Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS

Community Analysis: The City of Garden City

Social Work Macro Theory and Practice
Wayne State University
Jodi Sviontek
November 8th, 2014

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Abstract
In this paper I will demonstrate my understanding of the community I grew up in, which is
Garden City, Michigan (G.C.). I will provide the statistics and data concerning the community I
grew up in and I will give figures of how many people currently live in the community and what
the cultural and racial characteristics are. I will describe the current nature of interaction among
different racial and economic population groups and how these interactions impact the
communitys relationships with other communities. I will also give details about the
communitys income, ages, and the political affiliations of the city. I will analyze the
community from what it was like when I was growing up to its present conditions. I will talk
about the industrial, residential, service, and commercial aspects of the community. I will give
examples of the implications of changes in the community of origin and explain how these
changes may have impacted diverse populations and populations at risk. I will describe how the
community has contributed to who I am as well as how its contributed to my ethnicity and
cultural identity. I have attached an asset map to help support my paper and illustrate points and
concepts to further analyze my community. I will show a connection of the community from
both a systems theory perspective and human behaviors theory. I will go in detail about a
problem my community is currently experiencing. I have attached an asset map based on my
research that will illustrate the communitys strengths that I feel will help the community in
overcoming this problem. Overall, in this paper I will demonstrate my understanding of the
community I grew up in and its cultural diversity to plan and develop interventions that will
address issues and problems that are facing the community.

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Community Analysis

A community can be defined in different ways to different people. I believe that some
definitions can be as simple as describing a community as a group or large amount of people that
have something in common or live in the same place. I also believe that definitions can be more
complicated, depending on the individual who is describing the definition. If one has a strong
interpersonal relationship to their community they may have a more in depth outlook of what a
community is. Some people may be very involved with whats happening to their community
whereas others may not be. People within the same community can differ in their perspectives
of what that community is and what changes are needed within it. Netting gives a couple of
definitions of a community: 1 A combination of social units and systems that perform major
social functions relevant to meeting peoples needs 2 People coming together around common
physical location, interests, cultures and/or other identities (2012). What it boils down to is that
there is a wide range of ideas and definitions of a community, as long as people have a cohesive
idea of what one is more than likely they belong to one no matter what their socio economic
status is or where they have been born.
Communities can be an important part of who a person is. In order to achieve a healthy
and rewarding experience from being part of a community, its important to recognize what
makes a community successful. Its the people thinking of a community on a smaller scale, for
example; of where a person was born rather than thinking globally links to the micro aspect of
social work practice. Fellin contends that there are three dimensions of communities; 1) a place
or geographic locale in which ones needs for sustenance are met, 2) a pattern of social
interactions, and 3) Symbolic identification that gives meaning to ones identity (2001).

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A community is a combination of social parts and systems that may orchestrate the major social
functions important to meeting peoples needs on a local level and in a society.
Part of what makes an efficient and successful community function is; distribution,
consumption, and production. A community is put forth and designed to meet peoples needs.
In order to meet peoples needs there needs to be grocery stores, gas stations and etc. these needs
may change within time. There needs to be an understanding of the structures and functions of
society that are relevant to the times and era that we currently live in, in order to accommodate
what is necessary for the communities of which people live in. Further, functions of a
community are socialization, which is the lifelong process of inheriting and accumulating norms,
values, traditions, and customs. For example; members of a community may perceive the value
of education and how important it is to have a good career and income. Another function is
social control which can be regulated by policies, community members adhere to norms and
values which understood. Social participation is how community members interact with others
in the community; examples are church, groups, and organizations within the community. Other
functions of a community are mutual support within the community, family and community
where members give support to one in a time of need. Other functions are defense of a
community and how it protects and takes care of its members. For example; community watch
programs. Another function is communication; the way a community communicates with one
another, and how they communicate and express ideas. For example; different members of the
community may communicate in different languages. There may be a need for change if these
community functions stop working or severely suffer.
The Community Before and Present

