The vision of the neighbours’ associationson their community function and the degreeof integration in other actions in the territory.A case study from their self-assessment

Abstract

[eng] <p>During the end of Franco’s regime and the first years of democracy in Spain, neighbourhoodassociations (NA) acquired a fundamental role in community political and social action, leading the demandfor improvements in peripheral neighbourhoods (Castells, 2001; Gutiérrez, 2016). Currently, these associationshave lost some of their strength, coinciding with a crisis of the traditional model of participation (Alberich,2022). This research focuses on an area of Palma (Balearic Islands-Spain) prioritised by the Social Servicesto implement a community intervention project. Using qualitative methods such as focus groups and semistructuredinterviews, the aim is to identify the current state of the NA in this area, to find out about their socialrole, whether there is an existing network of associations, the level to which they are integrated into it and whetherthey maintain a traditional community approach. The results show the vision of the NA about their role in thecommunity, the attitude of the citizens, their participation and the relationship of the NA with the institutions andother community agents. Different degrees of integration in the new community context appear; in which thediversity of collectives, interests and ways of participation may be an opportunity to recover their protagonismor, on the contrary, further weaken their role, due to the inability to adapt to current changes.</p>