โ Scribed by Russell Usnick; Chris Shove; Francine Gissy
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
The term community development lacks a universally accepted single definition and also has several distinct term-of-art meanings when used in different contexts. Community itself is a value-laden term that generates many definitions (Galbraith, 1990). In the broadest usage, community development encompasses a wide array of community improvement activities that can range from informal neighborhood improvement meetings to vast, formal capital improvement schemes. As noted by the Community Development Society, "community is complex and multidimensional" and "the human dimension, which is capable of growth and development, is the most critical aspect of community" (Community Development Society, 1995). The Society believes that "the development of each community can be fostered through improved individual, organizational, and problem-solving skills" (Community Development Society, 1995).
Community development can indicate a communitywide, integrated, professional community-improvement activity that includes an economic development component. Many communities put all development activities, including economic development, under a department of community development. But community development can also describe a small-scale, singlepurpose, grass-roots activity that might be the first germination of some future economic development activity. For both economic and community development, building community coalitions to create an appropriate vision for the community is an important role (Desai and Margenthaler, 1994).
Large-scale, formal community development programs are usually found in urban settings. In smaller cities, fewer of the community development functions are professionally staffed, and in many rural communities, there is no formal structure for addressing such issues. In one sense, informal community devel-
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