Strong and thriving communities help everything from the economy to our health.
Everything starts at the local level, and if we want to make progress toward our societal goals there’s no place better to start than with local communities.
If we could get more people to connect and engage with their neighbors, we would be well on our way to making the world a better place.
- What is it about communities that make them so vital?
- Why are they key to a happy and healthy life?
- How can national problems be affected by local communities?
Read on to find out.
What’s So Good About Strong Communities?
Humans are social animals – we need to feel connected. According to Abraham Maslow, famous for his hierarchy of needs, after our physiological and safety needs are met, humans need to feel connected. A craving for human connection is central to us as living beings.
Communities provide opportunities for people to connect and engage with their neighbors. A feeling of belonging has been shown to lead to happier and healthier lives.
When we take the time to get to know our neighbors, we create a sense of trust and belonging that makes everyone stronger and healthier.
Strong communities provide a support system that helps people weather life’s storms. In times of crisis, communities come together to help those in need.
Strong Local Communities Mean a Stronger Nation
Good things trickle up
National problems can be affected by local communities, as people come together to make a difference. When people across the country feel proud of, and engaged with, their neighborhoods, towns, cities, and state, the nation as a whole reaps the benefits.
“Good actions give strength to ourselves, and inspire good action in others.”
Samuel Smiles
By supporting local communities we are strengthening the backbone of the nation. Everything starts at the local level, and we can’t have cohesiveness at the national level without unity at the local level.
Feelings of loneliness are damaging
A lot of the anger and polarization so visible in the news today comes from feeling disconnected from the local community. As Robert Putnam writes in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community*ad:
“People divorced from community, occupation, and association are first and foremost among the supporters of extremism.
When people feel disconnected, they are more likely to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol. They are also at a higher risk for anxiety and depression. So many of our problems with drug and alcohol abuse could be solved at the local level.
Strong Communities Can Lessen Political Division
One of the important benefits of building stronger local ties is to lessen feelings that we are alone. It’s harder to hate people when you’ve met them personally. Reducing the division in the country will only happen when people see “the other side” as regular folks with different opinions.
By getting outside and being a part of their community, people can see there are different people out there. And even though they might think or act differently, and have different beliefs, it doesn’t mean they hate America.
The anger and polarization we’re experiencing as a country are one of the biggest challenges facing America, but by strengthening our neighborhoods, towns, and cities we can help tone down the hate and restore at least some civility.
What makes for a “strong town”?
Chuck Marohn has figured out the secret ingredient to a great place: love. According to his research, when people put genuine care into their communities, it can lead not just to an improved quality of life but also increased revenue — more than simply constructing shiny new developments. For lasting greatness, we need deep-rooted thoughtfulness that spans generations; by investing in our present societies and citizens now, we create strong foundations for incredible places down the line.
How to Build Strong Communities? Get involved!
There are all kinds of ways to help build stronger communities. Start by getting to know your neighbors and engaging with them. Introduce yourself.
Be aware of what’s going on in your town. Read the newspaper, or find neighbors on social media to interact with.
There are all kinds of ways you can improve your local community. Here are a few more ideas:
- Get involved – Join the PTA, civic groups, and The Boy and Girl Scouts, there are dozens of organizations that are a part of your town or city.
- Run for office – Your Board of Education, Planning and Zoning, the Wetlands Commission, and your local community are looking for passionate people who want to be involved.
- Support local businesses – Small and local businesses are the lifeblood of America. Supporting small businesses in your community, including local farms, is a great way to support your community.
- Attend or organize local events – Your neighbors want to feel a part of the community as much as you do. Seek out and attend local events – and if there isn’t something for you, create it.
- Block parties – You can get to know your neighbors by organizing a block party. Who doesn’t enjoy a cookout and maybe even a cold one?
- Encourage businesses to contribute – Businesses large and small are eager to be seen as part of the community, so work with them to see what you can do to support your location. Sports leagues and fundraisers are obvious, but what about concerts, or clean-ups?
