Rethinking the purpose of community empowerment in neighbourhood regeneration: The need for policy clarity

Abstract

Community empowerment is a core element of area regeneration policy in the UK. In this article we question whose purpose the policy goal of community empowerment serves by examining the policy from three ‘actor’ perspectives in a neighbourhood regeneration setting: the Housing Association, a campaign group that became a Registered Tenants Organisation and residents living in the area. Using a model of community empowerment developed, we conclude that the ‘wider community’ was not empowered by the processes but that community empowerment was used by other parties to legitimate their aims. We make three conclusions in relation to: the relevance of community empowerment alongside other objectives; policy oversight and regulation; and, the relationship between community empowerment and representative democratic structures.