What do urban researchers mean when they speak of a sense of community?
Urban researchers speak of sense community as a concept that centers on the experience of a community regardless of its structures, development, setting, or other characteristics. It deals with the opinions, understanding, and feelings of community members towards one another and indeed towards the multifaceted community. Urban researchers further propose that sense of a community “is one of the major bases for self-definition” (Younghusband, 1916).
For most of the urban researchers, a sense of community is “the perception of similarity to others, and acknowledged interdependence with others, a willingness to maintain this interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one expects from them, and the feeling that one is part of a larger dependable and stable structure” (Younghusband, 1916, p. 157). It is the sense of belonging and a feeling that members of a given community are important to one another, and their needs can only be satisfied through their dedication to being together as a whole. According to these researchers, a sense of community is composed of four elements, which include relationship, influence, integration, and satisfaction of needs, and finally, shared expressive connection.
Describe the sense of community in Calgary, AB. Provide an example of an urban policy that mitigates against this feeling and an example of a policy that contributes to it.
Calgary AB exemplifies a strong sense of community, and this leads to the creation of opportunities for interrelations and meaning in the lives of its inhabitants. Full of power, vitality, and physical health, the inspiring community promotes diversity and values both the psychological and bodily health of its inhabitants. It provides didactic and recreational amenities and values the mores of Calgary’s land and heritage.
Calgary’s real estate is composed of an array of property types with pleasing avenues and tidy cul-de-sacs. Convenient for academic institutions and other important amenities, Calgary is a popular choice with various family units, and this possesses a strong sense of community. With easy access to the suburbs and proximity to major pathways in almost all directions, Calgary is a good place for both residents and those employed in the Calgary area.
Calgary is now at a “defining moment in its history” (Younghusband, 1916). The choices made by its community members today have shaped the way of life among the society members. These choices have increasingly encouraged and hastened the community’s sustainability. To improve the sense of community, Calgary has organized a breakfast series, and this brings all the community members together, including suspicious allies.
All members of the community are free to attend the breakfast series and enjoy free breakfast. The breakfast series creates a forum where all the members of the community interact with one another, and through this networking, they get to know one another well. Key issues central to the community’s sustainability are explored during the breakfast series, and all the organizations and regional initiatives involved in ensuring the community’s sustainability are profiled. This allows for the generation of new ideas and synergies that could result in innovative actions in the community (Macionis & Parrillo, 2006).
In addition, Calgary AB has got metropolitan design associations aimed at developing all features of urban development and ensuring sustainable living in the community. This has helped improve walkable neighborhoods since it comprises of a wide range of housing and employment opportunities. The issue of “Great Public Places” has activated Calgary’s civic realm while at the same time recovering lost places. It is in Calgary where one is free to “go share his knowledge, experience or interests, pitch his ideas and work on projects together with others who are passionate about great place-making” (Younghusband, 1916).
Calgary AB also has a self-managed volunteer-driven body where each and every community member is free to join. The main objective of the body is to improve the community’s third-place through programs, schemes, policies, and performances. The body is also aimed at providing the Calgarians with the necessary contrivances and resources to undertake third place projects. This includes collaboration forums, resource libraries, and all the credentials concerning previous projects carried out in the community (Macionis & Parrillo, 2006).
Provide an example of an urban policy that contributes to this feeling and an example of a policy that mitigates against it
An example of an urban policy that contributes to a sense of community in Calgary is the facilitation of sustainable development by creating a community in which business persons, experts, engineers, and capitalists can learn, share and face up to one another. By working together in a collaborative manner, making use of integrity, aptitude, and invention, the community can reach the level of sustainable development (Macionis & Parrillo, 2006).
The lack of opportunities for innovation and the fact that community members lack resilience has mitigated the achievement of the above policy. Most of the community members in Calgary lack interest when it comes to improving sustainability in their surroundings.
References
Macionis, J., & Parrillo, N. (2006). Cities and urban life. New York: Lighting Source Inc.
Younghusband, E. (1916). The sense of community. London: Williams & Nor gate Publishers.