Communities Of Power:
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Community Building
“There is a mistaken notion that our society has a problem in terms of effective human services. Our essential problem is weak communities. We all know that community must be the center of our lives because it is only in community that we can be citizens. It is only in community that we can find care. It is only in community that we can hear people singing . And if you listen carefully, you can hear the words: “ I care for you, because you are mine, and I am yours.” -- From John McKnight’s book, The Careless Society:.
The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD):
The ABCD Institute spreads its findings on capacity-building community development in two ways: (1) through extensive and substantial interactions with community builders, and (2) by producing practical resources and tools for community builders to identify, nurture, and mobilize neighborhood assets.
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How a Community Grew Stronger with the Contributions of People with Disabilities By Mary O'Connell
This report describes how one Chicago neighborhood, its people and their neighborhood organization, grew more powerful. They called the empowerment process "community building" because it mobilized the underdeveloped capacities and gifts of local people. This unique community effort identified local residents who were isolated and not involved. Based upon the special talents and gifts of these residents, they were introduced to local community groups. They shared their talents, became active in the community, and added new strength to the community's life. Through the link above, you can download the report in a pdf format.
From the report: "The Community Building work, on the other hand, is not about conflict or power in that traditional sense. Instead, it is about a second kind of power: the power to take care of our own, to be responsible for one another. It involves reaching out to people, bringing them together around a common, positive purpose, building relationships — and in the process building the strength of the community."
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Sustaining Community-Based Initiatives
In thes downloadable PDF file, you'll find everything from leadership development to making change last. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation in collaboration with The Healthcare Forum and many individuals located in various parts of the country contributed to its development.
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The Art and Science of Community Problem-Solving
"Why "community" problem-solving? Because democracy is much more than doing political advocacy, voting in free and competitive elections, enjoying and protecting our civil liberties, and so on. Democracy is about creating more and more capacity to do two things, fundamentally: effectively pick important problems that we want to work on and then work on them together in just and productive ways. For a growing variety of challenging issues, much of this problem-solving capacity, though not all, must be created and put in motion at the local or "community" level. "
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Ways to make a Community Stronger, Wiser, More Resilient and Engaged by Tom Atlee.
"Our American culture is very good at keeping us apart -- involved in our own lives, houses, subcultures -- hooked up to mass media and mass economics -- with precious little time or inclination to reach out -- to work, talk and play with people unlike ourselves, or to really engage with the place where we live. This is great for profits and bad for communities, humanity, nature and democracy."
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Strategic Questioning
"Any strategic question worthy of the name has many possible answers. In any case, if you are asking a strategic question, never assume you know the answer, or you won't hear the real answers when they emerge. You won't give them enough space to unfold fully. "
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Listening Circles
"This is a different kind of meeting than most modern people are used to. The focus is on dialogue -- on exploring and learning together -- not on getting things done or completing an agenda."
