Typologies of Community

• Formal-Informal typology
• Local-global typology
• Rural-Urban typology
 Formal-Informal Typology
• Emphasizes leadership and power relations in the community.

Formal Communities are characterized by institutionally structured

hierarchies which define the relationship between authoritative and
subordinate actors and groups.

Informal communities are said to be generally less rigid. It operates

through socio-cultural mechanisms, thrive tru loose connections, social
networks and personal relationships.
 Local-Global Typology
• Focuses on the scope and breadth of communities with respect to its
geographic dimensions and the reach of its other dimensions.

Local Community is a group of individuals interacting within a shared

environment.
Global Community stretches beyond the frontiers of a local community,
transcending national, supranational and regional demarcations.
 Rural-Urban Typology
• Is based on the distinction in terms of development, industrialization,
ecological conditions and lifestyle.

Rural Community are characterized as pastoral, agricultural, and

located along the periphery of urban centers or countryside

Urban Communities are described as industrialized and commercial

centers where population density is relatively high compared to rural
communities. Sketched as technological, modern and cosmopolitan
 FUNCTIONS OF A COMMUNITY
• Production-Distribution-Consumption
-Communities provide its members livelihood through the use of its
resources and the system of exchange embedded therein such as trade
and commerce.
 FUNCTIONS OF A COMMUNITY
• Socialization
- Communities have processes that shape social behavior by instilling to
its members norms, values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. This is
done through mechanisms of transference, such as child rearing,
education, traditions, and practices.
 FUNCTIONS OF A COMMUNITY
• Social Control
- Mechanism with communities such as social pressure or formal
institutions, regulate the conduct and behavior of community
members.
 FUNCTIONS OF A COMMUNITY
• Social Participation
-Communities thrive through the association and involvement of its
members. These are exemplified in the groups and organizations within
communities such as religious associations, businesses and
neighborhood.
 FUNCTIONS OF A COMMUNITY
• Mutual Support
- Communities offers its members interactions that encourage
cooperation and solidarity.
 CHAPTER SUMMARY
• Community identity is forged not only within a geographic territory
but also due to relationships and bonds formed by individuals of
shared values, interests and goals.
• Defining and characterizing communities can be done using various
PERSPECTIVES.
• Communities have geographic, socio-political, economic and cultural
DIMENSIONS.
• Communities can be categorized according to its formal-informal
features, rural-urban characteristics, local-global distinction, and the
characteristics viewed from community based organizations.