Engaging the Community in Decision Making
Case Studies Tracking Participation, Voice and Influence
$35.00
Available for pre-order / backorder
About the Book
In recent years, the rapidly growing field of community participation has promised to give people formerly excluded from decision making an influential voice about issues that affect their lives. Inclusive processes implemented in the United States and internationally have certainly given community members new opportunities to participate and be involved, but how effective are these processes in promoting the voice and influence of the people who have historically been excluded the most—the poorest, least educated, and most marginalized residents in communities? Of the various participants who have “a seat at the table,” whose voices are influential, whose aren’t, and why?
This book summarizes how five community partnerships, working with a team of researchers, attempted to answer these critical questions. Investigating 10 cases—two from each community partnership—the study tracks the ideas of everyone involved and reveals how and why the ideas of marginalized and ordinary residents were far less likely to be influential than those of people with more clout, resources, or acknowledged expertise. Finally, the authors explain how and why these influence inequities can be overcome, providing readers with practical, evidence-based tools to help them do so. The book should be helpful to readers involved in any form of active community participation, from participatory research to civic engagement, deliberative democracy, and community initiatives.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Roz Diane Lasker and John A. Guidry
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 247
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4312-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5279-8
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction: Are We Actually Doing What We Want to Be Doing? 5
Case Narratives
1. Community Voices Against Violence in Cass Lake, Minnesota 21
2. Housing for Single Mothers in Humboldt Park, Chicago 40
3. A “Poor Man’s Bank” in the Southeast Oklahoma Enterprise Community 54
4. A Workforce Alliance Minigrant Program in the Mississippi Delta 68
5. The Community Leadership Team of Story County, Iowa 80
6. Developing a Professionalization Curriculum in the Mississippi Delta 93
7. Revitalizing Cass Lake, Minnesota 108
8. Community Centers in Southeastern Oklahoma 123
9. The Incorporation of Beyond Welfare in Ames, Iowa 141
10. Saving a Mural in Humboldt Park, Chicago 156
Cross-Case Analysis
11. The Pathway of Ideas 170
Application to Practice
12. Realizing the Promise of Community Participation 200
Chapter Notes 221
References 231
Index 237
Book Reviews & Awards
“marvelous book…valuable…the authors are well versed in current community engagement processes…fascinating reading”—Journal of Planning Education and Research.