read between the lace.: Housing and Community

everyone belongs to a community

For many years the words community and neighborhood have been interchangeably used. A basic definition for both was simply a specific area where people share common ties. However, there has always been an exploration of the two words as separate meanings. Community, "a network of social interaction and bonding, usually based on mutual interest" (p 114), neighborhood, "an area in which people share certain common facilities necessary to domestic life" (p 114). Though the two seem similar in definition, it is explained that a simple approach to remembering the difference is labeling neighborhood as a geographic location and community as a social interaction.

grow together

The ongoing study of neighborhoods and communities started nearly a century ago, and "as early as 1916 urban sociologist Park published research on human behavior in urban neighborhoods" (p 115). From Parks publication, many more researchers decided to investigate the meaning of the words. Sociologist Wirth (1938), agreeing with Park believed "that as neighborhoods became denser people would no longer know each other and the social ties that traditionally hold people together would disintegrate" (p 115). As time progressed from the late thirties we see that his observation proved true. As neighborhoods have grown in size and population, communities have slowly begun to shrink and the social interaction between people has faded.

the expansion of city, the loss of community

To further understand dissipation of community, "psychologists, sociologists, and planners have developed conceptual frameworks that help to explain how or why neighborhood and community characteristics affect people's behavior and life changes" (p 116). Although no study explains the direct affect a community or neighborhood has on a persons life, several studies have been researched. These include: Social Contagion Theories, analyzing children's peer influence; Collective Socialization Theories, considering the impact of adult role models; Neighborhood Resource Theories, emphasizing the link between the quality and quantity of resident services; and Relative Deprivation Theories, assuming that people judge their success or failure by comparing their status to others around them. From these theories, designers are faced with the question "What constitutes a satisfying neighborhood?" (p 130). Though neighborhood satisfaction is important, it is hard to determine what is satisfying for everyone. Therefore physical and social factors must be considered.