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I lived in the same community my entire life while growing up. I never knew the
difference of what it would be like to live in another community. My community was always
clean and pleasant. I was never exposed to other communities that were different than my own.
When I was young I never took the time to really contemplate or ask questions about my
community. I lived in my community and was happy so I assumed it was the norm and other
communities were similar. Other than hearing about prices of everything going up and taxes
(economic hardships of society) I never heard any real complaints about where I lived from my
family members or neighbors.
I grew up in Garden City Michigan (G.C.) a small city within Wayne County. The
origin of the city according to Garden Citys historical information on its website dates back to
1832, when the first settlers came from Ireland, Mr. John Lathers received a deed signed by
Andrew Jackson for 160 acres of land that is now bound by Ford Road, Harrison and Marquette.
The original developers of the city pictured it as an independent community containing enough
industry to support its citizens. They subdivided large lots, in many cases a full acre, to provide
residents ample space for small farming. They patterned the town after the "Garden City"
concept that became popular in England during the 19th Century. In 1927, the area was
incorporated into a village with an estimated of 900 and an area of 3,600 acres. In December
1933, the big step was taken to incorporate Garden City into a city, having an area of 5.8 miles
with a population of 2,500. A charter adopted that year provided for a Mayor-Council nonpartisan form of Government. November 1975 saw the installation of a City Manager to join
with the existing government. Today, the City has a population of just fewer than 28,000 and is
the 42nd largest city in Michigan (2014). Information given from the Census bureau states that
there were approximately 27,153 people who lived in G.C. in 2013. The cultural and or racial

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characteristics of the city in 2010 were 92.5 % Caucasian, 3.4% of the population was African
American, .4% American Indian, .8% Asian, and 2.1% Hispanic. The median income of
residents from 2008-2012 in the community are $55,270 and the population below poverty level
is 8.7%. The ages of person in household is 5.3% under 5 years old, 22.4% under 18, 58.3%
over 18 but under 65, 14% 65 years and older. The female population is 50.9%. Population of
foreign decent is 3.2%. Language other than English spoke 4.9%. 89% of the population has a
bachelors degree or higher. 12.3 % of people are veterans. Home ownership rate is 81.8%. Per
household there are 2.71 averages. Data regarding businesses within the community states that I
is suppressed and does not mean publication standards. I have attached a chart from the Census
Bureau, to this paper that shows the population change by age from 2000-2010 (2014). I find it
interesting because the chart does show a decrease in overall population over the years, there
doesnt seem to show a consistent correlation in reference to an older or younger population
moving in, just an average decrease of people.
Garden City is a Michigan home rule city that has a council-manager form of government
in which there are seven members elected to city council by a city manager to manage the
operations of the city government. The mayor and six council members make up the city
council, legislative body, in which the mayor is elected every two years and council members are
elected to two- or four-year staggered terms depending on the number of votes they receive. The
city council elects the city attorney and city manager. The mayor serves as the ceremonial head
of the city government, and overlooks city council meetings, and gets one vote on all matters
coming before the city council. The city manager elects all other heads of city departments with
the approval of the city council and is in charge to the city council for operations of the city
government.

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I attended high school at Garden City High, but attended Catholic school at a school in a
different city. There was small business and corporate companies in the community as I was
growing up. Small mom and pa car shops as wells as stores like CVS, McDonalds, and
Krogers. The city does pride itself on the fact it was location of the very first Kmart and little
Cesars, and that it is home of Henry fords honeymoon home. The community as it is now
doesnt seem to be much different as how I remember it from growing up, though there were
economic hardships that impacted the country as a whole the city continued to prevail and
provide its members efficiently with good and services. Industrially the community does not
have much manufacturing of goods or factories being that it is a small city though commercially
there are small businesses that are supported by advertising and provides services for the
communities. Residentially the city has a lot of suburban areas and homes which SEMCOG
shows the city currently has 11,616 housing units though in the last ten years there was a loss of
103 units. Housing value has gone down 13.7% within the last 5 years losing its value.
Currently 77% of homes are owned and occupied while 6% are vacant and 16% are rented.
There is a city hall, a police and fire station and hospital within the community. There is
a department of public services, a public library, a community center, civic center that are
municipal buildings within the community. Garden City has soccer fields, a park, a division of
Schoolcraft College (of which I did attend for a couple of years). In addition to the city having
its own High school, the city includes four elementary schools, one middle school, an alternative
education school and the Burger school for Autism. Information from SEMCOG states that
many graduates of Garden City high school has returned to the city has teachers and reside in the
community (2014). There are many services that are offered within the community such as; a
family resource center, a family strengthening program, youth assistance program, Relationship

