community development
Local area enhancement
Community development is organized effort to improve the economic, social, and physical conditions of a neighborhood, town, or region.
It typically involves local residents working with institutions—governments, nonprofits, businesses—to address issues like housing, employment, education, and infrastructure.
The term emphasizes grassroots participation: The community development project trained residents to lead their own initiatives.
It appears in government programs, urban planning, and nonprofit work, often with a focus on underserved areas.
Deploying capital for returns
- entrepreneurshipCreating and managing ventures
- microfinanceSmall loans for poor entrepreneurs
- job creationEstablishing new work positions
- small businessModest independent commercial venture
cooperatives · local enterprise · credit unions · social enterprise · business incubators · trade skills · financial literacy
Depending on oneself alone
- grassrootsCommon people as political base
- participationAct of taking part
- inclusivityPractice of welcoming all
- agencyPower to act
advocacy · mobilization · autonomy · self-determination · resilience · civic engagement · skill-building · local ownership
Wealthy influx displacing locals
- zoningSectioning areas by use
- city planningDesigning how towns develop
- revitalizationRestoring vigor or vitality
- housingDwellings or protective covering
density · neighborhoods · public space · land use · mixed-use · affordable housing · streetscaping · urban renewal
Shared business arrangement
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
- allianceFormal union of parties
- networkingBuilding professional relationships
collective · teamwork · consortium · federation · association · stakeholders · cooperation · joint ventures
Joint agricultural enterprise
- water accessAbility to reach waterways
- electrificationConversion to powered systems
- land reformRedistributing agricultural holdings
- food securityGuaranteed adequate nutrition access
Preventing waste or loss
- permacultureSustainable ecosystem design method
- renewable energySelf-replenishing natural power
- environmental justiceFair sharing of ecological burdens
- climate resilienceAbility to withstand environmental shifts
investment
Deploying capital for returns
- entrepreneurshipCreating and managing ventures
- microfinanceSmall loans for poor entrepreneurs
- job creationEstablishing new work positions
small business · cooperatives · local enterprise · credit unions · social enterprise · business incubators · trade skills · financial literacy
self-reliance
Depending on oneself alone
- grassrootsCommon people as political base
- participationAct of taking part
- inclusivityPractice of welcoming all
agency · advocacy · mobilization · autonomy · self-determination · resilience · civic engagement · skill-building · local ownership
gentrification
Wealthy influx displacing locals
- zoningSectioning areas by use
- city planningDesigning how towns develop
- revitalizationRestoring vigor or vitality
housing · density · neighborhoods · public space · land use · mixed-use · affordable housing · streetscaping · urban renewal · displacement
partnership
Shared business arrangement
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
- allianceFormal union of parties
networking · collective · teamwork · consortium · federation · association · stakeholders · cooperation · joint ventures · mutual aid
cooperative farming
Joint agricultural enterprise
- water accessAbility to reach waterways
- electrificationConversion to powered systems
- land reformRedistributing agricultural holdings
food security · irrigation · rural infrastructure · village councils
conservation
Preventing waste or loss
- permacultureSustainable ecosystem design method
- renewable energySelf-replenishing natural power
- environmental justiceFair sharing of ecological burdens
climate resilience · food systems · urban farming · eco-villages · agroecology
- development policyregional cooperation, planning commissions, urban renewal, enterprise zones, economic zones
- communityneighbors, neighborliness, neighborhoods, kinship, mutual aid
- social servicessocial workers, social work, social services, welfare office, case workers
- city departmentsfire department, public safety, city planning, city attorney, water department
- LBJ EraLBJ, Great Society, Vietnam War, War on Poverty, Civil Rights Act
- Social Enterprisesocial enterprise, social innovation, ethical business, triple bottom line, impact investing
community developmentself-interest
Concern for personal advantage
personal development · self-promotion · atomization · every man for himself · personal enrichment
community developmenturban decay
City infrastructure deterioration
blight · depopulation · disinvestment · urban blight · white flight
community developmentneglect
Failure to provide care
abandonment · disinvestment · benign neglect · redlining · capital flight
community, develop, development, communicate, communication, commune, communal, communion, commonality