Summary of Content 1. Meaning of Community and Neighborhood A community is most often defined as a geographically bounded locale that performs certain necessary functions for its residents. Nonlocale communities include groups of people with common interests who do not necessarily live in the same area. Neighborhoods are smaller geographic areas that are components of a larger community. 2. Contemporary Community and Neighborhood Stressors Community and neighborhood stressors are often embedded in contexts of poverty and discrimination, which themselves trigger significant life stressors. In some neighborhoods, residents have little or no contact with their neigh- bors because of pervasive violence. Conditions affecting a community include shortage of affordable, safe housing shutdowns of local hospitals business and factory closings the presence of toxic substances in schools and dwellings hazardous waste dumps and toxic emanations from workplaces and aging infrastructures that leave communities vulnerable to disasters. Such stressors weaken community and neighborhood structures and create severe stress for residents. Communities comprised of individuals with shared identities also may face stressors if they occupy a marginalized or stigmatized status. CHAPTER 14 INFLUENCING COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE