Social Cohesion

Social Cohesion refers to "the extent to which residents share a sense of community, an attraction-to-place, patterns of regular interaction among themselves, and a sense of trust and mutuality" (Fulbright-Anderson and Auspos).

Apply: When a community developer is entering a community, it is important they recognize and understand the strength of the community's social cohesion.  If there is a strong sense of cohesion among residents, the community developer would start their initiative in a different place than they would if there was a weak sense of cohesion.  With a weak sense of cohesion, they would need to first focus on bringing neighborhood folks together to build greater cohesion.  Further, the strength of the cohesion will affect resident involvement and participation, and developers would have more work to do to gain group participation and, likely, support.

Adapt: If a business is looking to open up shop in a community, it would be in their best interest to gauge the sense of social cohesion in the community.  For example, if a payday loan shop wants to open a branch in a neighborhood that has a strong sense of social cohesion, residents are more likely to fight back against such a place being opened.  On the other hand, if they do not have a strong sense of social cohesion, it might be easier for the payday loan branch to open because there is less potential for a cohesive agenda or organized action.


Source: Fulbright-Anderson, K (2006).  Community Change: Implications for Complex Community Initiatives.  In K. Fulbright-Anderson and P. Auspos (Eds.), Community Change: Theories, Practice, and Evidence. The Aspen Institute.