Introduction The community chosen for the conduct of the current community assessment exercise is Crystal City, Missouri which is located in Jefferson County 27 miles to the south of the city of St. Louis. The major idea of founding this city was the production of glass because in the neighboring territories sand of perfect quality had been found. Thus, the first settlements in the area of the present-day Crystal City were founded in 1803, while the city itself appeared in the second half of the 19 th century when The American Plate Glass Company and Crystal Plate Glass Company were united into Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, and the name of the settlement was changed from New Detroit to Crystal City. Nowadays, Crystal City is a small but developing town in Missouri that lies along the Mississippi River. Its population, according to the 2000 Census is 4, 247 citizens with 1,622 households, and 1,111 families, while the area amounts to 4, 1 square mile. The following paragraphs will reveal the social conditions of the community taking into consideration such significant elements as housing, transportation, commerce, race, politics, and some others (Crystal City, Missouri, 2008). Housing and Zoning Housing, as one of the most important aspects of every community, is not very varied in Crystal City. In other words, there is no distinct division of housing units according to their age, because the majority of houses and buildings in the area were built in the first half of the 20 th century, while the average age of the housing unit in Crystal City is 47 years. According to the architectural style, it is also mainly uniform because all the houses of the old-style possess no specific distinctions and are similar t each other. Only those homes that were remodeled by their owners differ in style and design and are more likely to use modern materials like plastic, while the old ones use wood, stone, etc. The placement of the housing units is standard neighborhood form with differences observed in property and décor of houses. Houses are detached with detached garages and a private parking area located off-street. On the whole, housing is in good condition, it keeps to the style of “little town” and is accessible for potential buyers – the average cost of buying a house in Crystal City amounts to $144,900 (Crystal City Real Estate, 2008). Space Use The use of space in Crystal City is rather adequate meaning that residential areas take the main part of space in this small town. Due to the fact, that Crystal City is small, there is a little number of commercial and financial institutions taking space in the city. The communication of people in Crystal City is close as the population is comparatively small and all people know each other unlike in large cities. As for the use of open space, it is mainly public in the town. Crystal City possesses over 5,500,000 square feet of enclosed underground climate-controlled space. Another interesting feature of the open space in Crystal City is the presence of cobblestone in the open space in some areas of the town. There is one park in Crystal City that allows its residents to have rest and take care of their children. Thus, the use