Communities are fundamental units of social organization.
With the exception of the occasional hermit, people are born into, socialized within, and live out their lives in human communities. Systematic study of community organization provides an opportunity to examine how we as individuals are shaped by our social environs, and how these social environs vary over time and space. Such study also can provide insight into sources of and solutions to critical social problems such as poverty and environmental quality. Communities are arenas of social interaction where most important relationships are structured by the presence of informal groups and formal organizations. Informal groups provide the building blocks of any community and play important roles in setting the norms and standards of accepted social behavior.