Understanding Community: A Sociological Perspective

Running head: COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
Name of the student:
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1COMMUNITY
Introduction:
Within sociology and other social sciences, a community is a broad topic. To understand
the community, it is essential to know that society is comprised of communities (Aers, 2017).
The existence of society is due to the existence of communities. A community is a group of
people that may be friends, family or neighbours who are in the interaction among themselves.
The members of a community share similar values, beliefs and behaviours. Communities are
within a bounded geographic territory. Therefore, there is a strong relationship among the people
living in the same community. A social theorist has presented different ideas and concepts on
communities and its behaviour. The primary aim of this paper is to use sociological theory for
sociologically understanding community actions. With the help of a documentary about a
neighbourhood initiative, Gaining Grounds, the paper will provide a commentary on the reasons
that have made the idea of ‘community’ become popular in recent years. Also, the deep
attraction of belonging to or sustaining or building a sense of community.
Case study:
Directed by Llewellyn Smith, Gaining Ground was released in the year 2012. The film
was captured in the words of John Barros who was not only a resident in the Dudley Street
community but also a leader. Every person in the community was an agent of change. Race, age,
ethnicity, gender or class were not the factor to be part of the Dudley Street Neighborhood
Initiative (DSNI). The director focused on one neighbourhood in Boston in order to highlight the
ways multiple issues intersect and the ways a neighbourhood can be transformed into a
community of activist. It is only through commitment and investment that over time a
community evolves and changes. Gaining Grounds views the complexities of rebuilding a

2COMMUNITY
community in the time of financial recession along with nation-wide housing crisis as a major
disadvantage. Crime, responses to violence, environmental injustices, youth unemployment were
some of the concern of the community. Also, mediating conflicts between politics, labour,
citizens and intersections of state and local politics and lastly the future of Dudley Street
Neighborhood Initiative (Emro.lib.buffalo.edu., 2019).
Several problems such as childhood poverty, unemployment and foreclosures have hit
American cities since the great recession. Gaining ground shows the ways one diverse Boston
neighbourhood have fought against every odd together manifesting the concept of community
and its significant role in society.
A commentary on why the idea of 'community' has become so popular in
recent years?
The idea of community has gained a significant amount of popularity in recent years. The
importance of community has been present for a long time however to view it in a way to
improve society is the main idea. In order to respond accordingly with success, Australian public
management with international trends in the localization of policy, an entirely new set of skills is
required. The public management will bring improvement in the way of complying with
international trends. To bring change to an area the important thing to consider is the community
and its potential policy agency. Since appropriate knowledge of community will help in
understanding the main requirement of a community, emphasize is given to the community. It
has become significant for the state and the public management to recognize the deficit of the
community before acting for its benefit.