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101 program, utilities program, etc. One thing that I found during my research that I am proud to
report is that the city has a department of planning and zooming program. The program provides
expertise and information to guide the public and community decision makers in providing
development, redevelopment, housing rehabilitation, improvements, and preservation for the
members of the community. I feel that this program was put in place to best serve its community
members. The city is small but for its square footage has many community members who reside
within its capacity. I feel that over the years the community members have shown that housing
and development is important to them, therefore the city has taken that into consideration with
implementing this program.
Netting says that Human ecologists specialize in structural patterns and relationships with
communities that are place-based (2012). Place-based communities are the overall dynamic of
the history, environment, culture, economy, neighborhood, of a community. Human ecologists
are concerned about how place-based communities deal with the processes of competition,
centralization, concentration, integration, and succession. Within human ecology theory
competition is how a community deals with possession of land, jobs, how the members vote and
resources. Centralization involves how groups organizations move to a location that is
considered the communities center or most desired area. Concentration is closely related to
centralization; where people enter communities, whether through immigration or migration and
go from great to small numbers.
In relation to my community, these concepts are real, whereas they happen in different
ways in every community. A good way to learn about a lot of communities is observing one
community. Competition, centralization, and concentration in relevance to my community are a
part of structure and function within a community. Groups and members move to locations that

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are central to their home and they will compete for jobs, land, and overall survival. Succession
within a community replaces one social group or set of organizations within the geographical
area. Gentrification is a controversial topic within urban planning it refers to a shift in an urban
lifestyle, increasing share of wealthier residents and business to increase property values. My
community does not endure succession or gentrification, for it is a smaller community that
doesnt have a lot of room for larger business to come in and move out residents or its
population. Stratification is ranking or socioeconomic tiers that places social groups into
categories. I feel that all communities place weight on stratification to identify different levels of
class. For example; in my community most residents are known as middle class based on their
level of income. There is an upper class, middle class, and lover class that has been established
in western societies.
Changes in the Community
The changes of my communitys origin have not really changed drastically overtime in a
broad sense. Through economic hardships that they country has endured the city has pretty
much kept its roots in mind. I believe that this has a lot to do with it being a smaller city and
really having the opportunity to understand and see what the community members need is. The
population has declined overtime but the city seems to still be thriving with a lot of important
individualized services that it provides to its members. The changes that I have noticed overtime
when conducting my research is that burglary and crime rate has gone up over the years. The
implications of these changes may deter perspective residents from residing in the city out of fear
of burglary and theft. High crime rates impose real economic costs on local residents. SEMCOG
shows that a recent study found that a 10% decrease in domestic property crime adds roughly

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1.7% to the selling price of local homes and Businesses tend to leave high crime areas, which
forces residents to do their shopping elsewhere and further erodes a communitys sense of
cohesiveness (2014). People want to feel safe and protected and if they feel that one of their
basic needs arent being met they will not want to come to the city to live. My concern is how
these changes impact diverse populations and populations at may risk because crime can
undermine the social fabric of the community. It can put vulnerable populations at higher risk
due to misconceived notions that they may be the problem of why there is higher crime and
burglary because of stereotypes of other community members from a racial and judgmental
viewpoint. Crime is associated with elevated rates of fear of strangers and general alienation
from participation in community life.
Nature of Diversity
Understanding the politics of diversity is important in order to assess the current nature of
interactions among different racial and economic population groups. Diversity is among
communities of residents who have different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. There may be
differences in racial or ethnic classifications such as gender, age, religion, socioeconomic
background, attributes, and behavior. Interactions within my community are that the members
are pretty accepting of others in the community. Though most of the population has similar
attributes, the community seems to respond well to others and different communities by keeping
lines of communication open with others and welcoming new residents of all backgrounds.
People who have characteristics that are labeled "different" do not necessarily feel excluded from
the community. This sense of belonging is developed within opportunities to interact with others
in the community. For example, newcomers to the community will join groups which will allow
them to interact with community members. Often involvement in community activities helps to

