The Dictionary of Human Geography

Comp. by: LElumalai Stage : Revises1 ChapterID: 9781405132879_4_C Date:31/3/09
Time:21:45:55 Filepath://ppdys1108/BlackwellCup/00_Blackwell/00_3B2/Gregory-
9781405132879/appln/3B2/revises/9781405132879_4_C.3d

and mechanical structure’ (To ̈nnies, 1955

[1887], p. 37). For To ̈nnies and the Chicago

School, urban neighbourhoods could provide

the kind of mutual support required for a com-

munity such as that found in a ‘rural village’

(To ̈nnies, 1955 [1887], p. 49; Park, 1967

[1925]). Nonetheless, in To ̈nnies’ formula-

tion, community was being replaced by society

throughurbanizationandindustrialization.

Although To ̈nnies acknowledged a possibility

of community in urban neighbourhoods, his

formulation situated community primarily in

pre-industrial rural settings. Equating commu-

nity with the intimacies of village life, however,

fails to acknowledge the political and economic

inequalities inherent to such a setting – Joseph

(2002, pp. 4–5) cites Williams (1973) on this

point.

To ̈nnies’ (2001 [1887]) conceptualization

of community as a traditional ‘rural’ phenom-

enon sets it in opposition to or pre-dating

industrial capitalism (Bender, 1978; Joseph,

2002). This conceptualization fosters and sup-

ports claims such as that of communitarians –

exemplified by Etzioni (1993) and Bellah,

Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler and Tipton

(1985). These scholars see community as

missing from, or left behind by,modernity.

They seek a return to mutual support and

responsibility, which, they argue, form the

basis of community and social values (Bellah,

Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler and Tipton, 1985).

Such notions of community have been import-

ant to thegovernancestrategies of the neo-

liberalstate(Herbert, 2005: see alsoneo-

liberalism). These strategies – such as welfare

reform and communitypolicing– transfer to

individuals or groups of citizens’ activities

and roles that were formerly assumed by the

state. But Herbert (2005) argued that many

communities – often conflated with neigh-

bourhood from Chicago School formulations

in these state devolutions – are unable and

unwilling to assume these tasks, thus fostering

a disconnect between ideals of community

and actual experiences of them in neo-

liberalism.

The failure of community to act in lieu of

the state highlights its status under capitalism.

Seeking to challenge the notion of community

as antecedent of and potentially in opposition

to the individualization of capitalism, Joseph

(2002) argued that capitalism actually pro-

duces community. In her view, community is

not merely or primarily a set of shared social

identities, although it is often depicted as such

in identity politics (for an example, see Young,

1990a). Instead, community is performed

(seeperformativity) and practiced through

relations and practices of production andcon-

sumption: ‘Marx articulates the necessary role

that historically particular and differentiated

social formations play as the bearers of capital,

as the medium within which capital circulates

. .. ’ (Joseph, 2002, p. 13). Community is a
way that people articulate use values within
the circulation of production and consump-
tion, thereby supplementing and particulariz-
ing the abstractness of capital. Joseph’s
(2002) formulation of community as operat-
ing in and through capitalism forces reconcep-
tualization of it as a positive reaction or
antidote to capitalism. It may support or dis-
rupt capital, but neither outcome is evident
a priori(Joseph, 2002). Instead, scholars need
to attend to the particularities of community;
how it is produced and performed discursively
and in practices, and to what end. dgm

Suggested reading

Herbert (2005); Joseph (2002); Williams (1973);

Young (1990a).

commuting The daily journey to work,

implying a repetitive daily trip from a fixed

home location to a fixed work location. The

term dates to the mid-nineteenth century,

when wealthy businessmen began travelling

from their suburban dwellings to their

urban worksites via railroad: the ‘commuta-

tion’ of their daily tickets to lower-priced

monthly fares led to the term ‘commuter’

(Muller, 2004). The peaking of journeys to

and from work during the morning and even-

ing rush hours and associated road congestion

have been a prime focus of transportation

planning since the 1950s. Telecommuting

involves using information technology to work

while the worker is not physically in the work-

place. sha

compact city A policy goal associated with

advocates ofsustainabilityin Western-world

urban planning. Proponents seek to mitigate

automobile-related energy use, urban air pol-

lution, andsprawl-related farmland and habi-

tat loss by promoting the re-use of urban

brownfield sites, high-density and mixed-use

development, and public transit. The compact

city ideal permeates discussions of urban

sprawl, smart growth,quality of lifeand

questions of urban housing availability and

affordability. A range of opinions exist on the

veracity, feasibility and acceptability of the

compact city as a model for achieving urban

sustainability, from outright advocacy, to

Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_C Final Proof page 104 31.3.2009 9:45pm

COMMUTING