City Communities: Needs and Requests for Interaction with the City University

IntroductionLife in the city with daily manifestations of solidarity, mutual assistance, and the intersection of interests unites people into various communities.

In sociology, a community can be considered as a kind of "city code" through which the city itself and the citizens inhabiting it are investigated ^{[1, p. 75]}. By getting involved in communities, citizens form a comfortable living environment ^{[2, 3]}.Mark Parker, president of the National Network of Community Organizers in England, says: "Communities in big cities do not appear by themselves, the environment in cities can be very hostile, but they can be created and developed if you take the time and effort, if people are ready for it ..." ^[4].

This quote confirms that for the emergence of stable interpersonal ties in a group of people, it is not enough to live in a certain territory or have common interests – the efforts of a group of activists to organize and maintain community life are necessary ^{[5, 6]}.

According to the study "Community Development in Europe", released by the non-profit European organization The European Community Development Network: "Today, urban communities are focused on working with people, they become the center of initiatives. And they can also become a powerful force in the fight against inequality, environmental and economic crises..." ^{[7, p. 4]}.

In this way? urban communities become full-fledged subjects of city development, along with city authorities ^{[8, 9]}. Many consider the practices of creating and developing urban communities, involving residents in changing the city environment ^[10-14]. At the same time, a new paradigm of interaction between government and business with citizens is being formed (from simple information to the practice of joint solution of urban development issues), the development of the idea of "the city as a community of citizens" ^[15]. This practice is also relevant for urban universities, which are assigned a leading role in the formation of the educational, socio-cultural, intellectual environment of the city ^[16].

The analysis of the nature of the university's interaction with citizens, conducted by the Department of Development Programs and Analytical Activities of the Moscow State Pedagogical University in April 2016, shows that the main directions are: various kinds of educational programs, courses, master classes; scientific and practical conferences; internship sites for training in a specific subject area (foreign language, biology, etc.); programs and special courses on meta-subject skills and competencies (for example, the course "Culture of business communication"); provision of special infrastructure for citizens (special offices, halls, museums, etc.); participation in joint projects (for example, the project "Young Ecologists of Moscow") ^[17]. How relevant and in demand are these formats of interaction between the University and urban communities? What are the needs and deficits of the modern urban communities of the city and what are the possible prospects for their interaction with the campuses of the Moscow City Pedagogical University (hereinafter referred to as the University, MSPU). In this regard, it becomes an important strategic issue to conduct a study of the deficits and requests of the informal communities of the city, search for strategies to meet them from the University, which can influence the urban environment and quality of life through the effects of the presence of buildings of the Moscow State Pedagogical University in many areas of Moscow.

The object of the study is urban communities. The subject of the study is the deficits and demands of community interaction with the Moscow City Pedagogical University.

The purpose of the study is to identify the potential needs and existing deficits of urban communities, as well as to determine the possibility of interaction of the MSPU with the communities of the city.

The main research questions posed by the authors' research team were: what are the potential needs and deficits of urban communities? What is the role of the University in the development and/or support of urban communities? What opportunities can there be for University campuses to interact with city communities?

The definition of the sample of this study included the study of the activities and activities of various communities of residents of the city of Moscow through social networks. To analyze the possibility of interaction of urban communities with the University, it was decided to study the communities locally located to the buildings of educational institutes and campuses of the Moscow State Pedagogical University. The following districts were chosen as locations: Ivanovskoye (Institute of Natural Sciences and Sports Technologies, MSPU), Izmailovo (Institute of Natural Sciences and Sports Technologies, MSPU), Rostokino (Institute of Humanities, MSPU), Gagarinsky and Lomonosovsky (Institute of Special Education and Psychology, MSPU), Maryina Grove (Institute of Digital Education, MSPU). The study of the interests and requests of urban communities was conducted on the basis of an analysis of their online communications. The analysis of urban local communities conducted on the basis of open information posted on the Internet, including in social networks, showed that there are a large number of diverse Internet associations of Moscow residents who communicate and interact also in person. According to the leading theorist of digital communities B. Wellman, online communities are a characteristic phenomenon of the modern world, in which the lion's share of communication has switched to online mode using information and communication technologies (Wellman, Wortley, 1990) ^{[18, p. 220]}.

