Community Development Process Research Articles

Enhancing youth involvement in community development: A pragmatic strategy for local churche

This article reports on the findings of the Christian youth ministry involvement in community development in the Mayibuye community of Tembisa, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The article employed Richard Osmer’s model of the four tasks of practical theological interpretation. These tasks have been used to understand better what is happening in youth ministry and community development contexts in the Mayibuye community by utilising documentary analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews. The findings divulged that the Mayibuye community faces several socio-economic challenges. Most importantly, young people are the most affected. Furthermore, the findings exposed that youth involvement is limited in community development processes within local communities. As a result, the article proposes implementing a pragmatic strategy to enhance the youth ministry’s involvement in community development. Various principles of the youth ministry have been presented in the study as the essential principles that need youth leaders’ attention for functional youth ministry, and to achieve developmental outcomes. The study also recommended further empirical studies on youth culture, the importance of young people’s inclusion in leadership roles and the use of young people as catalysts for community transformation.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The anticipated outcomes of this research endeavour are poised to make a valuable contribution to the current corpus of knowledge in various academic domains, including Practical Theology, Youth Ministry, Theology and Development, Community Development, Congregational Studies, Missiology, Anthropology, and Sociology. This contribution suggests that adopting a pragmatic strategy is likely to yield positive outcomes for local churches, youth ministry, and community development as a whole.

Wearing their heart on a wall: the World’s Biggest Comic

Abstract An arts-based project, using a community development approach engaging people in a community of place to address suicide prevention, is potentially powerful. This involves linking community development and mental health promotion practice. The challenge in doing this is that, conceptually, the integration between the two is incomplete and there is a lack of guidance about effective community processes. This paper analyses community development processes to create the World’s Biggest Comic (WBC). The WBC was an innovative, large scale public art project engaging local artists, some with a lived experience of mental illness, to tell a story of Will and Hope. A 15-part comic story, printed on vinyl canvas panels and mounted on buildings, covered 600 m2. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=217471332673743 Conducted in a small rural South Australian community by the local volunteer Suicide Prevention Network, the WBC aimed to raise awareness, break down stigma, and prompt life-saving conversations. Results of a mixed method impact evaluation are presented using a community development framework that considers ‘people’, ‘space’, and ‘place’. The use of sociological concepts about community and the community field, the value of relationships, and listening to the voices of those with a lived experience of mental illness, may assist practice. Some potential learnings and pitfalls in using a community development approach in mental health promotion are discussed.

Melding language and image: Kaytetye Indigemoji as a language learning project

ABSTRACT Purpose In recent years, digital projects have created tools for learning languages, such as mobile applications (apps). In contexts where the language has low prestige, innovative digital learning tools can support language revitalisation. This article takes the Australian Kaytetye Indigemoji app as a case study in community resource development. It aims to do two things: (1) show how resource development can be a vital forum for language teaching and learning; and (2) assess the affordances of digital images—fundamental to the Indigemoji app—for Indigenous language learning. Methodology Taking an ethnographic approach encompassing informal conversation and participant observation embedded in relevant literature, we analyse the community workshop where the Kaytetye Indigemoji app was developed. Findings We find that the development process can provide an essential language-learning activity. We also find that visual opportunities presented by the app harness existing multimodal practices in central Australian Indigenous communities, including symbolic art and a highly developed alternate sign language. We show that effective digital learning resources can be built through community development processes which engage with local learning methods. Value This research identifies how digital resource development can be harnessed to be maximally useful for Indigenous language learning in a small and relatively disadvantaged area in Australia.

Satisfaction and challenges of beneficiaries of the Yolanda Permanent Housing Program in a component city of the Philippines

The Yolanda Permanent Housing Program (YPHP) in the Philippines was designed to resettle the poor families affected by typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in 2013. There were 1,992 units granted to the component city but as of July of 2022, only 1,067 units were awarded. Hence, this study determined the satisfaction of the beneficiaries of YPHP and identified the challenges they encountered when they resettled at the site. Likewise, it investigated the difference in their satisfaction relative to length of stay and family size. Using the descriptive-comparative approach, this study was responded by 283 beneficiaries determined using simple random sampling. It utilized a validated and reliability-tested researcher-made questionnaire and checklist. Generally, their satisfaction was rated high. However, the areas that need continuous improvement are community development and relocation process which were rated low. Meanwhile, there were challenges identified in terms of application and documentation processing, relocation and transfer, occupancy, and livability. Also, there was no difference in their satisfaction as to length of stay and family size. However, in terms of length of stay, there was a difference in safety and suitability of location. Given the findings, continuous improvement by the implementers is necessary.

