Regenerating community. Social Policy,41.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1999). Regenerating community. In Compton, B. and Galaway, B. (Eds.), Social work processes (6th Edition) (pp. 429-436). Washington, D.C.: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Chandler, C. (1985, November). Interview with John McKnightChicago Magazine, 203-207.

McKnight, J. (1985, August). Where can health communication be found? In A Summer Conference of Health Communication (pp. 23-28). Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1985, Summer). A reconsideration of the crisis of the welfare state.Social Policy, 27-30.

McKnight, J. (1985, May/June). Health and empowerment. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 76. 37-42.

McKnight, J. (1985, May/June). Self-help vs. professional helpEpilepsy Newsletter, 3-4.

McKnight, J. (1985, 17 Febrero). Politizar la atención a la salud. El Gallo Illustrado, 2-4.

McKnight, J. (1985, 3 January). Grief processors: Service technology could kill our sense of community. Pacific News Service. 
Young, Q. & McKnight, J. (1985, Winter). Crisis in the social welfare state: Sweden at the crossroads: An interview with John McKnight. Health & Medicine: Journal of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, 3(1), 8-12.

McKnight, J. (1985). Perspective: Prevention and poverty. Health & Medicine: Journal of The Health and Medicine Policy, 3(2), 38-39.

McKnight, J. (1985). Health and empowerment. Radical Community Medicine, 22, 34-37.

McKnight, J. (1984, October). John Deere and the bereavement counselor. Foote School, New Haven, CT.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1985, June). Disabling professionals: John Deere and the bereavement counselor. Coping: The Magazine of the Maine Association of Handicapped Persons, 4-5.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1985, September/October). John Deere and the bereavement counselor: Turning community into desert. RAIN, XI(6), 6-11.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1997). John Deere and the bereavement counselor. In Hildegarde Hannum (Ed.), People, land and community (pp. 168-177). New Haven: Yale University Press.

McKnight, J. (1984, 3 Junio). Una reconsideración del Estado benefactor. El Gallo Illustrado, 5-7.

McKnight, J. and Kretzman, J. (1984, Winter). Community organizing in the 1980s: Toward a post-Alinsky agenda. Social Policy, 15-17.
Reprint: McKnight, J. and Kretzmann, J. (1986, Summer). Community organizing in the 1980s: Toward a post-Alinsky agenda. Partner, 1-3.

McKnight, J. (1984). Optimum tools for community health. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 4, 340-344.

McKnight, J. (1983, January/February). The other AmericaResurgence, 96, 14-16.

McKnight, J. (1982, Summer/Fall). Impoverishment. Health & Medicine: Journal of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, 1(3), 3, 27.

McKnight, J. (1982, November/December). University & community. Resurgence, 95, 10-13.

McKnight, J. (1982, May/June). The two views. Resurgence, 16-17.

McKnight, J. (1982). Health in the post medical era. Health & Medicine: Journal of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, 1(1), 2-3, 24.

McKnight, J. (1982). Survival of the family. IETC: Investigative Newsletter on Institutions/Alternatives, 5(4), 1-4.

McKnight, J. (1981, 17 September). Testimony of John McKnight before the Senate Subcommittee on Aging, Family and Human Services.

Bradford, C. Finney, L., Hallett, S., & McKnight, J. (1981). Structural disinvestment: A problem in search of a policy. In R. E. Friedman and W. Schweke (Eds.), Expanding the opportunity to produce: Revitalizing the American economy through new enterprise development (pp. 125-146). Washington, D.C.: The Corporation for Enterprise Development.

Mcknight, J. (1981). Introduction and prospectus. The University Consortium for Neighborhood Research and Development (pp. 1-10). The Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1981). Prologue. In R. Hanson & J. McNamara (Eds.), Partners: Neighborhood revitalization through partnership and Whittier neighborhood: A Minneapolis case study. Minneapolis: Dayton Hudson Foundation.

