Connectedness, Resilience and Empowerment: Perspectives on Community Development

This book discusses how aspects of connectedness, resilience and empowerment are intertwined in community development processes. It explicitly brings together these elements in the context of community development and well-being, helping foster an understanding of how each influences the other. With chapters contributed by scholars from around the globe, this volume provides insights into how these elements of community influence and support the quality of life of communities. While several of the chapters address the foundational and theoretical bases of community development as well as community well-being, others address topical and emergent areas of interest in community development practice and scholarship. Underscoring the chapters is an awareness of the importance of the community spirit, which is the voice and agency of people coming together to encourage social transformation. A key element of the book is also to help foster change for the better in communities. This book is of interest to researchers and professionals working in the area of community engagement and development, particularly those in resource-poor countries.

Daniel Muia is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, Kenyatta University, Kenya. He was the chair of the World Community Development Conference in 2021 and is Trustee of the International Association for Community Development (IACD) for the Sub-Sahara Africa Region. He is also chair of the IACD Training, Publications and Professional Development Committee, and of the Association of Community Development Practitioners, Kenya – a network of community development academicians and practitioners in Kenya. He has published journal articles and book chapters on community development. He has also co-edited books including International Community Development Practice (Routledge, 2022).

Rhonda Phillips is Dean of the John Martinson Honors College at Purdue University and Professor of Agricultural Economics. She is a community well-being, development and planning specialist with experience in the private andpublic sectors. She is a three-time Fulbright award recipient and member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. She serves as Founding Co-Editor of International Journal of Community WellBeing and is recipient of the 2021 International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies Distinguished Quality-of-Life Researcher.