Community leadership practices in Edo State Nigeria: Justification for a Biomimetic-based alternative in community development

This article is the first of a two-part assessment of leadership practices in community development processes. In this first part, community leadership practices (CLPs) are established as everyday actions executed by community leaders in the administration of processes to achieve communal development. In which case, community development associations (CDAs) should be agents that facilitate community development. Therefore, the continued disbandment of CDAs by the government of Edo State Nigeria in the past 6 years is odd. Postulating that the prevailing anti-development leadership practices is the reason behind the disbandment, the authors assessed the state of CLPs in the study area to determine the justification or otherwise, for a Biomimetic leadership alternative. The assessment was by observation, news reports and document analysis. This article affirmed that dominant anti-development practices of CDA leaders are critical to lack of development and recommended drawing leadership lessons from resilient bio-communities for application in human communities.

Village Development Study Based on the Developing Village Index in Bati-Bati District, Tanah Laut Regency

Village Development Study Based on the Developing Village Index in Bati-Bati District, Tanah Laut Regency

Perspectives From Public Health Practitioners and Advocates on Community Development for Active Living: What are the Lasting Impacts?

Evidence suggests differential impacts of community development, including gentrification and displacement. Public health practitioners and advocates are key stakeholders involved in the community development process related to active living, yet little is known about their perceptions of its impacts. We explored the perspectives of relevant leaders of public health departments and key community and advocacy organizations on community development, gentrification, and displacement. Purposive key informant interviews. CDC State Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) funding recipients. CDC SPAN recipient leadership (n = 10 of 16) and advocacy organizations they partnered with (n = 7 of 16). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed with direct quotes representing key themes. Both groups felt community development held important benefits, specifically by creating healthy living opportunities, but also potentially leading to the displacement of long-time residents. Practitioners reported the benefits were for all community members, whereas advocates noted the benefits were seen in those with privilege, and the consequences were disproportionately seen in disadvantaged communities. Both mentioned the importance and difficulty of getting diverse representation for community engagement. Learning how key stakeholders perceive and navigate the community development process can help inform recommendations for better equity in active living community improvements. More work is needed to further elucidate best practices for health and social equity in the community development process.

Public art and social media: street art tourism, sociocultural agency and cultural production in contemporary Lisbon

Abstract This essay engages with Guias do Mocho [Mocho’s Tourist Guides], a bottom-up cultural tourism initiative emerging in Quinta do Mocho, a ‘peripheral’ neighbourhood of Lisbon, as a way of problematizing the relationship between public and street art and social media aesthetics. Scholarship on digital creative industries and street art tourism tends to emphasize the complicities of this kind of cultural experience with neoliberal understandings of the urban space. By examining an example of bottom-up, localized guided tours that operates through social media in the context of peripheral areas of Lisbon, we argue that public art and social media should be seen as part of a more complicated correlation, one in which the affects and effects of creative, site-specific projects are actively developed and expanded in unforeseen ways. Our research demonstrates that public art and social media are mutually developing a renewed economy of attention and system of valorization. The critical examination of both elements is compulsory when measuring the impact of art-driven processes of community development.

University social entrepreneurship as a development strategy for people, communities and territories

Entrepreneurship openness in a community implies its involvement and granting it equity in decision-making, incorporating it into the social productive sector in a strategic vision of empowerment. This premise leads to a sustained interest in the implementation and development of university social entrepreneurship as a vital strategy for the growth of individuals, communities, and territories. For this purpose, a mixed research approach and a sequential, staged model were used to build the relationship between local community development processes, using interviews and axioms. The results highlight that educating, promoting, and fostering a community and university entrepreneurial culture are actions related to business opportunities, creativity, innovation, and knowledge management in a given locality. Likewise, the conclusions and reflections obtained underscore the pressing need to establish coherent budgets that serve as a development path, for the execution of actions and projects that strengthen educational scenarios and, in turn, promote an entrepreneurial culture, because it is the empowerment processes that lead to university social entrepreneurship, which still have ample room for improvement.

Foundational phases for community development: An expanded conceptual model for community development practice and higher education

ABSTRACT The field of community development is exponentially growing in both education and practice. Of the notable theories referenced in community development, Bhattacharyya's theory on Solidarity and Agency remains one of the most cited works among researchers. This article presents a conceptual model named The Foundational Phases for Community Development which can act as a guide for community development leadership and education across a range of community types including communities of place, interest, practice, and identity. The Foundational Phases for Community Development model accepts Bhattacharyya's concepts of solidarity and agency along with the addition of “capacity” as an essential goal within the community development process. Moreover, this model transforms these goals into three interconnected sequential phases made up of specific activities and strategies that can be replicated by various forms of community development leaders to address issues and meet the objectives of communities of varying complexity.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF MOTIVATION ON THE INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY VISITING THE DENTIST DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN SUNGAI MIAI VILLAGE

