What can trust relationship contribute to community building?
信任关系对社区建设能起到什么作用？

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.
加沙是巴勒斯坦最大的城市，人口超过40万。自1948年战争以来，由于大量巴勒斯坦难民的涌入和以色列几十年的占领，加沙人居条件最恶劣，既没有开放和自由的边界，也没有进入西岸其他巴勒斯坦领土和整个世界的通道。尽管住房条件有限，社会服务供给不足，内部风险压力持续存在，但是社区的居民对没有标识的无名街道了如指掌，邻里关系密切，犯罪率远低于欧美其他国家。

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.
为了解释其背后的原因，笔者提出了“信任社区”（Community of Trust），即在这种社会空间环境中，大家不认为其他社区成员对自己构成危险，因此人与人之间的信任关系很牢固，人们也会感到庇护和安全。根据上述定义，作者从5个方面入手，对信任社区的结构进行分析：“共享场所、共享日常实践、共享基本信念、对社区利益和风险的共享认知”。研究表明，以下在加沙是真实存在的：社区成员共享伊斯兰传统信仰和态度，共享包括一起吃饭、照顾孩子和长辈以及一起参加庆祝的活动，共享因政治不确定性带来的“风险环境”，共享社区层面的利益，例如建立“居委会”等地方非正式志愿协会，以及塑造具有安全感的信任社区和和谐的邻里关系。

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.
在研究中，社区团结被认为是一种真正的、主要的社会力量，它植根于人性，并随着时代的快速变化和日益增长的风险与不确定性而得到加强。加沙人口正在快速增长，这为区域发展带来了巨大需求。然而，大多数严格遵守当地传统的贫困人口往往不会选择大规模的拆迁更新项目，而是自发地对他们的住房进行升级改造，公共财政则主要用于低收入家庭和公共设施建设。因此，我们在社区规划中首先要考虑的是社会文化因素，而不应该局限于现视因素。无论是加沙的同质化的城市社区，还是西部城市频繁出现的异质化社区，信任关系始终是社区建设的基石。西部的封闭社区和混合社区可能确实缺乏共同的信仰和共同的价值观。不过，对于住在目标区域的居民来说，他们的信任度和恐惧度还是可以有针对性地进行诊断和改善的，然后再以共享日常实践和共享兴趣为出发点。

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.
因此，在社区规划的过程中，知识分子应该具有文化敏感性，维护居民之间已有的信任关系，并努力发展新的信任关系，实现和谐的信任社区。