Understanding Community

Defining Community

. . . It’s the interaction of people or groups of individuals who live within some geographic area that provides for most of their daily needs. They share certain values and meanings about their common life situation. Further, these individuals work together to address local problems, concerns, and opportunities.

Key Elements of CommunityGeographic area that provides for most of

their daily needs

Social interaction

Common ties or bonds among community members

Locality-oriented collective actions

Functions that Communities Perform – Systems Approach

Production-distribution-consumption

Socialization

Social Control

Access to social participation

Mutual support

A Further Look at the Functions of the Community

Production-Distribution-Consumption Includes those goods and services that are part of daily

living Reflects economic activities Encompasses educational services, local government

services, religious activities, recreational/leisure activities, media services

Socialization Process by which the community transmits its

knowledge, values and behavior patterns to its individual residents.

It is at the local level that individuals encounter and learn about their culture

A Further Look at the Functions of the Community

Social Control The process through which a group influences the

behavior of its members toward conformity with is norms

Local Access to Participation We are distinctively human through our participation

in human groups; most are with friends and neighbors from the same community

Many organizations we belong to are local chapters

Mutual Support Care in time of sickness, the exchange of labor,

helping out in times of distress, are often performed locally

Communities are Structured

Communities are not mere masses of people who happen to live in a given locality. Rather, they are structured entities.

Structure refers to the underlying “anatomy” of the community -- the set of mutual relations that exist among its various parts.

Want to look at the institutional and leadership structure of the community.

Key Institutions inthe Community– Systems Approach

Kinship (Family)

Economic

Education

Political (Governmental)

Religious

Associations

Community Institutions

Represent patterned activities that are intended to meet important social and economic needs existing among community residents

They perform crucial functions that must be performed if the community is to persist through time

Family Institution

Regulate the nature of sexual relations between people

Biological reproductionCare and socialization of the youngEconomic functions of providing food,

shelter and warmth for family membersEmotional intimacy

Economic Institution

Encompasses the roles, norms, and activities associated with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a community.

It influences the nature of work, where individuals get jobs, how much they earn, the conditions of their work, their prospects for future jobs, their spells of unemployment.

Education Institution

Major functions of education within the local community are twofold:

Cultural transmission and socialization

Selection and allocation to adult positions

Political Institution

Its major functions include:

Protecting life, liberty and property of local residents

Regulating conflict

Planning, coordinating and providing public facilities and services

Religious Institution

Its functions are threefold:

Provides an ongoing system of shared customs that offer purpose to its participants

Serves as an important source of social control by supporting certain values and norms

Provides personal support to local residents

AssociationalInstitution

Represent the variety of civic, service, social, fraternal and other voluntary organizations that exist in the community.

These offer residents a mechanism for participating in a variety of local activities.

Linking Functions and Institutions

CommunityInstitutions P-D-C

Socializa-tion

SocialControl

Accessto Part.

MutualSupport

Kinship

Economic

Education

Political

Religious

Associations

Community Functions

The Great Change in Communities

Roland Warren states that there is a “Great Change” happening in contemporary community living. This shift is changing the complexion of local communities.

What are the Great Changes Occurring? An elaborate division of labor and specialization Individuals are becoming increasingly engaged in

associations and organizations based on interests, not residence

Various sectors of the community are becoming increasingly linked to people, communities, and organizations outside the local area

Greater share of functions once performed by individuals, families and neighborhoods are being shifted to government, volunteer sector, and/or private enterprise

People’s values are shifting -- commitment to community is declining

Increasing Division of Labor

Elaborate division of labor and specialization of occupations is taking place

Functions are becoming narrowly defined and work specialized

Increasing interdependence of people on one another Persons produce a smaller portion of the things the

family consumes People in the same locality have no strong

occupational bonds to unite them Increasingly, the individual wage owner doesn’t know

what his/her neighbor does for a living

Differentiation of Interests and Associations

The principal basis for social participation shifts from the locality to that of interest groups

The individual often turns away from other individuals in the immediate locality and associates with individuals from other localities on the basis of selective interests

Shift is from primary to secondary group relationships

As association with neighbors decline, individuals often find themselves strangers in their own localities, knowing few neighbors

Increasing Systemic Relationships to the Larger Society

Many organizations are becoming more a part of their extra-community systems than they are of the community in which they are located

The seat of decision-making is less local, and more at the district, state, or national decision-making levels

This relationship of local units to extra-community system is known as the community’s “vertical ties.”

Given that decision-making is transferred elsewhere, the community’s autonomy is jeopardized

Transfer of Functions to Profit Enterprise and Government Refers to a change from the performance of functions

by individuals to functions performed by business and government involving a direct or indirect payment of money

As people specialize, they depend on others to perform functions that use to be performed themselves Food for home use Painting Lawn and pool service Recreation Restaurants Car washing Child and elder care

Changing Values

Gradual acceptance of governmental engagement in a number of fields (child care, housing, health)

Change in community approach to social problems from that of moral reform to that of rational planning to address the community’s problems

Loss of civic involvement or willingness to serve in community leadership positions

In Sum (from Horizontal to Vertical Linkages)

There’s an increasing orientation of local community units toward extra-community systems of which they are a part

As such, the decision-making is shifting to places outside the community

The result is that ties between local community units are weakening, and community autonomy is reduced

Changing Nature of Relationships in Communities

Horizontal Integration: the strength of the linkages that exist among institutions and people at the local level

Vertical Integration: reflects the extent to which ties exists between local community institutions (or units) and units located at higher levels outside the community

Horizontal & Vertical Integration

First UnionBranch

JonesFamily

GlendaleTrinityChurch

RooseveltHigh School

City PoliceDept.

KrogerFood Store

First UnionNational Office

AmericanTrinityChurch

Goodheartsof Glendale

GoodheartsNational

KrogerFood Chain

U.S. Dept.of Education

Interaction

What are the “Great Changes” in

your community?

An Exercise

Identify two key dimensions of “The Great Change” that you feel have had the greatest impact on your community? How has it affected the well-being of people who live in your community?

Assemble in a small group (5-6 persons). Have each person share his/her list of items. Agree on three key items to share with other Groups.