Community Development

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

According to the professor, the most important areas to study for the

Comprehensive Exam in the area of Community Development are those

included in the study guides that the class received in preparation for the

class tests. In addition, the following questions and areas are emphasized as

potential questions. Additional questions are added from the study guide

after the special emphasis areas.

Potential Questions with Special Emphasis

1. Compare and contrast gemeinschaft and gesellschaft communities, noting

the types of social relations in each.

2. Considering Fellin's description of concentration and segregation, how

has concentration and segregation affected public school funding, fiscal

management and maintenance of school buildings?

3. Fellin writes that "an important feature of social systems theory is the

specification of boundaries of the system in relation to its environment.”

Describe the geographical and psychological boundaries of a typical

South Texas rural school district. Fellin notes that there is a second

feature of a systems model, the interaction of the system with 'outside'

systems beyond its own boundary. Using the same rural district, describe

the regional, state, and national entities with which the school district

interacts as part of its system.

4. Using your school district, describe the social class of the student body

and the extent of class awareness.

5. Characterize and define 'underclass' according to Fellin. Then debate the

extent to which there is an 'underclass’ in your school district and school.

6. Given the mobility of Americans within and between communities,

identify factors that can influence, positively or negatively, the social

issues of neighborhoods.

7. Describe how voluntary associations affect the public school setting?

8. How does Fellin describe the connection between volunteer involvement

and empowerment at personal, political, and interpersonal levels in the

Latino community?

9. The population of South Texas is predominantly Mexican-American, yet

Fellin writes that minorities tend not to participate in voluntary

associations because of cultural inhibition. How can self-help

organizations help the dominant Hispanic population in South Texas

overcome cultural inhibition?

10.Debate the advantages and disadvantages of multiculturalism. Identify

the difficulties in implementing this type of curriculum.

11. Identify the stakeholders in a school bond election.

12. Discuss the issues in redrawing the boundaries of school districts.

13. Identify the factors that create a positive neighborhood community and

a positive school community.

14. How does the role of religion in the lives of students and their families

impact on schools in South Texas.

15. Discuss the Communitarian movement and its development.

16. As a superintendent, how would you implement the Communitarian

agenda in your school district.

17. Discuss how school reform movements attempt to bring about

equalization of educational resources for school districts and the two

major types of funding requests, for millage renewals and increases for

their budgets and bond proposals usually for new schools and school

renovations (Fellin, Chapter 9, p. 171, 1995).

Special Emphasis Topic

The following area was not formulated into question, but it is a critical and

timely topic with special emphasis.

1. School Reform to improve the educational system

Study Guide Questions

The following are questions from the Mid-term Study Guide, 2000:

1. Communities are distinguished by common locality, or place, by non-

place characteristics, and in terms of an individual’s “personal

community.” Choose one of the types of communities that you are

involved in and discuss three advantages and one disadvantage to being a

member in this community.

2. Individuals participate in multiple communities. Choose a role of

superintendent, principal, or teacher and discuss as many of the

communities you can think of that the person in this position would be

involved in due to their profession.

3. Of the four conditions that enhance the competent functioning of a

locality-based community, which has the greater significance and why?

4. Ravendale is a “welfare community” where violence is a part of life.

Drive-by shootings, gang-related activities, drug abuse and drug

trafficking are an every day occurrence. In regard to “community

competence” what can the citizens of Ravendale do to save their

community.

5. In Warren’s discussion of “What is a good community? What are the four

values that appear to compose a good community and how do these relate

to education?”

6. Is a school a special type of “planned community”? Review the

characteristics of planned communities in the textbook and compare

those characteristics to a school community.

7. What effect does public education have on the five identified functions

that a community performs?

8. In an attempt to introduce the competitive elements of a free market

economy into an educational system built on a tradition of cooperation,

business and political interests are introducing various programs and

accountability measurements into the ‘ecological system’ of education.

How could the ecologists’ definition of “competition” help a school

develop a mentality to adapt to the new climate?

