1.3 Nurturing Community Vitality

This article below builds upon insights developed by Vision Lifestyle Projects and Stewart Vella. Image by bearfotos.

Community Vitality

Community vitality concerns the quality of life in physical areas such as neighborhoods and gated communities. Organizations and companies could decide to nurture those communities, in the form of volunteering, sponsoring or investments.

Community vitality can entail both tangible and intangible aspects (i.e. functional and emotional value). Tangible aspects could be related to the quality of the designed environment and the facilities available. The intangible aspects relate to a certain ‘vibe’ of the community where people feel welcome and safe. The consultancy agency Vision Lifestyle Projects has defined the concept of community vitality in a practical setting, namely elderly retirement villages. With the help of a rigorous research method, they identified 16 practical themes, which can provide guidance for any kind of physical community or neighbourhood. The 16 themes fit four broad areas, capturing both functional and emotional values: facilities, activities, psychological feelings and value.

Facilities

1. Physical environment: quality of the buildings, communal facilities and outdoor recreational areas.
2. Sustainability: The community environment is clean and well maintained. Resources such as energy and water are used wisely and waste collection/recycling is well managed.
3. Access to services: Residents can easily access all of the offline- or online services that they require, either in the near vicinity or accessible transport.
4. Recreational opportunities: The community provides access to facilities (whether within or outside the neighborhood) that allows residents to live a high quality of life. Facilities are provided that are of value to the residents and that are of personal interest to residents. Community facilities promote active relaxation and social engagement.
5. Health: Residents are provided with an opportunity to maintain good health. Residents have access to medical and emotional support, are conscious of health issues, and feel that the community enhances their life expectancy.
6. Representation/Advocacy: Residents feel that they are fairly and capably represented in the community. The elected committee, staff and management advocate for all residents and work together for mutual benefit.
7. Management Processes: Community management have respectful, informative and inclusive processes. There is open and honest communication between management, staff and residents. Residents are given full explanations and information on decisions that are made concerning them.

Activities

1. Fitness: Residents can actively work on maintaining their health and fitness.
2. Involvement: Residents are given the opportunity to actively participate in community activities, including social and cultural events, sporting and recreational pursuits.
3. Volunteering: Residents are given the opportunity to actively volunteer, support and serve the community and wider community.

Psychological feelings

1. Safety and security: Residents feel safe and secure in the community. Residents feel protected from crime, safe when they are alone, and safe in the event of an emergency.
2. Trust: There is an accumulated atmosphere of trust in the community. The residents feel that they can trust staff and management. Residents feel that they are trusted by staff and management. There is mutual trust between all residents
3. Voice: Residents’ thoughts are encouraged and respected. They feel free to express their opinions, are listened to and treated fairly, and freely participate in community meetings and elections.
4. Respect: There is an accumulated atmosphere of respect in the community. The residents feel that their privacy, independence and wishes are respected by the community staff. There is a mutual respect between all residents regardless of their differences. Residents are free to express their opinions, feel that they are listened to, and are treated fairly.
5. Independence: Residents feel that they are afforded the opportunity to be independent within the village. They feel that they are able to be an individual, that their independence is respected by staff and management, and that they are able to make decisions concerning themselves.
6. Belonging: Residents have a strong sense that the community is their home. They feel that they belong within the community and are satisfied that their extended family are happy with the community. Residents are free from all forms of discrimination.
7. Social engagement: Residents do not feel socially isolated within the community. They have a sense of friendship and social support within the community from residents and/or staff. Residents feel that they are not alone in the community.

Value

1. Economic: Residents see value for money from their capital outlay and on-going payments to the community. Residents feel financially secure and have the financial capacity to live a fulfilling life in the community. (Living standards: (1) Income and wealth; (2) Housing security; (3) Food security; and (4) Economic security.)
2. Personal development: Residents actively pursue and develop their personal interests, capabilities and knowledge both inside and outside of the community. Residents continue to feel that they are getting the most out of life.
3. Residents are likely to refer the community to a friend.

References

Vella, S. (2012). Community Vitality Themes & Questionnaire: Development, Definition and Validation. University of Wollongong, Australia.