For several years many of us at Peabody College have participated in the evolution of a theory of community, the first conceptualization of which was presented in a working paper (McMillan, 1976) of the Center for Community Studies. To support the proposed definition, McMillan focused on the literature on group cohesiveness, and we build here on that original definition. This article attempts to describe the dynamics of the sense‐of‐community force — to identify the various elements in the force and to describe the process by which these elements work together to produce the experience of sense of community.

We propose a framework for understanding the relationship of participation in block associations to a wide range of block-level variables (demographics, the built environment, crime, and the transient social and physical environmenO. Data were obtained from 48 New York City blocks using (a) a telephone survey of residents (n = 1,081), (b) the Block Environmental Inventory (BEI), (c) police records of reported crime, and (d) a survey of block association members (n = 469).

Social programs need to identify catalysts for action which can be targeted in order to effectively and efficiently meet their goals. A model illustrates how a sense of community can have a catalytic effect on local action (i.e., participation in a block association) by affecting the perception of the environment, social relations, and one's perceived control and empowerment. The model is tested and confirmed through path-analytic and longitudinal techniques.