9. Fellin cites a framework for understanding the activities of a local

community. He calls it a “community as an ecology of games.” What are

some of the “games” in a school district, and how does a newcomer learn

the rules to those “games”?

10. Describe the major, chronic social problems ensuing from the continued

and developing urbanization in what are called ‘edge cities’.

11.Compare and contrast life in the rural community and in the urban

community.

12. Discuss three phases of urbanization. How might the future of

technology affect the metropolitan and diffuse phase?

13. Describe how the community of the inner city has significantly changed

over the last forty years.

14. How has technology affected the decentralization of people, businesses,

and industries?

15. What is gentrification? Does it have a positive or negative effect on

inner cities?

16. What are the phases of urbanization?

17. What are some of the demographic changes in the inner city?

18. Describe race and ethnicity according to Fellin.

19. Discuss the difference between social class and class awareness.

20. Discuss the six neighborhood types in the Warren & Warren model.

21. Discuss the three neighborhood types in the Litwak model.\

22. Describe a slum and a ghetto.

23. Pretend that you are a school superintendent who needs to “test the

waters” concerning upgrading the school facilities. How would the

Superintendent use the knowledge of neighborhood socialization

patterns to help determine how to proceed.

24. Discuss settlement patterns and make reference to whites and ethnic

minorities and segregation and integration.

25. How many types of voluntary associations may be classified and what

are the characteristics that voluntary associations define as organized

Groups?

26. What are the roles of voluntary associations in the helping network

according to Powell’s information?

27. How does the organization of a voluntary group differ form the

organization of a primary group such as a family?

28. Describe voluntary groups that are related to student achievement.

29. How can voluntary associations build a sense of community of

learning in South Texas where empowerment is difficult to achieve?

Narrative Chapter

Major Points from the book, The Community and the Social Worker, by

Phillip Fellin

Defining Communities

Garvin and Tropman state that a community exists “when a group of

people form a social unit based on common location, interest, identification,

culture, and/or activities (Fellin, p. 3, 1995). Communities are classified as

A.) locality-based communities and B.) personal communities. The locality-

based communities are “1.) a functional spatial unit meeting sustenance

need, 2.) a unit of patterned social interaction, 3.) a symbolic unit of

collective identity” (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000). An example of a

locality-based community is a neighborhood community. A personal

community is based on “1.) locational, 2.) identificational, and 3.) interest”

(Mid-term Study Guide, 2000). Communities also have the characteristics of

common locality, and place, or non-place in an individual’s personal

community. A non place community is being a community of identification

or interest. An example of a non place community is being a part of the

Jewish community.

The four conditions that enhance the functioning of a local community

are:

1.) residents are committed to there community,

2.) various community groups have a self-awareness of their values

and self-interests

3.) community groups are articulate and can communicate with one

another, and

4.) residents identify goals and their implementation.

When people think about a good community, they conjure up an individual

picture or image and could be described as a good place to work, raise kids,

or retire. Images of a good community include “1.) the opportunity for

primary group relationships, 2.) the attachment of citizens to their

community, 3.) the absence of serious social problems, 4.) the presence of

solid, functional, safe neighborhoods, 5.) the presence of opportunities for

education and employment, and 6.) a positive and cultural environment”

(mid-term Study Guide, 2000).

In approaching education from the ecological system perspective,

educators can view the “population characteristics of the community (size,

density, heterogeneity), the physical environment (land use), the social

organization or structure of a community, and the technological forces in a

community” (Fellin, 1995, p. 11). Ecological systems explain the features of

the population, such as social class, racial and ethnic composition. The

ecological perspective helps us understand “1.) community changes, 2.)

movements of population groups, 3.) Patterns of migrations and

immigrations, 4.) succession and segregation,” and “5.) growth dynamics of

communities” (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000). The next step to consider is

the interdependencies of people and services to their local and broader

environments in the context of community changes due to movements of

populations.