- Organize beatification and trash cleanups – Seek out groups in your town that plant trees and flowers, or clean up trash. And if they don’t exist, make them. Seeing neighbors out and about, and helping the town improve, does wonders for everyone.
- Social media Groups – For all their faults, social media platforms are great for building local communities. The app NextDoor or local Facebook groups can be a great way to get to know your neighbors and organize and promote events in your community.
- Volunteering – Donating your time to groups is another powerful way to get involved. Be a Big Brother or Sister, support the Boys and Girls Club, your library, homeless shelter, or food pantry. Supporting the less fortunate is a powerful way to help your town. You might even consider becoming a foster parent.
- Support groups promoting strong communities – You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, find out what groups are already out there. More on that is below.
That’s a pretty good start, but if you want even more ideas on how to strengthen your community the blog Denver Dweller has a list of 31 ways to build your community.
Don’t Forget to Involve your Family
As you get involved in your town or city, making sure your whole family is involved makes your actions even more powerful.
Seeing you involved locally sends a powerful message of civic participation to your children and their friends. More people beget more people, so get everyone involved.
Not only are you helping your local community, but you’re also helping to build family bonds with your spouse and children.
Now that’s a win-win.
Groups Helping to Build More Vibrant Communities
There are all kinds of local, state, and national groups working hard across the country to help develop communities all over.
These national community-building groups are always underfunded, which limits their overall impact. Supporting these groups helps build strong communities across the whole country.
- Community Development Financial Institution – The CDFI Fund is an important source of economic opportunity and growth for our most challenged communities. The fund invests both federal and private money to empower financial institutions supporting economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
- The CitySpeak initiative from the National League of Cities – NLC is a trusted, longstanding resource for city leaders throughout the United States. Founded nearly 100 years ago to empower and advocate on behalf of local governments, NLC has worked with more than 2,700 cities to create better outcomes for residents. They work to influence federal policy to benefit towns and villages everywhere and provide essential leadership training to help communities thrive.
- Local First – Local First is an organization that celebrates the power of locally-owned businesses. Communities with more local ownership are healthier in terms of social well-being, environmental protection, and economic impact. Their work supports local business ownership.
- Institute for Local Self-Reliance – Works to turn a vision of vibrant, equitable communities into reality by strengthening the power that people have over their own lives. They provide resources and support for families with the hope of making the country better led by local priorities and values.
- See Click Fix – SeeClickFix is an app for residents to easily report issues, ask questions of their leaders or provide feedback on solutions – all while local government workflows become more efficient and accountable.
- Citizen Connect – Citizen Connect focuses on empowering Americans by making it easy for them to discover civic organizations and events that can bridge political divides and protect our democracy.
- Living Room Conversations – Living Room Conversations hopes to empower people to bridge divides with meaningful dialogue. The group facilitates conversations about politics, race, age groups, and more. They hope to build relationships and understanding in the community.
- Countable – Offers software aimed at empowering people to make change with less complexity and maximum impact. They help users create meaningful connections, tell engaging stories, and building trust between stakeholders, and reach policy objectives.
- Charter for Compassion – Aims to connect people around the world, are encouraging a global wave of compassion and change. They provide leaders with educational resources, collaboration tools, and inspiring stories.
- Mycoop – Mycoop is a platform dedicated to connecting and unifying all the stakeholders of multi-unit buildings, creating an environment where individuals can communicate openly and effectively to foster meaningful connections.
If you want to find organizations that can help you support your community, that’s a pretty good start. And if you have any you’d like to see, please get in touch.
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”
-George Eliot
Strong Communities Are Key
There are few ways to build a stronger country that is more powerful than improving and strengthening the cities and towns across this great country.
Local communities help everything from the overall economy to our health. When we take the time to get to know our neighbors and become a part of where we live, we create a sense of trust and belonging that makes everyone stronger and healthier.
When people come together, great things happen. If every city and town was thriving, the problems at the national level would just about take care of themselves.