McKnight, J. (1981). Public health policy and the modernized poor.Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1980, Fall). A nation of clients? Public Welfare: Journal of the Public Welfare Association, 15-20.

Reprint: McKnight, J. (1986, September). A nation of clients. The Minneapolis Catholic Worker, p. 5-6.

McKnight, J. (1980, Autumn). The future of cities in an urban service economy. The Journal of Intergroup Relations, VIII(3), 25-30.

McKnight, J. (1980, June). The economy of work: Race, cities, and services. Chicago Urban League Research Notes, 17-19.

McKnight, J. (1980, July/August). Community health in a Chicago slumHealth Policy Advisory Center Bulletin, 13-18.

McKnight, J. (1983). Community health in a Chicago slum. Development: Journal of the Society for International Development, 72.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (2000). Saúde comunitária numa favela de Chicago. In Saúde e educaçåo (Health and education) (pp. 105-115). Rio De Janeiro: DP&A Editora.

McKnight, J. (1980, March/April). The professional problemResurgence, 79, 16-17.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1981). The professional problem. The Grantsmanship Center News, 9(1),36-43.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1981, Winter). The professional problem. The Learning Connection, 2(1), 2.

McKnight, J. (1980). Neighborhood organization, community development, and the assumption of scarcity: The problem of equity and justice. In P. Dubeck and Z. L. Miller (Eds.), Urban professionals and the future of the metropolis (pp. 32-37). New York and London: Kennikat Press.

1970s

McKnight, J. (1979, November). Are we really interested in health or is medical care more important? Paper presented at Community Health Promotion and the Hospital, Bronx, NY.

McKnight, J. (1979, Summer). Old isn’t a problem. The CoEvolution Quarterly, 22, 138.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1980, May). Old isn’t a problem. The Witness, 63(5), 7.

McKnight, J. (1979, July/August). The need for oldness. Resurgence, 75, 14-16.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1979, August). The need for oldness. Ontario Association of Homes for the Aged Quarterly, 15(3), 13-17.
(1979, April). Strengthening families through informal support systems. Presented at the Wingspread Conference in Racine, Wisconsin.

McKnight, J. (1978, November/December). Medical colonialism. Resurgence, 12-13.

McKnight, J. (1978, November/December). Organizing for community health in ChicagoScience for the People, 27-30.

McKnight, J. (1978, November/December). Politicizing health care. Social Policy, 36-39.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1981). Politicizing health care. In P. Conrad and R. Kern (Eds.), The sociology of health and illness: Critical perspectives (pp. 557-563). New York: St. Martin’s Press.

McKnight, J. (1978, July/August). The politics of medicine. The New Ecologist: Journal of the Post-Industrial age, 4, 112-114.

McKnight, J. (1978, May/June). Prof. says we need the needy. Northwestern Memo, 15.[reprinted article from The New York Times.]

McKnight, J. (1978, Spring). Good works and good work. The Journal of Portfolio Management, 9-11.

McKnight, J. (1978, January.). The medicalization of politicsThe New Physician, 39-40.

McKnight, J. (1978). A cancerous health development: The case of American medicine.Development Dialogue, 1, 14-18.
Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University. (1978). Selected letters in response to advertisements requesting information about non-medical approaches to coping with epilepsy. [Collaboration between Steve Whitman and John McKnight.]

McKnight, J. (1977, November/December). The professional service businessSocial Policy, 110-116.

McKnight, J. (1977, 16 November). [Op-Ed Page]. Good work, good works. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/16/archives/good-work-good-works.html?_r=0.

McKnight, J. (1977, November). Valuable deficiencies. Futures Conditional, 5(3), 16-17.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (1977, Fall). Valuable deficiencies: A service economy needs people in need. The CoEvolution Quarterly, 36-38.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (2001). Valuable deficiencies. Alternatives, 40.

McKnight, J. (1977, 22 May). On the backwardness of prophets. Presented at the Alice Millar Chapel.

