Chapter 2: Introduction to Community Development

Question 1

What is top-down community development characterized by?

Answer 1

Imposing a goal/process for change on a community (colonization, an outside developer, etc.)

Question 2

What is bottom-up community development characterized by?

Answer 2

A community determining their own goals and processes, often to gain control over externally imposed conditions or in response to a local issue

Question 3

What is community development?

Answer 3

A democratic and social process that increases the assets and attributes a community can draw on to improve their lives; the capacity of local populations to respond collectively to events and issues that affect them

Question 4

What does it mean for a community worker to engage in community development?

Answer 4

-Working with people at a local level to promote active participation in identifying local needs and organizing to meet those needs
-Reducing power imbalances while incorporating traditional community knowledge and culturally-appropriate/community-based research methods

Question 5

What is meant by longevity in community development?

Answer 5

The ability for local people to form their own organizations and maintain a long-term capacity for problem-solving

Question 6

What are the 5 types of community work?

Answer 6

-Community development
-Community action
-Community organization
-Social planning
-Service extension

Question 7

What distinguishes community development from other types of community work?

Answer 7

-Emphasizing self-help and mutual support
-Enhancing local capacity for problem-solving
-Promotes collective action

Question 8

What is the focus of community action?

Answer 8

Direct action against public or non-public bodies that perpetuate structural divisions in society

Question 9

What is the focus of community organization?

Answer 9

Collaborating with community agencies to promote joint initiatives

Question 10

What is the focus of social planning in community work?

Answer 10

Assessing needs and capacities for the purpose of program planning and evaluation

Question 11

What is the focus of service extension in community work?

Answer 11

Expanding the services of local agencies to meet the needs of underserved community members

Question 12

What are some factors that weaken communities? (7)

Answer 12

-Lack of shared history
-Stigma
-Transience
-Fragmentation
-Lack of services/locally owned businesses
-Lack of local decision-making
-Lack of boundaries

Question 13

How does a lack of collective history weaken a community?

Answer 13

-Feeling disconnected from present realities
-More likely to repeat mistakes of the past

Question 14

How can a sense of collective history be built in a community?

Answer 14

-Interviewing older residents
-Reviewing historical records
-Gathering artifacts related to collective past/culture

Question 15

How does stigma weaken a community?

Answer 15

-Being perceived as dangerous or undesirable
-Shame
-Fear
-Unwillingness to stay in the area long-term
-Increased social problems (addiction, illness, crime, etc.)

Question 16

How does high mobility weaken a community?

Answer 16

-Safety concerns related to lack of knowledge of one’s neighbourhood and a reluctance to get to know it
-Underutilized schools, churches, and other facilities

Question 17

How does fragmentation weaken communities?

Answer 17

-Lack of interaction between different groups (social classes, ethnicities, etc.)
-Lack of/inability to work towards common goals
-Tensions between subgroups (bullying, racism, gangs, etc.)

Question 18

How does a lack of local decision-making authority weaken a community?

Answer 18

-Lack of control, ownership, and respect/care for the community
-Apathy
-Learned helplessness
-Decisions that are not informed by community opinions, needs, and values

Question 19

How does a lack of boundaries weaken a community?

Answer 19

-Social interaction is discouraged
-Lack of a sense of ownership/control
-Increased vandalism and crime

Question 20

What is defensible space?

Answer 20

Geographical areas surrounded by natural barriers (arterial roads, railroad tracks, rivers, etc.) that satisfy people’s territorial nature

Question 21

What are some factors that strengthen communities? (6)

Answer 21

-Wide range of active voluntary organizations
-Sense of identity
-Gathering place(s)
-Common need
-Good transportation
-Participation in decisions about land use

Question 22

How does the presence of voluntary organizations signal a healthy community? (4)

Answer 22

-More extensive social networks
-Suggests existence of local control (less power held by distant bureaucratic organizations)
-Stronger democracy and community participation
-Ability to fill more functions within the community (political, social, recreational, etc.)

Question 23

What are some signs that a community has a strong identity?

Answer 23

-Collective pride (recorded history, logos for community organizations/sports teams)
-Fun events that bring the community together
-Local newspapers/newsletters
-Skill exchanging opportunities

Question 24

How does having a common need or enemy strengthen a community?

Answer 24

-More willingness to collaborate

Question 25

How do balanced land-use plans strengthen a community?

Answer 25

-Accessible services
-Access to nature
-Strong economic base
-Ability to manage population density
-Sustainable development

Question 26

What are some factors that make community work uniquely challening?

Answer 26

-Difficulty justifying one’s work to colleagues and administrators
-Non-traditional work hours
-Producing few immediate and tangible results
-Encouraging community members to “make waves” and upset politicians
-Critiquing conventional/popular ways of addressing social needs
-Employers being indifferent or hostile to change-making

Question 27

True or false: Anyone with enough education can be an effective community worker

Answer 27

False: professional credentials do not guarantee that a person grasp the egalitarian nature of community practice, and there is a lack of training available specific to community work

Question 28

Why can assuming that communities are democratic make community work less effective? (3)

Answer 28

-People claiming to represent the community may be speaking for themselves or a particular interest group
-Community organizations often have difficulty filling elected positions
-The most knowledgeable citizens may not have access to community leadership roles

Question 29

Why are outcomes of community work often difficult to measure?

Answer 29

-Effective community work processes are slow, preventive, and transformative
-Objective data (number of volunteer hours, socioeconomic data, etc.) does not capture the same information as subjective data

Question 30

What can it be so difficult to create sustainable change at the local level?

Answer 30

The origins of many problems apparent at the community level are structural in nature (unemployment caused by globalization, marginalization due to systemic racism, etc.)

Question 31

How can rural community work be different than urban community work?

Answer 31

-More transparent distribution of power
-Activities of community workers are more visible
-Fewer financial resources

Question 32

What basic needs does community development attempt to meet? (5)

Answer 32

Food, shelter, employment, safety, and sense of place

Question 33

What are some community development strategies used to address needs for food? (4)

Answer 33

-Community gardens
-Farmers’ markets
-Community kitchens
-Farmer-direct purchasing

Question 34

What are some common food-related concerns of communities? (4)

Answer 34

-Food additives
-Genetic modification
-Environmental protection
-Preservation of sustainable, small-scale farming practices

Question 35

What is a common community-development strategy that addresses the need for shelter?

Answer 35

Co-operative housing

Question 36

What is financial leakage?

Answer 36

Profits earned locally being drained away to more distant places; a consequence of globalization

Question 37

What are some strategies used to improve community safety?

Answer 37

-Community policing
-Block Parent and Neighbourhood initiatives