Social Capital In A Healthy Community

Community Organization
Healthy Community I consider my community to be the Jordan Creek area, which is actually a little more diverse of a community than one would think. It’s a healthy community, but a confusing one. It’s part of Dallas County, the Waukee school district, and can also be incorporated with Polk County to somebody who isn’t sure where to place it. In this paper I will be discussing the types of community capital I believe exist in the Jordan Creek community, how social capital relates to making this community healthy, the community capital that is lacking in this area, and the four major contributors to community health. I can find several different types of each kind of community capital in my area. I think that some
of the environmental capital that exists in my area is the many acres of land in my community, like the healthy grasslands that could be used to produce either more economic capital, such as expanding the amount of local business or expanding physical capital, such as adding to the bike trails or building more playgrounds. There are a lot of healthy, beautiful trees, small ponds, and a creek that runs the length of E.P. True Pkwy., where many of the community’s manmade bike trails have been built. This provides a rich source of physical capital, creating enjoyment for people of all ages in my community. Raccoon River Lake is another source of manmade physical capital made free to the community that is about six miles from my house. People of all ages go there to enjoy the playgrounds, beach, bike trail, walking trail, and dog park. The physical capital designed by manmade roads make it easy to access the economic capital, such as Jordan Creek Mall, or the West Glen shopping center, two places that my community is well known for. A lot of proceeds from events that take place in my community such as the Principal Golf Charity Classic at Glen Oaks go to fund necessary free services. I know they just purchased and donated a computer lab to the Young Women’s Resource Center, located in downtown Des Moines. This is great economic capital that is turned into physical, human, and healthy social capital.
A great source of Human capital in my area would be this free service called, “Community Greetings.” When I first moved out to this area of town, I called up this service and made an appointment with a very nice woman who made me a “community basket” full of free samples, coupons, and brochures of all of the available Human capital available in my area. There were brochures for family doctors, pediatricians, pediatric dentists, general dentistry, chiropractors, car repair, coupons for free oil changes, and coupons to take advantage of the many locally owned businesses in my area from grocery stores to dry cleaners to family-owned restaurants. There were also free samples from beauty salons, gift cards for self-pampering, and several pens, business cards, and other novelty items with business names on them, all from locally owned community businesses within about five miles of my house. There are great sources of informational capital in my community.
Every week I get a free copy of the West Des Moines Register, which informs me of things going on within my community and also things that have happened in my community. Once a month, we get a free copy of a magazine called, “West Des Moines Living,” which includes activities that have been coordinated within the community as well as exclusive advertising for West Des Moines local business. The magazine talks about accomplishments of individuals within the community and is also informative about upcoming sporting events, concerts, and other special interest events coming to the area. There are several classes you can take ranging from ballroom dancing to martial arts and this magazine tells you how to sign up for the classes, when and where they take place and whether or not you need to pay for them. It is also a great source of information for free children’s activities, such as enjoying free story times available for any young person’s enjoyment at the West Des Moines library, another example of the rich physical capital my community
has. My community has a pretty strong source of political capital.
I know local law enforcement will come out and install car seats properly free of charge. I know the Dallas County courthouse is a good half hour drive from my house, but the city hall and West Des Moines Public Works are right down the street from me. My specific neighborhood belongs to an association, so there are private rules enforced that are usually formed with help from my neighborhood members by belonging to a committee and voting. The Waukee school system is known as one of the best in Iowa and is available for my community’s children to attend, adding strength to the political, human, and social capital of my community. My community has a great source of spiritual capital. There is the Lutheran Hope Church, which is located on Jordan Creek Pkwy, is always packed during worship times and I know it has the capacity to accommodate hundreds of people. There are also a lot of extra-curricular programs the church offers that many of the community’s youth take part in. A lot of the community’s youth also attend the school that is integrated with this church. The church is always doing stuff with sidewalk chalk and paint, putting up spiritual messages for the community to observe. I think this is also an example of cultural capital, because it does give an artistic impression as well. Cultural capital is probably the weakest source of community capital that contributes to the community health on the
whole. The community definitely lacks historical preservation to promote healthy cultural capital. My community is pretty much brand new. The public transportation system is definitely built for the 9 to 5’ers. The E.P. True Express only makes two trips maximum in both the am and pm and it runs at 6:30 in the morning and again around 5:00 in the afternoon. The bus that leaves from the Jordan Creek Mall will take you directly downtown, but that doesn’t really give much access to public transportation in my community, which is something I consider to be a weak source of physical capital. Our waste pick-up service is sometimes considered terrible. They leave a lot of waste behind when their trucks come to pick up garbage and I usually end up having to clean my yard and I will often lend a hand in picking up garbage around my neighbor’s yards. This I believe would be weakening our economic capital as well as physical and social capital. My community remains healthy by functioning along with its members as well as businesses and many other resources to make sure the community is a safe place to live. The only thing I worry about with this one is that early in the summer time of this year, there was a woman murdered right across the street from my house. Her murder remains unsolved and that makes me think that the community may have been overconfident in its safety. My community recognizes and values its resources by continuing to attract new businesses, real estate, and residents to occupy this real estate to continue developing a healthy and flourishing community. I believe that there are many talents being pulled together to provide a lot of free entertainment and physical capital for all to benefit from and enjoy. My community is very inclusive of all of its members. There is also a lot of diversity in my community. There is quite a bit more than I expected to see when I moved out here. There are all walks of life living together in my community, on my street alone. I’ve never seen my community do anything to shun the members of it, only encourage them to explore the resources available to them. When I made my appointment with Community Greetings, I wasn’t asked about my race, if I had a job. It was even ok that I had just moved from Des Moines. The Community Greeter just wanted to make sure I took advantage of all of the locally owned businesses my community had to offer. Lastly, does my community promote community capital? I think so. We have so many different things to do and resources available in such a short stretch of land. There is constantly new bike trails being added, new businesses are establishing themselves and flourishing as well. Linking together all forms of community capital doesn’t seem like an easy thing to do, but since my community isn’t predominantly large in size, it does a great job of pooling the services and talents the members of the community have brought out and utilizes all of the local businesses to escalate healthy social capital within the community. In conclusion, my community is a healthy community that I’m proud to commute to and from every day. It’s rich in physical capital with a lot of manmade bike trails, a lake, and a wonderful library. It’s rich in economic capital with Jordan Creek Mall and the West Glen shopping center that integrate both locally owned businesses and corporate businesses that attract people from all over the state. It’s easy to get around, once you become familiar with Mills Civic Parkway, which is pretty much the central hub of this community. Its human capital is great and very accepting of new members, bringing welcome baskets to any new resident that needs information, making things more simple and frugal. The spiritual capital shows through the huge church that is always packed on Sundays and Wednesday nights. The political and informational capitals flourish as well, making the decisions of the community left up to the members of the community, and keeps its members informed on several different levels at no extra charge. The only things I think my community is lacking is more historical, cultural capital and a better public transportation system built for both community and non-community members to have better access to all of the wonderful things my community has to offer. Lastly, let’s pick up the trash we leave behind on trash day, and we’ll call it a day!