ABSTRACT
The term ‘community participation’ has a progressive feel to it – who could possibly object to greater participation? It suggests a greater level of control by and democracy for people – surely a laudable goal at all times and in all things. Certainly, the community participation agenda is a broad one in contemporary society. In the UK, for example, there is great concern with improving participation in elections and in the voluntary sector, and in the US the development of social capital through community involvement has become a prominent theme in political discourse.
