About Community Development

Towns, neighbourhoods and streets thrive when their inhabitants live in safe, active, healthy communities where everyone feels valued and involved. Building resilient communities refers to activities which improve the social, economic and environmental health of the community for the long term, and make communities better equipped to deal with challenges in the future.

The benefits of activities which make communities stronger have been well documented. People who live in disadvantaged areas often have limited social networks and fewer opportunities, which impacts on the wellbeing on individuals and the community as a whole.

However, where people are more involved in local government, services and infrastructure are more likely to meet the community’s needs. This in turn increases their confidence in governance – and so they become more involved. People who are more involved in social networks are more likely to respect diversity and feel they want to give something back to the community.

Read more about the ways in which activities that build long term community strength are known to create healthier, safer and stronger communities in Indicators of Community Strength: a framework and evidence (PDF 515 KB).

How the Victorian Government builds stronger, more resilient communities

The Victorian Government, through the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), works with communities and organisations to create lively, growing environments. DPCD’s focus is on quickly-growing suburbs, and disadvantaged areas and groups.

By valuing local knowledge, involving the community in planning for present and future needs, focusing on people (particularly in communities of high need), developing local assets, building partnerships, and providing opportunities for lifelong education, DPCD aims to support liveable communities where everyone can be actively involved in the place where they live – because communities with active populations are in a better position to respond to emerging needs and challenges.

DPCD aims to do this by:

• Promoting participation from all sections of the community
• Using a community development approach to ensure all sections of the community are able to engage in land use and urban planning processes
• Providing good regional and local governance that give communities the opportunity to decide their priorities and act on them
• Encouraging investment in community development through funding programs and partnerships with government, private, philanthropic and local resources
• Aiming for sustainability so that communities continue to grow and improve.

 Contact one of our regional teams or explore our range of programs to find out what DPCD is doing to make your community stronger.