Community Walk About

Communities perform important functions necessary for human needs. Community is defined as "the organization of social activities that affords people access to what is necessary for day-to-day living, such as the school, the grocery store, the hospital, the house of worship, and other such social units and systems"( Netting, F E; et al, 2004 ).

In this experiential exercise, I decided to conduct a walk-about of my community, Highland Park. I have lived in the area for about seven years and I do not really consider myself an active member in this community. Highland Park is surrounded by neighborhoods such as Garfield, Morningside, Stanton Heights, Shady Side, and East Liberty. It is primarily a residential area and is one of the most racially diverse neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. Its residents are about 65 percent white, 30 percept black and 5 percent Asian and other races; it is a racial makeup that closely resembles that of the entire city.

The Highland Park community comprises of landmarks such as the Pittsburgh zoo, PPG Aquarium and a park, Highland Park. Some of the houses in this community are mansions and showcase some the elaborate styles that were popular during the Victorian times. These houses are expensive and are located in sort of a secluded area, in close proximity to the zoo and park. I noticed that the other houses which are not as ornate are within spitting distance of East Liberty and the Garfield area which are areas with less affluent families and with high crime rates. Most of these houses located close to these areas are in poor conditions and the sections are not as kept as that of the elaborate houses.

Another thing that I noticed, as I explored my community was the location of the businesses in the area. The businesses are mainly situated on Bryant Street, which is somewhat of an isolated area, that is, if you do not live close to that street you will be unaware of the stores there. As a matter of fact, I was not aware of stores there till I conducted a walk-about of the area. Some of the businesses that I noticed were bars, dry cleaners, dog grooming, hair salons, tax agency, pizza restaurants, child care, and supermarkets etc. There was a drug store located on North Negley Avenue, which is one of the main streets in the area that everyone from the surrounding communities take to get to downtown or other parts of the city. It seemed like the drug store got more business probably because of this aforesaid reason, but I am not sure if the owners of the businesses on Bryant are purposely catering to the residents in the area which are well off.

From observing people in the Highland Park, it seems that most people stick together. Even though, the community is so diverse, they all tend to associate with people on their street. For example, my family and I have been living in Highland Park but only know a few people on my street; we only know them from attending a church in a different community. It seems as though there will be more interaction amongst people in the