Introduction to Community Development

Theory, Practice, and Service-Learning

Jerry W. Robinson, Gary Paul Green

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781483343235
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Negocios en general

Historical context, theoretical grounding, critical issues perspective, and the "how-to" for community development

This collection of work by leading community development scholars presents students with a theoretical and practical introduction to the field. The text progresses seamlessly from a theoretical overview to a historical overview to three approaches to community development (ecological, interactional, and structural-functional), then explores the practice of community development along with technical assistance, action research, evaluation research, and the role of local organizations, local leadership, and coalitions. The book concludes with critical issues, such as rural development, inner-city development, youth in community development, health care, public schools, and sustainable development.

Key features include:

• New community development intervention models, using examples from recent events to demonstrate the strengths and challenges of such models
• Community service-learning activities, providing useful examples and case studies of successful service-learning programs in communities
• A hierarchy of learning activities and exercises within each chapter, ensuring that students learn how to apply concepts to real-world issues
• Relevant cases of successful community development interventions, giving students examples of ?best practices?
• Major trends, challenges, and prospects for the future in community development, helping students identify key issues and opportunities

Accompanied by effective teaching and learning ancillaries at www.sagepub.com/robinson:

• Instructor Teaching Site: Password-protected resources contain learning modules, developed by the authors, which include exercises and activities which reinforce chapter content, and demonstrate application of concepts in real-life communities.
• Student Study Site: Open-access study materials include chapter self-quizzes to aid content learning.

This comprehensive, introductory survey text is designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in Community Development, Urban Studies, Rural Development, and Introduction to Service Learning found in departments of sociology, public administration, management, and social work.

---

1	Developing Communities

---

Jerry W. Robinson, Jr., and Gary Paul Green

BEHAVIOR OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter and completing the online learning activities, students should be able to

1. Understand the criticism of the concept of “community.”
2. Define community of place.
3. Differentiate between community development and economic development.
4. Describe the social forces that led to the rise of the community development field.
5. Differentiate between development “of” community and development “in” community.
6. Identify issues that influence the interests of residents in specific localities.
7. Understand the role of participation in the community development process.
8. Distinguish between community service-learning and volunteering/community service.

Introduction

Much has been written in recent years about the loss of community and the implications for civil society (Putnam, 2000). Globalization has restructured economic, political, and social relationships at the local level. Technological and social changes have opened new paths for sharing collective interests, such as social networking sites on the Internet and mass media that link individuals to a common culture. Corporations and financial institutions shift capital around the globe to seek out more profitable locations for doing business. Workers increasingly move to places where they can find better job opportunities. All of these factors undermine the sense of community in places.

Although our social relationships and interests are no longer limited to local communities, the power of place remains. Local issues, such as education, housing, health, and jobs, are critical concerns for most residents. There continues to be interest in mobilizing local residents to build assets that improve their quality of life (Green & Haines, 2007; Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993). Although communities are tightly integrated into the global economy and culture, local relationships and issues continue to play an essential role in the daily life of residents.

This idea that community is a valid concept today is often criticized by social analysts. Much of this analysis emphasizes the individualistic nature of many modern societies (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, & Tipton, 1985). Although it is true that many cultures today are more individualistic, there are many issues that encourage people to look for common interests and concerns at the local level. Other critics charge that the concept of community is laden with assumptions about a common set of values and norms. This assumption tends to ignore the divisions in a locality (such as race, gender, and class) that may produce different values and interests. Our use of the concept of community does not assume that residents hold the same values or adhere to the same norms. It does presuppose that there are issues that are imposed on or common to many people who live in a certain area. So, for example, factors influencing the value of homes in a neighborhood might be an issue that is a source of collective action. Residents may work together to fight crime or improve the quality of education in the area. Similarly, environmental problems (such as illegal dumping of trash or hazardous waste sites) may contribute to local responses by residents. This is not to say that all residents will act on some of these common interests. These issues, however, provide opportunities and incentives for residents to act on a local basis. This view of community, then, does not require consensus. And it does not imply that residing in a specific geographic location constitutes a community. Instead, community is constituted when residents in a specific geographic place are mobilized to act on locality-oriented collective interests. Kenneth Wilkinson (1991) adds a third criterion (in addition to territory and collective action) to the definition of community—local institutions. Local institutions are important because they produce regular social interactions.

