A Discussion About Community Development

Community development is an approach that focuses on supporting community voices and increasing the influence and responsibility of communities. This 300 words essay about community explores theoretical approaches and practices centered around community development, including empowerment, participation, and social justice concepts.

Community development is formed on the values of human rights, respect for diversity and equality, principles that must be reached collectively by individuals or groups through social change. The collapse and isolation of communities, leading to problems linked with disadvantages and poverty due to a failure of the state, resulted in the establishment of community work and the welfare state in the 1960s.

Society tends to categorize social identity groups embedded in history, geography, patterns of immigration, and socio-economic values as well as oppressing groups in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, etc. To avoid anti-oppression and functionality practices and promote social justice, collective action is needed. Through empowerment, communities can take control of their lives, challenge the power structures, and make a social change.

Participation can be defined as the key to democracy. As a community activist, Alinsky's theory is based on unifying people, rebellion, and challenging power structures effectively to make a community change. Fairness, participation, diversity, and human rights should be applied not just at one moment but over a long period so questions can be asked on what went wrong.

Social justice is seen as work for a more just and equal society, which recognizes environmental, political, cultural, and economic issues by celebrating the strengths, skills, and assets in communities, challenging inequalities, injustice, and imbalances of power, and promoting human and civil rights.

Based on the theoretical approaches discussed, community development promotes empowerment, participation, and social justice. Ultimately, community development is about collective action that enables individuals and communities to challenge power structures, to work towards a fairer and more consensus society, and to promote social justice for all.