Who are the people in your neighbourhood?
A couple of years ago I bought myself an electric lawn mower and whipper snipper for my birthday (I know it’s not the most exciting thing to buy oneself) - but I love nothing more than spending a couple of hours tidying up the lawns. My favourite part of the experience is the time I spend whipper snipping the front nature strip. Why? Because everytime I find myself stopping for pedestrians to pass, I end up having some great conversations with those people who I would ordinarily never meet or just walk past.
And it all starts with hello!
It got me thinking in a world that thrives with human connection, why do we design our houses to live at the back of them?
The same question can be applied to many places globally and especially Australia - now working so hard to connect their town centre and villages with the place where residents and visitors want to spend the most time - near the water. Back in the day there was good reason for this including: mitigating risk of attack (in some cases, towns and cities were built away from bodies of water for defensive purposes as being closer to the water made them vulnerable to attack by sea) and health and sanitation reason (in the past bodies of water were often sources of disease and contamination and building away from them was seen as a way to reduce risk of illness).
So as we look towards optimising the natural assets of our towns and cities and building better public spaces to connect for residents and visitors, how can we take that same energy and better connect the streets we live in? Like the fun song so many of us learnt growing up while watching Sesame Street (Who are the people in your neighourhood) here are some ways you can build connection and foster a stronger sense of community:
Start a Facebook group. Let’s face it, we aren’t able to spend all day out the front whipper snippering as an excuse to chit chat (our grass needs time to grow). In my neighbourhood some amazing residents started a Facebook Group called Five Dock families - a positive, informative and supportive group of residents in the 2046 neighbourhood. The best thing is when I recognise someone from the group at a face to face event, it’s the fastest way to break the ice as we already have a common connection to start a conversation.
Encourage porch use. This is especially positive in streets with more foot traffic than others. Encouraging neighbours, especially elderly to spend time on their front porch, is a great way to socialise and connect with others in their neighbourhood. In my street, there are a few neighbours who do that and when I pass by, I always stop and have a chat with them. I think how much this would benefit my elderly mum if she spent more time out the front of her house. Social isolation is one of the highest causes of loneliness and although many are strangers, people watching and having someone say hello can have a profound impact.
Create a community garden. A community garden can be a great way for neighbours to work together, share resources, and connect with one another. I recently came across this wonderful community garden at Eudlo on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland that a local cafe created incorporating seating and inviting residents and visitors to come in and enjoy even when the cafe was closed.
Utilise common areas. If your neighbourhood has common areas such as parks or playgrounds, encourage neighbours to use them and to get involved in maintaining and improving them.
Organise community events. Regular events such as neighbourhood barbecues, block parties, and holiday gatherings can help bring neighbours together and create a sense of community. And, when they are at the front yards rather than the backyards, there is less pressure to be the host creating a more casual atmosphere where everyone contributes.
So as our towns and villages start to transition and connect better to the natural environment creating amazing public spaces, start a little closer to home and see how you can start to transition how you live and work in your front yards. Who knows, you might hit it off with a neighbour you were unsure of because you just stopped a little to form a human connection.