This book examines the theory and practice of community development. Community development can be defined as networks of actors engaged in activities through associations in a place (Wilkinson, 1991). There are a couple of key points to emphasize in this definition. First, this definition is limited to “communities of place” rather than “communities of interest.” It focuses on social relationships that are defined by territory rather than simply by interests. Examples of a “community of interest” would be a group of people who have common hobbies or interests. A community of place includes a group of residents who have common interest related to territory or place. An example would be factors that influence the local quality of life, such as education, environmental conditions, or jobs.

Second, community development is a social process involving residents in activities designed to improve their quality of life. An implicit value of community development is that this involvement should be inclusive, with and by residents from all walks of life in the community, not to and for them. In many respects, the process of development is just as important as the outcomes.

Community development is often confused with economic development. What is the relationship between community and economic development? Most people view community development as a set of activities that must precede economic development. Communities need to provide a good social and physical infrastructure, including housing and schools, in order to generate jobs and income. Many community development activities, however, are more directly related to economic development, such as job training and business management. The concept of community development, then, is broader than economic development and may include many activities that are economic in nature.

Community development can be traced to the Progressive Era at the turn of the 20th century, when Progressives sought to address the major problems facing cities, such as rising crimes rates and juvenile delinquency. Their view was that these urban problems were caused by the social conditions in local neighborhoods. Progressives also emphasized the need to engage local citizens and experts in identifying strategies to address these problems. Their interventions to address these issues were at the community rather than the individual level.

The Progressives provided a rich conceptual framework for community development, but it was the social activists of the 1960s that broadened the basis of community intervention and institutionalized it in national policy. The War on Poverty directed several programs at the problems of concentrated poverty. These programs required the “maximum feasible participation” of the poor in the design and implementation of programs.

Community development has evolved to include a much broader focus than just poverty. Affordable housing, job training, and social services continue to be the “meat and potatoes” of community development programs. Community development, however, has expanded to include local issues such as education, health care, and the environment. Thus, community development is a field composed of many disciplines. For example, individuals from any of the following disciplines may become involved in community development—anthropology, business, education, economics, geography, organizational behavior, sociology, or social work. The common thread that runs through various disciplines and issues is the continuing importance of place and the value (necessity) of public participation in decisions that affect local people.

The community development literature is filled with contradictory notions about the field. The literature is often divided among those who promote “development-in-the-community” and those who advocate “development-of-the-community” (Shaffer & Summers, 1989). This distinction is often characterized as process versus outcomes. Is community development about increasing civic participation in local matters, or is it about generating tangible outcomes, such as jobs, businesses, and affordable homes? This is probably a false choice because most community development practitioners do both. Butthe outcomes can be contradictory as practitioners may emphasize outcomes at the expense of the process of community engagement.

Inherent in this definition is another contradiction. Community development is often viewed as a normative science, advocating public participation and civic engagement. By normative science, we mean that it is not objective and value-free but is shaped by values and norms. It also may mean that community development is more of an “art” than a “science.” There is no conceptual map for how to work with all communities. Community development, however, can be considered a positive science, focusing on identifying the most effective ways to promote development in communities. This view of community development sees the importance of basing local programs on empirical evidence and not just on the desires and preferences of local residents.

The Practice of Community Development

Community development practitioners are engaged in a variety of activities, including economic development, housing, job training, and others (Brophy & Shabecoff, 2001). To a large extent, the field has been shaped by community practice rather than guided by theory. Many of the institutional innovations that have become basic tools, such as community land trusts and community development financial institutions, were developed through local experiments. Methods of community organizing and facilitation have evolved as well through practice and social learning.