Research methodsAs the main research methods ^[19] of urban communities, the staff of the Laboratory of Educational Infrastructures of the Research Institute of Urban Studies and Global Education of the Moscow State Pedagogical University used:

The method of content analysis of social networks ^[22] is used to collect data on urban communities in SVAO and VAO, the areas where the buildings of IEiST and ITSO are located. These areas for the study of urban communities are determined in connection with the location of the University's structural units here with the presence of a separate territory and closely located buildings (including the university hotel), where it is possible to implement educational, cultural and sports events of various scales;

the questionnaire method allows you to conduct a study on a large sample and obtain reliable data on urban communities. The purpose of the method: to identify the main predictors of people joining urban communities and the potential needs of urban communities; to determine the possibilities of interaction between university campuses and city communities.In addition to the methods of content analysis of social networks and questionnaires, in-depth interviews and modeling of face-to-face meetings were used in the study, which made it possible to obtain more complete information about the needs and deficits within the selected communities.

Results and their discussionThe following chats were selected as objects of analysis based on the accessibility criterion, according to the mapping carried out, the method of content analysis of social networks, in which experts joined:

– the main chat of the sports community of amateur runners "IzMyLong" ^[24], containing more than 1100 participants. In addition to this chat, the community has a telegram channel broadcasting the training schedule and organizational news, as well as a chat for conversations on extraneous topics IzMyTalks;

– the main chat of the neighborly community "Residents of the Rostokino district" ^[25], 530 participants;

– a group of chats of the parent community "Mothers of VDNH" ^[26], the number of participants in the main chat of the community is 622 people, topics — communication with mothers of the district — questions, tips, communication, additional chats: Flea market ^[27] (buy, sell, give), Chat walks ^[28] (joint walks in the area – with and without children), a mom's game library ^[29] (a board game lovers club), a joint procurement channel ^[30] (information on wholesale purchases with delivery to the area organized by the community), a joint procurement chat ^[31] (procurement discussion: tips, reviews, reviews), a Running chat ^[32] (motivation, energy exchange and general training), Chat for mothers with many children ^[33], book chat (access via moderator).

To ensure the synchronicity and validity of the data, the basic time periods for the appearance of the analyzed messages were selected, covering all days of the week in different climatic conditions (winter, early spring, late spring): 24-30.01.2022; 21-27.03.2022, 23-29.05.2022. The analysis was carried out to identify the most frequently topics that meet and are actively discussed in communities.In the community of amateur athletes, the main topics of the chat are:

– official and running. "IzMyLong" runs (interviews), stadium visits, announcements and discussion of official starts, upcoming workouts (set of pacers, luggage storage), past workouts (how it went, photos), current workout (where the luggage storage is parked, photos, cheering for our other starts);

– about-running topics and other sports: the condition of tracks and trails in different places of the city (asphalt appeared from under the snow? is there liquid mud?), weather (frost, heat, rain), models of equipment, clothing and shoes, discounts on purchases in popular sports stores, how to replace Strava (a popular fitness application that has ceased its activities in Russia), how to train in a notebook, what is rogaine, orientation, running with obstacles, friendly competitive communities, non-running sports (skiing, skating, roller skis, triathlon, swimming);

– participants' health, personal experience: Races in extreme conditions, experience and bikes, participants' health, personal experience, who eats what and what cooks from food in detail, running trail or asphalt, which is more useful for health, who gained/lost how much weight;

– topics unrelated to the main topic of the community: charity, kind caps, athlete for good, who tucks in the blanket, discussion of community rules, who lives where and how to get to remote official starts with whom, stickers, funny pictures, strange cases from sports.

The neighborly community discusses:

– maintenance and repair on current issues of residents, cleaning of the house territory;

– exchange of necessary information (where, what to take or buy, how best to install a barrier, intercom, etc.);

– informing cultural organizations of the announcement of events (Rostokino Gallery, Optimist Food hall, medical center, VDNH);

– offer of tutoring services (English, Chinese, piano);

– exchange of information on additional education of children and adults (children's sections, fitness, figure skating coach);

– violations on the territory of the district (noise, water and air pollution, blocked passage / passage, etc.);

– found and lost animals, things;

– development of the area and the surrounding area (where to go to eat, how to find a good sports organization, where good educational organizations, etc.);

– information from the management company, dispatchers;

– interaction with the governing bodies (circumvention of the territory, general meetings, reports on the work of the board;

– family support from Ukraine;

– links to highly specialized chats (for moms, for pet lovers) and real estate offers.

Hundreds of messages with discussions of topical and exciting issues come to the chat of the VDNH Moms community every day.

The main topics discussed in the general community chat:

– sports and clubs for children, coaches, clubs and tutors (tips, recommendations);

– health and medicine for children and adults (private and municipal medical institutions);

– where to go with your child (exhibitions, museums, theaters, local attractions, etc.);

– COVID, vaccinations and everything related to the pandemic;

– assistance to families with sick children;

– holidays with children, trips, flights abroad;

– yoga for pregnant women, psychological health of pregnant women, natural childbirth or caesarean section, recovery after childbirth;

– the relationship of children in the garden and on playgrounds (the role of the aggressor or victim), adolescence; 

– daily routine of children of different ages (sleep mode, diet, night feeding)

– search for a babysitter, au pair;

– kindergartens and schools of the district (reviews and recommendations);

– choosing an educational organization for learning by interests, USE;

– unhindered movement around the city with a wheelchair (places and routes);

– a variety of services and goods (reviews and recommendations for locally located organizations and food places);

– events organized by members and partners of the community (quest trips for children, mom's play library, medical examinations, regular meetings, "mom's breakaway" trips, meetings of members of the community's business network, promotions and discounts);

– problems at work and at home (ways to solve problems).

Based on the analysis of the data obtained, it should be noted that each community has its own narrowly focused topics, while they are united by universal topics: climate, health, social infrastructure of the district, city events, the work of city services, etc. At the same time, the discussion of a number of topics not directly related to the life of the community in many chats is prohibited by the rules.Survey

To determine the needs and deficits in the interaction of urban communities and University campuses in May-June 2022, 170 community participants were surveyed by distributing a link to the survey in the chat rooms of the Rostokino (IGN, SVAO), Izmailovo (IEST, VAO) districts, as well as through the Ivanovskoye district council (IEST, VAO), Gagarinsky, Lomonosovsky (ISOP, YUZAO).

 The respondents were asked the following questions in order to identify areas of interaction between the Moscow State Pedagogical University and the communities of residents of Moscow:

                  1. Are you a member of any urban community? Choose from the suggested options. (there are several possible answers).

                  2.                       Why did you join this community/communities? Choose from the suggested options. (there are several possible answers).

                  3.                       Does your community have a meeting place?

                  4. Does your community need the services of specialists in the following areas (there are several possible answers).

                  5. How can the GAOU in MSPU be useful in the activities of your community? ((there are several possible answers).

According to the results of the survey, it can be judged that the largest number of respondents consider themselves to be parent communities (18%) and neighborhood communities (15%).

Based on the opinions of respondents, it can be concluded that people join or become members of a community to get information (26%) and solve topical issues, answers, opinions, advice that can be obtained very quickly and in a short time (23%). The exchange of information in communities takes place in real time. The openness of the communities makes it possible to ask any questions about the content of topics in the community, the answers will be given by the community administrator or its participants in a polite manner.

Respondents' opinions on the need for a special place for meetings were divided: the majority believes that there is such a place, but it is not enough – 54%, there is no need – 33%, there is no such place, but there is a need – 10%. The peculiarity of these answers is that all respondents are members of different communities at the same time, so it is impossible to accurately predict the need or lack of need for such meeting places, on the one hand. On the other hand, for example, the community of residents of Rostokino has a place for meetings - a courtyard on Agricultural Street, 11, as well as the possibility of holding events in the Rostokino Gallery, the Optimist food hall, the VDNH space.

The survey participants believe that there are needs for the provision of: legal (24%), educational (23%), psychological (12%), financial (11%), medical (7%), wellness (10%) services.  Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that communities primarily need legal and educational support. This can be explained by the fact that frequently arising issues of a legal nature require the help of narrow specialists, some of which need to be solved very quickly, and in the community they can give very quickly specific information on any legal issue. Also, the predominant number of community members consider themselves to be parent communities, so educational services can occupy one of the first places in the discussion of issues and cause needs for such services, respectively.

According to respondents, Moscow City Pedagogical University can be useful in community activities by providing: educational programs (30%), psychological and pedagogical consultations (16%), volunteer assistance (15%), territory (15%), professional support (14%), legal assistance (9%). Community members need the help of external organizations and it is desirable that this help be provided, firstly, by specialists, and secondly, near the place of residence, for example, where the MSPU is located.

Thus, the conducted research of community participants to identify areas for their interaction with the University showed that communities have needs in providing: educational programs; psychological and pedagogical consultations; assistance from volunteers; provision of territory.

Moderating face-to-face meetingsAs part of the study, two face-to-face meetings were held with representatives of the IzMyLong community.

