52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 24

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Utilize a public space in your neighborhood.

Happy Sunday, all! We hope this tip finds you well on this beautiful day.

When we talk about neighboring, we often talk about the importance of visibility. We have noticed that simply being out and about and in spaces where we can be seen by our neighbors has had an incredible impact on our neighboring. For this reason, this week’s tip is: Utilize a public space in your neighborhood. These public spaces can look like parks, splash pads, public libraries, bike trails, etc.

Making yourself visible in your neighborhood and to your neighbors is really easy; all you have to do is go outside! And guess what? Doing so comes with a multitude of benefits! For this tip, we will just name a few. Being outside your home allows you to become more aware of what is happening around your neighborhood. It also displays to neighbors that you care about being outside and with those who live around you as opposed to always being inside your home and by yourself. Finally, and perhaps obviously, being visible to your neighbors makes space for connection! When we choose to be visible to our neighbors, we make more opportunities to talk with them and get to know them more. 

This point takes us to the specifics of this tip. Public spaces often include certain elements that provide other opportunities, such as enjoyment (like a water park) or services (like a library), but we must not forget that public spaces are, after all, for being in public and with the public! Like our front yards, public spaces within our neighborhoods are the perfect places to simply BE with our neighbors. And we have found that simply being in these places has not only brought us great joy but also led us to great connections!

Happy neighboring!