The United Nations Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals generally guide deployments of the term “development.” This understanding of development may contribute to the marginalization of local populations. We argue that communities can be better served if we listen to how they conceptualize and contextualize their definitions of development. To demonstrate a community definition of development, we offer an analysis of wall art created by and with children in a community and our service and research team. After understanding the themes of development articulated in this wall art, we articulate how a community-based definition of development can better serve local communities.

联合国千年发展目标和可持续发展目标总体上指导“发展”一词的部署。对发展的这种理解可能有助于当地人口的边缘化。我们认为，如果我们听取社区如何将其发展定义概念化和背景化的话，可以为社区提供更好的服务。为了展示社区对发展的定义，我们对社区中的儿童及其子女以及我们的服务和研究团队创作的壁画进行了分析。在理解了这种墙壁艺术中阐明的发展主题之后，我们阐明了基于社区的发展定义如何更好地为当地社区服务。