In
the
early
1980s, locals in a
remote
fishing
village along the
coast of Apo
Island
in
the
Philippines
observed
that
their fish catch
was
rapidly
dwindling at
an
alarming
rate. They found out that, for years, some fishermen
were using dynamite and cyanide fishing methods,
resulting to the destruction of corals and marine life.
Confronted with this crisis, villagers and fisherfolk came
together and collectively decided to prohibit dynamite
and cyanide fishing.
Through their initiative to protect their
environment, villagers were also able to
expand their source of livelihood through
adding handicraft production and ecotourism. More so, it is because of their
collective action that Apo Island has
become a source of local pride, serving as
a model for coastal communities. Apo
island is one of the oldest marine reserves
in the Philippines.
Inspirational stories about community and community action like that of the Apo
Island fishing village illustrate the significance of the community as an
indispensable part of everyday life.
Learning
about
communities
is
key
to
appreciating our daily interactions with others, as
we locate ourselves in a web of social
interactions.
Being
entangled
in
these
connections constantly help us realize that we
are part of a larger social group.
We associate with social groups for many different
reasons. Knowing the range of reasons why people
come together, why they form relationships and
bonds, and how these operate in the broader
social setting makes us further appreciate the
value of the meaningful actions and contributions
that we impart to our community.
Moreover, understanding the dynamics within our
community aids us in responding to the collective
challenges we face. Addressing these challenges
through community initiatives and interventions
requires a familiarity of the community – people,
history, and issues.
Different disciplines in the social sciences are
devoted to deepen our understanding of
communities, community life, and community
action: the social sciences – anthropology, social
psychology, sociology, political science, public
administration, human geography, linguistics, and
development studies – contribute in developing a
rich and robust literature on community studies. It
is
filled
with
an
array
of
approaches,
conceptualizations, theories, and problem-solving
methods that help people learn, understand, and
improve community life.
What is the importance of
understanding community
dynamics?
(as a single individual)
What is the importance of
understanding community dynamics?
(as part of a collective)
First, the definition…
The word community, considered as a Late Middle
English term, is derived from the Latin word
communitas which means “fellowship.” Its Latin
roots, communis, means “common.” Com translates
to “with” or “together;” whereas munire translates
to “to strengthen,” “to fortify,” or “to defend.”
To fully understand and define a community and its components,
one should not see it as what one sees it, but also how it can be
seen from different views and angles.
There are various perspectives of community. Each
perspective emphasizes a particular approach and
treatment in the study of communities:
 The
Social Science Perspective
 Institutional Perspective
 Civil Society Perspective
 Organic Perspective
A
social
science
perspective
toward
understanding communities is premised on the
social dimension of individual life – the interactions,
relationships, and bonds formed by individuals with
other individuals and how these are manifested in
the formation of organizations within communities.
Learning about communities using this perspective
essentially incorporates ideas and concepts
gathered from fields of knowledge, such as
anthropology, social psychology, sociology, and
political science, to name a few. These disciplines
offer varied insights and lessons in understanding
the meaning and relevance of community.
Greek thinkers like Plato have conceptualized the
ideal (political) community, referred to as the polis
(city-state), to be composed of various classes,
each performing roles and functions in pursuit of
communal goals.
Alongside Plato’s idea of a political community,
Aristotle emphasized the role of political
institutions in maintaining and sustaining order
within a community. From these, ideas and
conceptualizations of community have evolved
through the historical junctures of western
civilizations.
The study of communities using a social science
perspective goes beyond knowledge of the
origins and history of communities.
A social science perspective can be employed to
learn how a community deals with problems and
crises. Take the case of disaster-affected
communities. A sociological lens may be used to
gather valuable insights about how members of a
community work as a collective in order to
address the effects of a disaster to life and
livelihood.
Political science draw attention to the interactive
political processes between societal forces and
government
agencies
in
preparing
and
responding to disasters.
