Nine Community development: (un) fulfilled hopes for social equality in Poland
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Anna Bilon
Abstract
This chapter argues that community development policies may contribute to perpetuating social inequalities in spite of the very concept of community development being ideologically underpinned by the fundamental human values, such as equality, social equity, citizenship, participation in communal life and sustainable development. The authors’ argument is grounded in Poland’s post-socialist experiences in building communities, fostering participatory citizenship and advancing community development. Drawing on historical and empirical analyses, the authors seek to establish why, despite changes in the political configurations, profound systemic changes, and social and economic transformations, community development in Poland still persists in the fragmentary and discontinuous stage.
Abstract
This chapter argues that community development policies may contribute to perpetuating social inequalities in spite of the very concept of community development being ideologically underpinned by the fundamental human values, such as equality, social equity, citizenship, participation in communal life and sustainable development. The authors’ argument is grounded in Poland’s post-socialist experiences in building communities, fostering participatory citizenship and advancing community development. Drawing on historical and empirical analyses, the authors seek to establish why, despite changes in the political configurations, profound systemic changes, and social and economic transformations, community development in Poland still persists in the fragmentary and discontinuous stage.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Table of contents vii
- Rethinking Community Development ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Notes on contributors xi
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Contested concepts of class, past and present
- Class, inequality and community development: editorial introduction 3
- Competing concepts of class: implications and applications for community development 23
- Community development in the UK: whatever happened to class? A historical analysis 39
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Class, inequality and community development in context
- Working-class communities and ecology: reframing environmental justice around the Ilva steel plant in Taranto (Apulia, Italy) 59
- Race, class and green jobs in low-income communities in the US: challenges for community development 77
- Community development practice in India: Interrogating caste and common sense 93
- The impact of gender, race and class on women’s political participation in post-apartheid South Africa: challenges for community development 107
- What happens when community organisers move into government? Recent experience in Bolivia 121
- Community development: (un) fulfilled hopes for social equality in Poland 137
- Rural–urban alliances for community development through land reform from below 153
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Reconnecting class and inequality through community development
- Reconciling participation and power in international development: a case study 171
- Transformative education and community development: sharing learning to challenge inequality 189
- Community development and class in the context of an East Asian productivist welfare regime 205
- Community organising for social change: the scope for class politics 219
- Community unionism: looking backwards, looking forwards 235
- Index 251
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Table of contents vii
- Rethinking Community Development ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Notes on contributors xi
-
Contested concepts of class, past and present
- Class, inequality and community development: editorial introduction 3
- Competing concepts of class: implications and applications for community development 23
- Community development in the UK: whatever happened to class? A historical analysis 39
-
Class, inequality and community development in context
- Working-class communities and ecology: reframing environmental justice around the Ilva steel plant in Taranto (Apulia, Italy) 59
- Race, class and green jobs in low-income communities in the US: challenges for community development 77
- Community development practice in India: Interrogating caste and common sense 93
- The impact of gender, race and class on women’s political participation in post-apartheid South Africa: challenges for community development 107
- What happens when community organisers move into government? Recent experience in Bolivia 121
- Community development: (un) fulfilled hopes for social equality in Poland 137
- Rural–urban alliances for community development through land reform from below 153
-
Reconnecting class and inequality through community development
- Reconciling participation and power in international development: a case study 171
- Transformative education and community development: sharing learning to challenge inequality 189
- Community development and class in the context of an East Asian productivist welfare regime 205
- Community organising for social change: the scope for class politics 219
- Community unionism: looking backwards, looking forwards 235
- Index 251
