Essay 42 (Lack of community in cities)

Essay Questions Academic June 2012 (Philippines)

With the increasing number of people in cities, most do not know their neighbours and the sense of community is lost. What is causing this? How can we turn it around?

Essay (not edited)

The life of people in the city, unlike in the countryside, is generally characterised by a lack of community feeling.  A number of reasons can be attributed to this tendency among city dwellers.  This situation can be addressed effectively if certain proactive steps are taken by the urban population.

One of the major reasons for the isolated lifestyle in cities is the busy schedule of people due to extended working hours and long commuting time.  To explain it further, many business firms in cities demand their employees to work beyond the usual hours and owing to heavy traffic congestion getting to and back from work is a time consuming affair.  Even at home people need to be engaged in their household chores, which leave them with hardly any time to interact even with their immediate neighbours.

Furthermore, the ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity of people in cities, who come from different parts of a country or even other nations, does create serious hurdles for easy socialisation.  For instance, in a city like Bangalore in India, people from all parts of the country who speak different languages live in the same apartment building.  This makes it difficult for them to interact easily with each other.

An ideal way to deal with this problem is to encourage people to visit their neighbours on weekends and make friends with them.  For example, occasionally people who live next door can be invited for dinner or a special occasion, which can improve interaction with them.  Joining neighbourhood cultural forums and charity groups is another effective method to create a sense of community among city dwellers.  For example, families that live in apartments or housing colonies can form associations and meet occasionally to work for the welfare of the neighbourhood.  Finally, using a common language like English for communication is also very useful.  Such initiatives can definitely enhance a sense of unity and increase socialisation among people who live in cities.

To conclude, a lack of community feeling is prevalent in city life, but if people make a genuine effort to interact with each other, this problem can be solved to a great extent.

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