Some use it to mean "place," although where
they live is often the only aspect that they share. Some refer to the
"immigrant community" or the "Italian-American community." Since
immigrants come from different countries speak different languages, and
observe different customs, it seems odd to me to think of them as
members of the same community. Presumably, this use of "community"
refers to whatever interests they share by being immigrants, or Italian
Americans, or whatever. Some, who feel solidarity with each other,
describe themselves as a "community." In this latter sense, "community"
is the third ideal of the French Revolution: Fraternity.

When I
have used the word in my columns, I mean a rich and interweaving
network of relationships in which people know each other and understand
that what they share is more important than their differences. In
community, these relationships-formal and informal-proliferate until
they create a place for everyone as whole individuals. Community's
members are known for who they are rather than what they are. Their
personal qualities are more important than their formal roles. In
community, there is room for as many leaders as there are useful things
to do, so there are leadership opportunities for all.

In
institutions, including those that provide social and human services,
relations are often hierarchical. In neighborhoods without community,
relationships are nonexistent. In communities, relationships are more
egalitarian. Because there is not an authority that defines the "right
way" and "wrong way" to do things, communities find creative solutions
to problems that institutions cannot.

They often do so quickly.
When an individual loses a job, a loved one, or their mind, they need
the immediate help and comfort that a community can provide. In its
absence, they endure the weary isolation that comes with applying for
food stamps, waiting for Social Security to decide, or being trapped
within a mental health system from which they may never emerge.

In
neighborhoods with community, we deal with each other as whole people.
n those without community, we deal with each other by accident. In
institutions, we deal with each other as roles.

In community, we are interdependent. To weaken one of us, weakens all.

Community
is the greatest security that a neighborhood can enjoy. When neighbors
know and trust each other, residential streets are not so much
anonymous public spaces belonging to no one, but familiar territory
that belongs to the neighborhood. Neighbors inquire when someone whom
they don't recognize is attempting to enter a neighbor's home. They
intervene when someone is being harassed on their street, friend or
stranger, because it is their street, and because they know that their
neighbors have their back.

The economic and cultural forces that
destroyed community in Somerville were largely beyond the community's
control. Factory closures eliminated thousands of jobs in the same town
in which workers lived. Suburbs held a powerful, but ultimately
illusive, lure. Steady erosion of hourly wages obligated women, who
were often the weavers of relationships, to enter the workforce,
whether they wanted to or not. The cars that got people to out-of-town
jobs, and the televisions that they watched to recover from working and
commuting, reduced opportunities for interaction. Gentrifications
brought thousands of professionals whose relationships revolve around
where they work rather than where they live.

It is impossible
for individuals or small groups to reverse the impact of such enormous
forces. But we can choose to recreate community in limited contexts,
like the few blocks surrounding where we live. We do this most
effectively by organizing shared actions around matters that are so
concerning that diverse neighbors are willing to take action, and that,
in order to make a difference, require cooperation among all who
participate.

If we create opportunities for specific and
achievable changes to make real our 80%-shared vision of a good
neighborhood, our diverse neighbors' focus is not on each other's
differences, but on how to accomplish shared objectives. In the process
of doing so, they develop relationships of trust and cooperation. They
come to see the situation through each other's eyes, understand each
other's differences, and appreciate those differences as assets rather
than liabilities. They create community.