Sociological View of Community Based Approaches to Local Economic Development
Sometimes the action required for the development of a local economy is in regards to a social problem. Sometimes these blockages are sociological not economic as such. An example :
I met a man a few years ago who told an interesting story about his first year or so as an Anglican priest in a little tow north of Victoria BC. When he arrived he was told not to expect his church to grow, and to relax, make himself at home and settle in for a long and comfortable stay. He thought that a bit strange, but was further puzzled by an event which happened shortly after that. Some YWAM (pronounced Y-wam) youth were doing a summer project, handing out religious literature on the streets in front of his church. At one point they came in quite puzzled. They asked "why is it that when we pass literature out on one side of the street, people are belligerent, and rough, but on the other side of the street they are appreciative, gentle and friendly?" He went out and observed, and sure enough it was true.
After considerable fruitless checking around he was told by happenstance that there had been some sort of trouble on that spot with the local First Nations community back in the early days of white settlement. He and some of his leaders went to see the local elders, found out what the trouble was, dealt with it and the problem cleared up right away...and his church started to explode in growth.
The business community is full of such stories. Think of the stores which have had some sort of tenant problems and ever after nobody can succeed in that location, until that matter is cleared up. There is an old proverb that says "a house founded on blood cannot stand" ( ). Sometimes the economic downturn or stagnation of a community has sociological roots.
The effect is like a logjam in a river. A snag or two in the river causes logs to pile up against the snag until the river is clogged. Then logs back up for a couple of miles on the river and everything comes to a standstill. In order to clear the river and get things flowing again, the snags are blown with dynamite. The logs are allowed to wash down the river and the strays are picked up off the banks. It is a much faster process than picking two miles of logs apart one at a time.
There are plenty of writers who have dealt with the analysis of community dynamics, as well as plenty of people in local communities who are quite aware of just what the problem really is in the community. Sometimes what is needed is to stop and look at the social dynamics of a community and start listening to the people who actually live there. Sometimes the problem will be "economic" in the formal sense of he word. But people are complex beings individually and collectively. Sometimes the problem may be social, physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, or environmental. We need to listen carefully, analyze carefully, and respond appropriately. That is not just good "community development" it is good "local economic development".
The links below are for sites relating to the sociological aspects of economic development.
Links To Further Resources
navigation