Gaza is the largest city in Palestine with a population over 400,000. Due to the vast refugees from Palestine since the war in 1948 and Israel occupation for decades, the city has the worst human conditions without the border of openness and freedom nor the access to other Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the entire world. Despite the limited housing conditions, insufficient social services provided, and persistent internal risk pressures, the residents of the community are well aware of the untitled streets that are not marked, have close neighbourhood relations, and have a much lower crime rate than other countries in Europe and the United States.

To explain the reasons behind, the author proposes Community of Trust, a socio-spatial setting in which solid relationships of trust among people exist, and in which people feel sheltered and safe  because they do not perceive other community members as posing a risk. Based on the definition above, the structure of Community of Trust is analyzed from 5 aspects: “shared place, shared daily-life practices, shared basic beliefs, and shared perceptions of community interests and risks”. It is illustrated by the research that shared traditional Islamic beliefs and attitudes, shared activities including having dinner together, caring for the kid and the elders, attending celebration together, shared “environment of risk” because of the political uncertainty, shared interests in community level as the establishment of local informal voluntary associations such as the “neighbourhood committees” and community of trust with the sense of security and a harmonious neighbourhood truly exist in Gaza.

The unity of the community is regarded as a real and major social force in the research, which is rooted in human nature and strengthened by the rapid changes and growing risks and uncertainties of our time. The population of Gaza is rapidly growing, which brings a great need for regional development. However, the majority of the poor who strictly abides by local traditions tends not to choose large-scale demolition and redevelopment projects, but spontaneously upgrades their housing, and public finances are mainly allocated to low-income families and public facilities. Hence, the social and cultural factors should be considered first in community planning instead of the limitation of practical factors. No matter the homogenous urban community in Gaza or the frequently heterogeneous community in Western cities, trust relationships are always the cornerstone for community building. Closed communities and mixed communities in the West may indeed lack common beliefs and shared values. Still, the level of trust and fear of residents in the target area can be diagnosed and improved purposefully, and then shared daily practices and common interests can be used as the starting point.

Therefore, in the process of community planning, intellectuals should be culture-sensitive and maintain the existed trust relationship between residents, and strive to develop new trust relationships, to achieve a harmonious Community of Trust.