Whenever there’s a conference of neighboring professionals there’s always the same moment. We go around the room and say what our job is or what our organization does and then…other people, well, they just get it.
They know exactly what we mean. And we didn’t even have to spend 20 minutes explaining it.
As we meet professionals and passionate leaders across the country the same experience gets shared. Whether we’re talking to neighbors, spouses, elected officials, or nonprofit leaders– no one really seems to understand what we do or the impact it has. We’re having to advocate for what we care deeply about while only being partially understood.
There’s two reasons why we think this field can be so unfamiliar to people:
- As a society, we’ve forgotten what it’s like to experience belonging in a neighborhood.
- Relationships aren’t often valued as urgent or impactful.
According to the Belonging Barometer, 74% of people report not experiencing belonging in their local community. Further, our solutions to the urgent issues of today such as affordable housing, healthcare, transportation, or political polarization, often are decided by experts, not those experiencing the issues. These solutions then provide programs, services, or tangible goods which build our reliance on institutions, not on one another.
In such an environment, advocating for strong relationships with neighbors can seem unnecessary or even a distraction to the more important work.
For some time, I (Megan) would describe neighboring as being similar to Community Development or Community Organizing. While the person I was talking to knew those phrases, or even worked in those fields, there was still a disconnect.
Community development primarily focuses on resources, often the economic and physical capital communities need for long-term, large-scale improvements. On the other hand, community organizing focuses on power and empowers individuals and groups to to take collective action on an issue that directly affects them. The work of using asset-based, relationship-driven approaches to strengthen neighborhoods is similar to these fields but distinct. So, then what is it we actually do?
At CommunityWorks, we believe we’re seeing the emergence of the Community Building field. A specific approach of catalyzing community-driven change through asset-based, relationship driven practices.
Community Building isn’t an alternative to community organizing or community development, but as a complement to them. Strong social networks within neighborhoods are often the foundation for effective community development and organizing where residents are at the center of the process.
We believe community building is vital as it creates long-lasting, sustainable change in the community’s culture and social fabric. Community building ensures the connections and bonds are strong enough to withstand challenges and changes over time. While it’s not a field, we’re wondering if it should be.
What do you think? Community Building isn’t a field – but should it be?
* At CommunityWorks, there’s a real person behind these blogs. While we may use AI for specific information or content, the materials we produce are created by our team. We’re not anti-technology, just pro-human connection.
Update (2/6/2025):
After posting this article, someone shared Stephen Duthy and Bernadette Bolo-Duthy’s 2003 research paper with the following graphic.
Duthy, Stephen & Bolo-Duthy, Bernadette. (2003). Empowering people’s organizations in community-based forest management in the Philippines: The community organizing role of NGOs. Annals of Tropical Research. 25.
Maybe the question isn’t whether or not Community Building should be a field. But, how can we re-strengthen it to create the impact we know it can have.