What+is+community?

COMMUNITY is an elusive term, one that is hard to concretely define. While scholars have created various definitions, all have in common that “community” implies sharing: territory, experiences, social interactions, traditions, institutions, goals, purposes, and/or political and economic structures. In the late nineteenth century, Ferdinand Tonnies classified two different types of communities that are still referred to today. “Gemeinschaft” is a community defined by the emotional and interdependent association among its people, and has become to represent the old village community. “Gesellschaft” is a community defined by the modern, rational, and instrumental associations among its people, and represents the impersonal and alienated society that we live in today. According to a study done by the Chicago School of Sociology, the shift from gemeinschaft to gesellschaft can be attributed to urbanization and modernization. Increased mobility, separation of home life and work experience, and the rise of mass culture have led to a decline in the importance of relationships based on kinship, culture, and community.

In //Fortress America//, the authors Blakely and Snyder argue that there are five important elements that create a community. The first element, shared territory, is defining the boundaries of the community by means such as housing type, subdivision name, or gates. The second, shared values, serves to define identity and commonality through racial/ethnic background, socioeconomic status, and/or religion. The third, shared public realm, creates a common ground for interaction such as public parks and open space. The fourth, shared support structures, represents mutual aid and association through voluntary community organizations and charities. Lastly, shared destiny is a mechanism to protect or guide the future with civic associations, neighborhood groups, rules, and homeowner associations.

While //Fortress America// is a focused study of gated communities, the definition of community can be applied here in Upper Merion. It is clear that Upper Merion has the first element of shared territory, yet others are harder to classify. While Upper Merion does have many parks, the amount of open space in the township has declined over time. There are a number of charitable organizations and volunteer organizations in the township, and many revolve around children such as the various youth sports leagues. Others are branches of national organizations such as the Optimist Club. But it is unclear what proportion of the township participates in these organizations. As a township, we have a municipal government headed by the Board of Supervisors. Thus, Upper Merion would seem to have the five characteristics of a community. However, it is unclear whether or not these organizations and resources provide mechanisms and structures through which the diverse neighborhoods in the township can come together and find common ground.

Sociologist Bonnie Erickson has a slightly different definition of community. Erickson defines communities as sets of social networks; she argues that variety is a key ingredient in successful social networks. Knowing many different kinds of people in many social contexts actually //improves// one’s odds of getting a good job, developing a range of cultural interests, and feeling in control of one’s life. But not all social networks in the same geographical region are bound together into a single community. There are many different parts that make up Upper Merion, and the key is finding out if they interact to form a diverse community, or if they stay separated. It is one thing to have variety, but there needs to be some social and physical space for all the various residents to interact.
 * A different definition: **

On Robert Putnam’s book __Bowling Alone__: Face it, Putnam argues in his book __Bowing Alone__; Americans are suffering from a sharp decline in civic engagement. Putnam tries to identify various factors that affect civic engagement in the United States by examining variables such as a busy lifestyle, movement of women into the work force, levels of education, and generational differences, which he argues have all helped to lead to this sharp decline in civic engagement.

Putnam starts by noting that Americans lead increasingly busy lives, and are thus forced to prioritize their engagements. In recent years, community gatherings and organizations have become more likely to get the short end of the stick, as immediate family and career concerns come first. Further, the rise of women entering the workforce after World War II changes the types of organizations they can actively participate in. Without being confined to a home life, women have less time to be as actively engaged as they once were. But education, which has on average increased in recent years, also plays a role; in general more educated citizens have higher rates of civic engagement due to greater access to resources and possession of skills.

The trends also show that the baby boom generation post World War II is less involved in community affairs than their parents. Most of this can be traced back to the “stormy sixties and seventies” which brought about huge social revolutions with civil rights and the counter-culture movement, increased political distrust with Vietnam and Watergate, and economic hardships with an oil crisis and inflation. The baby boomer generation began to loose faith in the system, and as a result civic engagement plummeted. This shift in attitude had a ripple effect: membership in many community organizations plummeted, effectively reducing the organization to only a handful of members. Since the baby boomers represent a large percentage of the American populace, it follows that civic engagement nationally declines.