WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY?

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY

• All communities have a unique identity
• Shared by all members
• All members feel a sense of attachment
• Attached to the community and one another

AFFILIATION WITH LAND OR PLACE

• Long association leads to close relationship with surroundings
• E.g. Indigenous Australians
• Landscape can be an important part of daily life
• E.g. Mountains and rivers can provide food
• Landscape features can also have religious significance

ETHNICITY

• Affiliation with a racial or language group
• Often ethnic concentrations in cities
• Shared culture, heritage, language
• What does it take to join an ethnic community?

RELIGION AND BELIEF

• Dictates social life within a community
• Determines community culture
• Also determines the roles that people play
• Usually a strong sense of community
• Often reflected in religious buildings

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

• Level of wealth in a community
• Function of education, income, occupation
• Higher SES communities often have better healthcare and education
• Lower SES communities often have less home ownership
• Dictated the culture of the community and shared activitie

RURAL/URBAN IDENTITY

• Rural communities =smaller population
• Often fewer facilities and services
• Affects work patterns, social life, leisure trends
• Urban communities often have a less unified identity
• However, cities still have identifiable characters

Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide

Untitled Slide

KINSHIP

• The support that family member give each other
• Social and economic links
• Kinship often dictates choice of where to live
• Can also dictate leisure activitie, shopping, schooling, religion

WORK/OCCUPATION

• Work shapes community identity
• Often geographically determined - e.g. mining towns
• Affects style of housing, village layout, land division, transport
• Also cultural features like festivals
• Dictates how people move in and out of a community

QUESTIONS

• Give an example of communities based on:
• Land or place
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Work/occupation

QUESTIONS

• What other things can make a community?
• What is needed to create an online community?
• What factors contribute to Facebook as a community?