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Community, Types of

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International Encyclopedia of Civil Society

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Definition

Community is a vital dimension in modern society and a key element of social organization. There is no agreed definition, but community always involves meaningful social interactions and a common interest in a group of any size. Community frequently refers to a shared space or place as a substitute term for locality, but it exists beyond physical places or shared geographic location (Bradshaw 2008).

A community is meaningful interactions within agreed structures, procedures, protocols, norms, and conventions that enable contributions to social order as a social institution (Scott 2001). Members of a community share a connection, such as location, interests, background or identity, situations, or experiences. Communities are aggregates of people who share common activities and/or beliefs, and are bound together mainly by affect, loyalty, common values, and/or personal concerns (Brint 2001). Communities operate within boundaries that are either tacitly or explicitly agreed by...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Activation Australia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Heather Douglas

Authors
  1. Heather Douglas
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Regina A. List

  2. Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Helmut K. Anheier

  3. Schar school, George Mason University, ARLINGTON, VI, USA

    Stefan Toepler

Section Editor information

  1. Hamburg, Germany

    Regina A. List

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Douglas, H. (2023). Community, Types of. In: List, R.A., Anheier, H.K., Toepler, S. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_542-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_542-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99675-2

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