McKnight, J., Caplan, J., Illich, I., Shaiken, H., & Zola, I. K., (1977, Reprinted in 1992). Disabling professions. New York and London: Marion Boyars Publishers.
Dutch translation. (1978). De deskundige: vriend of vijand (Disabled Professions). Netherlands: Het Wereldvenster Baarn.
Italian translation. (1978). Le Professioni Mutilanti. (Disabled Professions). Assisi: Cittadella Editrice
Japanese translation. (1978). Disabled Professions. Japan: Shinhyôron.     McKnight, J. (1977, Avril). Le professionalisme dans les services: un secours abrutissant. Sociologie et societies, 9(1), 7-19.

McKnight, J. (1977). On the imperial possibilities of modernized medicine. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

McKnight, J. (1976, 8 October). Professionalized service and disabling help. Paper presented at the First annual Symposium on Bioethics of the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal.
Reprint: McKnight, J. (2000). Professionalized services: Disabling help for communities and citizens. In Don E. Eberly (Ed.), The essential civil society reader (pp. 183-194). Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
McKnight, J. (1975, 16 May). Hospitals must work to change image/ data on public needed. Hospitals: Journal of the American Hospital Association, 40(10), 72-74.

McKnight, J., Bush, M., Dewar, T., Fegan, K., Gelberd, L., Gordon, A., & McCareins. (1975). Al di là del bisogno: La società è servita. In F. Basaglia and F. Basaglia Ongaro (Eds.), Crimini di pace: Ricerche sugli intellettuali e sui tecnici come addetti all oppressione (pp. 471-478). Torino: Nuovo Politecnico.

McKnight, J. (1975). Patient-Sein: ein neues soziales Leitbild? In R. Brun (Ed.), Medizin statt Gesundheit? (Medicine Instead of Health?) (pp. 121-126). Zurich: Gottlieb Duttweiler-Institut.

Illinois State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. (1974, May). Bilingual/Bicultural education: A privilege or a right? [John McKnight was the Chairman of the committee.]

Gordon, G., Bush, M., McKnight, J., Gelberd, L., Dewar, T., Fagan, K., McCareins, A. (1974). Beyond need: Toward a serviced society. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Center for Urban Affairs. (1974). An analysis of the state role in urban educational systems: The case of Illinois. A report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Northwestern University.

Illich, I., McKnight, J., & Mendelsohn, R. (1973, June). National health insurance and the people’s health. The Cresset, 24-26.
Reprint: Mendelsohn, R., McKnight, J., & Illich, I. (1973, June). National health insurance and the people’s health. Clinical Pediatrics, 12(6), 324-325.
Reprint: McKnight, J., Illich, I., & Mendelsohn, R. (1973). National health insurance and the people’s health. Alternative: Health care, 1-4. CIDOC (Centro Intercultural de Documentacion).
Reprint: Mendlesohn, R., McKnight, J., & Illich, I. (1978). National health insurance and the people’s health. In R. Aaseng (Ed.), Viewpoints: Christian perspectives on social concerns (pp. 13-14). Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House.

Berger, C., McKnight, J., & Cohen, M. (1973). Attitudes of Chicago suburban influential toward the prospect of low and moderate income housing in their communities. A report by the Center for Urban Affairs at Northwestern University. Evanston, IL.
Downs, A. (1970, January). Racism in America and how to combat it. United States Commission on Civil Rights. Washington, DC. [Note: John McKnight contributed, although not officially listed as author.]

1960s

McKnight, J. (1969, February). Toward a model of relevant inclusion: Indianapolis workshop: A progress report, 65- 72.McKnight, J. (1968). Community action. In E. Ginzberg (Ed.), Business leadership and the Negro crisis (pp. 161-168). New York: McGraw-Hill.
McKnight, J. (1968). Housing programs and discrimination. In S. Tax (Ed.), The people vs. the system: A dialogue in urban conflict (pp. 229-233). Chicago: Acme Press.