THE RELATIONSHIP OF MOTIVATION ON THE INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY VISITING THE DENTIST DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN SUNGAI MIAI VILLAGE

Was CSR in our minds? The relevance of CSR in the vision and mission of Indian companies through the lens of ownership

PurposeThis study aims to explore the patterns of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and investments across different ownership groups and relevance of CSR practices in the vision and mission (V&M) statements of firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the neo-institutional theory approach, which explains similarities and differences in the CSR practices of organisations embedded within (and between) similar sectoral contexts. The study accounts the CSR activities of the top 100 companies listed on the Bombay Stock exchange (BSE) based on their ownership and checks the overlap of the CSR activities conducted by the companies with the ongoing social development schemes launched in India during the same of time. The time period between 2017 and 2020 is chosen to analyse the CSR studies. The study uses content analysis technique to derive conclusions. A textual analysis of top 100 listed firms across all ownership groups aimed at understanding patterns of CSR practices opted by the different groups and coherence of CSR patterns in the V&M statements. CSR related keywords were analysed in the V&M statements to understand what influence reporting of CSR practices in the strategic communication of firms.FindingsOverall analysis indicated that top 100 firms prefer to invest in the areas of “Education”, “Sustainability” “Skill” where public-owned firms preferred towards “Sanitation” and “Environment/Sustainability” showing concurrence with local development goals. Private and foreign groups preferred to park their CSR funds in “Education” and “Skill” development showing coherence with the global agendas. Public-owned firms tend to report more CSR related specifically “Environment’ and “Sustainability” in the strategic documents. However, private and foreign firms do not pay any significance to CSR related keywords in their V&M statements.Research limitations/implicationsFindings suggest that despite of huge CSR investments, private and foreign-owned firms lack CSR focus and communication in their V&M statements, which may create disintegration in the CSR investment and strategic alignment of near-term and future goals. The paper suggests that private and foreign firms should also communicate their CSR practices through their V&M to stakeholders so that CSR practices may not remain mere 2% mandated expenditure by the Government of India.Originality/valueThe study contributes in confirming the success of the CSR policy mandate in supplementing government’s social development programmes along with indications on the role of family firms in accelerating the process of community development as compared to foreign firms. The study also favours integration of CSR disclosures in the V&M statements to gain long-term benefit out of these investments.

The Community Development Process in the Climate Village Programme through the Biopore Programme in Blawi Village, Lamongan

Development activities always cause environmental damage and/or pollution. This development triggers the acceleration of the phenomenon of climate change which should be a natural phenomenon. This research aims to empower the community with a community development process which consists of the stages of program planning, planning, implementation, evaluation & results of changes, and termination. The community development process was carried out using a qualitative approach and case studies in the field involving 3 informants consisting of the Blawi Village government, Karang Taruna, and the Blawi Village community who were directly involved in the Biopori Program and the Clean Village Program. The selection of informants was carried out to dig deeper into community development in the Biopori Program and the Clean Village Program. Biopori is a simple technology that can increase rainwater absorption and the amount of clean water reserves in the ground during flood control efforts. Clean Village is a simple tool to increase public awareness of the importance of clean houses for public health and flood control efforts in Blawi village. The result of this activity was the planting of biopori, the installation of 40 biopori holes in each community unit in Blawi Village was carried out as a pilot to be developed and carried out by the residents themselves.

A Review of Literature on Sustainable Cities and Urban Ageing: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries

The proportion of the elderly population is increasing rapidly. This trend demands measures and actions that enable elderly people to stay active and self-sufficient as long as possible. However, in cities, elderly people are more vulnerable to climate change, and socioeconomic changes since most city environments are designed to support the working population. Therefore age-friendly living environments and facilities are necessary to promote active ageing. Sustainable cities and ageing populations have been researched widely as separate concepts, but these two have not been researched together. The paper provides a review of empirical research on sustainable cities and urban ageing by giving a special focus on challenges and opportunities for developing countries. The review identifies eight domains in age-friendly cities: (1) outdoor spaces and buildings; (2) transportation; (3) housing; (4) social participation; (5) respect and social inclusion; (6) civic participation and employment; (7) communication and information; and (8) community support and health services. Challenging areas include elderly labour force participation, elderly caring, social security, inclusive urban infrastructure, urban poverty, and peace and security. As a policy implication, collective efforts should be made to formulate policies and programmes to keep the active and productive elderly in the labour market, community development, and decision-making process.

