The Short Guide to Community Development

With the topics of community and how local communities can be supported to take control of their lives, services, and environment, still high on the public agenda, this second edition of an invaluable guide provides a timely introduction to community development, its origins, and the different forms it takes. Updated to reflect developments in policy and practices, current trends and challenges, as well as recent debates about the changing nature of community itself, it also shows how community development can be applied in a variety of policy areas. Accessibly written, this guide will remain essential reading for community organizers and students of community development.

Alison Gilchrist has worked for over three decades in community development as an activist, practitioner, trainer, researcher, and manager, including several years at the Community Development Foundation. She now works as an independent consultant.Marilyn Taylor is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Voluntary Action Research in the United Kingdom and professor emeritus at the University of the West of England.