The meaning of community is a tricky one. It is used in many different contexts and is a concept that means very different things to different people. A useful starting point is in the book Keywords by Raymond Williams. His research on the word community indicates that it has been part of English language since the 14th century, originally used to refer to the common people as opposed to those of rank, or to state or organised society. By the 16th century it was used to refer to 'the quality of having something in common' and ' to a sense of common identity and characteristics.' In time Community also came to refer to a particular quality of relationship, as well as a distinction between community and civil society on one hand and the state on the other.

There are many different types of community and the word is very ambiguous, but it is possible to dist

The government has a great deal of control over communities and it is important to understand that today they are often active creations. In the 20th century many attempts have been made to construct communities and today the type of community found in different areas is greatly influenced by social policy, legislation and the allocation of funds carried out through central and local governments. In the 1940's 'New Towns' such as Milton Keynes were built to relieve the pressure on older urban locations which were fastly becoming congested and overcrowded. Politicians and planners worked together to try and create the community spirit they saw as being so desirable. Part of their thinking was to achieve a social balance as they saw single class settlements as socially undesirable and politically dangerous, they attempted to do this by accommodating social groups roughly in proportions according to the national average and provided a variety of housing types, sizes and tenures. The town would provide a wide range of jobs and would not be dependent on one industry. The objective of the new towns were for them to become a 'microcosm of contemporary British society' (Aldridge 1979).

Marjorie Mayo (1994) Communities and caring-The mixed economy of welfare, Macmillan press

The first is a threat to identity. Plant et al 1980 and Nisbit 1967 saw the concept of community as a morally charged instrument of authority justifying state intervention in everyday life. wiener 1981 and colls and dodd in 86 stated:

Over the last twenty years the main way social policy has responded to these problems is by encouraging the development of community care initiatives, these can be split into two main categories 'Care in the community' and 'Care by the community'. Care by the community mostly applies to the elderly and puts emphasis on informal care by friends and family. Formal care plays a vital supporting role however, and enables friends and family care for the person with services such as home help and meals on wheels. Care in the community is quite different. This applies mostly to those with mental or physical disabilities or conditions and usually involves people with similar types of disability living in the same home, with varying degree of intervention by nurses or carers depending on the severity of the disability. This care differs from the old style institutional care because where the units are smaller the individual should ideally be able to live a more 'normal' lifestyle. Each resident should be allowed some choice over their actions and schedules and the integration into the surrounding community is encouraged.

Community liberated is a point somewhere between these two, which sees communities as having evolved and taking a different form. Community still exists but in networks rather than neighbourhoods. Simply because community is not about locality does not mean it no longer exists. This idea recognises the importance of community ties and the variety of links people have within the larger metropolitan area in networks. It this third viewpoint that I think best describes the notion of community in the 21st century.

Some common words found in the essay are:
North London, National Strategy, East Belfast, Raymond Williams, Milton Keynes, London Towns, Neighbourhood Renewal', Policy Legislation, Unit Set, , social policy, national strategy neighbourhood, inner city, community seen, policy legislation, concept community, 'care community', national strategy, meant people, 21st century, social support, social policy legislation, development community care, care community applies, policy legislation practice,
Approximate Word count = 2978
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)