The Different Perspective

on Community
Lets define first, what is community.
• Community – is a group of people who live in the
same area.
There are five (5) different perspectives
on community
The Social Science Perspective
• A community is a congregation of people unified by at least
one common characteristics. The people can be unified by
geography, shared interests, values, experiences, or
traditions. There is a common pattern of behaviour.
Socialization starts at the early stage of life where one
develops knowledge, skills, and orientation. Also it happens
during adulthood especially when the person is placed in a
new environment and there is a need to adapt to a new
pattern of behaviour.
The Community- Based Perspective
Community is seen as a (1) setting for intervention, (2) target
for change. (3) resource and (4) agent.
1. Setting for Intervention
intervention may be implemented at various places within
community institutions including neighborhood, schools,
churches, work areas and community organizations.
2. Target for change

The community denotes the goal of creating a healthy

environment facilitated by policy and community wide
institutions and services. The community is the target
beneficiary of service interventions and community
developments.
3.Resource

-The community is a good material for promotion as it has a

considerable of degree ‘‘Community Ownership And
Participation’’.
4.Agent

-The focus is on ‘‘Respecting and Reinforcing The

Natural Adaptive , Supportive and Developmental
Capacities of Communities’’
The ecological perspective
-A community is a congregation of species that occur together
in time and space and have high probability for interaction.
From the ecological perspective, behavior is perceived not
only as product of knowledge ,values, and attitudes of
individuals but also as a result of social influences involving
the family, social networks, organizations and public policy.
The Sectoral Perspective
-Communities are seen as a system which is comprised of
individuals and sectors with diverse characteristics and
interrelationship. Each sectors has its own focus which is
primarily membership and beneficiary driven. To survive
communities must have well integrated sectors-sectors that
distribute, divide and exact accountabilities in managing the
safety of the community.
The Civil Society Perspective
-Civil society (CS) is a wide array of non-governmental
organizations and volunteer groups that are fighting for
solutions to socials issues that continue worsen the
condition of disadvantaged sectors of society,
especially poor.
TYPES OF
COMMUNITIES
 FOCUS
QUESTIONS
1. What are the different types of communities?
2. Describe and give examples of each type of
community.
3. Differentiate formal and informal
communities.
4. Differentiate urban and rural communiites.

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COMMUNIT
Y
▪ A group of people who occupy a common
contiguous territory, possessed of a common set
of traditions associated with their living together in
that territory, and served by a set of local
institutions in which the people are conscious of
their common interest.

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TYPES OF
COMMUNITY
1. Formal communities
2. Informal communities
3. Urban communities
4. Rural communities
5. Global communities
6. Sectoral communities
7. Social Space communities

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 1.
FORMAL COMMUNITIES
Engage in joint activities and discussion, help each
other, and share information with each other; they care
about their standing with each other.
Examples of formal communities
▪ Ecovillages
▪ Co-housing communities
▪ Co-ops communities
▪ Religious communities

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 2.
INFORMAL
COMMUNITIES
Consists of a set of personal relations, social networks,
common interest and emotional sources of motivation.
Examples of informal communities
▪ Academic communities
▪ Recreation communities
▪ Retirement communities
 3.
URBAN COMMUNITIES
Large in terms of land area & population, advanced in science &
technology, with favorable physical environment and & diverse
cultures, and the people are engaged in various occupations.
Characteristics of urban communities
▪ Advancement in science and technology
▪ Many business establishments, recreational
centers, educational and religious institutions
▪ People are crowded
▪ Social heterogeneity
▪ Class extremes
▪ Greater pollution
Characteristics of urban communities
▪ Many crimes are committed
▪ Family ties tend to be weak
▪ Limited space
▪ Greater impersonality among neighbors
▪ Higher standard of living
▪ Shortage of employment
▪ Informal settlers are rampant
Characteristics of urban communities
▪ A lot of hazards and dangers
▪ Greater number of separation of spouses and live-
in arrangements
▪ Major occupations are industrial, administrative
and professional
▪ Divisions of labor and occupational specialization
are very much common
 4.
RURAL COMMUNITIES
Usually produce their own food for subsistence
Characteristics of rural communities
▪ Greater personal interaction
▪ Deep, long-term relationships
▪ Generally, peace and order exists
▪ Mutual give and take affairs
▪ Emphasis of shared values
▪ Vernacular is usually spoken
▪ Wider area
Characteristics of rural communities
▪ Influence of blood relationships in decision making
▪ Homogenous type of culture
▪ Belief in supernatural and superstitious beliefs
▪ Relationship is more personal and informal
▪ Less pollution
▪ Few establishments and institutions
▪ Few goods and services
 5.
GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
It is the international aggregate of nation-states.
Global communities
▪ “World Community”
▪ Common point of view towards issues of human
rights, global warming and climate change, peace
and order, socio-economic conditions as well as
disputed issues such as territorial conflict.
 6.
SECTORAL
COMMUNITIES
Include the voluntary sector or non-profit sector
Sectoral communities
▪ Voluntary, non-profit and non-governmental
▪ Also called third sector (in contrast to public and
private sector)
▪ NGOs: Non-governmental organizations
 7.
SOCIAL SPACE
COMMUNITIES
Based on social spaces
Social space communities
▪ A social space is a physical or virtual space
▪ Physical: social center, gathering place, town
squares, parks, pubs, shopping malls
Social space communities
▪ Virtual: online social media, websites
Characteristics of social spaces
▪ People gather at information grounds for a primary
purpose other than information sharing
▪ Attended by different social types
▪ Social interaction is a primary activity
▪ Information occurs in many directions
▪ Information is used in alternative ways
▪ Many sub-contexts exist; together they form grand
context
References
▪ Ariola, M. (2017). Community Engagement,
Solidarity and Citizenship. Manila: Unlimited Books
Library Services & Publishing Inc.

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