This domain looks at our quality of life with regard to the communities we live in. It tells us what is happening in our neighbourhoods, how safe we feel, and whether or not we are engaged in community activities or becoming socially isolated.
Domain components
The conceptual model for the Community Vitality domain is comprised of four sub-dimensions, organized into two main dimensions. The first dimension includes measures of Social Relationships. The three sub-dimensions of this category are social engagement, social support and community safety. The second dimension measures Social Norms and Values, with a single sub-dimension of attitudes towards others and community.
Social Norms and Values
Social Relationships
Social engagement refers to a range of activities in which people participate for their own enjoyment or benefit, or for the benefit of others in their community. People’s sense of belonging to a community, their attitudes towards others, the strength of relationships with family and friends, and opportunities to develop and participate in community activities have been shown to foster individual and community wellbeing.
Social support describes the feeling or act of being cared for or assisted by others in one’s social network. Social networks are often formed around shared interests or needs, and members can include family, friends and neighbours from whom or to whom a person gives or receives emotional, physical, financial or informational support.
Community safety is an important factor when thinking about the quality of life in communities. Community safety includes being safe from crime and violence, being free from the threat of injury or harm, and feeling safe in the neighbourhood, the larger community, and in the outdoor environment.
Social Norms and Values
Attitudes towards others and community
Attitudes and values are important contributors to community vitality because ideas, assumptions, and beliefs motivate social engagement and action within communities and Canadian society more broadly. Commonly shared feelings of trust, belonging, and caring are markers of inclusive societies. Discrimination, on the other hand, challenges community relationships and creates barriers to the pursuit of wellbeing, especially for groups that are seen by others as different.