Community organizing

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (April 2025) This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of a series on
Community
Academic studies
Social sciences Community studies Community practice Community psychology Social work Computational sociology Cultural anthropology Internet studies Philosophy of social science Rural sociology Social geography Social philosophy Sociocultural evolution Urban planning
Key concepts
Affinity (sociology) Collectivism and individualism Community engagement Community education Community cohesion Community of interest Community practice Community of practice Community of place Community service Communitarianism Community politics Group cohesiveness Group (sociology) Group dynamics Imagined community Organization Prosocial behavior Sense of community Small-group communication Sobornost Social alienation Social capital Social death Social exclusion Socialization Social rejection Social support Solidarity (sociology)
Community development
Community-based management Community building Community economic development Community development planning Community organizing
See also
Outline Category:Community building Category:Community development Category:Localism (politics)
v t e

Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.^[1] Unlike those who promote more-consensual community building, community organizers generally assume that social change necessarily involves conflict and social struggle in order to generate collective power for the powerless. Community organizing has as a core goal the generation of durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence key decision-makers on a range of issues over time. In the ideal, for example, this can get community-organizing groups a place at the table before important decisions are made.^[2] Community organizers work with and develop new local leaders, facilitating coalitions and assisting in the development of campaigns. A central goal of organizing is the development of a robust, organized, local democracy bringing community members together across differences to fight together for the interests of the community.^[3]