The notion of "community capacity building" is both explicit and pervasive in the rhetoric that describes, the missions that guide, and, to a greater or lesser extent, the activities that embody a broad range of contemporary community development efforts. However, there is limited clarity about the meaning of "capacity" and "capacity building" at the neighborhood level. What, in concrete operational terms, does community capacity mean? This paper suggests a definitional framework for understanding and promoting community capacity, explores the attempt to operationalize a capacity-building agenda through the examination of two contrasting case studies within a multi-site comprehensive community initiative (CCI), and suggest some possible next steps toward building community capacity through social change efforts like CCIs.