COMMUNITIES

Darylvy R. Avila, RSW, MPA

Community
This includes individuals, groups, organizations, and
families; shared interests; regular interaction to fulfill
shared interests through informal and formally organized
means; and some degree of mutual identification among
members as belonging to the collective.

One common theme or aspect of the community is

the space, people, identity and interaction which
takes place between its members.
Identificational communities

Group of people bound together by

similar values, connections, and
struggles and shared traditions.
Members are identified based on
perceived shared characteristics like
race, ability, religion, culture,
ethnicity or lifestyle.
 symptoms
Locational communities

Those exist in shared spaces like

neighborhoods, towns, cities or
regions. These can also be referred to
as space, territorial or geographical
communities. Often the geographical
boundaries like city limits define
these communities
 symptoms
Interest communities

People are brought together by

common goals and interests in causes
or activities. Example of this includes
professional organizations on which
members have a specific objectives to
help the community in certain ways.
 symptoms
Virtual communities

Newer type of communities formed

through the electronic platforms.
These are communities developed
through the internet, social
networking sites and chat rooms.
 Community as a
Place

Traditionally, you locate the rural

community by beginning at the
village or town center and mark on a
map the most distant farm home
whose members do their business
there.
Community as a Place
 Community as a
Place

City on the other hand is an economic

marketplace or market settlement that
has a specific geographic space. This
is where local inhabitants could
satisfy an economically substantial
part of their daily wants on a regular
basis in the local marketplace.
 Paano mo
masasabi na
ikaw ay nasa
isang
komunidad?

Ano ang
iyong
karanasan?
Community as
Function

Socialization

Social Control

Social
participation

Mutual support

Production, distribution
and consumption
 Community as Middle
Ground, Mediator or Link

Community has often been viewed as a

kind of middle ground or context in which
individuals’ primary relationships such as
those in family and close friendship
groups come together with their secondary
relationships, which are more specialized
associations such as those in formal
organizations (work, school, religion).
 Paano mo
nakikita sa
iyong
komunidad
ang
pagdadamayan?
 Community as Ways of
Relating

This notion also stresses sharedness. It

emphasizes feelings of connectedness to
one another on the part of community
members. This perspective on community
can be referred to as a sense of “we-ness”
or a “sense of community” that is felt by
members.
 Gemeinschaft relationships

ways of relating based on shared

traditions, culture, or way of life and on a
sense mutual responsibility arising out of
that shared tradition.

Natural will reflected a quality of

relationship based on mutuality in which
people did things for one another out of a
sense of shared and personal
responsibility for one another as members
of a collective
 Gesellschaft relationships

Ways of relating to each other based on a

contract like exchange in which one
member did something for another in
order for that person to return the favor in
the form of needed goods, money, or
services.

Rational will reflected impersonal ways of

relating not based on shared culture,
tradition, or personal relatedness over
time.
Community based
organizations
 Name one community
based organization that
exist in your community?
Community based
organizations

Sectoral and mass-based organizations formed

to advocate changes in economic policies,
social action were employed to bring into the
open the clamor of the poor for government to
address their problem.
Community based
organizations

During the 90s, community practice in the

Philippines broadened its scope not only to
meet the basic needs of the people but also to
manage sustainable development projects to
ensure the needs of the future generations.
People’s empowerment through the formation
of people’s movements became more
pronounced.
Role of Communities in
Community development
and social
A community’s shared values can be a source of
power.

Alternative Approaches to Community

Change

Community building/renewal

Strengths/Assets

Social Capital

Civic Ethic and Civic Society

Community Assessment
Focus Groups

It is a small-group discussion guided by a facilitator. It

aim to learn about opinions on a designated topic, and
to guide future action.
Needs Assessment Surveys

It is simply asking community members or sectors

within the community what they see and felt as the
most important needs of community. The results of the
survey then guide future action.
Community Inventory

In community inventory, the social worker determine

the community assets and resources. A community
asset is anything that can be used to improve the quality
of community life such as the people, physical structure
and community service.
Interviews

Interview is a conversation with a purpose. It is great if

you're looking for in-depth information on a particular
topic from an expert. Using an interview is the best way
to have an accurate and thorough communication of
ideas between you and the person from whom you're
gathering information.
 SWOT Analysis

(Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats)
Geographic Information Systems: Tool for
Community Mapping

GIS is a method of digital mapping that links data to its

geographic location. A GIS computer program creates
maps from data that’s fed into it, displaying layers of
geographic information for the geographic area you’re
interested in.
Public Records and Archival Data

This records and data can help social workers in finding

pertinent information that is needed in community
assessment, for example housing assessment, number
of lowcost housing in a certain community. Another
example is number of teen age pregnancy in the area
and number of Children in Conflict with Law, all of
these can be obtained in a specific government agency.
ACTIVITY: CASE ANALYSIS

Women's work in the Philippines