Reimagined Community

when the going gets tough, Americans build new civic institutions .

Design for public value, not just individual value

Design for public conversations to take place across content and to be long-lasting

Design for “crowding in” over “crowding out”

Fund and Encourage Local Leadership and Initiative

Findings about the negative effects of growing diversity on trust and on social capital need not hold for the longer -run. T he key to a better future is, as Putnam argues, the redefinition of social identities. “Identity itself is socially constructed and c an be socially de -constructed and re -constructed.

the volunteer rate and the share of adults who contribute to charity are among the strongest correlates of social capital at the state level

Those relationships can have intrinsic value for the individual members, creating a sense of belonging or being connected to others. But it can also have value fo r the larger society for three reasons: first, because one can draw on it as a resource for accomplishing some objective , such as partnering with other parents to improve the local schoo... See more

“It’s not just about density and walkability. It’s about fostering a sense of place and uniqueness.”

Urbanists often discuss mixing uses and designing a public realm that promotes social interaction. If that’s robust neighborhood hardware, it can’t properly function without the software.