The social systems perspective is the relationship of social institutions

within the community and the social functions the institution provides. It is

important to focus on how the formal organizations (economic, political,

educational, social welfare, and health care) function as subsystems within a

community. Production/distribution/consumption, socialization, social

control, social participation, and mutual support for individuals and for the

community are all-important features according to Warren (Fellin, 1995, p.

12). These features of the community are especially important to consider

when planning or projecting for future trends and social change.

The barriers to community competence are the values, attitudes, and

practices of people toward special populations. The special population

groups are ethnic minorities, women, the physically and mentally disabled,

gays and lesbians, cultural and religious groups. The values, attitudes, and

practices shape how the community responds to these specific groups. Fellin

quoted Longres to say that racism could be institutionalized when racism

could be built into the norms, traditions, laws, policies and could be found in

the subsystems of a community through economic discrimination,

inadequate services to minorities, and insensitivity to the needs of

minorities. Barriers for ethnic minorities include “discriminatory policies

and practices, institutionalized racism” (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000). For

women, communities might need to consider the location of day care,

transportation systems, and equal pay structures when considering whether

or not there are barriers to working women. Barriers “place women in a

disadvantageous position and impose burdens upon them which restrict their

full participation in the community” (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000).

Architectural designs, transportation, job training, housing, public

accommodations, employment, communication, recreation, services, and

equal opportunity must be considered to determine whether there are barriers

for the disabled and whether there is compliance with the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990. Gay and lesbian individuals must not denied civil

liberties or be excluded from social participation, must not be subjected to

violence or stigma, and should have equal employment opportunities. All

religious and cultural groups must not suffer discrimination, oppression, or

prejudice. Myths, stereotypes, and negative behaviors must not be directed at

those members of cultural or religious groups.

In the development of communities it is helpful to understand the

phases of urbanization, edge cities, gentrification, and the immigration and

heterogeneity of communities. The overlapping phases of urbanization

include the city-building phase that occurred from the 1830’s to 1925, the

metropolitan phase that began about 1920, and the diffuse stage that began

about 1950 to the present. Presently, all three phases exist with the

metropolitan phase showing more increased populations around the larger

urban cities and a move of industry away from central cities. There was also

a migration to suburbs. The diffuse stage is characterized by less dominance

in central cities and a furthering broadening of industry and business. It is

also characterized by major entertainment centers beyond the center of the

city. Examples of these entertainment centers are superdomes, concert parks,

national corporation offices, and hotels.

Edge cities were created as the diffuse phase created new cities on the

outskirts of central cities. Office and retail space became available in the

once called bedroom communities. The Edge City would then begin to have

its own identity as a place.

Gentrification occurred as a result of the changing land use in the

inner cities. Young professional people began to buy the old dwellings that

investors developed into up scale residential use. There has been an increase

in this movement but it should not be interpreted as a large movement. A

disadvantage of gentrification is a lack of housing options for people who

typically lived in rooming housing or single rooms.

Migration and immigration affect communities. Western Europeans

immigrated in the mid 1800’s, and southern and eastern Europeans

immigrated in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Other large immigrant

groups include Africans, Hispanics from Mexico, Japanese, Chinese, and

Indians. Many ethnic populations followed the process of social and spatial

concentration, segregation, acculturation, and assimilation.

Stratification in communities occurs based on class, race, and

ethnicity. Social class is further stratified by socieconomic class, family,

social standing, and lifestyle. Socioeconomic status is measured through the

census by occupation, income, and education levels which is used to develop

social profiles of communities. In 1955, Skevsky and Bell developed a

social area analysis that was based on the three areas of (Fellin, 1995, p. 61):

“1. Social rank (education and occupation)

2. urbanization or family status (type of housing, marital status,

children, members of household working)

3. segregation or ethnicity (proportion of minorities in an area

compared to the total community population).”

Each area is scored and then ordered to gain a better understanding of

communities for assessment of social class levels, as well as occupational,

income, and educational levels.