‘Come as you are’: place attachment to Islamic third spaces in the United States

Abstract Our global community necessitates the understanding of emergent hybrid typologies of religious spaces and their role in community development. Islamic third spaces are informal socio-religious environments that serve the unmet needs of acculturated generations of US Muslims. Using a place attachment framework, the study illustrates how the social and physical designs of two third spaces curate inclusive and contextually driven experiences for their members. This is done through an exploration of data from twenty-four in-depth semi-structured interviews with attendees of two Islamic third spaces. Findings indicated that, in addition to social and physical features of third spaces, contextual influences affecting US Muslims served a crucial role in participants place attachment. We conclude that attachment to third spaces provides a basis for community development processes, such as social cohesion and integration within the US populous.

The Bureaucratic disconnect in collaborative institutions: A Case of Rural Water Supply in Punjab, Pakistan

The collaborative model for rural water supply (RWS), introduced at the behest of international funders in the 1990s, experienced only partial success owing to the low accept- ability of public managers and the slow process of community development (CD). This article goes into the empirical findings of a study that is based on in-depth interviews with 20 staff and line public managers of the four RWS in different regions as well as on content analysis of policy documents and funding organizations’ reports. The results indicate that appropriate CD, reforms in internal organization arrangements, and understanding of context-specific social, economic, and political diversity remain necessary in collaborative compliance with institutions for RWS sustainability. The study aims at making a contribution to the theory of collaborative governance and the practice of collaborative implementation in developing countries.

Social Innovation Project and Tourism Lifestyle Entrepreneurship to Revitalize the Marginal Areas. The Case of the via Francigena Cultural Route

ABSTRACT Cultural Routes (CRs) are gaining increasing interest among both researchers and policymakers as an innovative form of sustainable tourism. However, the benefits that the territories crossed by a Route obtained are poorly studied. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by evaluating the improvements that CRs as social innovation projects (SIP) cause to the local tourism ecosystem. The empirical analysis is based on the case of the Via Francigena (VF), one of the most important in Europe. It emerges the role of activator of community development processes covered by Via Francigena, capable of shaping the communities crossed with particular attention to marginal areas. At the same time, the route seems to stimulate lifestyle entrepreneurship with strong influence of social perspective rather than profit-driven one. The study contributes to increase knowledge about Cultural Routes as SIP, with important managerial implication on local tourism development.

Place-Based Environmental Philanthropy: The Role of Community-Based Organizations in the Skeena Watershed

This article explores the role of place-based philanthropy in rural community development through a case study of the Skeena watershed. The Skeena is an ecologically significant region in Northwest British Columbia that is confronting the complex and layered forces of change being experienced by many rural regions in Canada. Through qualitative interviews and document analyses, the article illustrates how a robust ecosystem of environmental community-based organizations (CBOs), funded by philanthropic capital, is extending beyond traditional environmental advocacy to fill important structural gaps in community development. Though pressed by capacity issues, the sector is shifting towards highly integrated and collaborative responses to development pressures and charting alternative pathways for development in the region. The complexity and scope of pressures in the Skeena offer insights for other rural regions and the dynamic potential and challenges associated with place-based philanthropy in community and regional development processes.

Philanthropy-Government Collaborations in Urban Renewal and Community Development: Two Case Studies from Israel’s Periphery

ABSTRACT This article examines a philanthropic foundation’s work to promote complex urban renewal and community development processes in two cities in Israel’s periphery. It compares the working principles, strategies, and results of collaborative projects undertaken by a philanthropic foundation, local authorities, Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing, and community representatives, and describes how young, mission-based communities can serve as a resource for community development and urban renewal processes in Israel’s peripheral areas. The evaluative study accompanying the project used qualitative data collection methods, including 34 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, field observations, and analysis of official documents. The results indicate that to ensure the quality and sustainability of community development in urban renewal initiatives, investments are necessary in the local economic and social infrastructure, as is the creation of a strong and resilient partnership between the governmental and local authorities, residents, and the philanthropic organization.

A Decision Support Methodology to Foster Renewable Energy Communities in the Municipal Urban Plan

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) represent a possible solution to facilitate the transition to carbon neutrality and reduce energy poverty in urban areas. Although the topic has received little attention from urban planning scholars and practitioners, they can make a significant contribution in the enhancement of RECs. To this end, this article proposes a methodology that allows identifying priority urban areas where the Municipal Urban Plan can incentivize RECs’ establishment. These areas are spatially identified where a minimization of the constraints on RECs’ formation and a maximization of their energy and social benefits are expected. The application of the proposed methodology to an Italian municipal area where the Plan is being drawn up is presented. The obtained results show how priority areas can be found both in the urban center and in rural areas, suggesting that urban planning can encourage different REC configurations, depending on the settlement fabric and land use, as well as the number of buildings to be clustered and potential leaders who can lead the community development process.