The Importance of Community

Frequent, casual interactions in small towns and big cities

I’m currently visiting a small town in Alaska. As a lifelong resident of a big city, every time I visit a small town like this I’m reminded of how strong the sense of community is in smaller places. But what does it mean to have a “sense of community”? To be “in community"? What does a strong community look like, and how do we get more of this, even in larger cities?

One of the most obvious signs of community is when lots of people know each other. Yesterday, as I was walking around town, in stores, cafes, and on the streets, I noticed people were constantly saying hello to each other in passing. Some stopped for longer conversations, others just left it at a quick hello and carried on. Everyone seemed to really enjoy these interactions. It feels good to know people and to be known. Humans like to feel recognized, seen, and connected.

In a large city, it’s much less likely to encounter someone you known. And because nobody is expecting to recognize anyone else, everyone is somewhat closed off from each other. Two people passing each other on the street are conditioned not to make eye contact, to look down, to walk past each other quickly and avoid any possible interaction, lest it be awkward. This is a downward spiral, as it means it becomes even less likely to recognize anyone, let alone being open to meeting someone new.

The contrast between these two examples is stark. And important. The sense of community in small towns that comes from these casual, daily interactions is undoubtedly a positive thing. Loose connections between many people eventually leads to new friendships, all kinds of unexpected opportunities, and more vibrancy and richness in everyone’s lives. The goal is not necessarily more deep friendships, although that can also be a good thing. The loose ties are valuable in themselves, increasing the sense of belonging and connection.

In big cities, there are communities, of course, they’re just more structured, less natural feeling. Community in big cities tends to come from shared activities like sports, concerts, arts, or other organized group events. While there are good things too, there is a missing opportunity to devleop a more natural, free-flowing form of community. To be “in community” outside of structured events.

Small towns have the advantage of their small size, but in big cities this can happen on a neighbourhood scale. Some neighbourhoods do succeed at this, such as those with families with young children, or amongst dog walkers who find themselves out in the park each day. But in many big city neighbourhoods, few people know each other at all.

Improving this is not so simple. Things have been getting worse over the past decades, with smartphones, social media, and the pandemic causing greater isolation and face-to-face disconnection. All the more reason to try to reverse course and get that neighbourhood community feeling back. But how? Some high-tech attempts have been made with applications like Meetup and Nextdoor, but these have only delivered surface-level improvments. We need more. Somehow, we need to get to a place where neighbours routinely gather, chat, get to know each other. Feel that they belong, not just to houses and streets, but to each other.

This is an important topic that I will cover from various angles in future editions.