334 Ecological Restoration and Design
The layout of the golf course was designed, and local farmers donated time
and equipment to help the city do the necessary construction, including building
two wells, one for the clubhouse and one for the fairways and greens. A separate
community golf course corporation was established, a manager–golf professional
was hired, and the club was off and running! A local couple established a conces-
sion stand at the course, and the golf pro set up a pro shop. Students found work
in the summers as groundskeepers and caddies, local people were now able to play
(and many learned the game), and the course proved to be an attraction for out-
of-town players, who found its riverside location attractive and the well-kept nine
holes pleasurable to play.
Sue and Bart began to feel like an integral part of the community due to their
participation in the creation of the golf course. The community has an additional
asset in terms of investing in themselves, and the economic benefits to the com-
munity through the creation of new jobs and the attraction of outsiders to the
community have proven to be unanticipated benefits of the project.
Community development occurred in New Richland because of the community’s
ability to identify its assets – including levels of bridging and bonding social capi-
tal – and to invest them in themselves. They were able to mobilize many sectors of
the community to work together to make things happen. In New Richland, with
its history of self-investment and community participation, such activities were
relatively easy to undertake. Economic development was one of the results, but not
the major motivation for the project.
In other communities, community change seems almost hopeless. New people
move to town with great dreams for community improvement, but their dreams
never materialize. Or local residents concerned about a declining economic base
seek to attract industry, with ever-decreasing likelihood of success. What makes
the difference between towns that develop and change in response to felt needs and
those that seem unable to respond effectively to the current climate of economic
deterioration in most rural areas? What are the components of community devel-
opment, and what makes it happen?
This chapter centres on three models of community development. The assump-
tions behind them are followed by illustrations of how they can and have been
implemented. The three models are then compared in terms of their linkages to
the outside and their approaches to the planning process. Then two approaches to
economic development are introduced and related to the three models of commu-
nity development.
Community and Economic Development
The word ‘community’ comes from the Greek word for ‘fellowship’. Fellowship
involves interaction. Hence, community development implies that the quality of inter-
action among the people living in a locality improves over time. Such interaction