Social class is related to lifestyles and is indicated through “value and

location of homes, clothing styles, consumer spending patterns, club

memberships, restaurants, bars, lounges, summer and winter homes, travel

and vacation styles, type of automobile, cooking and food styles,

participation in sports, and choices of reading/magazines/books” (Fellin,

1995, p. 62). The most evident is the value and location of residence.

Neighborhoods serve functions for their residents as illustrated in a

framework developed by Warren and Warren in 1977. They identified the

functions of a neighborhood as a “sociability arena, an interpersonal

influence center, a source of mutual aid, an organizational base, a reference

group, and a status area (Fellin, 1995, p. 80). Other models include the

Litwak model, the Fellin and Litwak model, and the Figueira-McDonough

model. Each model of neighborhood types is described in the Table 1.

below.

Figure 1. The Models of Neighborhood Types

Warren and Warren 1977

Focus: Social identity, social interaction, and linkages to the wider community

Integral neighborhood – High identity, interaction, and linkages High capacity to identify problems and take action Easier for higher social classes to create but is also in

white-collar suburbs, inner city and blue-collar industrial communities

Parochial neighborhood – High identity and interaction, low Linkages Strong group identity due to race, class, age, and

physical isolation there is a strong commitment to locality and getting things done

May be limited due to lack of linkages to larger community

Diffuse neighborhoods – High identity, low interaction and linkages Doesn’t act on its high degree of collective capacity People think they don’t need the help Found in upper-class suburban dwellings and high-

rise luxury apartments

Stepping-stone neighborhoods – Low in identity, high interaction and linkages

Transitory neighborhoods – Low identity and interaction, high linkages

Litwak 1985

Focus:Emphasizes two important dimensions of neighborhood primary groups1.) level of membership change/turnover2.) capacity to retain primary group cohesion/social

integration

Mobile neighborhood – high turnover of residents, quickly integrate

newcomers, retain neighborhood cohesion

Transitional neighborhood – stable membership, not well suited for integrating

new residents

Mass neighborhood – high mobility of residents, little capacity for

integrating new or retaining cohesion

Fellin and Litwak 1968

Focus:Organizational, value, and change dimensions of neighborhood primary groups

Neighborhood with positive values, organized –

Neighborhood with positive values, unorganized –

Neighborhood with negative values, organized –

Neighborhood with negative values, unorganized –

Figueira – McDonough 1991

Focus:

Uses ecological perspective for typology to understand delinquency rates by the dimensions of population factors and organizational factors

Stepping-stone community – nonpoor and mobile, low primary networks, high

secondary networks, high external links

Established community – nonpoor and stable, high primary and secondary

networks, low external links

Disorganized community – poor and mobile, low primary and secondary

networks, low external links

Parochial community – poor and stable, high primary networks, low

secondary networks and low external links

A slum and a ghetto are two different terms and cannot be used

interchangeably. A ghetto is a “bounded residential are in which a defined

racial or ethnic group is forced to live” (Choldan, 1985). A slum is a

physical environment that is “deteriorated, run-down and undesirable

housing units, evidence of filth, dirt, unsanity conditions,” including

“boarded up and unoccupied structures” (Fellin, 1995).

Suburban neighborhoods are classified according to the three

dimensions of social interaction, identity, and linkages to the wider

community therefore the suburban neighborhood types in Warren and

Warren’s model are integral, diffuse, and stepping-stone. Some of the

functions of neighborhood primary groups are sociability arena,

interpersonal influence center, organizational base, reference group, and

status area (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000). Older neighborhoods exhibit

lower interaction.

Social class neighborhoods are evident due to the status symbols of

location, house, and people in varying combinations. The status of suburban

neighborhoods changes much more slowly than urban neighborhoods. Until

the 1960’s, many African-Americans and Hispanics continued to reside in

the same neighborhood regardless of social status. These groups had ties of

religion, family, ethnic, and small towns.

