1. SOC 531: Community Organization What is a Community? essential and variable components

2. Community Is Essentially place/space: bounded or bordered geographically, phsysically, materially, or socially –socially constructed (Gottdiener) –imaginary (Anderson) –way of analyzing social group or society: i.e., a community study (Park and Burgess)

3. Essentials (continued) social action (Weber) and some degree of social organization (White: cats and nets) –people must participate in life of community (Burgess and Park) –people live and work in community (Hogan) –people engage in (Lynds) getting a living- making a home training the young- leisure religious practice- community activities

4. Community Essentials (sum) These are the essential components of community –space/place bordered/bounded –social action/social organization Everything else is variable

5. Community Variables types of places/spaces: 7th Ward, Muncie, North End, suburbs, central business districts, slums types of people (cats): class, race, gender, age, marital status types of social action (nets): neighborhood socializing, corner gangs degree of organization (catnets): associations, clubs, parties, governments

6. Classifying Populations, Places, and Activities Sumner: folkways and mores Park and Burgess: "natural" and planned Parsons: AGIL systems and functions –economic: adaptation –political: goal attainment –social-community: integration –cultural: latent pattern maintenance

7. Functional/Parsons Systems Every social system (including community system) must meet functional system requirements (notably, integration for community) Much conflict and most social problems –dysfunctional systems (e.g., death of community) –role integration/conflict

8. How do You Want to Think About Communities? physical, biological, geographic, ecological, or economic aspects social ecology, function, construction political ecology, function, economy cultural history, functionalism, materialism, politics

9. Models of Social Organization ecological or evolutionary functionalist dialectical interactive

10. Mapping Communities Nanuet, NY, 1955 (30 miles NW of George Washington Bridge) woods gas Catholic Church Hogans funeral home hotel and restaurant woods light industry central business district

11. Nanuet, NY, 2010 Catholic Church hotel and restaurant woods shopping center strip mall tract housing tract housing tract housing estate lot housing NY State Thruway Bing Map of Nanuet Census Map of Nanuet