Participatory development is one of the alternative theories of development and became widely known around the late 1970s. This approach allows people to build their own societies to their own capacities and self-reliance. It allows for information to be shared between community members and all stakeholders involved in the process of development. Although it may seem to be positive especially for community members to be involved in their own development, it has been criticized. Community members may be overtaken by people of higher social status, resulting in them and their ideas not being acknowledged. 

In the South African context, participatory development is widely used especially by community members such as people volunteering in local public clinics and some cleaning their own streets. But as soon as elections are about to come up, political parties take over the ideas and make them ow just so they can receive votes.