How Might We Promote More Functional and Thriving Neighbourhoods?
PART 2 of "Good Neighbours Make for Good Citizens"
In the first instalment of this two-part series, we saw that the neighbourhood plays a pivotal role, of the sort that cannot be easily substituted by other social units, in supporting the full ethical, psychological and economic development of individuals and families and their successful integration into the life of the broader community. In this second instalment, I propose a number of concrete actions individuals, businesses, and governments might take to promote more vibrant and well-functioning neighbourhoods.1
As we have already seen, the distinguishing features of well-functioning neighbourhood include accessible and shared social and economic infrastructure, promoting reiterated interactions that enhance social capital and trust; local institutions that involve meaningful interactions with role models, promoting the development of virtues and skills relevant to social integration and responsibility; businesses with roots in local communities, promoting the emergence of a civil economy; and social projects planned and executed at a local level, promoting governmental accountability and reducing the risk of ideological co-option.
This all sounds very good in theory, but how might we promote vibrant neighbourhoods in practice? We can and should deliberately invest in our neighbourhoods, implementing tangible measures to make them more functional and vibrant than they currently are. Furthermore, in the context of a rapidly urbanizing world, it is likely that we will have the opportunity to build many new neighbourhoods from scratch. Therefore, there are likely to be many opportunities to put careful thought into the physical design and social ecology of new and emerging neighbourhoods, as well as pre-existing ones.
How Might We Promote More Functional and Thriving Neighbourhoods?
In what follows, I propose seven actions that could be taken at a policy or collective level, and five actions that could be taken at an individual level, in order to enhance the functionality and design of neighbourhoods, i.e., in order to render them more fit to enhance human and social development.
Collection Actions
Promote local entrepreneurship by providing substantial tax deductions or low-interest credit for businesses located within a short radius of a neighbourhood, whose owners reside in the neighbourhood in question. Business owners are pragmatists. They will normally seek to maximise their returns and minimize their tax burden. Tax policies should treat businesses with strong roots in neighbourhoods favourably[i].
Build public amenities like parks, nature walks, and attractive playgrounds, in or near neighbourhoods, to encourage people to identify their neighbourhood as a place of leisure, and not just as a “dormitory town”[ii] Neighbourhoods need to be attractive places to spend leisure time in, if they are to become hubs of social life and interaction.