A potted history of community development … and some pretty cool quotes on radical community development
Jul 14, 2015
A potted history of community development
… and some pretty cool quotes on radical community development
DISCLAIMERS
I have engineering degrees. I don’t fully understand some of the words used by social science-y people.
Apparently the ‘Golden Age’ of community development in the UK was 1968 to the mid 1970’s. I was born in the mid 1970’s. And I’ve never applied myself to learning history.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following is from a handy document created by Jill Bedford of ‘changes’ (@jillbed)
REFORMIST
A charitable, philanthropic approach.
Self-help.
‘Doing-to’.
Model of deficiency. Pathologising groups and communities.
RADICAL
Philosophy of liberation.
Power relations and analysis of power at the centre.
Challenging people and structures.
A radical and revolutionary approach
CD IN RELATION TO POLITICAL PURPOSE
REFORMIST
Workers Educational Association
University Settlements movement
The deserving poor
RADICAL
Women’s suffrage
Women’s health clinics
Glasgow rent strikes
1900’s - 1920’s
REFORMIST
Urban clearances - new council estates
New community centres built to foster sense of community
Employment of community workers tied to social work practice
RADICAL
Unemployed workers movement
Jarrow marches
General strikes
1930’s
REFORMIST
Ideas around neighbourhood work and interagency work and collaboration from Murray Ross bought from Canada to the UK
RADICAL
1940’s - 1950’s
REFORMIST
Younghusband report -community work as a key component of social work
Gulbenkain report - community work needs to be a full time professional job in neighbourhoods
Skeffington report - importance of public participation in planning and the role CD can play
RADICAL
Critique of Gulbenkian report: - glosses over /igore
political nature of community development
- ignoring the root causes of oppression
- social work/community work can be seen as ‘soft policing’ of communities
1960’s
REFORMIST
Urban Programme scheme started
Community Development Projects started in specific communities to ameliorate effects of poverty
RADICAL
Staff in Community Development Projects became disenchanted with the little they could do working with system and started to challenge the vary basis of their work (they became radicalised)
The writings of Friere, Gramsci and Alinsky became well known
Late 1960’s - 1970’s
REFORMIST
Concepts of self help and service provision tied in to state funding of voluntary and community sector, and linked to business model of operating - quality systems, targets and managerialism.
Focus on small scale neighbourhood changes often associated with physical environment.
RADICAL
Feminist and black critiques of community development approaches
‘In or against the state’ arguments - the state as employer/funder and oppressor. Inherent tensions especially when community workers are employed by local authorities.
Late 1970’s - 1990’s
REFORMIST
Partnerships between VCS and governance, VCS starting to deliver local services
Place-shaping and Neighbourhood Renewal
Community cohesion Social capital Community engagement Community empowerment
RADICAL
Rise of ‘idelogical confusion’ - to naively support policies around participation rather than social justice and equality
The co-option of radical community work - the professionalisation of community action - replaces critical analysis with sustainability and social inclusion
1997 - 2010
Community development begins in the everyday reality of people’s lives by “extraordinarily re-experiencing the ordinary”.
In a process of action and reflection, community development grows through a diversity of local projects that address issues faced by people in a community.
Through campaigns, networks and alliances, this action develops a local:global reach that aims to transform the structures of oppression that diminish local lives.
Margaret Ledwith Community Development: A critical approach (2005)
Community development starts from the principle that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which, if used in creative ways, can be channelled into collective action to achieve the communities’ desired goals.
Community Development Exchange
Lorna Prescott Senior Development Officer
Dudley CVS @dosticen
(CDX Trustee 2007-2011)