This is not to suggest that research has not made important contributions to community development. Several examples illustrate this link. There has been a plethora of recent research on the concept of social capital. This concept, which is discussed more fully in some of the later chapters, focuses on the role of social networks and relationships in generating or inhibiting collective action. Although the research has been widely debated, the empirical work on this topic has some immediate implications for community development. Strategies for establishing social ties across groups within the community and with outside organizations and institutions are essential to the development process.

Another example is the research on workforce development, which documents the role that community-based organizations can play in linking employers, workers, and training institutions (Melendez, 2004). Workforce development networks can be structured so as to provide employers with incentives to invest in training of low-wage workers (Green, 2007).

Although the context for community development varies widely, most practitioners would prefer to base their activities on research-based ideas and concepts. This book brings these disparate pieces (theory and practice) together in an integrative fashion that summarizes the current state of the field. The goal is to more fully integrate the insights from research and practice to advance both. One additional dimension—service-learning—is introduced. Recently, there has been increased interest in the concept of community service-learning.Service-learning provides students with an opportunity to integrate the concepts and theories that are based in research with an actual community experience.

Service-Learning and Community Development

Service-learning has been widely acclaimed as an important pedagogical tool. The basic premise of this concept is that experiential learning enhances classroom knowledge. Service-learning can be defined as a teaching methodology that integrates the goals of academic learning with a community experience to produce a community service. Service-learning has several characteristics that distinguish it from traditional community service or volunteering. First, service-learning involves experiences that meet community needs. Rather than just fulfilling a course requirement, service-learning serves the needs of local residents and organizations. This element can be challenging because many service-learning activities are oriented toward students rather than the needs of communities (Stoecker & Tryon, 2009).

Second, it requires reflection and academic learning on the topic related to the service. Service-learning provides students with practical learning experiences that allow them to apply theories and concepts learned in the classroom. This community experience enriches the student’s classroom knowledge as well by providing concrete activities that demonstrate the value (or weaknesses) of the conceptual material discussed in class.

Third, the experience contributes to the student’s understanding of community life. Students gain an appreciation for how and why the local context matters. Much of what is taught in the classroom focuses on general principles and theories. Service-learning provides a more nuanced understanding of how these general principles and theories work in different community settings.

In the remaining chapters of this text, examples of community service-learning are provided. These case studies demonstrate the value of service-learning for enhancing understanding of community development. Additional material on service-learning is also available on the course Web site. Service-learning activities offer students an opportunity to take the concepts and theories discussed in this book and apply them in a real-world setting. Our goal is to introduce these concepts in the book and provide exercises and activities that will enhance the opportunities for students to use them in their community.

A Few Words on Pedagogy—Learning and Teaching

This book offers a unique approach to the study of community development. Rather than just summarizing and defining theories and concepts, the book provides exercises, most of which are online, that allow students and practitioners to apply the central ideas presented in each chapter. In addition, it provides a series of community service-learning activities. Learning activities are conceptualized on three levels.

1. LARK: The first or most basic level of learning is cognitive, or “Learning And Repeating Knowledge.” For each chapter, a series of online action learning or LARK activities is provided that students will complete to ensure that they grasp the full meaning and understanding of all fundamental and basic theoretical concepts presented in the chapter. Batteries of multiple-choice and short essay questions are included online for each chapter.
2. SOAR: The next basic level of learning is synthesis, which involves “Searching Out And Relating” knowledge. For each chapter, we offer a series of action learning and research exercises online, or SOAR activities. SOAR activities ensure that students grasp the full meaning of all fundamental concepts and basic skills presented in the chapter by relating their new knowledge to the practice of community development. SOAR activities include case studies, demonstration, role-plays, and action research projects. Thus, batteries of case studies, essay questions, team learning exercises, and action research projects are included for each chapter.
3. LIFE: The highest level of learning is creativity, which involves “Learning In Field Experiences,” or the laboratory of life. Each chapter will have a series of LIFE activities that require students to (a) apply what they have ...