PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNITY PLANNING. GOVERNANCE AND EMPOWERMENT?

Focused on community planning, this book offers a clear and broad ranging discussion of the different approaches and practices for securing effective integration of policy processes and outcomes for local communities. The current emphasis in political thinking on facilitating new forms of localism offers a real opportunity through community planning to promote the well-being of local areas, and to achieve greater democratic engagement and participation in decision-making. In Perspectives on Community Planning the authors address community planning in three broad areas. The first considers the aims, role and process of community planning. In turn, this informs the second which charts the practice of community planning in differing institutional, scalar and territorial contexts. The final theme is focused on the role of civic leadership and community engagement in relation to community planning and key issues in collaborative working. In an era of risk and uncertainty, this book examines the role of community planning in generating 'resilience' and how it can be used to develop the capacities and 'capitals' of local communities to respond to social and economic change.