Ethnic neighborhoods, also called communities or commonalities, are

areas in large cities with a high concentration of a similar minority group.

Mixed land use characterizes the neighborhood to include residences,

businesses, agencies, and schools. Zones of emergence describe the areas in

the central city or suburbs where the middle class minority have moved in

large numbers.

Housing segregation is attributed to discrimination and prejudice that

the New York Times and others state that is due to race or ethnicity.

Segregated housing still exists due to socioeconomic factors and preference.

Some housing costs are prohibitive to some and nonwhites have preferred to

live in homogeneous neighborhoods. Segregated housing continues to

persist.

White flight occurred in dramatically after World War II to bring

more white families to the suburbs. There were nonracial “pushes” and

“pulls” as well as racial causes to generate this movement. White families

had pent up housing needs which the accessibility and size of suburban

housing filled. The economy allowed for upward mobility, lower interest

loans were available, and there were lower taxes. The segregated

neighborhoods in the suburbs were also attractive to the families.

Succession, a series of events that caused the replacement of a

neighborhood by a population or land use, is seen as part of the process of

change of a neighborhood. The text termed the incoming group as

“invaders” and the original group as “established” (Fellin, 1995, p. 105). The

succession of the movement of minority groups into white areas should

consider “1.) the causes and conditions of the process, 2.) the process of

radical change itself, and 3.) the social and economic consequences of the

process” (Aldrich in Fellin, 1995, p. 105). Whites view the incoming people

negatively and make assumptions according to Aldrich. The assumptions are

that single family dwellings will become multiple, household membership

will increase, more people will gather at residences, and the business

ownership will change (Aldrich in Fellin, 1995). Ultimately, tipping will

occur when whites begin moving away.

Hernandez (1985) has explained the settlement of new immigrants as

a framework of neighborhood typology. The first is a ghetto or barrio which

is described as heterogeneously mixed with a single group dominating. The

second is a heterogeneous mix with no predominant group. The next is

multi-ethnic, multi-racial with a gentrification of white middle class. Then

immigrants might enter or move to an older neighborhood. The last is

scattered suburban settlements with lower and upper middle classes.

Voluntary associations in America are viewed as social units with

many diverse forms and functions. The associations can be a vehicle for

“worship, social support, social participation, political influence, self-help,

service, and client organizations” (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000). The

organizations are helping networks involving citizen volunteers as well as

formal human service organizations. The four systems are 1.)lay informal

service systems, 2.) quasi formal and self-help systems, 3.) professional

service organizations, and 4.) inter-organizational relationships. Voluntary

associations link individuals with the larger community and help with

integration into the primary group of neighborhood. The associations serve

an important role in influencing minority groups regarding empowerment,

mutual aid, social support, advocacy, and in dealing with relevant issues.

Women are important to volunteer organizations and have comprised

the majority of membership due to their interest in connecting with their

communities. Women have also gained power through their involvement in

self-help groups. Women have joined with others to bring about changes in

their communities.

Religious groups can be viewed as voluntary associations and can

identify themselves as communities of identification and interest. These

associations play important roles in the community’s social welfare systems.

A direct service agency in an agency that meets the social welfare

needs of the community residents. Some of the services provided are

vocational rehabilitation and counseling. These agencies could be either

public or voluntary and provide services to families and children ranging

from social welfare policies, child protective services, to parenting

education. Health care services, public and private, provide services at

hospital, clinics, and mental health centers. Lack of coordination between

public and private as well as between physical and mental health subsystems

have been the major criticisms of health care.

The role of the federal government has been strong in the area of

service and educational. Government programs include the Head Start

program, the National School Lunch Program, and programs for children

with special needs. Brown vs. Board of Education ruled against segregation

because it deprived students of educational opportunity. The role of the

school board was clarified and the Buckley amendment ruled that all student

records must be kept confidential. Many states were teaching sex education.

