Creating Sustainable Community Among Marginalized Social Groups

Creating Sustainable Community among Marginalized Social Groups
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
Creating Sustainable Community among Marginalized Social Groups
The many societal issues experienced by communities call for social solutions. Community development has gained popularity as an approach to social issues because it provides social solutions to these problems (Matarrita-Cascante & Brennan, 2012). It empowers social groups to take collective action in identifying and addressing social issues. As Shaw (2008) reveals, community development is founded on the concepts of agency and structure and is influenced by power relations within the community. Power relations exclude and marginalize non-dominant groups in the community, and community development must address this marginalization by eliminating constraints and enhancing opportunities within a community. This paper’s aim is to explore community development in marginalized social groups. Specifically, this paper explores how community development can be used to create sustainable communities among marginalized social groups, with a particular focus on how health and well-being can be integrated into the community to create sustainable development.
Understanding Marginalized Social Groups
Marginalized social groups are those groups that have been left voiceless on matters of development. According to Pratt (2019), groups have been marginalized based on gender, socio-economic status, disability, ethnicity/race, and education status. Others have been marginalized based on their sexual orientation and age. These groups are rarely listened to, if at all, leaving their needs, opinions, and ideas unattended. They continue to face barriers to community participation and engagement. Okech et al. (2020) posit that a marginalization is a form of oppression that denies marginalized social groups access to resources and opportunities. Dominant social groups push marginalized groups out of thriving social, economic, and political spaces. They are disconnected from the available production and consumption means because they operate on the edges of society. At the edges of society is where homelessness, poor health and well-being, inadequate education, poverty, and hunger are found.
However, community development allows communities to become decision-makers, actors, and producers of information, taking charge of their individual and group stories. It provides a way for communities to be in charge of their issues, providing solutions that are unique to the needs of each marginalized social group. As Howard and Wheeler (2015) reveal, community development recognizes that marginalized social groups have autonomy and agency, which gives them the capacity to identify not only the issues affecting them but also the potential solutions to these issues. Some social issues are common across marginalized social groups. For instance, due to limited access to resources and opportunities, marginalized social groups may experience poverty. However, some issues are unique to specific marginalized social groups, contributing to different needs for the marginalized social group. For instance, those with a different sexual orientation than the dominant group experience violence not experienced by people with a disability. The violence stemming from homophobia is specific to this group of people.
As such, community development efforts should also be different based on the targeted marginalized social group. According to Shaw (2008), one approach that has been adopted in community development to provide general and specific solutions to social issues facing marginalized communities is social inclusion. It includes operating within the existing power relations to promote agency. Through community development, marginalized social groups are given a voice to air their ideas and opinions. For example, community development promotes grassroots activism for marginalized communities (Matarrita-Cascante & Brennan, 2012). This type of activism allows marginalized communities to advocate for their rights so they can have access to equal rights. For instance, equal marriage rights for the gay community in the United States became a reality because of grassroots activism within this particular marginalized social group. The gay community gained access to legal marriage opportunities because the exclusion they had faced before was eliminated.
What are Sustainable Communities?
Sustainability is essential to ensure marginalized social groups have access to equal opportunities and resources, similar to the dominant social groups. According to Matarrita-Cascante and Brennan (2012), it is essential to engage in community development that allows communities to engage in decision-making to enhance sustainability and achieve sustainable development goals. It is essential to build sustainable communities to achieve sustainability. Adams et al. (2020) define sustainable communities as inclusive, equitable, socially cohesive, environmentally healthy, and economically stable. Inclusivity in sustainable communities refers to acceptance in community activities, while equitability refers to diversity, democracy, and participation in the decision-making process within a community. Social cohesiveness refers to community social networks, while economic stability refers to access to financial services, public services, and opportunities for economic empowerment. Environmentally healthy refers to access to sanitation, clean air, and preservation of the environment, among other things. All these factors can only be achieved when communities are empowered and given agency to address their social problems.
The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) (n.d.) defines sustainable communities as communities where diverse people and groups are included in the decision-making process and are welcome to share their ideas for community prosperity. Further, sustainable communities identify and address different needs of the community rather than focusing on one need at the expense of the others. For instance, a sustainable community addresses the community's social, economic, environmental, and political needs. When addressing the social needs of the community, sustainable communities ensure there is access to safe housing, quality education, adequate food, quality healthcare, and a healthy work environment (ISC, n.d). It also ensures there is a sense of belonging and safety, and the community can adapt as its situation changes.
Further, sustainable communities promote social well-being by enhancing their historic resources and public spaces, preventing crime, and promoting creativity (ISC, n.d). A sustainable community also addresses the economic needs of the community by providing opportunities for meaningful employment, having an economic base that is financially feasible, training and educating its workforce, and reinvesting its resources in the local economy (ISC, n.d). Regarding environmental issues, a sustainable community protects the local ecosystem, minimizes pollution using technology and other prevention strategies, conserves energy, water, land, and nonrenewable sources, and uses renewable energy at a lower or similar rate of renewal (ISC, n.d). Finally, a sustainable community addresses political issues by enhancing political stability, respecting the perspectives, values, and beliefs of diverse members of the community, promoting equal access to public information, providing equal opportunities for participation and engagement in decision-making, and preserving the sustainability of other communities (ISC, n.d). However, an essential aspect of a sustainable community is that it can meet its current needs without interfering with the future generation's ability to meet its needs. Sustainable communities are essential in ensuring shared prosperity.
The Social Issue: Health and Well-Being
Health and well-being require more than simply the lack of illness; it is also a state of complete psychological, physical, and social well-being (Coburn & Gormally, 2020). Every individual and community wants to experience a disease-free life. However, it is crucial to focus on more than being disease-free to promote community well-being. When addressing health and well-being in community development, it is vital to take a holistic approach that integrates the three aspects. Niigaaniin et al. (2021) also indicate that community health and well-being should incorporate spiritual and emotional wellness. Spiritual wellness entails ensuring communities have access to cultural services and ceremonies that are unique to their spirituality and belief system. Emotional wellness involves enhancing the self-esteem of community members, sharing stories, and providing emotional support to members of a community.
One of the social development goals designed by the United Nations (UN) is good health and well-being. According to the UN (n.d.), this goal was developed to allow people of all ages to experience good health and well-being. However, health and well-being among marginalized communities are hindered by factors such as social isolation and a lack of a sense of belongingness. According t...