The idea of community development grew, in large part, out of the activities of colonial administrators. We examine this legacy and the theory and practice that emerged. We also look to the body of overlapping ideas, including community participation, community organization and community work that has run alongside the notion of community development. Some of the classic concerns of community development found expression in the early 1990s in the notion of 'capacity building'. There was an interest in developing the ability of local groups and networks to function and to contribute to social and economic development. On the whole, though, the idea of capacity building often remained associated with a technicist and economistic viewpoint-a concern with competencies, 'investing' and so on. There were those that looked to the 'bottom-up' and more convivial aspects of traditional community development. The book covers all important issues pertaining to the theme.