Identifying Neighborhood Characteristics in the Cases of the Brutus and Chenequa Communities

Understanding communities and neighborhoods is not always an easy thing to do. Between the different types of power found in neighborhoods, the types of neighborhoods out there, the changes in neighborhoods there is a lot to look at when viewing a community or neighborhood. This paper will use the case example of Brutus and Chenequa neighborhood to identify some of those neighborhood aspects.
Power
There are many ways that people come into power. Power is the potential ability to move people on a chosen course to produce an effect or achieve some goal (Kirst-Ashman, 2011). In this section we will see seven different ways people in Brutus’s community have power.
Information and Wealth
Information is great source of power; it gives insight into an issue, might provide access to ideas and give one an advantage to achieve ones goal (Kirst-Ashman, 2011). In Brutus case he did not have much information therefore he did not have much power. However, his neighbor, Chenequa had a lot of power because she had information on programs other than the nursing home that could help him.
People with money have more choices and options than people who are poor; it also affects interactions with certain people (Kirst-Ashman, 2011). Again Brutus does not have a lot of power in the sense of money because he has been struggling with finances for a while. However the doctors, optometrists, and other helpers that are giving the elderly discounts have wealth and power to do that.
Reputation and High Status
People who are highly respected have the power to influence others. Chenequa has a good reputation with Brutus. Since Brutus likes and respects Chenequa he was willing to listen what she had to offer and went along with some of her ideas (Kirs...

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...but still has high interpersonal interaction, high identification with neighborhood, and high social connections. Soon though it will start loosing those three things one by one which will result in a major decline. After that heavy decline the neighborhood will not just be run down but heavily deteriorated and then it soon will turn into a unhealthy and nonviable neighborhood.
Understanding communities and neighborhoods is not always an easy thing to do. Between the different types of power found in neighborhoods, the types of neighborhoods out there, the changes in neighborhoods there is a lot to look at when viewing a community or neighborhood. Hopefully this paper was useful in identifying some of those neighborhood aspects.

References
Kirst-Ashman, K. (2011). Human behavior in the macro social environment. (3rd ed., pp. 303-355). Belmont, CA: Brookes/Cole.