From a technological standpoint, the world has never been more connected.
Social media and video conferencing platforms make it simple to have conversations, share photos and videos, and express thoughts, opinions and interests with people almost anywhere in the world.
And yet, people are still experiencing epidemic levels of loneliness and isolation.
“Recent surveys have found that approximately half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, with some of the highest rates among young adults,” then-U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned in a 2023 advisory. “These estimates and multiple other studies indicate that loneliness and isolation are more widespread than many of the other major health issues of our day, including smoking (12.5% of U.S. adults), diabetes (14.7%), and obesity (41.9%), and with comparable levels of risk to health and premature death.”
So if technology isn’t the answer, how do we help people feel less alone and more connected?
Seth Kaplan suggests we plug back into our own neighborhoods and communities.
Kaplan has traveled the world studying “fragile states,” countries where social fragmentation and weak institutions have created chronic instability, deep cultural divides and violent conflict.
The U.S., despite its political polarization, isn’t a fragile state, according to Kaplan, and as a country we still have strong institutions and overall social cohesion.
At local levels, however, Kaplan is seeing “fragile neighborhoods,” and communities across the country experiencing school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation and despair. These challenges are not confined to low-income areas. They affect neighborhoods rich and poor, rural and urban and everywhere in between.
“I think you can look at this on two levels: … neighborhoods that aren’t doing well, that have high crime, they have low social mobility, they have the very clear social breakdown that we would typically talk about, but I think we also need to look (at the fact) that there’s materially well-off places that also have great disconnection,” Kaplan said.
“They have nice houses and they might have nice lawns. They might have nice streets. They might not have crime, but they have a lot of discontent, alienation, isolation, unhappiness, and people, I think, feel much more anxious. … I mean, if you’re materially well off, you can buy something (you need), but if you have a need to be heard, if you have a need to feel that you’re empowered—that you have some value—if you have a need to reach out and ask for help, even if you have money and you’re in a nice neighborhood, we have much less opportunity or much less of what I might call a relational security blanket around us.”
In a free, open-to-all CivicCon presentation April 14 and in a series of public workshops April 14 and 15, Kaplan will be in Pensacola discussing why strong networks of local institutions and relationships are essential to healthy neighborhoods.
Kaplan will also delve into how faith organizations, nonprofits, schools, neighborhood associations, small businesses and civic groups each play a critical role in creating the stability and opportunity that helps communities weather economic shocks, public safety challenges and social crises.
The U.S. isn’t a fragile state, but it does have fragile neighborhoods
For most folks, in most places, for most of human history, people formed relationships with the people around them organically. Whether it is a trip to the market, working together to raise a barn, worshiping at a neighborhood church or unwinding at a local pub, individuals regularly interacted with one another during their day-to-day lives and over time forged relationships, friendships and bonds.
Things can still work that way in modern society, but they often don’t.
Particularly in suburban America, people often drive across town to school or work, come home and go straight to their couch, and spend their evenings glued to a phone or a TV screen.
“We’ve built out the environment where there’s neighborhoods with no center, no identity, no chance to meet people,” Kaplan said. “And whether you’re shopping or sending your kids to school or volunteering with a nonprofit or getting a cup of coffee, none of it is place-based.”
So, what is the benefit of having hyper-local ties and relationships?
At the individual level, we’re happier, and we feel like we have more agency and more resources, according to Kaplan.
He gave the example of being able to quickly organize neighbors to help search for and spread awareness about a missing child, or using a network of friends and acquaintances to find a job, as opposed to applying online and hoping for the best.
“On an individual level, we see dozens of problems being solved, dozens of crises being put off. Your life is easier, your burden is shared. So many things happen that are better for you,” Kaplan said.
“You can think of so many problems in our society, drug problems, homelessness problems, so on and so forth … obviously you would have some of that, but how many of those would we not have if people were interconnected, they were supporting each other, and you had this security blanket behind you to help you?”
At a societal level, having neighbors, churches and civic clubs solving problems helps take the strain off institutions and governments.
“You have a more trusting population. You have a less divided population, you have a more optimistic population, and you also have loads of lower costs,” he said. “You’re not spending as much on government services. You’re not needing a large nonprofit for people who have no one to turn to.”
To build stronger neighborhoods, focus on the practical and joyful
Kaplan said if you’re thinking about creating more social connection in your neighborhood, he recommends starting by making small changes to your routine.
“I would say level one is, you go out and you just meet a few people on your block,” Kaplan said. “Instead of sitting in my house when the weather’s warm, why don’t I sit in front of my house. If I have kids, how about the kids playing in front versus out in the back, or how about in the park, or how about near the street or whatever it might be? How do I take a different posture? How do I greet people or walk over and introduce yourself, whatever it might be? That is the lowest hanging fruit.”
Kaplan said the next level is teaming up with a few people in the neighborhood to do an activity.
“What would it take to have a block party? What would it take to do something around some holiday like Halloween or spring cleanup or July 4th?” he asked rhetorically. “What is something that we can do that’s not too much of a lift, that several of us can organize and it just gives us a chance to know each other?”
Kaplan said the third third stage is looking for an organization that has something to do with your neighborhood and getting involved.
“The key thing is, start small, be incremental, get other people involved, make it fun, and try to create a steam roll effect or momentum.”
Kaplan said a good rule of thumb is to look for initiatives that are joyful and practical.
“I’ve talked mostly about relationship building, but once you know your neighbors, how can you and your neighbors team up and make your neighborhood better?” he asked.
It could be planting trees, posting signs asking cars to slow down, or helping repaint dingy homes and buildings.
“I bet you and I could come up with 10 ideas about how you and your neighbors could come together and make your neighborhood prettier, more usable, more livable, and doing that gives you some power, it gives you some agency, creates better relationships, and the end result is you have a nicer place to live in as well. So again, that’s practical and joyful right there.”
Want to talk building stronger neighborhoods with Seth Kaplan?
Kaplan will be in Pensacola April 14 and 15 for four community workshops and a mainstage presentation on strengthening fragile neighborhoods.
In the presentation, Kaplan will outline a bold vision for addressing social decline in America one zip code at a time. By strengthening local institutions and rebuilding the social ties that connect neighbors to one another, communities can become places where individuals and families truly thrive.
The presentation will be 6-7:30 p.m. April 14 at 2 E. Wright St. in downtown Pensacola.
The free event is open to the public. Registration is available by searching “CivicCon” at eventbrite.com. The presentation will also be livestreamed on the News Journal’s Facebook page.
During his visit, Kaplan will also lead a series of community workshops with each session focusing on a specific group of stakeholders: faith leaders, nonprofit organizations, employers and civic organizations. All sessions will be held at the Maritime Place office building at 350 W. Cedar St. in Community Maritime Park.
This event is free, but seating is limited, so please register to confirm your attendance by searching CivicCon at eventbrite.com or following the links below:
CivicCon is a partnership of the News Journal and the Center for Civic Engagement to help empower citizens to better their communities through smart planning and civic conversation.
More information about CivicCon, as well as stories and videos featuring previous speakers, is available at pnj.com/civiccon.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Want a nicer neighborhood? Learn how tonight at CivicCon
Reporting by Kevin Robinson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
