In contemporary societies informal social support is gaining relevance not only in the field of neglected families but also in community studies. Starting from the concept of informal social support, the purpose of this chapter is to propose Community Mapping (CM) as a tool that can contribute to tackling social exclusion and promote more inclusive communities, as emphasised by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. CM is a participative tool traditionally used by anthropologists, sociologists and planners to create maps in collaboration with local communities, share information about the places that matter to them and propose new solutions (Clifford, King, 1996; Keller, 2014; Cochrane, Corbett, 2020). Thanks to some pilot projects developed in Italy, CM has been adopted also in the field of social and educational work, involving families, civil society representatives, practitioners, children, teachers in the identification of places that are relevant for the local community. CM can be used to help social work practitioners in exploring the geographical and territorial dimension and to help families in finding and sharing together informal support resources related to their local contexts. The co-creation of a map representing their territories in terms of places where they can find social opportunities and informal support for their daily lives and needs (care, assistance, emotional support, leisure, good supply) is the expected outcome, but the process is relevant as well (e.g. the creation of networks and relationships between parents from vulnerable and non-vulnerable families that participated in the meetings). CM allows children and parents to have a voice and find new ways of expressing their preferences thanks to an immediate tool such as the map, and it also contributes in planning possible improvement for local contexts (new infrastructures, different use of existing places, new initiatives for families) After some introductory aspects, the chapter will propose a possible pathway (ten key-points) for practitioners in order to support them in the promotion and in the use of this tool.
Community Mapping as a participative tool to enhance informal social support: possible pathways for practitioners
A. PETRELLA
2025
Abstract
In contemporary societies informal social support is gaining relevance not only in the field of neglected families but also in community studies. Starting from the concept of informal social support, the purpose of this chapter is to propose Community Mapping (CM) as a tool that can contribute to tackling social exclusion and promote more inclusive communities, as emphasised by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. CM is a participative tool traditionally used by anthropologists, sociologists and planners to create maps in collaboration with local communities, share information about the places that matter to them and propose new solutions (Clifford, King, 1996; Keller, 2014; Cochrane, Corbett, 2020). Thanks to some pilot projects developed in Italy, CM has been adopted also in the field of social and educational work, involving families, civil society representatives, practitioners, children, teachers in the identification of places that are relevant for the local community. CM can be used to help social work practitioners in exploring the geographical and territorial dimension and to help families in finding and sharing together informal support resources related to their local contexts. The co-creation of a map representing their territories in terms of places where they can find social opportunities and informal support for their daily lives and needs (care, assistance, emotional support, leisure, good supply) is the expected outcome, but the process is relevant as well (e.g. the creation of networks and relationships between parents from vulnerable and non-vulnerable families that participated in the meetings). CM allows children and parents to have a voice and find new ways of expressing their preferences thanks to an immediate tool such as the map, and it also contributes in planning possible improvement for local contexts (new infrastructures, different use of existing places, new initiatives for families) After some introductory aspects, the chapter will propose a possible pathway (ten key-points) for practitioners in order to support them in the promotion and in the use of this tool.
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