Features/Characteristics of Community
Let’s discuss in detail the features or characteristics of community on the following below:
1. Group of people: Community is a group of people. Whenever the individuals live together in such a way that they share the basic conditions of a common life, we call them forming a community.
2. Locality: A community is formed when a group of people live in a specific area, and this area may change over time, like with nomadic communities. However, most communities today are settled and strongly connected to their locality. Even with modern communication, the importance of locality in defining a community remains significant.
3. Community sentiment: Community sentiment means a feeling of belonging together. It is ‘we feeling’ among the members. Therefore, to create a community the sentiment of common living must be present among the residents of the locality.
4. Permanency: A community is not transitory like a crowd. It essentially includes a permanent life in a definite place.
5. Naturality: Communities are not made or created by an act of will but are natural. An individual is born in a community
6. Likeness: In a community there is a likeness in language, customs, mores, etc. According to Green, “A community is a cluster of people living within a narrow territorial radius, who share a common way of life.”
7. Wider Ends: In communities the people associate not for the fulfillment of a particular end. The ends of a community are wider. These are natural and not artificial.
8. Particular Name: Every community has some particular name. For example, people living in Punjab are called Punjabis while those living in Kashmir are called Kashmiris.
9. No Legal Status: A community is not a legal person. It cannot sue, nor can it be sued. In the eyes of law, it has no rights and duties.
10. Size of community: A community may be big or small. A big community such as a nation will contain within a number of small communities and groups with more close bonds of unity and more numerous common qualities.
Today, efforts are being made to extend the limits of community so as to include the whole earth and create one world community. Smaller communities like village or neighbourhood are the example of the primitive world. With the expansion of community to the dimensions of the nation, and even the world, smaller communities now remain only in degree. Both the types of communities, big or small, are essential to the full development of life. While the larger community provides peace and protection, the smaller provides friends and friendship.
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