Founded in the 1970s by the Ecumenical Social Action Committee to expand its homeownership counseling and housing rehabilitation work, Urban Edge is a minority-controlled and minority-led nonprofit community development organization aiming to develop and sustain stable, healthy and diverse communities in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and surrounding Boston neighborhoods. To date, the CDC’s work is credited with developing or preserving nearly 1,500 units of affordable housing. Valuing “green development,” Urban Edge has created green development standards that it follows to ensure its real estate projects create high-quality living environments, promote healthy lifestyles, and reduce their impact on environmental resources. In 2016 alone, its homeownership workshops educated 863 people, 167 of whom became first time homeowners. The CDC also provided tax preparation support to 628 families, returning $1.4 million to the local economy.