We asked our Facebook followers…
What makes a great neighborhood?
Knowing neighbors and their dogs, sharing from the gardens, mowing for each other, shoveling or snow blowing for one another, making baby quilts for the newest baby on the street. It’s the people that make a great neighborhood!!!
— Kari Ann
I love seeing kids playing in the streets, feeling safe in the neighborhood, and when the neighbors are polite and give you the Midwestern wave.
— Ashley Lasiter
We have a Girlz Bookclub! It is a neighborhood of modest homes, and through the bookclub we get to know each other. We also have a sweet little park within walking distance, so we get out, see each other, and chat. Also our neighborhood seems to have a lot of dogs, so people are out and about. The only downside is we have is no sidewalks. Oh, we are close enough to the Forum shopping center so I can literally walk over there to get the milk or spice I forgot! We also have a bit of a mix of rentals and even an Airbnb, I think, so we have economic diversity. I love our neighborhood!
— Dianna Borsi O’Brien
Everyone keeps an eye on the kids. Hear voices raised in anger or alarm? Every adult in hearing range rushes out to see what’s happening, to see if a child needs help. Doesn’t matter whose child it is.
— Tish Johnson
For me, a great neighborhood has sidewalks, trees, and walkability to community third spaces. When you can stroll and hang out in the park, the library, or a coffee shop, you naturally cross paths with your neighbors, make connections, and build community. Being among your neighbors and building those connections are what make a neighborhood feel like home. My favorites have been East Willy Street in Madison, WI; Oakhurst in Decatur, GA; and Fourth & Gill in Knoxville, TN — they all have that charm and sense of community.
— Jordan Watts
“Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person.”
— Carolyn Sullivan,
quoting Mr. Rogers
I’ll admit it, and I bet I’m not the only one: I know the names of more dogs than people in my neighborhood. And I’m guessing that some of the people who know my dogs’ names don’t know my name. Such is the connection among dog owners. Of course, it’s pretty cool when you learn names and get a bit of history of everyone you encounter. But the neighborhood first must be walkable — preferably good sidewalks — and drivers who watch their speed, keeping an eye out for kids playing in the street. We have wonderful neighbors.
— Jodie Jackson Jr
