A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town, or neighborhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable good relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community, important to people's identity, practice, and roles in social institutions such as family, home, work, government, TV network,[clarification needed] society, or humanity at large.[1] Although communities are usually small relative to personal social ties, "community" may also refer to large-group affiliations such as national communities, international communities, and virtual communities.[2]
In terms of sociological categories, a community can seem like a sub-set of a social collectivity.[3] In developmental views, a community can emerge out of a collectivity.[4]
The English-language word "community" derives from the Old French comuneté (Modern French: communauté), which comes from the Latin communitas "community", "public spirit" (from Latin communis, "common").[5]
Human communities may have intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.[6]
- ^ James, Paul; Nadarajah, Yaso; Haive, Karen; Stead, Victoria (2012). Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Development: Other Paths for Papua New Guinea. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 14.
[...] we define community very broadly as a group or network of persons who are connected (objectively) to each other by relatively durable social relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties and who mutually define that relationship (subjectively) as important to their social identity and social practice.
- ^ See also: James, Paul (2006). Globalism, Nationalism, Tribalism: Bringing Theory Back In – Volume 2 of Towards a Theory of Abstract Community. London: Sage Publications.
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Rydin, Yvonne (1 October 1999). "Public participation in planning: Public participation and collective decision making". In Cullingworth, J. Barry (ed.). British Planning: 50 Years of Urban and Regional Policy. London: The Athlone Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780485006049. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
[...] planning decisions are a form of collective decision making. This is not the same thing as decision making by the local community since that represents only a subset of the broader social collectivity.
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Howell, Signe (2002). "Community beyond place: Adoptive families in Norway". In Amit, Vered (ed.). Realizing Community: Concepts, Social Relationships and Sentiments. European Association of Social Anthropologists. London: Psychology Press. p. 98. ISBN 9780415229074. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
[...] without [...] interaction [...], a category of collectivity is likely to remain a conceptual category rather than [...] become a community. It seems likely that some sort of social intimacy, particularly when this takes place at vulnerable times, must occur to serve as a paradigmatic vehicle for the wider sense of shared experience.
- ^ "community". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1005093760. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Melih, Bulu (2011). City Competitiveness and Improving Urban Subsystems: Technologies and Applications: Technologies and Applications. IGI Global. ISBN 978-1-61350-175-7.
In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.