The role played by local government in the community development practice
地方政府在社区发展实践中发挥的作用

In 1977, Cynthia Cockburn’s “The Local State” was published criticizing the relationship between community development and local government business management. This work foreshadows how depoliticized forms of community development can contribute to the implementation of the neoliberal agenda, especially by concentrating the responsibility for social supply rather than the state, which has attracted broader and sustained attention. However, the role played by the local government is relatively ignored, which is improper because many community development practices are sponsored and shaped by it, and broader social reforms could be carried out by it. A case study from Victoria, Australia, where the local government serves as the primary tool to promote participative “community planning” can help to explore the outcomes of underrating the neoliberal localized control agendas for community development.
1977年，辛西娅·科伯恩的《地方政府（The Local State）》出版，批评了社区发展与地方政府企业管理之间的关系。这部著作预示了去政治化的社区发展形式如何有助于新自由主义议程的实施，尤其是聚焦了社会供给的责任而非国家，使得前者引起了更广泛和持续的关注。因此，地方政府所发挥的作用相对被忽视。实际上，许多社区发展实践都是由地方政府发起并塑造的，更广泛的社会改革也可以由地方政府来进行。以澳大利亚维多利亚州为例，地方政府作为推动参与式“社区规划”的主要工具，可以帮助探讨低估新自由主义地方化控制议程对社区发展的影响结果。

When launching the government’s Community Capacity Building Initiative (CCBI), the prime minister at the time was credulous to permit communities to address their needs and develop solutions to reverse their own destiny and small rural communities to control their future. CCBI was not a political goal but designed unable to support or promote anything sensitive to elections. Obviously, CCBI did not target at activities that challenge the government or corporate interests, wealth or power distribution. This strictly controlled, short-term, low-budget state intervention was subsequently declared a great success and produced a wave of community visions, bringing innovative projects, new connections within the community and local pride in the settlements.
在启动政府的 “社区能力建设计划”（CCBI）时，时任总理信誓旦旦地允许社区解决自己的需求，并制定能扭转命运的解决方案，让农村小社区控制自己的未来。CCBI不是一个政治目标，其设计是为了无力支持或推动任何于选举有关的敏感事情。可以看出，挑战政府或企业利益、财富或权力分配的活动不是CCBI的目标。随后，这种严格控制的、短期的、低预算的国家干预措施被宣布取得了巨大的成功，并产生了一波社区愿景，还带来了创新项目、社区内新的人脉关系以及当地居民的自豪感。

The Department of Planning and Community Development, incorporating Local Government Victoria, and the state’s Office of Planning and Urban Design soon established, aiming at putting people at the heart of Victorian Government efforts to plan for liveability and growth by focusing on the liveability of neighbourhoods, and the strength of communities. To strengthen the communities is to increase community participation and provide more opportunities for Victorians to report issues that matter. To achieve government’s such continuing community building mission, one way is by encouraging local governments to implement Community Plans with community-strengthening as a goal and participation as a central feature of the planning process.
规划和社区发展部，包括维多利亚州地方政府以及州政府规划和城市设计局很快就成立了，旨在通过关注社区的宜居性和社区的力量，使人们成为维多利亚州政府规划宜居性和发展的核心。强化社区就是要提高社区的参与度，给维多利亚州人提供更多的机会来反映重要问题。为了实现政府这种持续的社区建设任务，其中一种方法是鼓励地方政府实施以加强社区为目标的社区规划，并将参与度作为该规划过程的核心特征。

It is commented that the Department of Planning and Community Development promoted community planning through a series of initiatives as well as local government peak bodies. The department created a “Local Government and Community Planning project” to collect the lessons learned so far and the emerging community planning practices within local governments supported by these initiatives.
有人评论称，规划和社区发展部是通过一系列举措以及地方政府最高机构来推动社区规划的。该部设立了一个“地方政府和社区规划项目”，主要总结迄今为止的经验教训，以及在这些举措支持下地方政府内部涌现的社区规划新做法。

This project support selected councils to participate by stretching their case studies of community planning, guided by a particular ‘common template’ or ‘planning self-assessment tool’. It was reported by the consultants who participated in the project through drawing on the case studies of the eleven Victorian local governments’ community planning experiences to increase the knowledge and understanding of community planning.
该项目支持选定的委员会参与其中，它们在一个特定的“通用模板”或“规划自我评估工具”的指导下，扩展其社区规划的案例研究。参与该项目的咨询顾问通过借鉴维多利亚州11个地方政府社区规划经验的案例研究进行了汇报，增加了对社区规划的认识和理解 。

Ideally, community development practitioners are capable of engaging local government to establish a better-structured institution to maintain social justice and environmental sustainability. To realize such an ideal, community development intellectuals need to raise questions and engage debate around the overall nature of local government. Its scope, or legal and geographic jurisdiction, constitutional status and powers, should be regarded as aspects directly related to community development. The same is true for decision-making structure, election arrangements, accountability, reporting systems and revenue generation. To publicize and pursue benefits, community development also needs to be prepared to use municipal offices and resources, including those related to distribution, outside the direct scope of the local government.
理想情况下，社区发展从业者要让地方政府参与进来，建立一个结构更完善的机构，以维护社会公正和环境的可持续性。为了实现这样的理想，社区发展的知识分子需要围绕地方政府的整体性质提出问题并参与辩论。它的范围，或者说法律和地理管辖权、宪法地位和权力，应与社区发展直接相关。决策结构、选举安排、问责制、报告系统和增加营收也是如此。为了宣传和利润，社区发展还需做好利用地方政府直接管辖范围外的市政厅和资源的准备，包括与分配有关的资源。

Hence, the role of the government in community planning should not be ignored, the function of local government is irreplaceable in many aspects including substantially sponsoring and shaping community development practice, pursuing more extensive social reform, etc.
因此，政府在社区规划中的作用不容忽视，地方政府的职能在很多方面都不可替代，包括大力赞助和塑造社区发展实践，追求更广泛的社会改革等。