Community as People

By April Belanger
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community offers many different concepts to people’s eyes to what could be: community as a process, compost, place, creativity, people, individuals, performance, work of art, and a playground (Dahlberg). Most of all, I believe the most relevant concept to be ‘Community as people.’ According to Wikipedia, “Traditionally a 'community' has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location” (Wikipedia 1). Over the past few weeks' worth of readings, I have opened my eyes up to many new ideas about what a community means to me. I think now, what communities do I belong to? I’m still unsure of that answer but I know that I want to expand my learning of what kinds of communities are out there and how I can help make them better. The one thing that any community has in common is people. Without having individuals in it to make up groups, sociologically there wouldn’t be communities. Wikipedia states, “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” (Wikipedia 2). In theory, the perfect community would have all the best creations of a person, cohesion of a group, and creativity. Before this class, I never quite understood the importance that creativity can have on a community and society as a whole.

Presently, close-knit communities aren’t seen as often as they should be. A community to me is made up of people, concepts, dwellings, desires, creativity and cohesion. People within each community represent what it is they stand for and what they see happening for that community. In some of the readings, one person started a community where people were able to express their artistic abilities openly and freely, and for that reason that community lasted. It took one individual's desire to create an atmosphere, a community that people could be themselves in. The type of person you allow in your community can affect it altogether. Every individual in your community should represent what it is you stand for and why that community matters. Every person has a voice and each of those voices should be heard. Who knows ... down the line I could create a community that is invested in helping out animals without homes. To me every animal has the right to food, shelter and water. Hopefully, one day I have the resources to make that happen. The idea that community relies on people would be very important to my project. I would need the help of the city, volunteers and others to make it happen. In our present day society, we need to re-examine what a community is and how we can learn how to create more of them. If one person had an idea and developed it into a community, the changes are endless. We can learn how to be a better society, a safer one, a more-inspired one. In turn, we could become a better self. If you had the power and resources like the president, the possibilities for a strong community could be incredible.