German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies distinguished between two types of human association: Gemeinschaft (usually translated as "community") and Gesellschaft ("society" or "association"). In his 1887 work, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Tönnies argued that Gemeinschaft is perceived to be a tighter and more cohesive social entity, due to the presence of a "unity of will." He added that family and kinship were the perfect expressions of Gemeinschaft, but that other shared characteristics, such as place or belief, could also result in Gemeinschaft. Gemeinschaft (community) shall therefore be the focus for these writings.
Many different writers, sociologists and public's percieve many different types of community and what is and what isn't a community. Community is 'the sense of belonging' and thus i believe that everyones perception is valid should this sense be present.
The major types of communities identified are as follows:
- Cohousing
The vast majority of existing cohousing communities had considerable resident input into the design process as it unfolds. For neighborhood-level cohousing, site designs generally cluster housing with enhanced pedestrian and play areas to promote frequent, spontaneous human contact - cars (roads and parking) are usually de-emphasized and set apart from the homes and primary common spaces. Cohousing can also take other forms, including large, shared buildings, and groups of existing dwellings that are retrofitted into Cohousing communities. While many, and probably most, cohousing communities have been self-developed, there are an increasing number of cohousing projects which start with leadership from commercial developers.Cohousing communities, typically, use private, home ownership as part of the community's economic model - making it relatively easy for forming groups to obtain construction and mortgage financing from conventional banks. You may also wish to learn more about what Cohousing is not.Most cohousing communities have a "common house," a building (or space within a larger building) that most often includes a large kitchen and dining room, with a wide range of other possible facilities. This shared space is intended to act as an extension of the individual private homes, and many cohousing homes are smaller than their non-community counterparts.
- Eco-village
Around the world, many people are starting to use the term 'ecovillage' to describe their communities, projects, and other endeavors. What do people mean by 'ecovillage'? What do these projects share in common, and how are they diverse? First, ecovillage is a vision, an ideal, a goal. Except for some aboriginal villages that have retained their ancient sustainable cultures, there are no examples of fully realized ecovillages as of this writing. Those using the term are describing a commitment or intent to live more sustainably, reintegrating their lives with ecology.
- Kibbutzim
There are 285 kibbutzim (communal settlements) in Israel today. Though most are not religiously focused, a few are. The vast majority are affiliated with the Kibbutz Movement, a pluralistic umbrella organization. While all are more or less politically left wing, kibbutzim have diverged widely from the high level of similarity and centralized economies that characterized the movement just a generation ago. In response to intense economic, political, and generational pressures, most groups have become less communal and allow much more individual choice around finances and job selection. It remains to be seen whether this trend toward diversification and privatization will ultimately produce a stronger, more resilient movement.
- Religious and spiritual
Religious and Spiritual communities range from long-standing Catholic monasteries and nunneries to the newest New Age groups. Some have a very unified practice, with all in the community sharing a single practice while others have members following a variety of paths. The main thing they all have in common is that they tend to use community as a tool to further their spiritual agenda, rather than as an end in itself. Being gathered into a community allows participants to separate from the temptations and diversions of the outside world, and provides more intense reinforcement for living the focused life of the religious aspirant. We can view spiritual community as a cauldron that creates an intense, focused heat not easily found elsewhere. Many spiritual leaders have recommended or even required that their followers live in a community of believers, as a way to deepen their spiritual life and promote the internal changes that move them closer to the ideal. If you choose to enter the life of a religious community, it is important that you accept the religious practice of the group, without thinking that it will be perfect once you get them to change one or several aspects you don't agree with.
- Egalitarian
One group of such communities that is very active in the US communities movement is the Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC)[1]. Each member community agrees to four principal values: egalitarianism, income sharing, cooperation, and non-violence. Each member has equal access to the decision-making process, and to the resources of the community. FEC communities range in size from family size groups to village size, with their decision-making and resource-allocation systems generally becoming more structured and complex as their size increases. Because of the large overlap of shared values, the FEC communities have been able to create and maintain a variety of inter-community connections and projects, including a work exchange program, joint businesses, and a major medical insurance fund.
- Student co-ops
Student housing co-ops are associated with a number of colleges and universities, providing a low-cost alternative to dorms, apartments, fraternities, and sororities. Students often choose co-ops initially for the lower cost, and only discover the interpersonal benefits after they move in. For many young people, student co-ops provide them with their first taste of intentional community. Houses range in size from small houses with a handful of residents, to large buildings that house over a hundred co-opers. Some co-ops restrict members to students while others draw members from the broader community. Student co-ops generally subscribe to the principles of the Co-op Movement, known as the Rochdale principles, written down by a group of weavers in Rochdale, England in 1844. In brief, these are: 1) voluntary and open membership; 2) democratic member control; 3) member economic participation; 4) autonomy and independence; 5) cooperation among cooperatives; and 6) concern for community. The North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO)[1] is the organizational voice of the student Co-op Movement. It provides education, training, networking, and development assistance to existing and new student housing, dining, and business co-ops.
- Shared Housing
Many of us living in larger, more organized communities got our start living together in casually structured, shared households... there are also hundreds, if not thousands, of shared households which self-identify as communities (see Communities directories).
There is overlap between "shared households" with other types of communities. For example, there are Egalitarian communities which occupy a single house, which would probably be considered a shared household by most people. Many Student Co-ops similarly occupy single houses. It is not usual for shared households who self-identify as Intentional Communities to label themselves as Cohousing.
- Co-ops
housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. The occupancy agreement specifies the co-op's rules. Cooperative is also used to describe a non-share capital co-op model in which fee-paying members obtain the right to occupy a bedroom and share the communal resources of a house that is owned by a cooperative organization.
Some of information published here is from:
http://wiki.ic.org/wiki/Category:Types_of_Community
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