The Neighbourhood Advice Centre

Community work covers a remarkable range of activities, yet comparatively few case studies exist to illuminate these activities. Originally published in 1978, this study focuses on the origins and organization of a neighbourhood community project in Kentish Town in the London borough of Camden, and analyses the different and often incompatible views of what community work should be. It shows how these ideas can interact in practice, and is candid about the differences of opinion that often occur in community work. Beginning with an outline of some of the social and political ideas that inspire community work, John Baker sets the scene in Camden and, using interviews and a social survey, describes the hopes and fears of the people involved. He gives an account of the area and the people, and assesses the prospects there for community development. He describes the work of the project and discusses its development, as seen both by himself and by the people involved. He shows that they frequently failed to agree on what should be done, and even on what was actually happening. Returning to the different points of view considered in his introduction, and using a second social survey, he then evaluates the results. Finally, he assesses the response of the community to the project, and discusses its value, both in local and general terms. Today it can be read in its historical context.