What is Community?
Man cannot live in isolation.
He cannot live alone.
So, he keeps contact with his fellow beings for his survival and establishes contact with a few people who live in close proximity or presence to him in a particular area or locality.
They develop common ideas, customs, feelings, traditions etc.
They also develop a sense of belongingness together or a sense of a we-feeling. This kind of common social living in a specific locality gives rise to the community.
The word community derives from two Latin words, namely “com” and “munis”.
In English ‘com’ means together and ‘munis’ means to serve. Thus, it means to serve together.
It means that human beings have organized an organization for the purpose of serving together.
According to sociologists, “whenever the members of any group, small, or large, live together in such a way that they share the basic conditions of a common life, we call that group a community.”
Thus, it refers to a group of individuals living in a geographical area.
Definition
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Maclver defines community as “an area of social living, marked by some degree of social coherence.”
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Bogardus defines community as “it is a social group with some degree of ‘we are feeling’ and ‘living in a given area”
Characteristics
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It refers to aggregate of individuals.
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It is associated with locality.
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It has strong sense of belongingness, or we are feeling.
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A group of people spontaneously formed over a long period of time.
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Therefore, it lasts longer or endures more than groups created with a purpose.
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It widens its ends.
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A specific name usually associates it.