Community centre

Last updated

Sonoma Community Center in Sonoma, California. Sonoma Grammar School, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma, CA 6-12-2010 5-02-54 PM.JPG
Sonoma Community Center in Sonoma, California.

Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a specialized subgroup within the greater community. Community centres can be religious in nature, such as Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu or Buddhist community centres, or can be secular, such as youth clubs.

Contents

Uses

The interior of a community center in Brasstown, North Carolina The interior of a community center in Brasstown, North Carolina.jpg
The interior of a community center in Brasstown, North Carolina
Community centre in Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. Buergerhaus Ronhausen.jpg
Community centre in Marburg an der Lahn, Germany.

The community centres are usually used for:

Organization and ownership

Community centre in Klaukkala, Finland. Monitoimitalo Monikko.jpg
Community centre in Klaukkala, Finland.
Protestant Community Centre in Dubravka, Bratislava (Slovakia). Evanjelicke centrum stvrteho bratislavskeho obvodu.JPG
Protestant Community Centre in Dúbravka, Bratislava (Slovakia).

Around the world (and sometimes within single countries) there appear to be four common ways in which the operation of the kind of community centre are owned and organised. In the following description, "Government" may refer to the ordinary secular government or to a dominant religious organisation such as the Roman Catholic Church; and it may refer to the central, national, or international branch of a government/church or to the local subdivision of it.

Types of community centres

Community hall at Chelsea Victoria in Australia. Chelbara and community hall b.jpg
Community hall at Chelsea Victoria in Australia.
The DRU Cultuurfabriek in the Netherlands is based on a former iron foundry. The main building was used once for the administration. 2014-03 drucomplex 09.JPG
The DRU Cultuurfabriek in the Netherlands is based on a former iron foundry. The main building was used once for the administration.

The community centres typically have their own origin and history. There are some examples:

Schools as community centers

Early forms of community centers in the United States were based in schools providing facilities to inner city communities out of school hours. An early celebrated example of this is to be found in Rochester, New York from 1907. Edward J. Ward, a Presbyterian minister, joined the Extension Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, organizing the Wisconsin Bureau of Civic and Social Development. By 1911 they organized a country-wide conference on schools as social centers. Despite concerns expressed by politicians and public officials that they might provide a focus for alternative political and social activity, the idea was successful. In 1916, with the foundation of the National Community Center Association, the term Community Center was generally used in the US. By 1918 there were community centers in 107 US cities, and in 240 cities by 1924. By 1930 there were nearly 500 centers with more than four million people regularly attending. The first of these was Public School 63, located in the Lower East Side. Clinton Child's, one of the organizers, described it as:

"A Community organized about some center for its own political and social welfare and expression; to peer into its own mind and life, to discover its own social needs and then to meet them, whether they concern the political field, the field of health, of recreation, of education, or of industry; such community organization is necessary if democratic society is to succeed and endure".[ citation needed ]

In the UK many villages and towns have their own Community Centre, although nearby schools may offer their assembly or dining hall after school for Community Centre activities. For example, local schools near Ouston, County Durham may host dance or sporting activities provided by a local community centre. [2]

Grassroots functions

Parks are also considered community centers. Another pioneer of community centers was Mary Parker Follett, who saw community centers as playing a major part in her concept of community development and democracy seen through individuals organizing themselves into neighborhood groups, and attending to people's needs, desires and aspirations. This can also include parks.

In the United Kingdom, the oldest community centre is possibly that which was established in 1901 in Thringstone, Leicestershire by the old age pensions pioneer, Charles Booth (1847-1916). Extended in 1911 and taken over by the Leicestershire County Council in 1950, this centre still thrives as an educational, social and recreational community resource and was the inspiration for numerous others of its kind.

There are also community centres for a specific purpose, but serving the whole community, such as an arts centre.

Online community centres are defined as a web-based interactive, user-submitted network for groups, organizations, or businesses. Users create their own personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, art, calendars, music, and videos to display on their own pages. Administrators provide oversight to the content and approve membership of users.

