In this era of constrained resources, the public and private sectors must join forces to revitalize their local urban communities. Public-private partnership means cooperation among individuals and organizations in the public and private sectors for mutual benefit. Such cooperation has two dimensions--the policy dimension and the operational dimension. The policy dimension involves a process that produces consensus on community goals, agreement on institutional roles, and sustained support for action. In the operational dimension, cooperation can take any of the following general forms: private initiative for public benefit, government initiative to facilitate or encourage private activity in the public interest, and joint ventures by government and private organizations. Three areas of urban life that can benefit from, and in some instances may require, partnership efforts are the local economy, neighborhoods, and community services. Because the social and economic conditions of the community have a direct effect on the bottom-line interest of business, businesses must take direct and effective action to improve these conditions. While it is true that external forces over which a community has no control do effect its potential for local partnerships, local communities nevertheless have both substantial latitude to determine and principal responsibility for their own future. (MN)