Community action – a term for community-led initiatives commonly used in the 1990s

Community ambassador – someone appointed to represent local people at a regular group or meeting

Community anchor – organisation set up to support and develop local aspirations and help meet local needs

Community asset – property that returns an income to support community purposes (otherwise, it’s a community liability!)

Community-based regeneration – regeneration as if people matter

Community building – the most common form of community asset, which hosts services and facilities for local people

Community cohesion – bit of a buzz-phrase, meaning people from all backgrounds living and working together harmoniously

Community college – organisation that supports learning where people are, rather than bringing them into formal education

Community consultation – this is what councils and developers often do instead of community involvement! Several techniques apply – exhibitions, questionnaires, focus groups

Community development – the process of supporting local people to improve their own lives, often through creating community organisations with particular objectives

Community development trust – generic name for a local organisation that seeks to lead local regeneration

Community engagement – generic term; when used precisely it means something between consultation and involvement!

Community enterprise – a social enterprise (see Chapter 6) that also meets a public need directly as part of its business

[Page 162]Community finance – generic term for community enterprises, credit unions (local banks owned and run by the savers) and any other way in which community-run benefit is regularly funded

Community forum – regular meeting of community representatives, often used as a basis for consultation

Community garden – does exactly what it says on the tin (and there’ll probably be one – recycle it!)

Community infrastructure levy – new proposal from UK government for channelling ‘planning gain’ whereby developers pay money to offset the impact of their schemes

Community of interest – group of people with shared concerns, e.g. sports, not necessarily living in the same neighbourhood

Community interest company – new legal model for community enterprise developed by UK government

Community involvement – the best approach, bringing local people into regeneration projects from the outset

Community land trust – variation of a development trust focusing on housing, where the land is kept in public ownership to prevent future speculation that increases the cost of housing

Community leader – vague term used by the media for unelected community representatives! You’ll know real community leaders by their actions and their following – and sometimes they are elected but not in the ballot-box way

Community learning champions – local people who meet other residents informally and make them aware of local learning opportunities – some also informal – and help them towards training and ultimately into employment

Community-led – any initiative controlled by a democratically-appointed community group who take care to reflect community need and demand in whatever they do

Community organisation – generic term for any group set up by the community to secure some public benefit

Community ownership – usually refers to something in the control of a community organisation, rather than legally owned by all local residents (as for example some charitable legacies)

Community partnership – a voluntary organisation of residents usually set up to work with other bodies to improve public services, e.g. with local councils over street cleaning (also called neighbourhood partnerships)

Community of place – residents of a neighbourhood

[Page 163]Community radio – community-owned and run broadcasting, usually featuring local news, views and businesses

Community regeneration – regeneration for the people, of the people, with the people!

Community representative – someone supposed to regularly bring local views to meetings and report back and forwards

Community safety – generic term for crime and disorder initiatives and concerns

Community shop – community-owned enterprise, becoming common in otherwise retail-free rural areas

Community space – weasel word for open areas in a development or housing estate, or even in a public building. Make sure it really meets community needs

Community transport – usually community-owned bus services, which have their own national association and standards, and which despite complexities around volunteers and insurance, can work very well

Community zero – any outspoken individual who thinks they (alone) appreciate every local view and know (without checking) everything that is required by the local community – or alternatively, the North Pole.