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.

A much more humane, and ultimately more appropriate, approach would be to treat our relationships and communities, as well as the benefits we receive from them, not as a form of wealth, but as gifts. They are received, not chosen; valued but not earned; given but not traded; appreciated but not capitalized. They have an inherent, unquantifiable val... See more

Theorists commonly identify two forms. There is “bonding” social capital created within existing social groups and “bridging” social capital created by relationships between existing social groups or across conventional lines of social segregation.

defined as “connections among individuals—social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.”

The role of informal, everyday interaction—sometimes unpredictable and serendipitous—should not be underestimated. But this requires a place-based social infrastructure that encourages such interaction. Neighbourhood churches (or other places of worship), religious activities, schools, butcher shops, markets, town squares, beauty parlours, taverns,... See more