A commentary on community living: Finding and creating a sense of community

Abstract

A sense of community is very important to an individual, as it helps him/her maintain a sense of belongingness and benefit from the availability of social support. While there is a great deal of research regarding how communities are created and maintained, there is still much more to be done. This article describes an informal investigation into peoples’ understanding of community, how they found their social niches, and discussions of the similarities found between different interviewees. The initial approach was to compare and contrast two very different cities: Boston and New York, highlighting the impact the environment has on the ability of one to create his/her social group. However, what was found through conversation was that community is less about the location one is embedded in, and more about lifestyle choices.