Building and maintaining a community in your neighborhood works only if the efforts are people-powered. Check out the ideas below or be creative and determine what works in your area.
- Drink your morning coffee on the front porch.
- Go for a walk; greet people you pass
- Buy local products
- Get to know your mail carrier
- Host a neighborhood potluck
- Build a garden in the front yard
- Pick up litter
- Shovel a neighbor’s sidewalk
- Support neighborhood schools and organizations
- Start a neighborhood newsletter
- Buy from lemonade stands
- Visit the local library
- Take action to fix neighborhood infrastructure
- Form a neighborhood exercise club
- Plant a tree
- Clean up after your animals
- Start a neighborhood barter system
- Join a carpool
- Create a neighborhood vegetable garden
- Start a housewarming team to greet new neighbors
Read Up
Livable Neighborhoods: A Program to Make Life Better on the Street Where You Live, by David Gershon, Empowerment Institute, 2008.
Building a Community