ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the structural and human elements of community, or the spaces and places that provide the context in which individuals and families should be able to function competently. It uses a multidimensional framework to examine competence at the community level, exploring physical and structural elements and human connections that contribute to social capital. The chapter focuses on a case study that addresses community conflict between groups of families who reside in the same neighborhood. Constructed or built elements are an important dimension of the physical environment. They affect the way communities are configured, including divisions based on natural boundaries or built capital that defines communities. Collective efficacy is defined as "social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good". Emerging from the original works of Solomon, the concept of empowerment works at the community level promotes relationships between community members.
