Kindness

Strengthening neighborhoods often comes down to the simple habit of performing neighborly acts of care, love, and attention, again and again over time. This approachable list from The Hopeful Neighborhood Project gives us some practical ways to tap into the...

"The social renaissance is happening from the ground up."   I start with the pain. A couple times a week I give a speech somewhere in the country about social isolation and social fragmentation. Very often a parent comes up to...

As the holidays unfurl, bringing hopes and promises of special flavors, cozy traditions and connection, an urgency also begins to brew within our minds and homes: to buy. At our best, we buy out of our desire to concretely demonstrate...

In a recent podcast by The Neighboring Movement, hosts Adam Barlow-Thompson and Matt Johnson were joined by John McKnight to discuss the six (possibly even seven) attributes of a culture of contribution, how these characteristics in a community could...

  The solidarity economy is a global movement to build a post-capitalist world that puts people and planet front and center, rather than the pursuit of blind growth and profit maximization. It isn’t a blueprint but a framework that includes...

As we look to the abundance within neighborhoods waiting to come alive, one of the best starting places is to seek out those gifts, skills and talents are possessed by the people who live there. Our first instinct to...

Small acts of bravery, caring, and connection can heal this pain and weave the future we want This is the Hammonton Health Coalition (HHC) Facebook cover, a colorful picture showing a diverse group of kids, teachers, parents, first responders, and...

In his teachings and writings, John McKnight, founder and co-director of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University, has echoed Alexis de Tocqueville’s appreciation of the value of healthy civic associations. As coauthor of Building Communities from the...

John and Peter Conversation with Al Etmanski In partnership with the Common Good Collective ~ April 27, 2020 About every six weeks for the last six years, John and Peter have hosted conversations with community-building social innovators as their guests. For...

At the start of any asset-based initiatives, the identification of local assets is the essential starting point. Nonetheless, in many neighborhoods, most of these local assets are not recognized. Even though they are present they are not visible. This...