When studying any topic, it is first necessary to identify and define the key concepts. In a course on the topic of communities and crime, the two primary concepts are just that — community and crime. Therefore, a main question addressed in the readings for this week is “What is community?” While this may seem like a simple question, it turns out there can be multiple definitions of community, some of which may be more important for studying crime than others. For example, becoming an alumnus of FSU makes you part of a community, but that type of community wouldn’t be very important for understanding how communities can influence crime. 
For this discussion question, describe what you consider to be a valid definition of community when studying crime. You must also explain why that particular definition of community is useful for studying crime. This discussion question is partly based on your own opinion, but you must draw explicitly from the readings to support your arguments.
Important note: Remember that in order to receive full points, your discussion posting must answer all parts of the question that was posed, cite the reading materials, and be thoughtful, clear, organized, professional, and well-written. You do not need to include a bibliography of the readings at the end of your answer, but you do need to provide citations in parentheses within your answer. Theses should include the authors’ last names and the year of publication (e.g. Chaskin 1997).  For more information, be sure to read the section of the syllabus that describes discussion postings.