Through the close study of the attributes and
values of communities, anthropology can offer
insights on how disaster management agencies
can
effectively
communicate
disaster
preparedness
and
response
strategies
to
community members.
Communities have a mechanism for coordinating
values, goals, and actions of its individual
members. Social institutions perform this function.
Social institutions arise from voluntary shared
agreements among individuals that generally also
shape their behavior as a collective.
Institutions are established
rules that ensure the regular
and predictable behavior of
actors within a community.
Nobel
laureate
Douglass
North describes institutions as
the “rules of the game” that
shape a community and
society in general.
Institutions structure incentives and sanctions –
whether political, social, or economic – to regulate
human action and interaction, thus, shaping how
communities and societies evolve through time.
In broad terms, institutions are categorized as
formal and informal.
Formal Institutions
Informal Institutions
Explicitly communicated,
embodied
in
legally
codified documents or
artifacts.
Examples:
Laws
and
policies
that
are
implemented
by
a
government agency or
office.
Not
written,
but
embedded
in
communities, operating
due to the interactive
process of preference
exchanges and social
expectations that occur
therein.
Community
Institutions
Community
Institutions
Individuals in a community take part in creating
and formulating institutions.
These rules, in turn, are applied to them or a
subset of their community.
This illustrates that despite the potential conflict spurred
from individual self-interests. Communities are capable of
constructing and imagining their identity as a group. Thus,
communities are also capable of framing their goals and
aspirations despite the diversity of its members.
Since institutions regulate the behavior of
community members. Having institutions also imply
that, as a collective, a community has a notion of
what is normative. This refers to the ideal
standards, models, or conduct that is based on
what is collectively considered as appropriate or
proper. In this context, normative pertains to set
ideals, goals, and objectives, which pursuits are
aligned with community standards.
The term civil society conventionally refers to a political
community of organized groups operating within the
authoritative parameters of the state. From the view of
politics, it is distinguished from the state to broadly
refer to
organizations that are private,
autonomous
from
the
government, and which are in
pursuit of advocacies, causes,
and goals.
It is an aggregate of
active groups and
associations, such as
businesses, organized
interest groups, and
clubs. Civil society
has
also
been
referred to as the
third sector, distinct
from
the
state
(government)
and
the market (business).
Non-government
organizations
(NGOs)
and
people’s organizations (POs) are common
examples of civil society organizations. These
organizations actively pursue political and social
development goals through a variety of actions
and strategies. A fundamental characteristic of
these organizations is the voluntary nature of its
membership,
with
emphasis
on
citizen
participation.
In most cases, the goals and strategies of NGOs
and POs complement with those of the state.
NGOs and POs are presumed to work in
partnership with the state in a cooperative mode
to address societal problems in the areas of
environmental protection, social welfare, the
promotion of human rights and civil liberties, and
local development, among others.
POs are independent, autonomous entities,
officially registered and acknowledged as
organizations according to the rules and
standards set by the state. Perhaps, one of the
significant features of POs is its claim to represent
impoverished,
vulnerable,
and
marginalized
communities. POs may be organizations outside a
community. Members of the local community are
integrated into POs through cooperative or
participatory
activities
that
heighten
their
relevance, impact, and representational function.
In the case of the Philippines, POs and NGOs are
officially registered in the Philippine Securities and
Exchange Commission.
NGOs and POs in general…
Are formed by ordinary citizens, that operates
autonomously of government.
They are to work for the betterment of society and
economy as well, bring awareness of human
rights, women empowerment etc.
In addition, there is also the non-profit organization (NPO)
An organization set up to provide goods and
services to people, and operates on the principle
that no member will receive share profits or losses
of the entity is known as NPO.
They are to promote art, science, research,
commerce or any other useful purpose.
Similar to the behavior and
voluntary characteristic of NGOs
and POs, a social movement is
form of collective behavior which
springs largely from attitudes and
aspirations of its participants.
Social movements are formed
when civil society organizations
and
non-affiliated
individuals
share
sentiments,
views,
approaches,
and
solutions
addressing issues and problems in
society.
