Welfare reform on the Web (September 2006):Community regeration and development - Overseas

Community economic development: applications and limitations in Hong Kong

R.K.H. Chan

International Social Work, vol.49, 2006, p.483-493

Community economic development is a process that harnesses mainstream economic activities to generate the effort necessary to attain social objectives such as community advocacy, self-help and equality. Even though the Hong Kong economy gradually recovered from the low point it reached in 2003, the wage levels and job opportunities of marginalised groups are still far from ideal. Community economic development projects offer an escape route to those whose prospects are otherwise bleak, but remain small scale and local.

Living apart or together? Multiculturalism at a neighbourhood level

P. Smets

Community Development Journal, vol.41, 2006, p.277-292

Urban regeneration schemes in the Netherlands in the 1990s aimed to create mixed communities in which people with different income levels lived side by side. This article describes the tensions which developed between working class Dutch, immigrants and middle class newcomers in a neighbourhood in Amsterdam and looks at the role of helping agencies.

Strengthening communities through women’s self-help groups in South India

F. Tesoriero

Community Development Journal, vol.41, 2006, p.321-333

This article reports on outcomes of women’s self-help groups in South India in terms of their impact on women’s citizenship and empowerment. These groups are one form of implementing micro credit schemes to alleviate poverty, but they also empower women to act as change agents within their villages. When run on participatory lines and within enabling partnerships, they can transform the position of women in Indian village society and release their strengths.