Neighborhoods&Communities

Communities and neighborhoods go hand-in-hand. A neighborhood is typically geographically defined. A community is the people brought together not only geographically but by common ties. Within a neighborhood, there are often regulations that promote uniformity and cleanliness. Some neighborhoods are loosely formed, while other are "gated communities." Affluent neighborhoods tend to have better schools, resources, and safer environments than less affluent neighborhoods.

People often measure their self worth on that of others in their neighborhood- though they may not necessarily have community ties to them other than living within the same vicinity. If most residents exhibit a certain behavior, then members of that community- especially children growing up within the community- are likely to exhibit the same behavior. When people are proud of their neighborhood, they take care of it.

The boundaries and contents of neighborhoods are often changing due to zoning. Zoning prevents anything from being built just anywhere. While the community may not necessarily have a say in what is allowed and what is not, meetings of community members are often held to discuss these matters. Residents should have a say in what is built within their neighborhood.

PUD housing schemes are very popular in today's society. They allow more house for less money. These houses are often built very close together to cut down on supplies and maximize the economical return to the owner of the land. These are the houses we see built so quickly and cheaply, all with the same vinyl-siding clad homogenous look. Studies have shown that many owners of these cookie cutter homes are not fully happy with them, however they seemed the greatest value because the houses have more square feet for less money. Our society promotes conformity- thus home owners associations exist. While these associations may keep neighborhoods looking nice and neat, they may hinder creativity and expression through the appearance of one's home. There have been movements to create sustainable communities- in which the homes may be built of more sustainable materials and a portion of the land is dedicated to farming and/or left in its natural state.