What
distinguishes
a
social
movement from NGOs and POs is
that it is composed of a variety of
loosely affiliated organizations,
united by common views toward
particular socio-political issues.
There is no formal membership in
social movements. Individuals who
are not members of organized
citizen groups fluidly enter and
exit social movements. Being a
part of social movements requires
commitment and activism.
In the Philippines, issues such as land reform, labor
rights, corruption, reproductive health rights,
religious freedom, ethnic and indigenous rights,
and bureaucratic reform have historically become
impetuses (emphasis) for the formation of social
movements.
ORGANIC PERSPECTIVE
An organic perspective of community refers to local or
grassroots groups within a particular locale that are driven
and organized because of community issues and concerns.
They are referred to as “grassroots” because of their local
and capacity-building characteristics. It is generally
conceptualized as the formation of neighborhood
organizations, rural or urban, convened to pursue local
development goals or address particular issues, such as
crime prevention, environmental protection, or waste
management.
Grassroots communities are able to strengthen their sense of
community as they work together in pursuing an identified
task or goal.
Grassroots organizations or movements are typically
composed of volunteers from the local/community level.
As individuals, we create situations and
opportunities that allow us to interact with one
another and form social relationships and groups
within a community. Our relations and human
connections are shaped by the places and
meaningful spaces where we exist. The
knowledge, interests, identities, and meanings we
share with one another also affect our
interactions. Interrelationships and organizations
are mediating elements that connect an
individual with the community.
Individuals associate with other
individuals
through
their
commonalities
in
attributes,
sentiments,
histories,
and
experiences. These associations are
referred to as interrelationships.
Interrelationships can be facilitated
through familial relations, affinities or
feelings of kinship, and social
networks.
Families
and
its
networks
have
figured
as
a
dominant
aspect
of
Filipino
communities.
Interrelationships in
communities
are
said
to
have
typically evolved through networks of blood
relations and affinities, or what is known as the
Filipino “extended family.”
One
prominent
social
scientist, Alfred McCoy.
Conducted a study on
the role of the family in
the socio-political and
historical development in
the Philippines. In his
study, “An Anarchy of
Families:
State
and
Families in the Philippines”,
McCoy emphasized how
families play an essential
role in the development
of Philippine society, its
culture, and politics.
He
articulated
that
community relations are
essentially defined by the
relations between and
among families. Families
and clans play an active
role
in
the
cultural,
economic, and political
aspects
of
Filipino
community life.
There
are
also
circumstances
when
interrelationships
and
social connections are
formed and deepened
because people find
themselves confronted
with various issues and
problems.
When
individuals
find
themselves
in
challenging
predicaments such as
natural disasters and
famine,
they
come
together and join their
capacities and efforts in
pursuit of common goals
or common interests.
It is this “thinking beyond the self” and the sense of
community that make people come together and
address the issues and problems they commonly
confront.
Understanding communities require
that we examine its structure and
dynamics. By structure, we refer to the
attributes and characteristics of the
relations of the component parts of a
community. An examination of the
dynamics of a community requires a
look into the exchanges, interactions,
and changes of a community across
time. Learning about its different
dimensions and how these interact,
allows us to depart from a static view
of communities toward one that will
help us explain how communities
change and develop.
There are four structural dimensions that lend insight
in understanding the dynamics and development
of a community: geographic, socio-political,
economic, and cultural.
(As I have told you before, last school year –
geography decides everything)
The geographic dimension in community focuses
on how a community is shaped by the physical
space it uses and the location of its resources –
human, natural, and technological.
Each community has a specific and unique
geographic system where interaction between
and among its inhabitants occur. Institutions
regulate these spaces as legal jurisdictions. Goods
and information also circulate within geographic
systems. It also has a political-administrative
character,
since
geographic
systems
are
characterized by zones and boundaries that are
either natural or defined by the rules of the
community.
