#1 Reason Rural Community Development is Hard to Do
People Don’t Understand What Community Development Is
by Michael Holton, Center for Rural Affairs, michaellh@cfra.org
Community leaders and resource providers tend to put characteristics in with community development that constrict the definition. Often it is confused with other development ideas such as economic development, infrastructure, schools, and business development.
Community development is all of these things, but not packaged separately. Contrary to the belief that any one of these can fix or solve problems that need to be addressed, it takes all of them to complete the puzzle we call community development.
The definition of community development can be stated as, “The process of improving the social, economic, and cultural conditions of a village or small town.” Even this definition may come up short, but at least it addresses other facets of what the community is all about.
Since a good discussion is beginning about our previous post, I thought i would provide more detail. This is the narrative in Michael Holton's feature in the Center for Rural Affairs newsletter article about the top ten things that make rural community development hard to do... John Crabtree
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.
by Michael Holton, Center for Rural Affairs, michaellh@cfra.org
Community leaders and resource providers tend to put characteristics in with community development that constrict the definition. Often it is confused with other development ideas such as economic development, infrastructure, schools, and business development.
Community development is all of these things, but not packaged separately. Contrary to the belief that any one of these can fix or solve problems that need to be addressed, it takes all of them to complete the puzzle we call community development.
The definition of community development can be stated as, “The process of improving the social, economic, and cultural conditions of a village or small town.” Even this definition may come up short, but at least it addresses other facets of what the community is all about.
Since a good discussion is beginning about our previous post, I thought i would provide more detail. This is the narrative in Michael Holton's feature in the Center for Rural Affairs newsletter article about the top ten things that make rural community development hard to do... John Crabtree
Agree? Disagree? Post a comment here or contact John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org
Center for Rural Affairs
Values. Worth. Action.
posted by Center for Rural Affairs @ 12:10 PM
15 Comments:
At 12:35 AM,
Anonymous said…
not very many local economic developers know what rural community development is either...
At 12:55 AM,
Anonymous said…
not that many "community developers" know what it means either
At 10:03 AM,
Anonymous said…
How does one "develop" the social and cultural condition of a rural community? It sounds sort of elitist to talk about developing the "culture" of a small town.
At 11:23 AM,
Anonymous said…
You know, there is something about the word "development" that has always left me feeling vaguely uneasy - sort of a feeling like without a "developer" around somewhere we'd be too stupid to get anything done. I always wonder if other people feel that way. Whiting, Iowa
At 8:41 AM,
Anonymous said…
yeah, because rural people - people who live in and around rural communities are too stupid to be able to build a community, economy, social structure and, God forbid, culture... at least that is what government folks want us to believe
At 8:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
I don't think i agree with that. Rural communities have challenges that are difficult to meet. Is there anything wrong with local and state government helping out where they can? Or the federal government for that matter (although the feds are less successful when they get involved)?
At 9:52 AM,
Anonymous said…
challenges? What are these challenges that rural communities face that are unique to rural communities? I do not like or agree with the theory that rural communities need more help that urban communities... Whiting, Iowa
At 11:33 AM,
Anonymous said…
Michael, some of the words that you that you did not find helpful (social and cultural conditions, for example) came from your earlier definitions. Do you propose any other general deifnianions for community development - or some way for us to get beyond the difficulty in this conversation over the word development?
At 3:39 PM,
Anonymous said…
OK, i agree, goverment and agencies should wait until communities ask for help, and "development" should always come from within...
but, i still wonder, what is the point of all of this? does all this really mean strategies for growth (when we say development)?
At 3:52 PM,
Anonymous said…
what if i want what i have right now in my rural community, does that make me a gate-keeper?
At 9:35 PM,
Anonymous said…
i still do not like the word development, i said this earlier in this conversation, it sounds like it means that rural people are stupid and need to be "developed" into full fledged, intelligent citizens - there may be cases of that, but they exist in urban centers too
how do we "help" rural communities without creating the "crisis" that makes them ask for help, or, conversely, just assuming the crisis exists and telling them what they need to do whether they ask or not?
what defines a community in need of help, or an "at risk" community?
At 11:25 PM,
Anonymous said…
Michael, do you mean that an "at risk" community is one that HAS identified a need that cannot be met internally? (you said has not, but i think you mean has?)
At 11:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
I think what should be more of a concern rather than what adjective is used such as the dreaded word "development" we need to just start looking more at the many things that our communities have. Every town has something to offer and while I'm glad to see so many people making comments and participating in these posts...can we start coming up with some IDEAS?
At 11:47 PM,
Anonymous said…
thank you to the previous commentor, I have been guilty of arguing over words. Ideas are tougher, because they are probably different in every community. All I know, is that when I see communities that are building up, making something happen, I see a community that is, in my perception, healthier. I don't know if saying, "build something" is an idea.
At 11:25 PM,
Anonymous said…
differnce b/w community developemnt and rural development
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