The first meeting was devoted to conducting a study of the physical fitness of amateur athletes in the Laboratory of Human Capabilities of IEST MSPU ^[34], it was attended by 6 people. The number of participants was limited by the capabilities of the laboratory, the demand from the community was very high: seats were distributed two minutes after the publication of the proposal and this was when the date of the study coincided with a serious charity race.  The format of the meeting assumed a parallel study of four athletes on different equipment and communication of two waiting participants with the moderator of the meeting. Thus, all those present were able to communicate and get data about their physical form (Figure 1).

Fig.1. The first meeting of representatives of "IzMyLong" with the University teamThe second meeting entitled "Open dialogue on the issues of diagnostics of runners' physical performance and planning of their training process" was held as a logical continuation of the first one.

Participants in person and online in the format of a dialogue or even a dispute were able to discuss with a representative of the laboratory the results of the study, health, organization of the training process, nutrition issues and other topics important for amateur sports ^[35].

Both meetings were held with the active participation of community members. The interest of athletes in cooperation with the University is obvious from the position of providing specialized (cooperation with the laboratory of human capabilities, educational programs) and infrastructure (rental of halls and other premises) services, but there are a number of problems both with the lack of a clear commercial packaging of these services, and with the general closeness of the university as a civilian object in relation to the city.

The meeting with representatives of the neighborly community "Residents of the Rostokino district" was held in the format of a guided tour of the garden "Eden of Resurrection". The garden was created by one of the residents of the yard, Valery B., a member of the community. He organized an author's tour for children, parents and all comers of the community "Residents of the Rostokino district", during which he told about the idea of the garden based on the ideas of cosmism by N.F. Fedorov (1829-1903) and about rare plants (magnolias, rhododendrons, laurel, holly, etc.), symbolizing the most important philosophical concepts. Some plants, as it turned out from the narrative, are not even in the collection of the Botanical garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but they grow in the courtyard of 11 houses on Agricultural Street. Following the results of communication with the community, its requests for interaction with the University were identified: storing flowers in the autumn-winter period, holding a conference dedicated to the ideas of N. F. Fedorov (Russian cosmism), inviting volunteers to hold a conference and to cultivate the garden "Eden of Resurrection".

In-depth dialogue interviews with activists and regular community members with representatives of the IzMyLong and VDNH Moms communitiesInterviewing members of the IzMyLong running community took place in an informal manner.

The main question is: "What deficits do the community have and which of them can the university close?".

Sergey N., 32 years old, long-distance runner, diurnal (running 24 hours or more), recently joined the community. He does not see any deficits. "He arrived immediately in uniform, ran, went home. Nothing else is needed."

Vera B., in the community since its foundation. He has been running since 2015, now rarely, just for the sake of communication, but he moves everywhere by bicycle. She lives in the immediate vicinity of the start of the race, so she does not need infrastructure elements of the environment, but she said that she used the services of children's races (the community "Begodeti") for the duration of her own training. Such an option for other runners as child care during the parents' race is a very real request from the runners' community. As a person who constantly travels by bicycle, Vera also needs safe indoor bike parks.

Sergey T., 39 years old, one of the three founders of IzMyLong, organizer of Izmailovo ParkRun, long-distance runner. Sergey, as a community organizer, sees the situation differently, so in response to a question about needs and deficits, he immediately asked: "And what can you offer?". In a community of 1000+ people, most of them living in nearby neighborhoods, the request can be for almost any sports service, if it is properly packaged. Stadiums, gyms, parking lots, child care, information events, etc. are definitely needed. Presumably, the services of a human capabilities laboratory can become very popular. Sergey really asked to organize a repeat study to assess the indicators in dynamics, and, possibly, an information seminar on the results. Changing rooms and showers will most likely not be so popular, since the university buildings are at some distance from the historically established start of "IzMyLong".

Artem B., 27 years old, has been in the community for less than a year. He has been running recently, but has already achieved some success for the amateur level. He did not express any special needs. He travels from Novogireevo by his own car. He became interested in programs for the recovery of athletes after minor injuries and other scientific information, it is possible to attend popular scientific events on a healthy lifestyle, but not general development, but already in-depth.

Kirill S., 28 years old, has been in the community for about six months. He runs for a year, trains infrequently and is in no hurry to conquer special heights. He comes to the start in his own car, lives relatively nearby, so he does not need infrastructure elements of the environment. I became very interested in the services of the laboratory from the point of view of a deeper understanding of my body.

