How Many Block Parties Will Your Community Host This Year? Mayor of Colorado Springs Says 1,000

 

Has your community set a goal for how many block parities it will host this year? In Colorado Springs, the Mayor set a goal for 1,000 in one year!

It is a valid goal for any community. 

Some might say this is different from the business or purpose of city government. But those who say that are both missing the point and ignoring the research.

A healthy community has residents that are civil and work out issues together. A healthy community has civically engaged residents who run for office and serve on boards (all of which support city functions). A health community has residents who are connected and building healthy neighborhoods that can resolve many of their own challenges without involving the city or requiring city services (like law enforcement).

In the long run, a community of engaged neighbors saves the city resources.

That improvement could all begin with a block party or neighbor social.

Individuals running for elected office should consider this format too. Every candidate could host a social for their neighbors as part of a get-out-the-vote effort. Despite running unopposed, I plan to host one for the two individuals this year who are running for city council to serve my neighborhood.

You will find steps for planning a block party, driveway gathering or coffee social in my blog post titled, “Planning a Neighborhood Social or Block Party."

MAKE CONNECTIONS

In 2022, we did a series of “driveway chats” in my neighborhood. A different family hosted each month. Neighbors were invited to bring a lawn chair and join in the conversation on certain days.

These “driveway chats” started small but gained popularity as the summer progressed. By the end of the summer, we had 72 in attendance.

More recently, in 2023, my wife and I hosted some Saturday coffee socials (come-and-go events, but many stayed), each with over 30 attendees.

The goal for these or other neighborhood socials is not entertainment. The goal is connection. Get to know the neighbors you have yet to meet or renew connections in the neighborhood.

These types of social gatherings are not the end goal regarding neighborhood connections but are a great starting point.

American loneliness and isolation lead to being uncivil toward others and a dramatic decrease in community volunteering and civil engagement. The cure, the fix if you will, is connections and relationships. That is not an easy or quick solution, especially when those who are lonely and isolated will say they prefer to stay that way.

NATIONAL EXAMPLE: 1,000 BLOCK PARTIES

The new Mayor of Colorado Springs recently set a goal of 1,000 neighborhood block parties in that city during 2024.

Yemi Mobolade surprised the entire country when he was elected mayor of Colorado Springs. Mobolade is politically unaffiliated, an immigrant, and the first black person elected mayor of Colorado Springs.

Mobolade’s unlikely political ascension is the latest turn in a remarkable life that brought him from Nigeria to Indiana, where he struggled as a college student, and then to Colorado, where he came to work with a church.

The new Mayor has one goal for his first year in office: to see the city host 1,000 neighborhood block parties to “help move people from social isolation to community.”

“The pandemic and the events of 2020 shined a light on a cancer we've had as a culture. The thing we love with technology is also hurting us. … We are a nation of individuals trying to advance our society but the flip side is that we're also suffering as individuals,” said Mobalade in his inauguration speech. “As Mayor, I'm trying to push back that barrier. While we may not need to ask our neighbors for help, let's choose to, because of the benefits to our mental psyche.”

Mobolade explains that his experience of living in two worldviews – America (where he has lived for 28 years as a citizen) and West Africa, has given him two lenses to look at things.

“So, the opportunity I see around neighborhood engagement comes from my own experience and upbringing, but it also puts into practice what I saw as a pastor. We did what I'm trying to promote, which was transformative. We encouraged the folks in our church to host block parties and get to know their neighbors,” said Mobolade.

CITY OF REPUBLIC

We have a goal in Republic of hosting 500 block parties this year.

You can register your participation in a Republic Block Party by searching for that term online at http://extension.missouri.edu. Registering your block party will help us track our success, offer advice and assistance, arrange for a city employee to attend if requests and communicate information on things like sponsorships and grants.

If you plan to host a gathering and do, let me know via email at burtond@missouri.edu.

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Does this article make you interested in taking the Engaged Neighbor pledge? Five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.