My name is RJ Best and I am a Junior at Dixie State University. I grew up in Ivins, UT, and went to school at Snow Canyon High School. After graduating high school, I served an LDS mission in California - San Bernardino. Upon returning from my mission, I attended from Snow College in Ephraim, and graduated with my Associate's Degree in the Fall of 2012. I am majoring in Integrated Studies with an emphasis in Biology and Criminal Justice. While I'm not sure what career or field I will pursue upon graduation, I enjoy the ability to receive educational insight into two fields of study that interest me.
The concepts of neighborhood and community could be considered very similar, but could have a different application depending on who it is. While most people would not refer to their neighborhood as a "community" when asked, I think that the concept of community is something that may be felt rather than a general vocabulary use of the word. Community to me is a group of people that may work together towards the same group of goals, or at least have each other's backs when it comes down to it. A neighborhood is more or less a geographical area with a certain mix of people residing there, but it could also be a "community" as well.
The reading so far has been interesting as far as the attempt to form true communities out of neighborhoods that may not have had that in the past. A community could be seen as an integrated group of people with many different skills, talents, and hobbies, etc. working together for the betterment of those around them. The topic of interdisciplinary studies is quite a useful one when dealing with communities due to the nature of a community and the need to have many different skills and types of people therein.
I found the concepts of neighborhood and community to be similar. It almost seemed that our reading so far treated the concepts as interchangeable; however, I can see that my understanding of the concepts are most likely wrong and that is due to my lack of reading comprehension. I will get better.
ReplyDeleteI found your explanation of the two concepts to be very good. I now see that a community deals with the group of people, and the neighborhood deals with the geographical area of those people.
I would agree with you that the concept of community would benefit from scholars and practitioners studying it from an interdisciplinary approach.
This is a helpful start to the discussion. How do others feel about which term is the broader, more inclusive one, "community" or "neighborhood"?
ReplyDeleteI feel that community is the broader term, while neighborhood is more inclusive. I feel that I live in the community of St. George, but I also have my surrounding blocks that are in close proximity to my residence that comprise my neighborhood.
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