3. The local community and the neighborhood in a simple form of society are synonymous terms. In the city, however, where specialization has gone very far, the grouping of the population is more nearly by occupation and income than by kinship or common tradition. Nevertheless, in the large American city, in particular, we find many local communities made up of immigrant groups which retain a more or less strong sense of unity, expressing itself in close proximity and, what is more important, in separate and common social institutions and highly effective communal control. These communities may live in relative isolation from each other or from the native communities. The location of these communities is determined by competition, which can finally be expressed in terms of land values and rentals. But these immigrant communities, too, are in a constant process of change, as the economic condition of the inhabitants changes or as the areas in which they are located change.
Besant, Walter. East London (London, 1912).
A remarkable account of an isolated community in a metropolis. (V, 1; VII, 2; IX, 1, 2, 3, 4.)
Buchner, Eberhard. Sekten und Sektierer in Berlin, Vol. VI in “Grossstadt Dokumente” (Berlin, 1904).
An intimate account of the habitat of the many obscure religious sects that congregate in local communities in the large city. (VII, 2; IX, 2, 3, 4.)
Burke, Thomas. Twinkletoes: A Tale of Chinatown (London, 1917).
A romantic account of London’s Chinatown. (VII, 2.)
Daniels, John. In Freedom’s Birthplace (Boston and New York, 1914).
The Negro community in Boston. (VII, 2.)
Dreiser, Theodore. The Color of a Great City (New York, 1923).