When does a Neighborhood Become a Community?

This question was on my mind a few days ago during a meeting of the BLRA Elections Committee. (A grandiose name for three of us sitting around in Nancy’s breezeway.) More on this in a bit. Later, after I was done toiling on my third –and final– retaining wall, I decided to go looking for some sources to answer that very question.

And found them:

Realtors talking about desirable neighborhoods. A marketing article by the Project for Public Spaces, a non profit who, in their own words, “…bring[s] public spaces to life by planning and designing them with the people who use them every day.” A 2010 study conducted by the Knight Foundation who, also in their own words, “…[help cities] attract and nurture talent, promote economic opportunity, and foster civic engagement.” Studies by government agencies discussing urban renewal. And most surprisingly, a blog post by a payday loan company who had this to say.

Facilitating a strong neighborhood community is important for many reasons. It can help you have a support system as a neighborhood when problems arise like power outages or natural disasters. It can help you take care of each other as a community when someone is injured and needs help getting their groceries. And it can help your community come together to face neighborhood problems like an unruly neighbor or local legislation. But most of all, building a community in your neighborhood can help you feel part of a group of people who care about each other and support one another.

https://www.checkcity.com/get-involved/how-to-build-community-in-your-neighborhood

What did these sources list as attributes of neighborhoods that are also communities? Can we conclude the Burns Lane Neighborhood (BLN) is actually the Burns Lane Community (BLC)?

Let’s find out.

Walkability

Every list I found included this attribute either first, or very near the top. A neighborhood won’t become a community if everyone is either sitting in their home, or driving away from their home. Communities have residents who exercise their dogs, ride bikes, wave to neighbors, and walk to public spaces. To be walkable a neighborhood needs to be safe. It needs homes with pride of ownership whose occupants care about the upkeep and value of the place where they live. And it needs friendly neighbors who smile and wave and are generally happy to greet others walking about.

Drunk driving students on Indian Springs notwithstanding, all these things are true of the BLN, especially since we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of drivers who don’t pay attention to the speed limit.

Walkability? Check.

Public Spaces

Access to public spaces is also a hallmark of communities, according to my sources. Parks, grocery stores, restaurants, public buildings, all of these count as public spaces. Also, such public spaces need not be ‘in the neighborhood’ proper, but rather are near-by shared spaces where you can, and often do, run into friends and neighbors.

And there is no doubt we have them. To list a few:

Public spaces? Check.

Common Goals

Maybe some of us. But mostly, no. I certainly would not have moved to such a neighborhood. Not that it is intrinsically bad, because it’s not. I would have loved such a place in my early 20s. it’s just not what I’m looking for now.

So what do we want? I’m going out on a limb here to say what I think most of us want from the neighborhood. Please comment below if you disagree with what I’ve listed, or if you have other attributes you’d like me to add.

I believe most of us want a mixed-age neighborhood with safe and peaceful streets. We want well-maintained and attractive homes that retain property values. We want neighbors who are interesting, thoughtful, and kind. And we want neighbors who look out for each other. Not nosy or judgmental, just concerned.

Common goals? I believe that is also a check.

Civic and Neighborhood Involvement

This is the big one, and the reason for today’s post. My view, shared by many of the sources, is that you can have a walkable neighborhood with lots of shared public space where most everyone has similar goals and requirements, but still not have a community. I lived in Reston VA in the early 80s (a suburb of DC) which had walkability, public spaces, and shared goals, but was definitely not a community.

Once neighbors start socializing, working together to accomplish shared goals, and become involved in local affairs, then the neighborhood may cross over into a community.

Let’s consider the BLN. We have

• Men’s and women’s happy hours,
• An annual picnic,
• Welcome baskets for new residents,
• Farewell parties,
• Candidates forum sponsorship for City Council seats, and
• Outreach to adjacent neighborhoods.

This list is by no means comprehensive. As a neighborhood we socialize, we advocate, we work to make the streets safer, the college more responsive, and the city accountable.

Civic and neighborhood involvement? A big fat check.

Apply Modus Ponens, and viola! We must be a community.¹

¹ _{I just found out the plural of Modus Ponens is Modi Ponentes. We never stop learning.}

Pluggity Plug Plug

I’m now going to make a bold statement: Many of the activities that have transformed our lovely neighborhood into our beloved community are a direct result of actions undertaken by the BLRA. Here are some examples.

The BLRA:

• Works with city agencies to encourage absentee landlords to maintain rental properties.
• Educates residents on how to engage with law enforcement so as to hold landlords and tenants accountable for illegal and disruptive behavior. (When to call.)
• Promotes owner-occupancy within the neighborhood.
• Sponsors welcome baskets, arranges happy hours, hosts welcome parties.
• Sponsored the first meet-the-candidate forum.
• Reaches out to the City, W&M, and the CW Foundation, making sure our neighborhood goals are not ignored by these locally powerful organizations.
• Reports to the community on important proposals coming before the city council.

We [the BLRA] try to keep our finger on the pulse of the community.

Nancy Bolash, BLRA founding member

Our streets are safer, quieter, friendlier, and not ignored by local authorities because of the BLRA.

What’s the Point?

Sadly, Sue R. won’t be running for the board again this fall. We understand she has other obligations, and we are all grateful she was able to donate so much time to the community.

Which means we need someone to step up and fill her seat, if not her shoes.

Board work takes about two hour or so per month, and the term of office is two years, so it is by no means a full-time commitment. What it does require is a desire to help keep our community walkable, safe, beautiful, friendly, and engaged.

Leave a comment on this post if you would consider joining the board. Or talk to any of the current BLRA board members. The BLRA Elections Committee (Yes, still just the three of us sitting around in Nancy’s breezeway.) will get back in touch.

Remember, involvement is what transforms a neighborhood into a community. So consider getting involved.

A Final Note

I’m not sure many of you actually read this newsletter. I can’t keep track without turning on analytics, which either costs money, which I’m not willing to ask the BLRA to pay, or requires turning on tracking, which I’m not willing to inflict on you. So please leave a comment if you think I should continue writing.