Defining Communities of interest

Across the District there are communities of interest – they are more invisible, less obvious, than communities with geographic boundaries, like Thornton or Braithwaite.   They pull in and link, through common experiences and concerns, individuals scattered across the whole District.   However they experience difficulty, discrimination or lack of recognition when trying to put their views forward.

There are:

• communities who share an identity
• communities who share an experience and concern

Whatever the group, it is an identity that is life-long – it is part of what that person is, and it plays a part both in how others see them and how they see themselves.

The community is linked by a life experience that, in many cases, individuals will grow through and come out of, but others will take their place;   the issue and the need remain the same.

Many people in the Bradford District are part of more than one community.   Everyone lives within a geographic community, but many people, or family or close friends, are also part of one or more community of interest.   They have wishes and requirements in common with all the people living in that area, but also have particular   opinions and needs coming out of their own experience and identity.

The challenge for everyone concerned with making Bradford a better place to live, is to find ways to make sure that all voices and opinions are heard.

Communities of interest:

who are they?   where are they?   what do they have to say?  

Communities of interest form networks of concern and common interest stretched across Bradford ’s many varied districts.   More invisible, less obvious than communities with geographic boundaries, they pull in and link, through common experiences and concerns, individuals scattered across the whole District.  

Their particular identities or situations have resulted in them suffering discrimination and/or exclusion from mainstream activities.   They have particular needs and expectations of public services and decision-makers that are frequently not recognised or are not considered legitimate.

They do not, however, only have opinions on their particular issues.   Like all other citizens of Bradford, people within these communities have a right of access to all public services – recreation, education, transport, waste disposal………… and like all other citizens they will have views on the wide range of public services they receive, and the quality of the neighbourhood in which they live.   They have the right to be consulted and involved.

but …….

their voices are not heard

People in these groups, and in other groups, have a valuable contribution to make on the ways in which quality of life in Bradford can improve.