In Texas, there were several cases of Edgewood vs. Kirby, etc. to equalize

funding resources for all school districts. School reform was beginning to be

the new focus with a “Nation At Risk” presenting the state of education as

the lack of improvement in SAT scores.

Multiculturalism is the study of minority cultures. The study is an

emphasis on everyone’s uniqueness but some argue that the American

culture is being minimized. The Children of the Rainbow in New York City

is an example of cultural diversity as a valuable asset. Critics of this program

refer to the family situations particularly gay and lesbian couples with

children.

Political economy is the community interdependence with

organizations, groups, and individuals engaged in the production,

distribution and consumption of goods and services. The economic system

of local community includes “1.) numerous bureaucratic organizations such

as industrial companies and commercial businesses, 2.) offices of

professional and private or group practice such as accountants, lawyers,

physicians, social workers, psychologists; 3.) small, less formalized

businesses, home industries, service operations, and 4.) an underground

economy which includes a variety of legal and illegal remunerative activities

by individuals or groups” (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000).

Equal employment opportunities for employment, pay, and

advancement differ in communities. Pay for women is less than men and

even lower for Black and Hispanic women. Felice Schwartz (1989)

introduced the career track idea so that women could be viewed as

individuals with varying needs. One track was a career-primary woman and

the other was a career-and-family track. Schwartz has also developed a

questionnaire for businesses to assess how they treat women employees. The

issues for women in workplace are 1.) support of women in the workplace,

2.) in the home, and 3.) on options of workplace and/or home.

The Americans with Disabililities Act of 1990 applies to the

economic, social, vocational, and educational discrimination to individuals

with physical or mental disabilities. Businesses with 25 or medical more

employees must comply with this act. The employer cannot inquire about

such areas as medical history, insurance claims, work absenteeism; must

make reasonable accommodation; defines a disabled person as one with

physical or mental disability that impairs one ore more life activities; and

defines a qualified disabled person as one who can perform the essential

functions of the job.

Sexual harrassment is addressed in the Titles VII and IX of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination in hiring practices of gays and lesbians

may fall under this act. Sexual harassment is a critical area of knowledge for

an employer.

Problems in the Community Economics system include opportunities

for various occupations, discrimination in hiring, promotion, and unequal

benefits. Enterprise zones, established in Florida in 1981, focused on hiring

area residents and was a local response to high unemployment, high crime,

and welfare dependency. The employer received tax incentives for

participating in the program.

The feminization of poverty is apparent when discussing the

underclass and the economy. The underclass is composed of individuals who

rely on the public welfare system for income and services. The reliance is

due to a lack of education and training as well as lack of occupational

training for women.

High unemployment and low wage industries such as nursing homes,

hospitals, hotels, small businesses, department stores, and retail food stores

characterize the economy of the ghetto. The low occupational and residential

mobility prevent movement out of the ghetto (Mid-term Study Guide, 2000).

When redrawing district boundaries, it is worthwhile to be aware of

the pitfalls of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the drawing of voting

districts so that white and non-white groups outnumber other groups

assuring specific groups majority residential group of representation in local,

state, or federal government. Social power is the potential ability to select,

change, or attain the goals of the social system. Ethnic minority groups,

women, and community power can be assessed by identifying the

community leaders according to their position, reputation, or the policy

decisions they have made.

Community conflict serves positive functions in a community.

Conflict allows a community to establish and maintain identity and

boundaries of societies and groups, provides opportunities to vent hostility

and express dissent, allows group to assess the power and influence of

another group and serves as a balancing mechanism, and brings people

together in coalitions.

Religious institutions and organizations serve important functions in

communities as instruments of socialization, education, social control, and

mutual support. Formally, they facilitate community integration through

religious-oriented schools, social agencies, volunteer groups, creation of

own volunteer groups, and through the informal relationships of leading

mutual aid and social supports among families connected to a religious

congregation.

