Youth today develop within nested systems that either positively or negatively influence their development. Recent research shows that American youth have made tremendous progress: fewer teen births, fewer youth who are heavy drinkers or smokers, and more students completing high school. However, data also indicate that the number of youth living in poverty has increased steadily since 1998, an increasing number of children experience food insecurity, and the number of parents who are secure in their employment is the lowest since 1996. These types of data have led many to wonder about the role the community has in providing support systems to youth. The role of out-of-school-time programs is essential in the development of youth. One area of the out-of-school-time sector is the provision of recreation services. Recreational services have a vital role in connecting youth to their communities as well as enabling youth and adult allies to improve challenging societal conditions. In this article, the authors present a brief history of recreation in community youth development. Then, they discuss community youth development (CYD) as a transformative approach that can assist in a more equitable allocation of resources in programs that fail to engage low-income and minority urban youth. They also discuss three themes that provide the basic premise of what constitutes best practices for community youth development: (1) identify and build on assets as well as needs; (2) engage citizens and promote local control; and (3) create partnerships for capacity building and systemic change. (Contains 14 notes.)