Types of

COMMUNITIES
Activity
Urban or Rural
I. Classification of
Communities
 1. Rural-Urban
This classification is basically geographical in
nature. Rural areas are separate and away from
the influence of large cities and towns.It is known
as the countryside, farmland, or agricultural land.
Urban areas, on the other hand, are called cities
or towns.
To help clarify the difference between urban and rural areas, Landmark (nd) gave
the following questions:

Questions Rural Urban

In a community away from the city In the city with not much open space
Where is it? with a lot of open space and natural and natural areas.
areas.

Who lives there? Majority are poor people coming from

Many are educated, professionals, and
the farming, fishing, and mining
businessmen. However, there is also a
sectors who failed to finish college
lot of urban poor and informal settlers
education.
coming from the labor sector.
 Questions Rural Urban

How many people live in it? High density of human

Low density of human population population

Poor infrastructure facilities With the presence of

What are the services?
for electricity, water, infrastructure facility
transport, educational
institutions, health,
employment, etc.

Land is for the buildings of

What is the land used for?
Land is for agriculture/ farming government, educational
institutions, corporations;
business establishments and factories;
high-rise housing/ condominiums:
infrastructure
 Questions Rural Urban
Farming, fishing, teaching,
What jobs does people have? Information technology,
barangay health workers,
professionals (medicine,
etc.
engineering, teaching, research), labor
works, informal street and community
works; corporate works

How do people treat each other? In some parts of the urban

They have a sense of
unity and belongingness. community, sense of unity is far from
that of the rural area. People are a bit
They also have less
indifferent with each other and there
social mobility and social
is a
diferentiation. feeling of distrust. There is more social
night life because of the presence of bars,
restaurants, and entertainments.
 2. Local-Global
The local-global community refers to "spatialized
networks of social relations." Global and local are "not
spatial structures but different representations of space
competing against each other in a process to determine
the society of that society." (Guy, 2009 as cited in
Shanyana and Endofirepi, 2015)
 Guy (2009) further described global community and local
community as the two opposite sides of distinction. This
distinction is used in communication as a code to produce
information about people and culture. The challenge is to be
cognizant of social realities and regard local culture in the advent
of globalization. "Think globally, act locally" presses people to
consider the situation of the entire planet and to take action
locally, in their own communities and cities.
3. Physical Space-Virtual Social Space
A social space is either physical or virtual such as
online social media or a center or gathering place where
people interact. Physical space refers to unlimited three-
dimensional expanses in which material objects are
located. On the other hand, virtual social space refers to
nonphysical spaces created by the development of
technology
(Zahi Alrayyes, 2012).
 With the development of online communication, the
concept of community went beyond geographical
limitations. Now we have a virtual community, a
congregation of people communicating and interacting
with each other through information technology. People
now gather virtually online and share common interests
irrespective of physical location. Before the rise of the
Internet, virtual communities were limited by
communication and transportation constraints.
 Why is it important to understand the distinct
characteristics of each community classification?
What does "think globally and act locally" mean?
II. Types of Communities
 Generally there are three types of community: geographic
community or neighborhood, community of interest or
solidarity, and intentional community. Pramila Aggarwal (nd)
provided a description of each type:
1. Geographic Community or Neighborhood

This type of community focuses on the physical

boundaries that make it distinct or separate, such as a
river or a street. It has a diverse population with
individuals or groups occupying different physical
spaces and each with special attributes such as religion,
economic status, etc.
2. Community of Identity
This community has common
identifiable characteristics or attributes
such as culture, which means language,
music, religion, customs, and others.
3. Community of Interest or Solidarity
This community incorporates social
movements such as women's
rights, environment, peace, and human rights.
Individuals may be connected to their community
of interest at the local and international level. It
may also be formal or informal or both.
4. Intentional Community
This community refers to individuals that
come together voluntarily and support
each other. Members may share the same
interests and identity or geographical
location.
 Awareness and appreciation of the different types of communities help
researchers and agents of social change to focus and deepen their analysis
of a particular community. These guide them in identifying which particular
community matches their research interest or political advocacy.
 If a social agent is into advocating peace issues, then he or she can
collaborate with a community of interest or community of identity.
However, collaborative work or forging of partnerships requires a lot
of study and dialogue.
Is it possible to have all the types of communities
present in one geographical community?
Salamat!
Thank you for listening