Beginning with the foundations of community development, An Introduction to Community Development offers a comprehensive and practical approach to planning for communities. Road-tested in the authors’ own teaching, and through the training they provide for practicing planners, it enables students to begin making connections between academic study and practical know-how from both private and public sector contexts. An Introduction to Community Development shows how planners can utilize local economic interests and integrate finance and marketing considerations into their strategy. Most importantly, the book is strongly focused on outcomes, encouraging students to ask: what is best practice when it comes to planning for communities, and how do we accurately measure the results of planning practice? This newly revised and updated edition includes: increased coverage of sustainability issues, discussion of localism and its relation to community development, quality of life, community well-being and public health considerations, and content on local food systems. Each chapter provides a range of reading materials for the student, supplemented with text boxes, a chapter outline, keywords, and reference lists, and new skills based exercises at the end of each chapter to help students turn their learning into action, making this the most user-friendly text for community development now available.

Introduction to Community Development provides students of community and economic development with a theoretical and practical introduction to the field of community development. Bringing together leading scholars in the field of community development, the book follows the curriculum needs in offering a progression from theory to practice, beginning with a theoretical overview, an historical overview, and the various approaches to community development.

With the topic of community high on the public agenda, this timely guide provides an introduction to community development, its origins and some of the current trends and challenges. The book also explores how community development can be applied in different practice domains to achieve a range of policy objectives. Accessibly written, it will be essential for students studying a degree or taking a module in the area as well as those already involved in community development and community organising.

The only up-to-date, accessibly written short guide to community development, this third edition offers an invaluable and authoritative introduction. Fully updated to reflect changes in policy, practice, economics and culture, it will equip readers with an understanding of the history and theory of community development, as well as practical guidance on how to do it. This is a key text for all students and practitioners working with communities. It includes: • a broad overview of core themes, concepts, basic practices and key issues in community development; • an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on community life and well-being, along with the implications for longer-term community support; • additional brand new content on the pressing issues of democratic decline, social fragmentation and isolation, social care pressures, technological developments and climate change.