Partnerships Between Community Residents and Professionals: Issues of Power and Social Class Across the Lifespan of Neighbourhood Organizations

Abstract

We describe a qualitative study of four neighbourhood centres jointly created by a sponsoring agency and community members to prevent problems in the lives of children and adults in these neighbourhoods. Individual and focus group interviews with staff, community members, and other agency workers were used to develop an understanding of issues involved at various stages across the lifespan of these settings. Two tensions noted in this process were between community members and professionals from the sponsoring organization and between lower-class and middle-class community members. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice in community development.