ABSTRACT
The word ‘community’ resonates throughout our lives. It embraces a quality of life that seems universally valued: a sense of belonging which absorbs some of the stresses and strains of an increasingly fragmented existence. Community refers to that layer of society in which interaction takes place between people who are neither close family and friends, nor yet total strangers. Community is neither private nor fully public. It shapes our social identity and helps us make sense of a complex and dynamic world.
