Community and Social Capital

What Is the Difference

Bibliographic Data

ID2274732
AuthorsGlenna Colclough (University of Alabama in Huntsville), Bhavani Sitaraman (University of Alabama in Huntsville)
Year2005
Volume75
Issue4
Pages474-496
Publication date2005-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0245 • E-ISSN: 1475-682X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1475-682x.2005.00133.x
OpenAlexW2036823035
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited24

The ideas of community and social capital have received much attention in the last decade, but are plagued by a multitude of conceptualizations, definitions, and operationalizations. This confusion is problematic for both researchers and policymakers trying to use these concepts. While numerous efforts have been made to clarify “social capital” and “community,” too often the two are simply conflated. This paper attempts to distinguish between them by looking at the various ways they are related in concrete examples. Drawn largely from the literature, five examples are offered that together describe the complex interactions of place-based communities and social capital networks. These examples also demonstrate distinctions between community and social capital with regard to boundaries, the qualities of social relations and trust in each, instrumentality, the consequences of one for the other, and issues related to multiple communities in a single place. It is hoped that these distinctions will inform the ongoing efforts to develop unique and useful conceptualizations of these two terms

Capital (architecture) · Conflation · Confusion · Economics · Epistemology · Multitude · Political science · Positive economics · Public relations · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies