52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 44
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Neighboring Tip of the Week - Reflect back on your neighboring experiment from last week, recall any aspects of your neighborhood that are not very accessible, and begin to form associations or coalitions that you can address that inaccessibility with.
Hello friend! I hope this neighboring tip finds you full of joy!
For this week’s neighboring tip, we are once again so thrilled to be working with our partner organization, The Julian Way. We also worked with The Julian Way last week, and, as a disclaimer, if you have not yet had a chance to experiment with last week’s tip, we would first recommend that you do so, for last week’s tip forms the foundation for this week’s tip. Alright, go! Then, after you’ve done so, to start experimenting with the tip for this week, we invite you to reflect back on the experiences generated by last week’s tip: your adventure around your neighborhood but also your conversation with your neighbor. What are aspects of your neighborhood that seemed accessible or inaccessible to you? How does your neighbor experience those spaces? What aspects of your neighborhood are very inaccessible for your neighbor? And this last question is what we’ll take into the meat of this tip, because guess what? We’re pushing you to take action on this issue, and not to do it alone, but to do it with your neighbors!
As citizens, and as neighbors, we want to be people of action. At the Neighboring Movement, we believe that our blocks are our smallest, and yet most powerful, units of democracy. We, as neighbors, have the power to work together to make that which we wish to see in the world! It’s such a beautiful thing. And the crazy thing is, this way of being just takes two simple steps! First, we must gather. In asset-based community development, the word used for this gathering is “association”. An association is simply when two or more people gather around a common interest. That’s it! The Julian Way is experimenting with this idea around the formation of “coalitions”. We love this language, as well, because it seems to evoke what makes up the second step of this way of being: action. We must take action. Associations and coalitions are diverse groups of neighbors who reflect the diversity of their neighborhoods and gather around common interests, but it is also crucial that these groups take action around those interests! Without action, how can what we wish to see in the world come to fruition?
So, this week, we encourage you to go back to your neighbor that you talked with when experimenting with last week’s tip and ask them if they would be willing to work together in order to make your neighborhood a more accessible place. That’s it. If they say yes, boom! You both just formed an association, a coalition! Then, together, go talk with other neighbors and see if they would be willing to be a part of the action.
One amazing thing to keep in mind is that there are probably already pre-existing associations or coalitions in your neighborhood that you and your neighbors can join with! For example, maybe your neighborhood already has a formal neighborhood association, a boy scout troop, or an informal group of neighbors who are already coming together in order to take action upon these kinds of projects. One of the things that we have discovered is that taking part in an association is much easier when it doesn’t feel like you’re starting from scratch! Another piece of advice we would offer is that, when you gather with your neighbors, see if there is a neighbor who is willing to talk with your local businesses and see if those businesses might be willing to join the coalition. Our neighborhoods are made up of so many assets, and those assets are not just individuals, so we would encourage you to make sure you check your asset map and make connections outside of your individual neighbors! We have found that neighborhood businesses love taking part in the work that directly impacts their neighborhood. There are so many connections to be made!
Happy neighboring!