Urban planning

In Singapore, community centres are distinct buildings that are officially designated by the government of Singapore. They are meant to play an urban planning role especially as part of Housing Development Board projects. Enrichment and grassroots organization are their functions like most other community centres, but relieving traffic congestion concerns by placing community centres nearby is also another reason.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public space</span> Places generally open and accessible to everyone

A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, such as public libraries, are public spaces, although they tend to have restricted areas and greater limits upon use. Although not considered public space, privately owned buildings or property visible from sidewalks and public thoroughfares may affect the public visual landscape, for example, by outdoor advertising. Recently, the concept of shared space has been advanced to enhance the experience of pedestrians in public space jointly used by automobiles and other vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housing estate</span> Group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development

A housing estate is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Town hall</span> Chief administrative building of a municipality

In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, guildhall, or municipal building is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments, and their employees. It also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, county or shire, and of the executive arm of the municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public participation (decision making)</span> Extent to which societies encourage the people to share in organizational decision-making

Citizen participation or public participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the public to express opinions—and ideally exert influence—regarding political, economic, management or other social decisions. Participatory decision-making can take place along any realm of human social activity, including economic, political, management, cultural or familial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth work</span> Community support activity

Youth work is a community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In general, it provides an environment where young people can engage in informal educational activities. Throughout the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, youth work is "to facilitate personal, educational, and social development." Through participative activities and coordinated programs, it seeks to enable young people in "gaining a voice, influence, and place in society in a period of their transition from dependence to independence." By nature and design these activities would be inclusive, educative, and empowering, and based on partnership, equality of opportunity, and respecting diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic center</span>

A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the term "civic center" has been used in reference to an entire central business district of a community or a major shopping center in the middle of a community. In this type of civic center, special attention is paid to the way public structures are grouped and landscaped.

The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens, and professionals to improve various aspects of communities, typically aiming to build stronger and more resilient local communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community organizing</span> Process where a community works together based on a common problem

Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Norwood</span> District of south east London, England

South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and Addiscombe, east of Selhurst and Thornton Heath, south of Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood and Anerley, and south-west of Penge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maylands, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Maylands is a riverside inner-city suburb approximately 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) northeast of Perth centred on the Midland and High Wycombe railway lines on the northern bank of the Swan River.

A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace of Culture</span> Community centers in socialist states

Palace of Culture or House of Culture is a common name for major club-houses in the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern bloc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandra Kurla Complex</span> Business district in Mumbai, India

The Bandra Kurla Complex is a business and residential district in the city of Mumbai, India. It is a prominent upscale commercial hub which commands some of the highest property rates in the country. According to MMRDA, the complex is the first of a series of "growth centres" created to "arrest further concentration" of offices and commercial activities in eastern parts of Mumbai. It has aided to decongest the CBD in South Mumbai while seeding new areas of planned commercial real estate in the metropolitan region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic engagement</span> Individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern

Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to protect public values or make a change in a community. The goal of civic engagement is to address public concerns and promote the quality of the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizen media</span> Journalistic content produced by private citizens who are not professional journalists

Citizen media is content produced by private citizens who are not professional journalists. Citizen journalism, participatory media and democratic media are related principles.

Democratic media is a form of media organization that strives to have the principles of democracy underlying not only the production of content, but also the organization of the entire project. Civic media is another term with similar concept and therefore can be used interchangeably in many contexts. The mission of the defunct Center for Civic Media of MIT is to design, create, deploy, and assess tools and processes that support and foster civic participation and the flow of information between and within communities, working at the intersection of participatory media and civic engagement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban horticulture</span> Science of growing plants in urban environments

Urban horticulture is the science and study of the growing plants in an urban environment. It focuses on the functional use of horticulture so as to maintain and improve the surrounding urban area. Urban horticulture has seen an increase in attention with the global trend of urbanization and works to study the harvest, aesthetic, architectural, recreational and psychological purposes and effects of plants in urban environments.

Myanmar has been under the rule of repressive authoritarian military regimes since 1962. After the 1974 Socialist constitution was suspended in 1988, constitutional protection of religious freedom has not existed, after the bloody suppression of the 8888 Uprising. The authorities generally permitted most adherents of registered religious groups to worship as they choose; however, the government imposed restrictions on certain religious activities and is accused of abusing the right to freedom of religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kominkan</span>

A kominkan, or citizens' public hall, is a kind of Japanese cultural center. Kominkan provide structured learning programs in arts, sport, handiwork and cultural activities, to children, youth and aged people. They are generally funded and administered by local governments.

Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchism, can include bicycle workshops, infoshops, libraries, free schools, meeting spaces, free stores and concert venues. They often become political actors in their own right.

References

  1. Jacobsen, Jan Steen. "Stenstrup Forsamlingshus: Et hus for ideologi og fællesskab" [Stenstrup Community Hall: A house for ideology and community] (in Danish). kulturarv.dk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. "Ouston Community Centre". oca.me.uk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2011.