The United States Commission on Civil Rights. (1967). A time to listen…A Time to act.Washington, DC. [Note: John McKnight chaired the Illinois advisory committee to this Commission.]

McKnight, J. (1962). Civil rights and liberties. In The events and personalities of 1961 (pp. 212-214). New York: Spencer Press.

1950s

McKnight, J. (1959, April). The continuing crucifixion. Advance magazine, 1-5.

Undated publications

Berk, R., Mack, R. & McKnight, J. (n.d.). Race and class differences in per pupil staffing expenditures in Chicago elementary schools, 1969-1970. A report by the Center for Urban Affairs at Northwestern University. Evanston, IL.

Bradford, C., Finney, L., Hallett, S., & McKnight, J. (n.d). Community development policy paper: Structural disinvestment: A problem in search of a policy. Center for Urban Affairs, Northwestern University.

Kretzmann, J., McKnight, J. & Turner, N. (n.d.). Voluntary associations in low-income neighborhoods: An unexplored community resource: A case study of Chicago’s Grand Boulevard neighborhood. A report of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University. Evanston, IL.

McKnight, J. (n.d.). The service economy. Presentation to the Chicago Urban Leage. [Note: speech likely made in the 1970s or 1980s.]

McKnight, J. (n.d.). Creating a need for daycare. The Doctor’s People Newsletter, 2(1), 7-8.

McKnight, J. (n.d.). Communities as problem-solving places. Presentation to the Minnesota Developmental Disabilities Council.

McKnight, J. (n.d.) Elderly need servants, not services. The Doctor’s People Newsletter, 2(4), 5-7.

McKnight, J. (n.d.). Homelessness: Growth industry of the 1990s. The Doctor’s People Newsletter, 2(4), 2-4.

McKnight, J. (n.d.). Inventing a new America. [Unpublished essay].

McKnight, J. (n.d.). On the productive functions of associations. [Unpublished essay].

McKnight, J. (n.d.). Recommended field study reading list. [Note: suggested reading list given to students at the end of a seminar.]

McKnight, J. (n.d.). The future of low-income neighborhoods and the people who reside there: A capacity-oriented strategy for neighborhood development. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Gordon, A., Bush, M., McKnight, J., Gelbard, L., Dewar, T., Fagan, K., & McCareins, A. Big brother in a box. The New Ecologist: Journal of the Post-Industrial age, 5, 158-160.

ABCD Workbooks—supervised by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann:

McKnight, J. (n.d.). A basic guide to ABCD community organizing. Evanston, Illinois: Asset Based Community Development Institute.

Chicago Law Enforcement Study Group

[Note: The following research reports, supervised by John McKnight, were conducted by the Chicago Law Enforcement Study Group and published by the Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.]

Knoohuizen, R. & Zenner, S. (1975). Discretion and juvenile justice. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Knoohuizen, R. (1974). Women in police work in Chicago. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Knoohuizen, R. (1974). The question of police discipline in Chicago: An analysis of the proposed office of professional standards. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Knoohuizen, R. (1974). Public access to police information. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Knoohuizen, R. (1973). The Chicago Police Board. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Knoohuizen, R. (1973). The selection and hiring of Chicago policemen. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Palmer, D., Knoohuizen, R. & Gordon, A. (1972). The police and their use of fatal force in Chicago. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Fahey, R. & Palmer, D. (1971). An inquest on the Cook County Coroner. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Knoohuizen, R., Meites, T., Palmer, D. (1972). Legal materials on police misconduct and civil damage actions in the federal courts. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Caulfield, B. (1972). The Chicago Police Department: Access to information, personnel practices and internal control–A review of major reports. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Mercer, S. & Fahey, R. (1971). Trial of juveniles as adults under the Illinois Criminal Code.Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Mercer, S. Gordon, A. & Fahey, R. (1971). Release on bond and legal representatives of criminal defendants arrested in Evanston, Illinois during 1970. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.

Lassar, S. (1971). The administration of law enforcement assistance administration grants in Illinois, 1960-70. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University.