"The United Nations defines community development as 'a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.'"
The process of strengthening and empowering communities to improve their quality of life.
Community assessment: The process of gathering information and data about a community to understand its strengths and weaknesses, demographics, and resources.
Community organizing: The process of mobilizing community members to work together to address common challenges and achieve common goals.
Social capital: The networks, norms, and values that facilitate cooperation and trust among members of a community.
Community-based participatory research (CBPR): A research approach that involves partnership with community members to identify research questions, conduct research, and disseminate findings.
Place-based approaches: Strategies that focus on improving specific neighborhoods or regions through targeted investments in physical infrastructure, economic development, or social capital.
Community development finance: The use of financial tools and strategies to support community development initiatives, such as loans, grants, tax credits, and social impact bonds.
Community development corporations (CDCs): Non-profit organizations that focus on community development by targeting specific neighborhoods or regions with targeted investments in physical infrastructure, economic development, or social capital.
Public-private partnerships (PPPs): Collaborative arrangements between government, private sector, and non-profit organizations to leverage resources and expertise to achieve shared goals in community development.
Community engagement: The process of involving community members in decision-making processes that impact their lives and the local community.
Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Community resilience: The ability of a community to prepare for, adapt to, and recover from shocks or disruptions, such as natural disasters, economic downturns, or social unrest.
Participatory budgeting: A process in which community members work together to allocate public funds to projects that address local needs and priorities.
Equity: The notion that everyone should have equal access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making power, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status.
Gentrification: The process by which middle- and upper-income people move into low-income neighborhoods, leading to displacement and cultural and economic changes in the area.
Zoning and land use: The regulations and policies that govern the use of land and the physical built environment in a community.
Smart growth: An approach to urban planning that seeks to create compact, walkable, and transit-oriented communities that minimize sprawl and promote sustainability.
Community-based tourism: A form of tourism that seeks to involve local residents in the development and management of tourism activities, while promoting cultural and ecological preservation.
Community health: The provision of healthcare services and the promotion of healthy lifestyles in a community.
Place attachment: The emotional and psychological attachment that individuals have to their local community, which can contribute to the development of social capital and community resilience.
Environmental justice: The notion that everyone has the right to a clean and healthy environment, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
Social Capital Development: This type of community development focuses on building trust, networks, and relationships between community members to foster a strong sense of community.
Economic Development: This type of community development focuses on creating new job opportunities and stimulating economic growth within the community.
Physical Development: This type of community development focuses on improving or developing the physical infrastructure of the community, including transportation, housing, and public spaces.
Political Development: This type of community development focuses on empowering community members to participate in the democratic process by providing access to information and creating opportunities for civic engagement.
Environmental Development: This type of community development focuses on promoting environmental sustainability and creating a healthier living environment for community members.
Cultural Development: This type of community development focuses on preserving and promoting the local culture, traditions, and history of the community.
Educational Development: This type of community development focuses on improving the quality of education and expanding educational opportunities for community members.
Health and Wellness Development: This type of community development focuses on promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing disease, and providing access to healthcare services for community members.
Community Safety Development: This type of community development focuses on creating safe and secure environments for community members by reducing crime and other forms of violence.
Spiritual Development: This type of community development focuses on promoting spiritual growth and well-being among community members, often through religious or spiritual institutions.
"Typically aiming to build stronger and more resilient local communities."
"Community development is defined by the International Association for Community Development as 'a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes participative democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic opportunity, equality and social justice.'"
"The key elements of community development include the organisation, education, and empowerment of people within their communities."
"Community development seeks to empower individuals and groups of people with the skills they need to effect change within their communities."
"These skills are often created through the formation of social groups working for a common agenda."
"Community development as a term has taken off widely in anglophone countries, i.e. the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, as well as other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations."
"The Community Development Journal, published by Oxford University Press, since 1966 has aimed to be the major forum for research and dissemination of international community development theory and practice.Community development approaches are recognised internationally. These methods and approaches have been acknowledged as significant for local social, economic, cultural, environmental and political development by such organisations as the UN, WHO, OECD, World Bank, Council of Europe and EU."
"These methods and approaches have been acknowledged as significant for local social, economic, cultural, environmental and political development by such organisations as the UN, WHO, OECD, World Bank, Council of Europe and EU."
"There are a number of institutions of higher education that offer community development as an area of study and research such as the University of Toronto, Leiden University, SOAS University of London, and the Balsillie School of International Affairs, among others."