An examination of a community’s geographic
system would typically start by looking at the
scope and limits of its territory, distribution of its
population, and the location of its resources.
(Has something to do with power and control)
Niccolò Machiavelli
Socio-political dimension refers to the relationship
of power and control between individuals and
groups in a community.
Political leadership, whether formal or informal,
and how it is accepted and sustained by
community members are important factors that
help analyze the quality and processes of
decision-making in the community.
Accountability, legitimacy, and participation are
critical issues related to political leadership.
Knowing the socio-political system of communities
also helps in characterizing the
relationship between stratified
groups and the extent
of their dominance
or marginalization.
(Who gets what? Who decides who gets what?)
Economic dimension refers to the means by
which members of a community allocate,
produce, and distribute scarce resources to
address their wants and needs. It is the aspect of
community that is concerned with how exchange
value is created and what systems of exchange
occur within a community.
(Culture is relative)
In its broadest sense, culture refers to the people’s
way of life. It encompasses the values and beliefs
that are passed on from one generation to
another.
It embodies the collective sense of a people and
what matters to them as a community, such as
their
relationships,
memories,
experiences,
backgrounds, hopes, and dreams, amidst their
individual differences. More importantly, the
culture of a community expresses their visions of
the future and what they intend to pass to the
next generation.
A study into the cultural dimension of
communities provides an understanding of how
culture affects members of a community and
how this relates to community dynamics and
processes.
Community issues and problems are typically
multidimensional. This means that the challenges
communities face can be analyzed through a
combination of interrelated dimensions namely:
geographic, socio-political, economic, and cultural.
The dominant analytical
approaches
in
studying
community dynamics and
processes
focus
on
community power relations,
leadership,
and
social
change.
There are two kinds of power structures in a
community: formal and informal.
The formal power structure form the legalauthoritative basis of elected and appointed
government officials and leaders of civic
organizations.
There are two kinds of power structures in a
community: formal and informal.
The informal power, on the other hand, exists
alongside the formal-institutional power structure;
it is harder to empirically identify, but is an equally
significant factor in a community’s development.
(Consult lecture on informal institutions)
In
examining
power
relations
within
a
community, it is necessary to investigate the
critical actors, stakeholders, and the resources
they control. These actors can broadly be
distinguished as legal-authoritative decisionmakers and influencers.
They are individuals or bodies
whose authority is based on
formal rules and institutions. City
mayors,
legislative
council
members,
and
barangay
captains are examples of legalauthoritative decision-makers in
Philippine communities. Typically,
legal
authoritative
decision-makers
occupy
positions of authority through legally mandated
processes like elections or through formal political
appointments.
They are individuals or groups who do not have
direct authority, but are capable of shaping
decisions that affect the community. Influencers can
propose, pressure, and affect decisions made by
legal-authoritative decision-makers according to
their interests or agenda.
Examples: NGOs and POs, social media influencers,
businesses, private companies, foreign relations
Analyzing community power relations can
also include an examination of the positional
arrangements of actors and groups based
on the resources that they control or possess,
the extent of their reputation, and their
degree of social participation.
In the context of a community, leadership refers
to the processes and qualities of command and
decisiveness with regard to the necessary actions
that ensure the welfare of the community.
Community leaders are individuals selected,
nominated,
and
appointed
as
stewards,
vanguards, and champions of issues relevant to a
community.
These individuals demonstrate skills, capacities,
and attitudes that are critical in steering the
community toward their goals and aspirations.
Community leaders occupy positions of high
reputation and authority within the community. As
such, community leaders occupy important
positions in the hierarchy of power within a
community. They have the ability to mobilize
capacities to influence critical actors and local
partners in solving problems that confront a
community.
Social change
occurs for a
number
of
reasons. It can
be due to the
opposing and
contradicting
forces within a
community
leading to the
alteration of
its conditions
and structural
dimensions.
