8 Key Neighborhood Passions
Over the past 25 years, we’ve met a lot of people who are passionate about their neighborhood. What we have discovered is that this passion is expressed in many different ways. Today, we will explore what we have identified as the 8 Key Neighborhood Passions:
A successful neighborhood organization will help residents identify and unlock their neighborhood passion (or passions). Residents who are freed to live out their passion have a deep sense of purpose and find real meaning in the work they do in their own neighborhood. They create positive change right where they live and neighborhoods are transformed.
Neighborhood Safety
People who are passionate about neighborhood safety are most concerned about protecting life and property. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Develop or participate in a Crime Watch Program
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Planning or hosting a Night Out Against Crime
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Work to encourage community-oriented policing
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Advocate for sidewalks and bikeways in your neighborhood
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Develop and implement a neighborhood disaster preparedness plan
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Form or participate in a Neighborhood Emergency Action Team
Beautification and the Environment
People who are passionate about neighborhood beautification and the environment are most concerned about creating clean, environmentally safe, and attractive neighborhoods that promote the health and well-being of their residents. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Host or participate in a neighborhood clean-up
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Create a community garden
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Nurture a neighborhood arts program
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Host or participate in neighborhood recycling events
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Become a neighborhood tree captain
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Plant wildflowers in your alleyway to encourage pollinators
Planning and Development
People who are passionate about planning and development are most concerned about influencing changes to the build environment and community in which they live or work. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Collaborate with your neighbors to create a shared neighborhood vision and plan
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Work to ensure any new development is in harmony with the existing neighborhood
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Advocate for affordable housing in your neighborhood
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Help create an economic development plan for your neighborhood
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Work together to create a short-term project (tactical urbanism) that demonstrates how something could be in your neighborhood
Making Government Work for the Neighborhood
People who are passionate about making government work for the neighborhood are most concerned about making sure their neighborhood receives appropriate representation and services from the local, state, and federal government. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Advocate for the neighborhood and its residents at public hearings
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Work with neighbors to build neighborhood power and influence
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Collaborate with your neighbors and government officials to develop and enact real pro-neighborhood public policies
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Host candidate forums and debates in your neighborhood
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Make service requests, ask questions, and share feedback through hubNashville
Neighborhood Preservation
People who are passionate about neighborhood preservation are most concerned about finding ways to protect the historical built environment, as well as the cultural and history of its residents. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Advocate for the preservation of historic homes
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Collaborate with neighbors to establish an historic or contextual overlay
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Create an oral and/or written neighborhood history
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Work to address the root causes of gentrification
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Find ways to help longtime residents remain in their homes
Creating Community
People who are passionate about creating community are most concerned about building positive relationships between people who live, work, and play in their neighborhood. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Create social opportunities so that neighbors can get to know one another
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Welcome new neighbors
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Appreciate and celebrate cultural and ethnic differences
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Learn a new language spoken by your neighbors
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Facilitate conversations that bridge differences in order to achieve common goals
Neighborhood Organizing
People who are passionate about neighborhood organizing are most concerned about the process of bringing neighbors and other key stakeholders together in order to create positive change in their neighborhood. If this is your passion, you may want to do one or more of the following…
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Focus on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)
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Work with your neighbors to identify and address common issues
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Learn to property facilitate neighborhood meetings — then lead them
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Encourage your neighbors to discover their neighborhood passion
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Becoming an officer in your local neighborhood organization