A Community Sense of Belonging

Topic

A Community Sense of Belonging

Instructions

A Community Sense of Belonging: Contributions of Place in Developing and Maintaining Relational Community. Begin by defining place and space, and belonging. Talk about how belonging is facilitated or inhibited by places and things, and how people begin to feel like they belong in a community. Talk about space and belonging as it pertains to creating meaning. Talk about the meaning of home in the context of space and belonging. Discuss how our interrelationships with others in the context of community, contribute to a sense of belonging and spaces like prisons or “third spaces” can be places of belonging because of the relationships and community created. If occupational therapists can understand how people view space and place, and why they feel like they belong or don’t we can make great strides as a profession (Discussion of how occupational therapy’s increased understanding of your topic can contribute to an understanding of meaning in occupation as it occurs in the context of community. In other words, answer the “so what” question – Why should OT be interested in learning more about your topic?).

Answer preview

Space and place are words that denote common experiences. Space can be considered as the specific area within which people live in, while place as a broad spectrum of areas in which numerous spaces for living are located (Tuan, 2001). However, space and place are more complex than mostly thought of. People mostly find themselves talking of there being no other place like home, a phrase that one can use to implicate home as the old homestead, hometown, old neighborhood, or motherland. Although space and place represent fundamental components of the world people live in, there are unexpected meanings implied by people using the terms in a process that occur unconsciously.

Word count: 849