Contesting community development
Grounding Definitions in Practice Contexts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4855340 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Colleen Carlon (0000-0003-2015-0009, Apple University Consortium, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 323-333 |
| Publication date | 2021-04-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Development in Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0961-4524 • E-ISSN: 1364-9213 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09614524.2020.1837078 |
| OpenAlex | W3098978859 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 16 |
Community development has many meanings. The strength of this conceptual openness is that it creates space for communities and their knowledges, values and interests. Its weakness is that, without general agreement on the nature of community development, the concept is applied inconsistently and becomes a “buzzword” which is high on application, yet low on meaning. This paper presents an analysis of community development as an essentially contested concept, highlighting descriptive and normative aspects of meanings and the role of context. It concludes with a range of actions that may assist in working through tensions between general definitions and conceptual openness
Community development · Conceptual framework · Epistemology · Geography · Normative · Openness to experience · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Community Development and Social Impact · Community Health and Development · Computer Science · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice
Essentially contested concepts
Post-development 25 years afterThe Development Dictionary
Buzzwords and fuzzwords
Power and development in practice
Community development' as a buzz-word
Contextualising empowerment
The discourse of "development" and why the concept should be abandoned
Development as a buzzword
Applying frame analysis and reframing for integrated conservation and development
Gemeinschaft Revisited
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |