September 15, 2026 Webinar – Principles of Good Practice Webinar Series: Using the Community Capitals Framework for Sustainable Community Development

Principles of Good Practice Webinar Series: Using the Community Capitals Framework for Sustainable Community Development

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 — 4:30 pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)

What does sustainability mean when it is treated not simply as an environmental concern, but as a principle that shapes how community development decisions are made and whose interests are considered?

For the second webinar in the Community Development Society’s Principles of Good Practice Webinar Series, Dr Cornel Hart of the University of Johannesburg and Dr Mark Roseland of Arizona State University will explore how sustainability can inform community development thinking, decision-making and action.

The Community Development Society defines Sustainability as practicing and fostering careful deliberation of the cultural, social, economic and environmental impacts of actions and inactions over time. Using the Community Capitals Framework, the speakers will examine how decisions may strengthen or weaken natural, physical, economic, human, social and cultural capital.

The session will also consider how Sustainability interacts with the wider CDS Principles of Good Practice. The guiding distinction is that the principles help us reflect on how community development practice should be carried out, while the capitals help us understand what dimensions of community life may be affected.

Drawing on practical implications and perspectives from North America and the Global South, the webinar will consider how sustainability can be embedded in locally grounded practice without separating environmental concerns from social justice, economic autonomy, cultural continuity, community power and collective learning.

Participants will be invited to apply a short reflection tool to a real community initiative, project or decision, identify potential ripple effects across the six capitals, and consider one adjustment that could strengthen long-term community wellbeing.

The conversation will explore:

• Sustainability as the featured CDS Principle of Good Practice and its relationship with the other principles.
• The six forms of community capital and the ripple effects of decisions across the wider community system.
• How actions and inactions can produce different short- and long-term consequences.
• Practical implications and perspectives from North America and the Global South.
• How practitioners and communities can use principles and capitals together for planning, reflection and accountability.

Presenters:

Dr. Cornel Hart is a research associate in community development at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and was appointed in 2012 to ensure the professionalization of Community Development practice in South Africa. She continues to supervise postgraduate students at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across South Africa and supporting them with their CD program development, offerings, quality assurance and reviews. Dr. Hart specializes in program evaluation and micro-macro level community well-being assessments’ alignment to national and international development drivers (e.g. AU Goals, SDGs).

Dr. Mark Roseland is Professor of Sustainable Community Solutions at Arizona State University and Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Dr. Roseland helps communities, governments, and companies translate sustainability research into real-world action. Acting as a bridge between advanced technologies and practical sustainability solutions, he guides the development of strategies that balance environmental integrity, economic vitality, and social equity. 

Moderator: Dr. Tanner C. Knorr, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.