Come out into the street and change the world

If you live on a street and you have neighbors, this is for you.

I believe that reconnecting with our geographical neighbors is one of the most important things we can do. To be alone is a kind of death; isolation is a condition without support, sharing, stories, excitement, or color.

Isolation is death but in community there is honesty, richness, intrigue, coincidence, curiosity, happiness, and love. Community is the spark that chases away the technosaturated-overworked numbness so many of us feel today.

You probably understand community as knowing your neighbors, helping each other out, feeling a sense of commonality and connection, and so forth. But how does one actually begin building community? In this writing, I focus on one element – an element without which full community cannot happen: Pushing into the streets.

Why push into the street?

Whereas the street was once the place for connection and for lingering, it is now a place of hypermobility and danger. That this common space could, in daily life, be for anything else is now unquestioned; it is apparently rude and dangerous to act otherwise. When we retreated from the streets, the roar of traffic then pushed us off the sidewalk into our homes. The retreat was complete.

In the street, recurring faces become familiar and familiar faces become friendly. From there we begin sharing our lives. Pushing back into the streets is essential; it is also easy, cheap, fun, requires little time, and is liberating. Below I'll list some ways that you can do this, ranging from instantly doable to achievable with some resources or a little courage.

Introductory thoughts

There could be said to be two main parts of the street: The sidewalk and the road. Reversing the retreat into our houses will likely involve pushing first back onto the sidewalk and then into the road (with parking spaces as a mid step between the two). Thus, I divide the below suggestions into these different areas.

Two important points to make before we proceed:

1. The below are my suggestions. But you will probably get more excited about ideas generated inside your own mind. Think for yourself about how you could push into the street.

2. Do not spend too much time thinking, reading, or preparing. Start doing something as soon as possible after reading this.

Principles

• Perform as many daily functions in the street as possible.

• Consider the street as a place for lingering, not just movement.

• Think less about laws and rules and more about negotiation and compromise.

1. Start with the sidewalk

These daily activities are suitable for individuals or groups to do on the sidewalk:-

• Eat meals
• Drink tea or coffee
• Read
• Write
• Do physical exercise
• Make art
• Play music
• Daydream
• Smile or wave at passersby
• Chat, or do any of the above, with friends

Due to their tendency to degrade the public realm or to make people feel excluded, I recommend keeping the following away from public places:-

• Phone conversations
• Computers
• Sunglasses
• Smoking

2. Next, move to parking spaces

Once you get used to sidewalk activities try moving beyond and doing the below in parking spaces.

• Dinner parties
• Book clubs
• Discussion groups
• Board games
• Music, acting, or other performances

These activities can be more enjoyable if you create a living room feel outside. Loot your house or build a street reclaiming kit by visiting garage sales. To create such a space, you could bring:-

• Rugs
• Cushions
• Chairs
• Plants
• Tables
• Ornaments
• Materials to create a border around your space on the road side

Some people go a little further and create "linger nodes" that can be left outside all the time. Such nodes can involve benches, potted plants, and community notice boards.

3. Finally, reclaim the road

Enjoying solo and communal activities regularly on the sidewalk and in parking spaces will return life to your street. Bringing people back into the road is the final step.

There are several common concerns to address on this subject.

Possible danger from oncoming vehicles:-

• Ensure vehicles and you can see one another well in advance and that vehicles are not too numerous or traveling too fast.

• Place items, such as children's tricycles or a welcome sign, at intersections or other visible areas to indicate to drivers that people are using the street.

• There is no reason why vehicles and people can't share the streets. Think about how you can blur the distinction between the pedestrian and vehicle worlds. Progressive urban thinkers have found that this blurring, far from being dangerous, actually reduces the frequency of accidents.

Possible antagonism from drivers:-

• In my experience, drivers quickly understand and appreciate people enjoying their street. Drivers are usually happy to take a little more care to pass you courteously.

• Wave and smile at passing vehicles and you will usually get the same in return.

Possible reactions from the police:-

• I don't know of any laws that prohibit use of the street by non-vehicles (ie. people). Act sensibly, safely, and courteously and your good manners will be obvious.

• Police only usually stop when someone calls them with a complaint, so be on good terms with as many neighbors as possible.

Your street, your home

Your street is part of your home and you have every right to be there. This is your space and you should feel welcome there. In fact, the more you are there the more everybody benefits. Using the street is a service to yourself and your community.

I'll leave it up to you to review the lists under the Sidewalk and Parking Space sections above and think about which of these you could bring into the road. For further reading, I strongly recommend reading the book Mental Speed Bumps (author's site, Amazon link) and visiting the Creative Communities website, where you'll find many inspiring suggestions included in the MSB book.

Whatever you do out in the street, make sure it's fun and promotes community and harmony. I promise that if you push back into the street, your life and that of your community will never be the same again.

You can change the world on your own street. And guess when's the best time to start...

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Photo credits (from top to bottom)

1. Neighbors learn lindy hop together in the street at the Inner Sunset Street Fair, which I helped organize. Photo taken May 15th 2010 by Chris Duderstadt.
   
2. My 30th birthday party on the sidewalk outside my house. Photo taken October 10th 2010.
3. We took over this parking space to promote neighborhood gathering and dialogue. Photo taken April 10th 2011 by Nicole Barens.
4. After the parking space event above was moved on by a police officer (of the many parking space events we'd done this was the first time we'd ever been busted), we moved to the street corner near my house and ended up sitting in the street and playing Foursquare there. Photo taken April 10th 2011 by Nicole Barens.
5. A stoop photo taken at my birthday party, inspired by the famous Art Kane Jazz Portrait photo from Harlem 1958. Photo taken October 10th 2010.