Major Points from book, The Spirit of Community, by Amitai Etzioni

Many writers such as Sinclair Lewis and John O’Hara describe small

towns as narrow places “inhabited by petty, mean spirited people” which

gave a negative view of the idea of gemeinschaft, the German word for

community (Etzioni, 1993, p. 116). Tonnies labeled social relations as either

gemeinschaft, which means community or gesellschaft, the German word for

society. During the twentieth century there was a transition to gesellschaft

even though large cities were portrayed more favorably than they were in

reality.

James Q. Wilson, a political analyst, saw the cities as gesellschaft and

he thought that the YMCA and other associations were trying to provide a

“socially appropriate, morality-sustaining context” (Etzioni, p. 118, 1993).

Herbert Gans, a Columbia University sociologist, painted a different picture

of cities through his observance of urban villages, or gemeinschaft, in which

neighbors were friendly and diverse groups of people lived side by side.

Suburbs that share similarities with small communities now characterize

America. The author describes this movement as an enhancement to the

Communitarian nexus. The Communitarian movement is an environmental

movement dedicated to the betterment of our moral, social, and political

environment (Study Guide Test #2, 2000, p. 5). It is characterized by a four

point agenda including 1.) a Moratorium, a transition period, which puts a

tight lid on new rights; 2.) Rights Presume Responsibilities, claiming rights

without assuming responsibilities is unethical and illogical; 3.)

Responsibilities without rights, we have some duties of moral claims; and

4.) Careful adjustments, outlaws unreasonable searches and seizures (Study

Guide Test #2, 2000, p. 5).

The Communitarian recognizes a need for a new social map. In the

50’s, there was a clear set of values for most Americans, discrimination

against minorities was commonplace, and was very authoritarian.

Challenging voices came out in the 1960’s to embrace new values. Violent,

sexual, and commercial messages were heard. The 80’s were the “me-istic”

time with self-interest and greed considered to be virtuous. The 90’s had a

growing awareness that there were few firmly established moral positions.

Marriage was a disposable relationship and the moral values included

malingering at work, drug and alcohol abuse, physical force used against

another person, and a tendency to violence. There was a call for moral

commitment in the early 90’s and a positive response. The opponents

dubbed the movement “neopuritanism” (Study Guide Test #2, 2000, p. 7).

The Communitarian nexus is further sustained by the reluctance of

Americans to move as frequently breaking ties to friends and to roots. There

have also been new, nongeographic communities developing. Examples of

these communities are the work-based and professional communities made

up of people who work together, interact with each other, grow to care for

each other, and also reinforce moral expectations.

Etzioni describes those people who are supporting the gesellschaft and

investing themselves into making higher salaries and moving to a higher

rank but points out that this is an unsatisfying activity because there is

always someone else who makes more money or has a higher ranking

position. The author writes that people should instead “combine their self-

advancement with investment in their community” and a “we-ness”

approach with one or more groups of people (Etzioni, 1993, p. 124).

Examples of we-ness are neighborhood crime watches, soup kitchens for the

less fortunate, a folk dance group that meets weekly, an Alcoholics

Anonymous chapter, and especially centers for senior citizens which

provides activities for groups. It is possible to train recruiters and facilitators

of we-ness to foster a Communitarian nexus to revive communities.

Etzioni continues to support the importance of gemeinschaft or

Communitarian activity and writes that it should not be trivialized.

Volunteer efforts are more important than ever to education and to national

service. Educators can help to identify ways that the public can help

education. Volunteers provide an enormous service, as almost half of the

emergency medical technicians are not paid.

Institutions are important to the communities because of the services

they provide but play an even more important role in that communities come

together around these institutions. Local schools provide a source of identity

for the community. Many times loss of community is a social cost when

schools consolidate. Churches, synagogues, senior citizen centers, and the

local grocery store serve as unifying institutions within the community.

Etzioni suggests that Communitarians should consider the moral and social

as well as the financial consequences when they are considering the closing

of shops or the consolidation of schools.

The movement to community policing is an example of trying to

reconstruct a core institution for the purpose of rebuilding communities.

