Community building is an umbrella name for an emerging, heterogeneous field of practice sitting at the intersections between design, sociology, urban planning, public policy, economics, and more. Practices in this field vary significantly in terms of their goals, contents, and approaches, reflecting ambiguities clouding the key concept of community. Additionally, professional designers’ limited and sporadic involvement in community practice often stems from—and perpetuates—a rather limited understanding of communities. This paper addresses the key question: What is the subject matter being built in community-building practices? We conducted a comprehensive literature review, examining the intersections of “community building” and “design”, analyzing the underlying theoretical stances and interpretations shaping different practices. Based on the modes-of-thought schema—originally developed by Richard McKeon and later applied in design by Richard Buchanan—we propose a pluralistic framework of community for better understanding and reshaping community building from a design perspective. Our analysis reveals a pluralistic framework of community, based on two ways of understanding our surroundings. Among community-building practices, we identify two driving forces and six primary approaches that structure community-building efforts. This review study attempts to establish a common ground for communicating the strengths of different practices and situating them within a pluralistic understanding of community building. By doing so, this study offers new perspectives and strategic insights to engage designers more effectively in community-building initiatives.