Telling Our Story—A Community-Based Meso-Level Approach to Sustainable Community Development

Abstract

Engaging diverse stakeholders in dialogue around sustainable development has proven to be a successful strategy to advance sustainable development goals. Without local engagement, sustainable development efforts can fail to accomplish their objectives. Yet, determining the best strategy for engaging diverse stakeholders can be challenging. Similarly challenging can be the transfer of information regarding successful development strategies from one community to another. Local specificity is key to finding sustainable development solutions. Yet, knowledge creation one-community-at-a-time is time consuming and limits the transferability of knowledge. Meso-level approaches are therefore essential to finding transferable solutions. The Five-Pillars approach to development is such a meso-level mixed methods approach. It identifies a manageable set of indicators in five common categories: education, health, environmental quality, social and cultural amenities, and information and transportation access. These indicator categories form the basis for selecting specific locations within a community where local stakeholders engage in writing a collective story about their sustainable development future. This article describes the implementation of the Five Pillars approach in two neighborhoods in Washington D.C. It concludes that the approach offers an effective engagement strategy that gives voice to the sustainable development vision of local stakeholders while providing a framework that can benefit diverse communities.

Assessing Restorative Community Development Frameworks—A Meso-Level and Micro-Level Integrated Approach

“…They are health, education, social and cultural amenities, environment quality and recreation, and IT and transportation access. In addition, the model engages local stakeholders in the planning, implementation, and coordination process around a qualitative storytelling workshop that engages community members in envisioning the future with respect to the five domains [20,21]. The W8CED framework is a community-led approach that is hyperlocal and engages residents in six key areas of community need.…”

“…The Five Pillars Model [20,21] and the W8CED [22] framework are multidisciplinary development frameworks aiming to empower and mobilize individuals, groups, and organizations to take collective action towards positive social change. At their core, both community development approaches seek to improve the quality of life of individuals and communities by addressing issues related to poverty, inequality, social exclusion, and marginalization.…”

Prosperity in progress: a new look at archetypes of successful community development

“…It argues that different stakeholders leave their distinct mark on the selection of indicators to measure development success (O'Hara, 1999). Some in the urban studies field have therefore raised concerns about development approaches that lack local engagement and decimate the economic and social fabric of neighborhoods (Perry, 2020;O'Hara et al, 2023). Others recognize that urban planners and developers may not see sufficient value in investing the time and resources necessary to establish a meaningful local engagement process, especially given the opportunity costs associated with scarce urban resources (Blanke and Walzer, 2013).…”

“…In the field of urban planning, stakeholders are organizations, groups, and individuals that can impact, are impacted by, or believe they can influence a project's design, directions, or outcomes (Project Management Institute, 2021). In development, particularly sustainable development, engaging stakeholders requires a delicate balancing act between economic, environmental, and societal conditions (Rondinel-Oviedo and Schreier-Barreto, 2018;O'Hara et al, 2023). The community development literature suggests that planners, local governments, and developers follow a traditional method of stakeholder engagement (Bhattacharyya, 2004;Hampton et al, 2024).…”

Promoting Social Equity and Building Resilience through Value-Inclusive Design

“…Social capital produces equality, viewed as a sign of 'judicial equity'. According to O'Hara's analysis of these disparities, specific individuals of society bear heavier sink capacity than others and are disproportionately exposed to the adverse effects of tiredness, stress, and pollution [20]. Following 25 years of research, British scientist Michael Marmot concluded that 'the chances you have for full social involvement and participation are vital for health, wellbeing, and lifespan' [15]: "Responding to the needs of the neighborhood community to encourage an equitable division of rewards and responsibilities, encouraging underprivileged groups to engage in fair commerce, respect for human rights, and other equity-related behaviors.…”