communityrather

Communityrather is a term used to describe a philosophy and set of practices that prioritize community agency in planning, design, and governance. It combines the word “community” with “rather” to express a preference for collective, neighborhood-led solutions over top-down approaches.

Origin and usage of the term emerged in civic tech, participatory design, and nonprofit governance discourse during the late 2010s. It has appeared in project briefs, academic articles, and community organizing discussions to signal a deliberate shift toward participatory governance and co-created outcomes.

Conceptually, communityrather emphasizes several core principles: inclusive participation, transparent decision-making, capacity-building, and long-term stewardship. It advocates for co-design of services and spaces with residents and other stakeholders, ensuring that initiatives reflect local needs and values. The approach is often applied to urban planning, digital service design, participatory budgeting, and cooperative governance, among other areas.

Benefits associated with communityrather include greater legitimacy for decisions, solutions that better fit local contexts, enhanced social cohesion, and empowered communities. At the same time, it faces challenges such as risk of superficial participation, unequal power dynamics, substantial time and resource requirements, and difficulties in measuring impact or scaling successful models.

Related concepts include participatory design, participatory budgeting, commons governance, co-design, and civic technology. The term serves as a shorthand for a broader movement toward inclusive, community-driven approaches to collective problem-solving.