It may encompass a range of socio-civic
outcomes,
such
as
the
increased
understanding of the community, attitudinal
change, changes in the configuration of
civic participation, the building of public
trust, or changes in the policy that
redistributes the community’s material
resources.
Social change is indicated in the changes and
shifts in the attributes and characteristics of
groups within the community, such as their
demographic character, their
control of
resources and wealth, or their attitudes and
outlooks.
In
the community, social change may be
observed when there is a significant and
observable difference between past and current
conditions in community life. Social change is said
to occur, for instance, when there is an
observable rise in education and literacy in a
community.
 Formal-informal
 Local-global
 Rural-urban
This typology emphasizes leadership and power
relations in the community. Formal communities
are characterized by institutionally structured
hierarchies, which define the relationship between
authoritative and subordinate actors and groups.
Communities that are typified through these
features are driven by institutions, which not only
show the location of power relationships, but also
assign community members their specific roles and
functions. Interrelationships within the community
are defined and delineated by these assigned
functions.
Informal communities are said to be generally less
rigid compared to formal communities. Informal
communities are seen to typically operate through
socio-cultural mechanisms within the community
structure. Interrelationships thrive through loose
connections, such as social networks and personal
relationships.
It should be noted, however, that the formalinformal typology simplistically bases its categories
on the function of institutions, formal and informal,
in characterizing communities.
This focuses on the scope and breadth of communities
with respect to its geographic dimensions and the
reach of its other dimensions (e.g. economic, sociopolitical, and cultural). Local community is a group of
individuals interacting within a shared environment,
while a global community stretches beyond the
frontiers of a local community, transcending national,
supranational, and regional demarcations. Global
communities are not constrained by geographic
boundaries. They consist of individuals and groups who
share values, beliefs, preferences, needs, risks, interests,
identities, and other attributes beyond physical, cultural,
and politico-geographic borders.
The rural-urban typology of communities is based on
the distinction in terms of development, industrialization,
ecological conditions, and lifestyle. Rural communities
are characterized as pastoral, agricultural, and are
located along periphery of urban centers or in the
countryside. Communities in these areas are less
modernized and the lifestyle is slow and idyllic.
Examples of these communities in the Philippines are
farming and agricultural communities in northern and
central Luzon, or local fishing villages in the coastal
areas and islands in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Urban
communities
are
described as industrialized and
commercial
centers
where
population density is relatively
high
compared
to
rural
communities. Urban communities
are
also
sketched
as
technological,
modern,
and
cosmopolitan. Examples of these
communities in the Philippines
are metropolitan centers, cities,
and municipalities located in
Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.
 Production-Distribution-Consumption
Communities provide its members livelihood
through the use of its resources (e.g. land, industry,
services) and the system of exchange embedded
therein such as trade and commerce.
 Socialization
Communities have processes that shape
social behavior by instilling to its members norms,
values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. This is done
through mechanisms of transference, such as child
rearing, education, traditions, and practices.
 Social
Control
Mechanisms within communities, such as
social pressure or formal institutions, regulate the
conduct and behavior of community members.
 Social
Participation
Communities thrive through the association
and involvement of its members. These are
exemplified in the groups and organizations within
communities such as religious associations,
businesses, and neighborhoods.
 Mutual
Support
Communities offer its members interactions
that encourage cooperation and solidarity.
Community identity is forged not only within a
geographic territory but also due to the
relationships and bonds formed by individuals of
shared values, interests, and goals.
 Defining and characterizing communities can be
done using various perspectives – social sciences,
institutional, civil society, and organic. Each of
these perspectives emphasize particular features,
attributes, dimensions, and characteristics which
allow us to analyze, understand, and appraise
communities.

Communities have geographic, socio-political,
economic, and cultural dimensions.
 Communities can be categorized according to its
formal-informal
features,
rural-urban
characteristics, local-global distinctions, and the
characteristics viewed from community-based
organizations.
 Communities perform the following functions:
production-distributions
and
consumption,
socialization, social control, social participation,
and mutual support.
