What does community development concerned itself with?

Community Development as profession and founded on principles of social justice; inclusion; civic participation; and equality, is concerned with processes/practices that will develop a) the capacity of communities to identify their needs and issues and b) the capacity of communities to address these needs/issues. The developmental activities might focus on skilling individuals in collective decision making, community engagement, governance, planning, advocacy. The skills that a community developmet practitioner would include: social analysis, interpersonal skills, intercultural skills, strategic planning, adult education, financial planning, group facilitation, awareness and understanding of relevant government policies and legislation, social marketting, project planning/management, evaluation, etc. Working from the premise that every community has strengths and resources that can mobilised to achieve the goals of its members, community development aims to contribute to the creation of a better future. Note- the definition of community is very loose - it can be locality based (eg a village/neighbourhood) or interest based (single parents, gay).