The United Nations defines Community Development as "a process where
community members come together to take collective action and generate
solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the
practices of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens, and
professionals to improve various aspects of communities, typically aiming
to build stronger and more resilient local communities.
Community
development is also understood as a professional discipline, and is
defined by the International Association for Community Development as "a
practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes
participative democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic
opportunity, equality and social justice, through the organisation,
education and empowerment of people within their communities, whether
these be of locality, identity or interest, in urban and rural settings"
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