Community Development - Research

The past three decades have seen an international ‘turn to participation’ – letting those who will be affected by neighbourhood planning outcomes play an active role in decision-making. This innovative analysis brings theory, research, and practice together and gives insights into how and why citizen voices either become effective or get excluded.

This book provides new insights into the challenges facing older people in Greater Manchester in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on novel longitudinal research, the book analyses their lived experiences and those of organisations working to support them, shedding light on the isolating effects of social distancing.

This book is a step toward curating our existing knowledge in the emerging field of ‘disaster philanthropy’. It aims to build a robust base for future research, practice and public policy, whilst recognising that philanthropic responses to disasters are complex, conditional and subject to change.

Many people living in rural areas face hardship but the UK’s welfare system is poorly adapted to meet their needs, with the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and cutbacks exacerbating pressures. This book combines person-based and place-based approaches to tackling rural poverty.

Ten percent of the world’s population lives on islands, but until now the place and space characteristics of islands in criminological theory have not been deeply considered. This book addresses issues of how, and by whom, crime is defined in island settings, informed by the distinctive social structures of their communities.

This ground-breaking and compelling book shows in fine detail the life struggles of those who live on a public housing estate in Dublin. Combining long-term research into residents’ lived experience with critical realist theory, it provides a completely fresh perspective on public housing in Ireland and arguably, beyond.

How can local communities effectively build peace and reconciliation before, during and after open violence? This trailblazing book gives practical examples, from the Global North and Global South, on communities alleviating conflict and enabling transformation in divided societies.

Focusing on youth activism for greater equality, liberty and mutual care - radical democracy - this timely collection explores the movement’s impacts on community organisations and workers. Essays from the Global North and Global South cover the Black Lives Matter movement, environmental activism and the struggles of refugees.

This book explores how the uncertainties of the 21st century present existential challenges to civil society. Presenting original empirical findings, it highlights transferable lessons that will inform policy and practice in today’s age of uncertainty.

Providing a much-needed perspective on exclusion and discrimination, this book offers a distinct spatial approach to the topic of hate studies. It illustrates the role of specific spaces and places in shaping hate crime, and highlights efforts to challenge cultures of hate.

As cities sprawl skywards and private renting expands, this compelling geographic analysis of property identifies high-rise development’s overlooked hand in social segregation and urban fragmentation, and raises bold questions about the condominium’s prospects.

Written by an international team of authors, this ambitious volume offers radical alternatives to staid ways of thinking on the most crucial global challenges of our times. Bridging real examples of political agency, collective action and mutual aid with big-picture concepts, the book encourages readers to ‘be a Zapatista’, wherever they are.