Into the Civic Triad: Relocating Community and Civic Engagement in Midwestern Inner-Ring, First Suburbs

The phenomena of community and civic engagement have long been thought to have a complimentary relationship that is significant for local governance; understood as experiences that help mediate the individual-institution and self-other tensions inherent in democratic systems. Accordingly, both concepts attract much attention both culturally and academically. Despite the ubiquity of these two concepts, little qualitative research has been conducted to explore how the two phenomena are experienced and understood by the three groups most directly involved in local governance -- citizens, elected officials, and public administrators (collectively the "Civic Triad"). Therefore, the central aim of this study was to explore how those key democratic actors at the local government level experience community and civic engagement.;Guided by constructivist grounded theory, this study consisted of fifty-two in-depth qualitative interviews with Civic Triad members. The research participants were recruited from the nineteen municipalities in the Kansas City metropolitan area that constitute the Mid-American Regional Council's First Suburbs Coalition. The research setting was selected due to the increasing call for research on suburbs in mid-sized North American cities, and the sociopolitical significance of the suburban context for public administration.;This research resulted in the identification of emergent categories that bind together and organize how the Civic Triad members experience community and civic engagement. The development of these emergent categories allowed for the identification of the basic social problems of community (Achieving and maintaining community membership) and civic engagement (Determining appropriate participatory behavior). The findings provide important insights into the lived experience of community and civic engagement across the local government Civic Triad. Furthermore, the findings suggest that community and civic engagement need to be appreciated as essentially contestable concepts that can impede effective collaboration when individuals or institutions assume that others have shared experiences or understandings. This research contributes to the development of a broader and more dynamic perspective on community and civic engagement, and such a contribution to the existing literature can meaningfully impact both public administration practice and scholarship.