Education

What is community development? Goals and Benefits

Community development refers to the collaborative endeavours undertaken by individuals, organisations, and governmental entities to promote the advancement of society.

This statement exemplifies the efficacy of collective cooperation and collaboration in our endeavours to establish prosperous communities that yield advantages for all individuals involved.

Community development is a term applied to many different types of activities conducted in communities by people or organisations. Most community development programmes are run by non-profit and volunteer groups with a specific set of beliefs, or “worldview”. These are not the beliefs of the majority of the world; they are beliefs held by groups in some communities.

Community development is a holistic approach grounded in principles of empowerment, human rights, inclusion, social justice, self-determination, and collective action. Community development considers community members to be experts in their lives and communities and values community knowledge and wisdom.

Community development programs are led by community members at every stage, from deciding on issues to selecting and implementing actions to evaluation. Community development has an explicit focus on redistributing power to address the causes of inequality and disadvantage.

community development

Goals and Benefits of Community Development

Community development’s primary goal is to empower local communities to actively participate in the development process and influence decisions that affect their lives. Community development aims to create sustainable solutions that respond to the needs and aspirations of local people by involving community members in the planning and implementation of development projects.

Enhancing Quality of Life

With community development as our guiding principle, our primary objective is to improve the overall well-being of all members of the community. This objective can be concretely achieved through diverse strategies, including enhancing the quality of public infrastructure to guarantee enhanced availability of healthcare, education, and transportation services. The maintenance of essential features of community life has a crucial role in enhancing the overall well-being and satisfaction of individuals.

Promoting Social Cohesion

There are numerous advantages to community development. First, it promotes social cohesion and trust among community members, which helps to build social capital. As a result, community development promotes social inclusion, lowers crime rates, and encourages civic participation.

Building strong relationships and fostering a deep sense of belonging among community members is crucial. Through community development, we aim to create a vibrant social fabric that binds individuals together. By encouraging participation in community events, promoting the formation of organizations, and providing shared spaces, we create opportunities for fruitful interactions and the forging of lasting friendships.

Empowering Local Economies

A resilient local economy serves as the fundamental pillar of a flourishing community. Therefore, community development policies prioritize the enhancement of local economies to foster their growth and prosperity. One potential approach to address this issue is through fostering the creation of employment possibilities within the local community, hence facilitating citizens’ access to quality jobs. In addition, our objective is to promote entrepreneurial endeavours and provide assistance to local enterprises, so cultivating internal economic expansion.

History of community development

Community Development in the early 1900s Community development is linked with the social reform movements that began in the early 1900s. The first major social reform movement was the Settlement House movement, which focused on improving the lives of the working class.

The first major movement focused on housing reform was the Boston Redevelopment Agency, formed in 1937 to provide housing for the poor and low-income people. It is estimated that by the early 1940s, community development began to take hold as more people sought ways to improve their communities. The National Community Development Association, formed in the early 1950s as the National Community Economic Development Association (NCEDA), brought community development more under the spotlight.

“New Neighborhoods and Community Development” – The 1960s and 1970s are considered the “golden era” of community development, due to the increased interest in and understanding of community development. This era began with social scientists and activists calling themselves The New Neighborhoods and Community Development. Their work was published in the book New Neighborhoods and Community Development.

These researchers and activists were the leaders of the new community development movement, and they sought to develop and practice new forms of community development that emphasized economic development.

Conclusion

Community development is an approach to creating healthier, more equitable communities. It is a social action approach to improving social and community conditions by building stronger communities and social networks and strengthening organisations and institutions within and between communities. This approach recognises the multiple ways in which conditions affect health and the social determinants of health, including the relationship between physical and social environments, social networks, and social needs.

Community development facilitates the establishment of prosperous communities that are characterised by inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability through the improvement of quality of life, the promotion of social cohesion, and the empowerment of local economies.

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Raj Maurya

Raj Maurya is the founder of Digital Gyan. He is a technical content writer on Fiverr and freelancer.com. He loves writing. When not working he plays Valorant.

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