Around the Neighbourhood: Exploring neighbour relations essay
In spite of its seeming simplicity, the concept of neighbourhood is quite complex and controversial. At first glance, neihgborhood and neighbour relations may be viewed as relations between people, who live next door to each other. However, such a viewon neighbourhood is apparently superficial. At any rate, many researchers (Crow, et al., 2002; Bulmer, 1986) argue that neighbourhood relations are complex social phenomena, which have to be studied in details to be understood properly and accurately.
“People are not forced into dependency on their neighbours, but nor do they behave like Beck’s ‘single individual’ (1992: 116) who eschews enduring commitments to others” (Crow, et al., 2002, 142). The authors stand on the ground that neighbour relations cannot be limited to the community-individual dichotomy. Instead, the neighbour relations should be viewed in more complex context as interactions between neighbours that give them greater freedom from community control. In such a way, the authors view neighbours relations as a sort of community within the community relations. As a result, the authors argue that individuals tend to develop interposal, neighbour relations as the attempt to set themselves free of the community pressure and to create their own social group at the lower than community level, at the level of the proximate neighbourhood.
“Neighnourly relations cannot be looked at apart from the existence of other support networks” (Bulmer, 1986, 86). Bulmer (1986) holds the premise that neighbour relations involve the complex interaction of diverse social networks. At any rate, neighbour relations cannot be limited to friendship or approximate living solely. Instead, the neighbour relations are complex and involve the close social interaction grounded not only on the common area, where the neighbours live but also on their close interaction, positive interpersonal relations, common social and economic interests and other issues which actually shape the overall concept of neighbourhood and neighbour relations.
In fact, the two quotes mentioned above are similar in terms of viewing neighbour relations as complex relations that cannot be viewed within the community-individual dichotomy. Instead, the authors of both articles agree that individuals develop complex social relations with their neighbours that makes them close and stimulates specific relations of neighbourhood.
However, Crow and other researchers (2002) view complex social relations between neighbours as an attempt to avoid the excessive and overwhelming community control. In stark contrast, Bulmer (1986) views neighbour relations as integral part of community relations, which are closely intertwined and dependent on each other. In such a way, Bulmer (1986) views neighbour relations as an essential element of community relations, which help individuals to integrate into the local community. Instead, Crow and other researchers (2002) view neighbour relations as relations oriented on certain disintegration of individuals from the community to minimize the pressure of the community on individuals.
In such a situation, the question arises: What is actually the vector of the development of neighbour relations: is it community integration-oriented or is it community disintegration-oriented?
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that the concept of neighbour relations is very complex and further studies are needed to understand whether neighbour relations help individuals to integrate into their local communities or, on the contrary, they serve to estrange individuals from their communities, preserving more privacy through shaping smaller, neighbourhood social networks.
