Editing Community (section)

{{Short description|Social unit which shares commonality}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:A community townhall at Makoko community.jpg|thumb|Community townhall]]
[[File:Stonehenge Summer Solstice eve 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A [[community of interest]] gathers at [[Stonehenge]], England, for the summer solstice.]]
{{Community|Community Social Work=}}

A '''community''' is a [[Level of analysis|social unit]] (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as [[place (geography)|place]], set of [[Norm (social)|norms]], [[culture]], [[religion]], [[values]], [[Convention (norm)|customs]], or [[Identity (social science)|identity]]. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a [[country]], [[village]], [[town]], or [[Neighbourhood|neighborhood]]) or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable good relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community, important to people's identity, practice, and roles in social [[institution]]s such as [[family]], home, work, [[government]], TV network,{{huh?|date=September 2024}} [[society]], or humanity at large.<ref>{{Cite book |last1= James |first1= Paul |author-link= Paul James (academic) |last2= Nadarajah |first2= Yaso |last3= Haive |first3= Karen |last4= Stead |first4= Victoria | title= Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Development: Other Paths for Papua New Guinea |url= https://www.academia.edu/3230875 |year= 2012 |page= 14 |publisher= University of Hawaii Press |location= Honolulu  | quote = [...] we define community very broadly as a group or network of persons who are connected (objectively) to each other by relatively durable social relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties and who mutually define that relationship (subjectively) as important to their social identity and social practice.}}</ref> Although communities are usually small relative to personal social ties, "community" may also refer to large-group affiliations such as [[nation|national communities]], [[international community|international communities]], and [[virtual community|virtual communities]].<ref>
See also:
{{Cite book
|last= James|first= Paul |author-link= Paul James (academic)
|title= Globalism, Nationalism, Tribalism: Bringing Theory Back In – Volume 2 of Towards a Theory of Abstract Community
|url= https://www.academia.edu/1642214
|year= 2006
|publisher= Sage Publications
|location= London
}}
</ref>

In terms of [[sociological]] categories, a community can seem like a sub-set of a [[social collectivity]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Rydin
 |first1               = Yvonne
 |editor-last1         = Cullingworth
 |editor-first1        = J. Barry
 |date                 = 1 October 1999
 |chapter              = Public participation in planning: Public participation and collective decision making
 |title                = British Planning: 50 Years of Urban and Regional Policy
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=Gq6glh_ILtwC
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = The Athlone Press
 |page                 = 196
 |isbn                 = 9780485006049
 |access-date          = 6 September 2024
 |quote                = [...] planning decisions are a form of collective decision making. This is not the same thing as decision making by the local community since that represents only a subset of the broader social collectivity.
}} 
</ref>
In developmental views, a community can emerge out of a collectivity.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Howell
 |first1               = Signe
 |author-link1         = Signe Howell
 |editor-last1         = Amit
 |editor-first1        = Vered
 |year                 = 2002
 |chapter              = Community beyond place: Adoptive families in Norway
 |title                = Realizing Community: Concepts, Social Relationships and Sentiments
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=wOIFSqxWCn4C
 |series               = European Association of Social Anthropologists
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = Psychology Press
 |page                 = 98
 |isbn                 = 9780415229074
 |access-date          = 6 September 2024
 |quote                = [...] without [...] interaction [...], a category of collectivity is likely to remain a conceptual category rather than [...] become a community. It seems likely that some sort of social intimacy, particularly when this takes place at vulnerable times, must occur to serve as a paradigmatic vehicle for the wider sense of shared experience.
}} 
</ref>

The [[English language|English-language]] word "community" derives from the [[Old French]] {{Lang|fro|comuneté}} ([[French language|Modern French]]: ''{{Lang|fr|communauté}}''), which comes from the [[Latin]] ''[[communitas]]'' "community", "public spirit" (from Latin ''[[wikt:communis|communis]]'', "common").<ref>{{cite OED|community|1005093760}}
</ref>

[[Human]] communities may have [[intention|intent]], [[belief]], [[Natural resource|resources]], [[preference]]s, [[Need assessment|needs]], and [[risk]]s in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of [[Group cohesiveness|cohesiveness.]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Melih |first=Bulu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=memeBQAAQBAJ&q=Human+communities+may+share+intent%2C+belief%2C+resources%2C+preferences%2C+needs%2C+and+risks+in+common%2C+affecting+the+identity+of+the+participants+and+their+degree+of+cohesiveness&pg=PA104 |title=City Competitiveness and Improving Urban Subsystems: Technologies and Applications: Technologies and Applications |date=2011 |publisher=IGI Global |isbn=978-1-61350-175-7 |language=en | quote = In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.}}
</ref>