User:MayaLis1/Grassroots

Article Draft

I would like to add a section on the history of grassroots organizing stemming from the 1970s. Within this section I would like to include the example of Communities for a Better Environment. I would also like to add a section on top-down bottom up processing.

Legend

original prose - plain

my edits - bold

my copyedits - italics

Criticism

Top-down vs. bottom-up processing

There is an ongoing debate as to whether a bottom-up or top-down approach is better suited to address the problems facing communities. Top-down processing involves large-scale programs or high-level frameworks, often driven by governmental or international action. Top-down processing is great for tracking large scale causal relationships in environmental systems and it has better funding. Top-down processing is typically designed by outsiders who can only perceive a community’s need and so community needs are often only marginally addressed or not addressed at all. By contrast, bottom-up processing is defined as “observing or monitoring efforts defined and undertaken at the local scale and brought forward to higher-level bodies, often with a focus on supporting outcomes desired by a local community.” Bottom-up processing has “local residents and [POC] co-facilitate the trainings and workshops” -- this “empowers participants.” Bottom-up approaches are often not impactful beyond local settings. Grassroots organizations take on a bottom-up approach as they often allow for direct community participation.