ancient cities

Furthermore, research conducted by theorists
more accepting of the argument regarding the
declining significance of place and locality has led
to an exploration of the inherently socially constructed
nature of community. Accordingly, community
is seen as something that is symbolically
constituted around particular beliefs and forms of
social practice such as festivals, identity parades,
and neighborhood gatherings. In this view, community
becomes something that is interpreted in
many different ways and subject to an ongoing
process of redefinition and negotiation.
Notwithstanding the definitional and methodological
dilemmas surrounding the employment of
the concept of community, the frequency and
salience of its habitual usage has ensured its continual
relevance to urban and community studies.
Alan Gerard Bourke
See also Chicago School of Urban Sociology;
Community; Gans, Herbert; Urban Anthropology;
Urban Sociology
Further Readings
Arensberg, Conrad M. and S. T. Kimball. 1968. Family
and Community in Ireland. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Bell, Colin and Howard Newby. 1971. Community
Studies: An Introduction to the Sociology of the Local
Community. London: Unwin.
Dennis, Norman. 1969. Coal Is Our Life: An Analysis
of a Yorkshire Mining Community. London:
Travistock.
Gans, Herbert. J. 1967. The Levittowners: A Way of Life
and Politics in a New Suburban Community. London:
Allen Lane.
Lynd, Robert S. and Helen M. Lynd. 1929. Middletown:
A Study in American Culture. New York: Harcourt
Brace.
———. 1937. Middletown in Transition: A Study in
Cultural Conflicts. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Park, Robert E., Ernest W. Burgess, and Roderick D.
McKenzie. 1967. The City. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Stack, Carol. 1974. All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival
in a Black Community. New York: Harper & Row.
Stein, Maurice. 1960. Eclipse of Community: An
Interpretation of American Studies. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.
Condominium
185
Suttles, Gerald. D. 1968. The Social Order of the Slum:
Ethnicity and Territory in the Inner City. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Young, Michael D. and Peter Willmott. 1957. Family and
Kinship in East London. Harmondsworth, UK:
Penguin.
Co n d o M i n i uM
A condominium is a form of housing in which
property is both owned in common and individually
owned. It can take various forms, from
apartment-style structures, townhouses, and even
fully detached housing communities. Apartment
units or flats within the structure are individually
owned, whereas other areas such as hallways,
stairs, and lobbies, and amenities like swimming
pools and tennis courts are common property
shared by those who reside in the building complex.
Community members, generally in a homeowners
association, elect a board of directors
who manage the common areas of the property.
Purchasing a condominium is similar to buying
a house. A mortgage is paid to the bank, and a
deed is signed. The difference lies with the space
that is being bought. The owner of a condominium
is purchasing only the space within the unit, not
the structure itself or the property surrounding the
structure.
There are advantages and disadvantages to
owning a condominium. For retired individuals
and the younger generation who are unable to
afford a starter home, condominiums offer affordability
and stability. A condominium can be less
expensive than a single-family (detached) house,
while the owner is still able to build equity and has
ownership rights. There is also less responsibility
in owning a condominium than owning a freestanding
home. Households are provided with the
same maintenance and repair services that one
would find with a rental unit. Owners do not have
to worry about shoveling snow, raking leaves, or
making repairs outside the home.
There are also disadvantages. In addition to
paying a mortgage, owners must pay monthly
maintenance fees, which are used to manage the
building and its public spaces. Condominium owners
also face restrictions. Because space that exists