The Importance Of Community In The Community

There has been a recent phenomenon throughout the United States of gentrification. As older parts of neighborhoods are occupied by new tenants with money, the neighborhood changes and loses its old character. Those who might have lived in those neighborhoods their entire lives are pushed out as rents begin to skyrocket and the surroundings begin to change. This has happened in many neighborhoods. One of the most well known is San Francisco, where technology companies have brought in new software engineers that have caused local rents to skyrocket and people to move out of the area. However, just as importantly has been the influx of new money to Brooklyn, where local neighborhood changes have forced people from their homes, traditional music to be replaced, and old businesses to go bankrupt.

The National Critique Review ends with an emotional appeal addressing cities when faced with decision to defund neighborhood civic groups. Highlighted are individuals expressing worried sentiments for the future. The review goes as far as paralleling the loss of funded neighborhood initiates to the potential risk that doing so will lead to a bunker mentality, with everyone hunker downed. Lastly, the review ends on a positive note that providing philosophical reassurances that in the time of crisis what better time is it to depend on the structures at hand and tap public wisdom?

Communities play an essential role in the development of the self and learning about the stranger. Through communities, individuals are able to socialize and gain a greater understanding of each other. A community can be defined in many different ways based on every individual’s experience with it. Developing a strong community takes time. Some people, like Jeannette Walls, do not have the opportunity to develop strong communities throughout their childhood.

A community is a place where people around supposed to be able to live and thrive together. When one thinks of a community, the image that most likely is visualized is one of a place where each person lives harmoniously with all the other members of that community. While this may be the typical image of a community, it is not the realistic view. In reality communities can share both good and bad aspects. In Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-First Century Peter Dreier, John Mollenkopf, and Todd Swanstrom make the argument that the place a person lives ultimately matters over all else; the place which a person lives effects the choices that that he/she makes and determines his/her ability to obtain a

What does community really mean? The definition of community is, “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” I believe community is more than just a definition. Community means sticking together and accepting those within the community

The final piece of creating a new definition of community for me was being exposed to the Community dialog participants words. During the question and answering panel, I created a different definition of community by just listening to enriched experiences that the ladies had over the years. One of the presenter said, “ Whatever happens is yesterday.Today, we try. Tomorrow is a new day.” From this quote and the speaking of the relationships that had been created by community partnerships in this area, I felt my definition of community was bringing small part or resource like, Sister Carmen together to provided more for the whole, the children of Boulder County. I enjoyed listening to the stories of never giving up on a child even, if his or

“people around here are willing to help their neighbors, this a close knit neighborhood, people in this neighborhood can be trusted, people in the neighborhood generally don’t get along with each other and people in this neighborhood don’t share the same values” (Sampson et al., 1997, 920).

In the communities I grew up in, there were frequent changing circumstances that actually left my family not really as part of the community. From dingy, cheap and tiny places for rent, there has been significant points brought to the attention of the reader in this book that could attribute to the failure and success of neighborhoods. In Suburban Nation, the opening pages give a lot of insight on the issues that can come from these big and fancy, new housing developments.

Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban, district a related increase in rents and property values and changes in district’s character and culture. Gentrification works by accretion which is gathering momentum like a snowball. Gentrification has been the cause of painful conflict in many American cities. America’s renewed interest in city life has put a premium on urban neighborhoods, some of which have been built since World War II. It tends to occur in districts with particular qualities that make them desirable and ripe for change. Word travels that an attractive neighborhood has been “discovered” and the pace of change accelerates rapidly. An increase in median income and a decline in the

Just imagine for a moment, strolling barefoot through silky sand, the warm sun beating down, and the sound of waves rhythmically rolling in. Picture dolphins dancing in the distance, seagulls whistling their blissful hymn above, and children laughing as they dance through the ocean spray. Sounds like the perfect escape, right? Tragically, the future of such a beautiful scene is in serious jeopardy! The quality of our waters is degrading at an alarming rate; the human race contributes to the problem daily, often without realizing it. Water pollution in Florida is reducing pure water sources at a drastic rate, destroying natural beauty, and severely impacting the survival of local wildlife. Human actions are a major contribution to this issue, therefore citizen awareness is the highest workable solution to diminish the threat and improve the degradation of our waterways. Florida cities near major waterways should establish annual community events to raise awareness and positively impact this problem.

Conversations surrounding gentrification have evolved, as many in the social-scientific community have questioned the negative connotations associated with the word gentrification. One example is that gentrification can lead to more displacement for lower-income families in gentrifying neighborhoods; however, every neighborhood faces unique challenges and reasons for displacement vary. Generally, gentrification is considered to improve the neighborhood for the people moving into the

Communities are affected, and in a sense defined by, forces that affect community members and their space. The forces can range from outside organizations such as the government and large corporations … These components of the community vary infinitely, and thus no two communities are the same; even a given community is not the same over time (Cnaan & Milofsky, p. 1)

Throughout my life, I have been privileged to know a strong sense of community. My understanding of community has been carved out and shaped by each community that I have been a part of and the subsequent life experiences that I have had by being a part of these communities. To me, community means a sense of belonging with people who have some capacity of like-mindedness. When you belong to a community, you feel like a piece of a larger puzzle that comes together to create a whole. Each community you belong to both influences you, and is influenced by you. Moreover, your belonging to a community generates a sense of unity and shares a common goal, value, or outlook.

My interest in community organizing and building began with the passion and knowledge for the well-being of others my father instilled in my life. My father was the late Chief Elmer Manatowa Jr of the Sac and Fox Nation, Native Tribe of Oklahoma. I have been an active Governing Council member (all adult members) of my Tribe for many years. I landed my first real job, Planning Department secretary, after taking a business course at the local technical .school. In that position, I had the opportunity to attend a Tribal Sovereignty Symposium organized by the Federal, State, and Tribal organizations. This was my first taste of community organizing and community building. It was the fourth symposium of its kind. The topics included Indian law, environmental issues, law enforcement, juvenile justice, arts, taxation, spirituality, preservation, state compacts, and Tribal immunity. There were two Senate Bills, 299 and 667. Bill 299 allowed certain protections for protecting land royalties and mineral rights. The protections included oil and mineral operator’s exclusion from drilling on individually owned Indian Country lands. Bill 667 referred to the health and human service regarding Indians.

I wouldn’t really say my community as a whole has an impact on me as a person but people in around me have had a huge impact on me for who I am today. The people who have the biggest impact on me is defiantly my family and friends, I have done so many things with them that made me the person who I am today.