Community Development

Intermediate

Community development is a process by which members of a community come together to take collective action and generate solutions to shared problems and aspirations. It is a broad, interdisciplinary field that draws on sociology, urban planning, public health, economics, and social work to improve the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities. The practice emphasizes empowerment, participation, and self-determination, recognizing that lasting change is most effective when it is driven by the people who are most affected by the issues at hand.

The roots of modern community development can be traced to the settlement house movement of the late 19th century, the cooperative extension system in rural America, and the community organizing traditions championed by figures such as Saul Alinsky in the mid-20th century. Over time, the field has expanded to incorporate asset-based approaches that focus on a community's existing strengths rather than solely on its deficits. Frameworks such as Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), developed by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann, have shifted practice toward mapping local talents, associations, and institutions as the foundation for sustainable change.

Today, community development operates at multiple scales, from neighborhood revitalization and local food systems to regional economic development and global capacity building. Practitioners work in nonprofit organizations, government agencies, philanthropic foundations, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and grassroots movements. Key contemporary challenges include addressing structural inequality, promoting equitable development, building resilience to climate change, leveraging digital tools for civic engagement, and ensuring that growth benefits all residents rather than displacing vulnerable populations through gentrification.

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Key Concepts

An approach that focuses on discovering and mobilizing the existing strengths, skills, and resources within a community rather than cataloging its needs and deficiencies. Developed by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann at Northwestern University.

Example

A neighborhood association maps local residents' skills, identifies small business owners, artists, and retired professionals, and connects them to mentor youth programs instead of applying for outside grants to hire consultants.

A process by which people living in proximity to each other are brought together to act in their shared self-interest. Organizers build power through relationships, collective action, and strategic campaigns to influence institutional decision-making.

Example

Residents in a low-income neighborhood form a tenants' union, hold public actions demanding building repairs, and negotiate binding agreements with landlords through coordinated pressure.

The networks of relationships among people who live and work in a community that enable it to function effectively. Social capital includes bonding ties within groups, bridging ties across groups, and linking ties to institutions of power.

Example

A community with strong social capital might have active parent-teacher associations, neighborhood watch groups, and interfaith coalitions that collectively address issues like youth safety and food access.

A research methodology in which community members are active partners in defining problems, collecting data, analyzing findings, and implementing solutions. PAR challenges the traditional separation between researcher and subject.

Example

Residents of a neighborhood concerned about environmental pollution work alongside university researchers to collect air and water quality samples, interpret the results, and present findings to the city council.

Specialized financial institutions that provide credit, capital, and financial services to underserved communities. CDFIs include community development banks, credit unions, loan funds, and venture capital funds certified by the U.S. Treasury.

Example

A CDFI loan fund provides affordable mortgages to first-time homebuyers in a rural area where traditional banks have no branches, helping to stabilize homeownership rates and build household wealth.

The process by which investment and higher-income residents move into a historically disinvested neighborhood, often raising property values and rents and displacing long-term, lower-income residents and businesses.

Example

A formerly industrial waterfront neighborhood experiences rapid redevelopment with luxury condominiums, pushing out the working-class families and small shops that had sustained the community for decades.

Nonprofit organizations that acquire and hold land in trust for the permanent benefit of a community. CLTs typically provide long-term affordable housing by separating the ownership of land from the ownership of buildings on it.

Example

The Champlain Housing Trust in Burlington, Vermont holds land and sells homes at below-market prices with resale restrictions that keep homes affordable for future buyers in perpetuity.

A framework for cross-sector collaboration in which organizations from different sectors agree on a common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and a backbone support organization.

Example

A city's education, health, business, and government sectors align around a shared goal of kindergarten readiness, each contributing distinct activities measured by common indicators and coordinated by a central hub.

The principle that community development must deliberately address systemic inequalities based on race, ethnicity, gender, income, disability, and other dimensions of identity to ensure that all residents benefit from and participate in development processes.

Example

A transit planning process provides childcare, translation services, and evening meeting times to ensure that low-income residents and non-English speakers can meaningfully participate in shaping new bus routes.

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Curriculum alignment— Standards-aligned

Grade level

Grades 9-12College+

Learning objectives

•Identify the principles of asset-based community development and participatory planning for local empowerment
•Apply needs assessment and stakeholder engagement methods to design community development initiatives effectively
•Analyze the social, economic, and political factors that influence community resilience and sustainable development outcomes
•Evaluate community development programs using outcome indicators, participatory evaluation, and theory-of-change frameworks

Recommended Resources

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Books

Building Communities from the Inside Out

by John P. Kretzmann & John L. McKnight

Rules for Radicals

by Saul Alinsky

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

by Jane Jacobs

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

by Robert D. Putnam

Courses

Community Change in Public Health

CourseraEnroll

Introduction to Community Development

edXEnroll

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The scientific study of human society, social institutions, relationships, and inequality, examining how social structures and cultural forces shape individual and collective behavior.

Intermediate

Community Development

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Adaptive Learn

Flashcards

Cheat Sheet

Glossary

Learning Roadmap

Book

Key Concepts

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)

Community Organizing

Social Capital

Participatory Action Research (PAR)