The Annual of the Society of Economic Sociology
Online ISSN : 2189-7328
Print ISSN : 0918-3116
Contributory Papers (Refereed)
The Structure and Dilemmas of Local Resident Organizations and Community Organizations from the Perspective of Community Studies
Mitsu Inagaki
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2021 Volume 43 Pages 140-149

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Abstract

Community is an old and new research topic, and as a key concept in sociological research, it continues to be of interest to this day. However, although attempts to form communities have been made in many places, they are still in their infancy. This paper, therefore, presents an overview of community studies in Japan from the post-war period to recent years, in order to present the issues in community formation today and suggestions for future community development research and practice. Even from the postwar period to the recent years, the perception of community has been in flux depending on the era. In the process of experiencing rapid changes in social structure, such as declining birthrate, aging population, decreasing productive population, and increasing relative poverty, as well as repeated large-scale natural disasters, it has become clear that there is a growing desire to form communities through the acquisition of specific methodologies and practices. The issue that arises is the segregation of the organization and activities of traditional community organizations and community organizations. Community organizations are expected to replace traditional community organizations in areas where local communities are declining, but this may prevent community organizations from fulfilling their original purpose. In order for community organizations to become organizations that work to solve local problems, it will be necessary to understand the characteristics of existing resident organizations and community organizations, and to consider how to segregate their activities, without losing the boundaries with traditional resident organizations. In addition, it is necessary to be an organization that is open to people outside the region, taking advantage of the characteristics of a community organization that operates in a wide area.

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