This thesis presents the story of what members of a low-income and marginalized
community see as appropriate community development for them, an understanding of which
involves appreciation of the words AND music of community development. In presenting
this story, the thesis explores the role of community development in addressing social
exclusion in inner-city areas and identifies how the knowledge and experiences of lowincome
communities can inform theory and practice.
Based on qualitative research undertaken in Downtown Eastside Strathcona, an innercity
neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, this thesis also endeavors to exemplify
research that is situated in the practice of the researcher, in my own community practice. To
achieve this, I, a practitioner-researcher, worked with a community group with which I was
already involved to develop a guide to community development from their perspective. The
guide, entitled Getting the Words AND the Music, and the conversations that informed the
preparation of it, were analyzed to determine the contributions that are made to community
development theory and practice.
In this research, I identified four key principles to which these residents of Downtown
Eastside Strathcona make a unique and valuable contribution: community development needs
to be inclusive of all community members, particularly the marginalized; resident
involvement in decision-making should be promoted; social justice through the equitable
distribution of goods and services should be pursued; and the contribution of residents and
agencies working together to strengthen their community should be celebrated. While these
principles are clearly evident in community development theory, the analysis suggests that
fulfillment of these principles requires a commitment to resident-centred approaches, to
learning to listen to residents, to promoting the voice of the voiceless, to ensuring access to
services to meet basic needs, and to redefining community to be inclusive of all.
I conclude this thesis by showing that, in the experience of this researcher, a
commitment of this nature may require personal change and a comfort level with messy,
unpredictable practice. This change, while at times uncomfortable, may also be a gift - an
ability to discern the music of community development as understood by low-income
communities. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/12772 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Coyne, Kathleen |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 19176233 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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