Who is DC: Community, Neighborhoods, and Urban Change

Vocabulary flashcards covering core community studies concepts, neighborhood dynamics, knowledge frameworks, and gentrification terminology from the lecture notes.

Gray Areas

Contested/complex topics with ambiguous issues, no clear conflict, and a focus on neighborhood identity.

Fault Lines

A source of contention within a neighborhood.

Wicked Problems

Issues that are unique, have no right answer, have no ultimate/immediate test for an ultimate solution, are limited by one's worldview, and where solving part of the problem reveals another problem or side to the story.

Neighborhood Identity

The collective personality of a neighborhood as determined by shared ethnicity, history, language, culture, etc., with the potential to change over time due to external and internal events and factors.

Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT) Nodes

A storytelling framework consisting of three community storytelling levels: the microlevel (local residents), the mesolevel (community residents), and the mesolevel (geoethnic/local media).

Beginner’s Mind

An "I Thought-" mindset that recognizes initial biases or perceptions of a concept or neighborhood.

Neighborhood/Group Efficacy

The idea of trusting one's neighbors enough to pursue a common goal and promote change within one's neighborhood, typically aiming to subvert the "I" vs "We" and "us" v. "them" mindsets.

Vicarious Citizenship

Also known as diasporic citizenship; the exercise of rights, political claims, and cultural participation by nonresidential stakeholders who identify politically, economically, or socioculturally with a local community.

Geoethnic Media

Media specific to a geographical location or ethnicity.

Storytelling Action

The process of connecting narrative structures with human emotion and behavior in an attempt to drive change, motivate audiences, and drive movement.

Public Erosion/Digital Erosion

The death of physical and digital media, especially as information has a progressively shorter half-life due to a lack of upkeep, particularly in cases of monolingual information.

Local Knowledge

Experiential and place-based knowledge held by local residents about an area. Pros: dynamic, practical, and hyper-local; Cons: hyperlocal, restricted by location.

Expert Knowledge

Formal and technical knowledge held by researchers. Pros: generalized, testable, and quantitative; Cons: lacks nuance, focuses from top-down rather than ground-up.

Heritage

Tangible items and intangible customs that get passed down across generations, focusing on the positive and meaningful aspects of a community's history while ignoring the negative.

History

The objective facts regarding past events, usually detached from emotion but able to fuel emotional responses, showcasing both good and bad.

Place-Based Community

A community in which all connecting ties are exclusive to a space defined by borders or otherwise.

Community (General)

A community that has intangible ties that transcend location, connecting instead via shared customs, culture, interests, etc.

Gentrification

A process of neighborhood change when wealth and affluence flows into historically-disadvantaged neighborhoods, therefore changing the economic, physical, and demographic identity of a neighborhood.

Displacement

A condition occurring when housing, neighborhood, or otherwise external conditions force low-income residents to vacate their homes and spaces (categorized as Direct, Indirect, and Exclusionary).