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During the 1990s, as sustainability became a central force in community development, the field increasingly focused on building the local capacity of an area in order to create more environmentally friendly and socially equitable places to live. In the course of this work, and informed by Robert Putnam and others interested in community capital and participation, scholars and policymakers increasingly embraced the idea that this process depends on increasing a community’s available stock of social capital, and became more concerned with social capital formation.
People on the Move by John Hooper, Saint John, NB
Today, professionals and academics in the field consider sustainable community development to be an appreciation of many types of community capital and/or assets within a community. For example, Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Sustainable Community Development considers community capital to include natural, physical, economic, human, social, and cultural forms of capital.
Within this context in recent years, North American community development practitioners believe that culture must have its own form of capital. After years of working with Aboriginal and overseas communities, they now view culture as separate from social capital, and argue that cultural capital needs to be better understood in the sustainable development process.
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Community capital: Building sustainable communities
Strengthening six forms of community capital is the foundation for sustainable community development:
Minimizing the consumption of essential natural capital means living within ecological limits, conserving and enhancing natural resources, sustainable resource management (soil, air, water, energy, agriculture, etc.), cleaner production, and minimizing waste (solid, liquid, air pollution, etc).
Improving physical capital includes focusing on community assets such as public facilities (e.g., hospitals and schools), water and sanitation, efficient transportation, safe, quality housing, adequate infrastructure, and telecommunications.
Strengthening economic capital means focusing on: making more with less—maximizing use of existing resources (e.g., using waste as a resource), making the money-go-around—circulating dollars within a community, making things ourselves—replacing imports, making something new—creating new products, trading fairly with others, and developing community financial institutions.
Increasing human capital requires a focus on areas such as health, education, nutrition, literacy, and family and community cohesion. Basic determinants of health such as peace and safety, food, shelter, education, income, and employment are necessary prerequisites.
Multiplying social capital requires attention to effective and representative local governance, strong organizations, capacity-building, participatory planning, access to information, and collaboration and partnerships.
Enhancing cultural capital implies attention to traditions and values, heritage and place, the arts, diversity and social history.
Mark Roseland et al., Towards sustainable communities: Resources for citizens and their governments, 2005
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Community cultural development, considered as part of an emerging sustainability framework, encompasses a variety of activities involving individuals expressing their own stories, engaging in skill-building, and actively developing their culture. Using arts and culture as a tool, community cultural development can help the community develop appropriate models of sustainability. As with other
sustainable development models, there is no one model, but it is important in all cases that the relationship between artists and their community is an equal one, where creative collaboration fosters social development and change.
 Largely seen as a grassroots strategy, community cultural development is slowly being incorporated into current development models. It engages artists and cultural organizations in development and revitalization processes in cities and communities. It lends itself to sustainability planning through supporting a community culture, empowering residents, and strengthening cultural infrastructure and participation in a community. Community cultural development has also been linked to other sustainable community development initiatives, such as health, affordable housing, education, youth, poverty, education, policy, and planning. Having a cultural lens in all these areas is an emerging component of sustainable development.
An important aspect of community cultural development is the concept of shared culture, which entails having a mutual respect for every culture in a community. Through this collective experience, communities gain respect for their own and others’ histories, resources, hopes, and dreams.
In short, community cultural development is a community-building tool that promotes a sense of place, empowerment, and public participation—all key components in the sustainable community development field. Community cultural development and sustainable community development share common values, principals, key elements, and dynamics, and can help inform emerging cultural sustainability models.
Key aspects of community cultural development
- Focuses on arts-based solutions, rather than on identifying problems
- Involves policymakers in ccd planning
- Forms and maintains new social networks with organizations, groups, artists, and
government
- Creates and maintains public spaces that draw people together
- Supports multiculturalism
- Integrates local customs, crafts, and practices into education
- Uses arts and culture as a tool for regeneration and sustainability
- Enhances residents’ ability to work and communicate with others
- Builds community identity and pride
- Supports positive community norms, such as cultural understanding and free expression
- Improves human capital, skills, and creative abilities in communities
- Increases opportunities for individuals to become more involved in the arts
- Contributes to the resiliency and sustainability of a community or people
- Reduces delinquency in high-risk youth
- Integrates the community into community art projects
- Fosters trust between community residents
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Aché Brasil at the Life & Arts Festival, Kelowna, BC (photo: Tim Swanky)
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Key Contexts 4/4
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