Neighborhoods

“Neighborhood” means far more than people living near one another. A true neighborhood has a community spirit, and its physical design encourages frequent interaction between people. Unfortunately, many neighborhoods—particularly suburban tracts—do not provide this encouragement.

Lack of contact among neighbors means that residents are missing valuable benefits that their neighbors can provide:

• Friendship and social interaction
  
  
• Security – looking out after one another and our homes
  
  
• Child protection – keeping an eye on playing children.
  
  
• Intergenerational interaction – where youths can enjoy, and learn from, older adults, and where seniors can enjoy the play and enthusiasm of youth.
  
  
• Sharing knowledge and skills, such as home repair, cooking, canning, gardening and auto repair.
  
  
• Sharing common tools and equipment, such as specialized home and auto repair, cooking, and gardening.
  
  
• Discussing, and creating solutions to, common issues and problems.
  
  
• A neighborhood association that can lobby local government to meet the needs of the neighborhood.
  
  
• Cooperation and sharing to help everyone reduce use of resources and energy.
  
  

Your neighborhood has the potential to be much more supportive of community, sustainability, and money and energy saving. But first you have to organize it.

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