Community spaces and community sense : a study of the use of informal community spaces in selected Sri Lankan Universities

Abstract

Strong societies or the countries represent more community sense within the communities who live in the nation. These countries or societies are created with collection of communities. Hence to retain it as a body or one nation is must have a community sense. In a way this will help to reduce the negative feelings of the individual humans like social phobia, anomie situations, stresses. Hence it represent a balanced healthy nation altogether. Therefore it helps them to retain a sensible appreciation of creations rather than torturing it by, graffiti or vandalism. On the other hand the historical and rational values, which have in the nation, will presume as it is. Communities within a country can be categorized according to race, religion, occupation, education, and topographical situations. Out of these number of situations, universities, which highlight the education system encompasses another significant community. This study focuses on the community and takes in to subject, because within the university it has a sub culture, which nourishes the main cultural values. When creating or achieving the community sense, the environment where the individual reside helps to a great extent. The environment consists both natural and physical. It orientates the man and create meaningful interactions with them as well as with it, to derive the community sense. In the University environment this is needed more because it's main purpose is to create a Universal man. The spaces arranged, streets or parks landscaped with the required facilities achieved this with the help of student interactions. These environments enhance the interactions between students, lectures, workers and publics. Therefore University environment not only contain its premises but also spreads psychologically in to the whole area. Sometimes the village name denotes the university. Such an example will be the university of Peradeniya. But today due to the scarcity of land and the haphazard development in the built environment of the Universities makes it difficult to develop the community sense among its inhabitants. Hence the interactions among each group, which identified above are weakened. Clashes, killing happen among the students environment is questioned seriously. Therefore built environment in Universities have significantly lost the ability of creating a community sense, which is an important aspect in positive feelings. In the university the common space has more value. Because it is the main area where each group interact and communicate there ideas. This has to be carefully done and as this helps to generate the university environment psychologically. Hence this will be a .prime opportunity space to derive the community sense. Each of the university has its own designed formal common spaces as well as informal common spaces. Out of the common spaces it is virtual to study about informal common spaces as because the groups according to their functions create them. Hence to identify the likes, dislikes and intention of the group and the group attachment to the space can be identified through this. On the other hand it will make easy to derive community sense in the space more and more. Ultimately the study helps to create the university built environment more meaningful and aesthetically pleasing with enhancing the social interactions among the group. .