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.
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