Understanding Community
What is community?
Community is an informal structure comprised of communal social relationships that provide meaning, meet needs for affiliation, and accomplish interpersonal goals over the long term.
What are the three forms of community discussed in the chapter?
The three forms of community are locality-based communities, relational communities, and virtual communities.
What is relational community?
Relational community exists because of shared values, sentiments, and feelings of identification and commitment among a group of individuals.
What is virtual community?
Virtual community is a form of community that exists in cyberspace, facilitated by technologies like the Internet, e-mail, and social networking sites.
What is a locality-based community?
A locality-based community is a community that exists in a specific geographic area, such as a neighborhood, town, or village, where people live in close proximity to one another.
What are social goods?
Social goods are values such as honesty, trust, friendship, and public spirit that are generated in the close ties of family and community.
What characterizes inner-city neighborhoods?
Inner-city neighborhoods are characterized by a breakdown of local support networks, increasing poverty, and government policies that have concentrated low-income housing in these areas.
What are social networks, and why are they important?
Social networks are connections created through stable, recurrent interactions among individuals, providing important resources and support for daily life, crises, and personal development.
How does social networking support virtual communities?
Social networking sites build and maintain relationships, support existing offline connections, and allow people to form virtual communities around specific themes or interests.
What are some characteristics of inner-city neighborhoods?
Inner-city neighborhoods often face challenges such as a breakdown of local support networks, increasing poverty, and government policies that concentrate low-income housing in these areas.
How did the British Enlightenment impact the concept of community?
During the British Enlightenment, community was rejected as a legitimate social form, and society was conceived as an artificial, impersonal system based on physical science concepts.
What is suburban sprawl, and what are its effects?
Suburban sprawl refers to the spread of suburban development, leading to issues such as traffic congestion, pollution, loss of open space, and municipal financial distress.
What are “networks for getting by”?
Networks for getting by are close, supportive associations embedded in everyday relationships that help people handle chronic stresses and acute crises.
What is networked individualism?
Networked individualism is the idea that people switch between different social networks based on the information they seek, facilitated by technologies like e-mail and the Internet.
How has suburban sprawl affected local neighborhoods?
Suburban sprawl has led to issues like traffic congestion, pollution, loss of open space, and financial distress for municipalities, as well as increased class and ethnic segregation.
What is the significance of the Industrial Revolution on community?
The Industrial Revolution created a bifurcation of society into communal and non-communal spheres, with the economy growing until the social commons became an enclave within the market society.
How do rural communities differ from urban communities in terms of economic challenges?
Rural communities face challenges such as declining populations, economic stagnation, and a reliance on traditional industries like agriculture and mining, which have been in decline.
How do “networks for getting ahead” differ from “networks for getting by”?
Networks for getting ahead provide crucial information and opportunities for advancing individual interests, often through weaker, more episodic ties outside immediate personal relationships.
How can web journalism contribute to virtual communities?
Web journalism engages citizens in public life and civil society, providing platforms for dialogue, social critique, and mobilization around community issues.
What are some common problems faced by rural communities?
Rural communities often deal with declining populations, economic stagnation, inadequate federal policies, environmental problems, and a lack of access to advanced telecommunications and affordable health care.
How did sociologists like Ferdinand Toennies and Max Weber view the transformation of community?
Toennies observed a shift from personal relationships (gemeinschaft) to impersonal relationships (gesellschaft), while Weber noted that the rise of systems-based organization and functional calculative reason led to the demise of communal relationships.
What are some strategies for strengthening rural towns and villages?
Strategies include developing innovative solutions, devising policies tailored to local needs, linking related businesses, building common projects, and improving telecommunications and transportation systems.
What role do associations play in relational communities?
Associations allow people to join together for mutual aid, political representation, and community service, contributing to the social infrastructure and enhancing social capital.
What are some criticisms of virtual community organizing?
Criticisms include the potential for cyber interaction to replace face-to-face interaction, the risk of interacting only with like-minded individuals, and the possibility of forums for extremists.
How can macro social workers help strengthen urban neighborhoods?
Macro social workers can help by using the assets/resources approach to build on community strengths, developing community control approaches to increase local control over resources, and engaging residents in decision-making and community enhancement efforts.