The requests of the participants are summarized in a common table (Table 1)

Table 1. Requests and deficits based on the results of an informal in-depth interview with members of the IzMyLong community

The staff of the Laboratory of Educational Infrastructures of the Research Institute of Urban Studies and Global Education also conducted a telephone interview with the creator of the community "Mothers of VDNH" Elena Dmitrievna K., who has been deeply and for many years familiar with the topic of urban communities, professionally deals with the interaction of urban communities with local businesses and building partnerships with them. As part of the interview, the probability of conducting a survey in a general chat and the possibility of interacting with the University were discussed, but the format proposed by the research team was considered unsuitable for mass discussion in a group, since most of the participants, according to the head of the community, will not be able to fully and comprehensively answer such questions. It was proposed to interact with the most active representatives of the community (about 30 people) to discuss these issues in a brainstorming format.

The community is interested in partners, there are already many business representatives among them, and MSPU can act as a friendly platform for carrying out activities and providing services to this community. There is a request from the community for structured paid and free offers on various topics. Based on the results of the interview, further ways of interaction are outlined.

Conclusion and conclusionsIn conclusion, we can say that the study revealed examples of positive and negative interaction of communities with the University both on a paid and free basis.

An example of a positive interaction between the community and the university can be a separate situation in a group of neighbors "Residents of the Rostokino district" who use the premises of the MSPU campus on Agricultural Street for storing plants in winter. This case has distinctive features:

– interaction is built on a gratuitous basis, the university does not need to prepare financial documents and somehow report for money, the community does not need to look for additional resources;

– representatives of the community, faced with the problem of winter overexposure of plants, took the initiative, independently contacted representatives of the university and convinced them to give them access to the campus.

A positive example is also the organization of interaction of the VDNH Moms community with representatives of local businesses and partners. Community chat managers on social networks monitor the requests of community members and respond immediately by offering the services of business partners or community members. Thus, the VDNH business network has already been formed within the community, which unites district businesses, providing them with additional opportunities to promote to the audience of moms, interaction within the district and privileges based on the VDNH moms community.

An interesting example of a failed attempt to interact with community representatives on a paid basis is the provision of services for the scientific analysis of sports performance in dynamics by the laboratory of human capabilities of the IEiST MSPU. After two productive joint meetings, amateur athletes showed great interest in the service provided and were ready to continue cooperation on a commercial basis. The laboratory opened only 6 budget places within the framework of the strategic academic leadership program "Priority-2030", while several dozen requests for additional paid examinations were received. However, representatives of the laboratory explained that the provision of paid services is associated with a number of bureaucratic difficulties in concluding contracts, accepting and transferring money to sub-accounts. Additional problems are created by the need for preliminary approval of the contract for the provision of services, which must first be signed by the athlete, then certified by the legal service of the university and only after that - signed by the management of the institute. There is a need to come to the laboratory at least once more to sign documents, which in the modern world makes this offer uncompetitive. As a result, further interaction, despite the sincere interest of both sides, did not take place.

The results of the study made it possible to reflect that with a mutual desire for cooperation between representatives of urban communities and the University, there are a number of organizational, legal, accounting and financial difficulties and bureaucratic restrictions; the choice between gratuitous and paid services for city residents can increase the workload of university staff, including without remuneration.

The conducted study of the needs and deficits of urban communities allows us to draw the following conclusions:

1. Representatives of urban communities, when interacting with MSPU on a territorial basis, consider such services as: educational programs, psychological and pedagogical consultations, volunteer assistance, provision of territory or existing infrastructure to be the most in demand for themselves. In specialized communities, there is an additional request related to their subject, for example, a functional examination of sports health, consultations for parents of special children or a place to store flowers and other equipment.

2. Depending on the situation, both gratuitous and paid services are in demand. But in the second case, community representatives should be provided with a ready-made package offer with transparent, understandable conditions, as well as the possibility of simple and quick registration and payment.

3. Community representatives know little or nothing about the university's capabilities. When organizing additional services, advertising and other activities to attract attention are necessary. At the same time, the speed of life in social networks is very high, therefore, the speed of the university's response to the request should correspond to it.

4. Collaborations with urban communities can contribute to the emergence of a research and project agenda at the University, which will include bachelors and undergraduates.

5. Openness to the city through joint projects with urban communities will help the University to strengthen its "urbanism" and occupy new niches in the educational and research agenda of the city through the opening of new specialties and the expansion of research topics.

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