Other examples are restoration of housing projects and opening community

mental health centers. Community policing allows for the officers to develop

relationships and communicate with people as they patrol their beats on foot.

Grievances are resolved more directly and the police work is a more integral

part of the community.

In order to enhance public safety, Communitarians can support crime

watches, citizen patrols, build community bonds, sentence nonviolent

offenders to community service, and public humiliating or public shaming

by publishing the names of people frequenting prostitutes or requiring

convicted drunken drivers to display signs on their cars. Communitarians are

also expected to participate in politics and governance as an important way

to build community. Schools, hospitals, libraries and other community

activities offer ample opportunities for public participation.

The Communitarian family has a commitment to the children who

require attention, time, energy, and self. Communitarianism is a movement

away from the institutionalization of children into child care centers where

bonding with families was not occurring. Etzioni favors two parent families

over single parent families and supports the division of educational labor.

Parents need to parent more and have to make choices between income and

better relationships with their children. Divorce moves fathers away and

children are faced with the adjustment to fragile relationships with the

revolving boyfriends and girlfriends of parents. Etzioni supports a slow

movement to marriage with counseling for young people. During marriage,

families should eat together, go to marriage encounters, renew vows, and get

counseling when it is needed. Mechanisms have been suggested to slow

down family break-ups and divorce such as a waiting period. The benefits of

marriage include greater happiness, less depression, stable identity, bonding,

and the we-ness of being a couple.

Key Terms and Definitions

Centralization – a clustering of institutions and service in a central location

Communitarianism – a community member with a sense of gemeinschaft

and who works to build and maintain the community

Community policing – a local, usually on foot, police who work within the

community and build relationships with people in the community

Crowding – a stress producing environment, either psychological or

subjective, resulting from a person recognizing that he/she has less

space than desired, described by Krupat

Gemeinschaft – the German term for a small, traditional community, a type

of social relation described by Ferdinand Tonnies, a German

sociologist

Gesellschaft – the German word for society, another type of social relation,

which Tonnies used to refer to “people who have rather few bonds,

like people in a crowd or a mass society” in which isolation and

individuation in the place of communal ties could occur (Etzioni, 1993,

p. 116; Fellin, 1995, p. 45).

Minority group – people of color, groups identified by the Equal Rights Act

of 1964 as African American, Asian American, Native American, and

Hispanic (Fellin, 1995, p. 68)

Nongeographic community – a community made of people who do not live

near each other such as a work-based or professional community

(Etzioni, 1993)

We-ness – a shared sense of belonging to a group or groups comprised of

significant others with whom they have meaningful, stable, and

affective relationships (Etzioni, 1993)

Internet Links:

Gemeinschaft and gesellschaft

http://www.imsa.edu/~bernie/gemeingesell.html

http://www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/frameset_students/introsoc/gemein.html

http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed376996.html

Concentration and Segregation

http://www.scp.nl/boeken/cahiers/cah123/uk/samenvatting.htm

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/resseg/def.html

http://education.mit.edu/tep/11124/school.htm

http://www.idra.org/Newslttr/1997/Oct/Albert.htm

http://www.nber.org/reporter/spring98/hoxby_spring98.html

http://www.uncfsu.edu/NCcatalyst/new_page_15.htm

Social Class

http://www.hewett.norfolk.sch.uk/curric/soc/class/class.htm

http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/strat.html

http://hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/436.htm

Social Issues and Neighborhoods

http://www.neighborhoodcoalition.org/

References

Anderson, T. & Cohort VIII. (2000). Mid-term study guide, SOCI

6302 Community Development, Kingsville, TX: Texas A & M University.

Anderson, T. & Cohort VIII. (2000). Study guide test #2, SOCI 6302

Community Development, Kingsville, TX: Texas A & M University.

Etzioni, A. (1993). The spirit of community: The reinvention of

american society. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Fellin, P. (1995). The community and the social worker. Itasca, IL:

Peacock.