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integrate people into the community. In general, people who are involved in activities within the
community are more likely to feel a part of the community.
Community as Who I am
While reflecting, I have thought about how my community has contributed in making me
who I am today based on its location, demographics, and events by being an extension of my
environment. Our environment is a strong factor that contributes who we our as people. We
partake in social learning and since are community surrounds us we observe what is happening
around us and will often imitate. Growing up my community included my family, and friends
who have supported and given me strength to persevere and face any obstacles that I have
crossed. I do not think I could be there person I am today if not living and growing up within my
community. In regards to my ethnicity and cultural identity, I have grown up in a place where
my community members have shared similar backgrounds and cultural beliefs therefore it was
easy to relate to others and share communalities.
Theories
My community from a systems theory perspective assesses community functions and
involves comparison to other communities, by trying to incorporate the positive that is seen in
other communities and focusing on positive revitalization. In system theory actions that happen
in the community influences not only the members but the larger scale (Netting, et al). The use
of these System Theory concepts can help workers organize information and see the patterns in
complex community processes as they plan and carry out development activities with their
communities. My community has looked at the needs of the community members and has sought
out plans and developments to achieve their goals. For example; implementing programs that

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are beneficial for the residents based on a need such as, the department of planning and zoning
program that I have mentioned earlier in this paper.
My community from a human behavior theory focuses on the individual within the
context of the community as the unit of analysis it provides insight into relationships,
interactions, values, and needs of individuals (Netting, et al). It provides community
practitioners with crucial values about the difference trust and relationship can make in
community interaction. This is very beneficial for community members because they can find a
connection and an intimacy with one another in the community.
The problem I feel that the community is facing is crime and burglary, which I have
stated earlier in the paper. The community seems to be thriving in other aspects, like providing
beneficial programs for community members. Through research I have learned over the years
crime has risen. Based from my community asset map, which I have attached to help support my
paper, there is much strength that the community possesses. I have illustrated points and
concepts to analyze my community. I believe the communitys strengths will help this problem
and that coming together cohesively has a community to problem sole and fight this issue and
overcoming this issue. The community is strong in its cohesiveness and programs to be able to
identify the problem and try to find solutions to solve it. I will continue the community analysis
and intervention plans in the upcoming paper.
The Problem
Strengths and Weakness of the Community
Institutions
Affected Population

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Interviews
Assessment Tool
Survey
Analysis of Survey
Action and Development Plan
Plan evaluating change effort
Conclusion

In conclusion I feel I have demonstrated my understanding of the community I grew up

in and how all aspects of the community intertwines with how it serves the population that
resides within it. I feel that I have a good understanding of how to plan and develop
interventions that will address issue that I have identified regarding crime and burglary that has
risen within the community over the years. In order to fully understand a community, there
needs to be an understanding of both the structural and functional aspects that I have described in
the beginning of this paper. If any of these areas of function are not working, a community can,
experience failure. It may lose its ability to care for itself and its population.

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References
Fellin, P. (2001). The community and the social worker (3rd Ed.). Itasca, IL:
F. E. Peacock Publishers
Garden City, Michigan. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2014.
Netting, F., Kettner, P., McMurtry, S., & Thomas, M. (2012). Social work macro practice (5th
ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
SEMCOG Community Profiles People - Garden City. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2014.
United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2014.

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Asset Map: Garden City

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