Helping Neighbors Help Themselves: A Review and Application of Community Organizing Theory

Abstract

In the following pages, I present an analysis of the neighborhood organizing of NIBC. I have chosen to highlight the Community Builders program because it is NIBC's most vital component in this division. Through interviews of NIBC staff and Community Builders alumni, I assess the program with regard to its personal impact on residents and its impact at the street, neighborhood, and target level. I also examine the involvement of outreach staff with Community Builders and resident block projects. The evaluation of Community Builders and NIBC reveals an agency that operates on several different levels and implements a variety of organizing methods within the Battle Creek community. Before addressing this analysis, I describe the methods I employed to gather data and form conclusions. I will first address literature relevant to NIBC concerning the levels of governance within an urban area and the various approaches used to organize within a community. I will reflect back on this literature following the Main Presentation of Findings to specify NIBC's levels of operation and organizing approaches. Through the Community Builders analysis and review of community organizing theory, it is apparent that our neighborhood problems require a multidimensional solution that addresses resident needs at each level of self-governance within a given area.