Kyla Fullenwider, 28
Clinton Hill Brooklyn, NY
What project/campaign did you do?
I'm not sure it's a project or even a campaign, but I started saying hi to my neighbors. Simple but very effective!
Why did you start your project? My neighborhood (and specifically my street) is in many ways quintessential Brooklyn: rows of beautiful brownstones, kids playing outside, people sitting on their stoops, and bodegas on most corners. It also has some of the qualities real estate agents tend to overlook when renting out apartments like empty storefronts, a busy street nearby etc. So you have the best and the worst of Brooklyn in my neighborhood--- it is still a work in progress. There are many people on my block who have lived in the neighborhood for years and have certainly seen it change. In fact, I was told so in a somewhat confrontational way one morning on my way to the new coffee shop around the corner. So I thought, ok -- I can either retreat or I can address what is clearly on the minds of some (or most) of the people who have lived here longer than I. I needed to connect with my neighbors.
How long did it take you?
I had a conversation with my roommate that afternoon and found out that she too had a similar experience. I started later that day on my way to the subway.
What were the major challenges you encountered during your project?
I would say there were two: 1) Breaking out of my bubble… unplugging the ipod, leaving the cell phone in the bag and engaging my street. 2) Sometimes people just don't say hi back and sort of leave you hanging; you learn-though-that people are sometimes thrown off by event the most casual hello from a stranger. In some cases people who have not responded the first time respond the second or third time. There are some who still don't respond and that's just the way it is.
What did you enjoy most about your project?
I think the switch from being (in many ways) a passive neighbor to an active neighbor is really invigorating. Saying hi to one's neighbors -- particularly in an area where there may be some tension -- is a first step towards feeling ownership of the block/street on which you reside. Baby steps.
What would you have done differently if you could do it all over again?
Well, I'm still doing it and improving it. I find that I have good weeks and bad weeks and I'm working on consistency. When it's cold and when I'm busy I tend to rush but for the most part it has become instinctual for me to say hi -- funny that it wasn't initially upon moving to the neighborhood. I think that is very typical of what we consider to be the most basic components of community… those fundamentals have in some ways been lost and we have to re-learn them.
What's your advice for other people who want to do the same project?
Just do it. Don't think about it. Saying hi is the simplest way to know your neighbors. Also, don't feel rejected if people don't respond -- mostly they're just surprised that someone is reaching out.
What's your next project?
I'm working on a meet your neighbors project, though I'm having trouble deciding on a time and place. New Yorkers are so busy that it's hard to find a time/place that suits everyone.
What would you like to see Neighbors Project accomplish?
I think if the Neighbors Project can help people re-learn the fundamentals of community (and) in a lasting, sustainable way that would be quite a feat. We live in such a hyper-individualistic world that those things that were so fundamental to people just a generation ago are being lost. We are inherently social creatures and when we lose the ability to socialize with those literally right next door to us we have a real problem that needs to be addressed. I think if we start engaging our buildings and our blocks then we legitimately have ownership of our cities and states. That's pretty powerful.
5.01.2008
Meet your neighbors: Kyla
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2 comments:
Useless. Absolutely useless. I bet she's already stopped doing it.
People need continuous stretches of time to develop relationships and community. She made a comment which underlies this fact and undermines her whole argument: New Yorkers are too busy to know their neighbors. Once she changes that (which won't happen), then perhaps she'll have a shot at developing real community.
Cities are notorious for their isolation because they are shrines for big business and efficiency. Small towns give you an opportunity to develop deeper relationships because you have a higher chance of running into the same people.
She should read "Bowling Alone" and then see if she can keep her chipper, waiting-for-Godot smile.
Glad you like Bowling Along. But Putnam doesn't say anything of the sort in the book. He actually says that declining civic participation is happening across the country, across all types of places to live. Though having to commute long distances (as you would having to live in most exurbs) is particularly disastrous.
It's true that in Putnam’s 2007 paper, “E Pluribus Unum,” he revealed that in ethnically diverse neighborhoods, residents of all races were more likely to isolate themselves from their neighbors. Most notably, residents were less likely to cooperate on community issues. Which could bode ill for cities, which still tend to be more diverse than suburbs and rural areas. But according to CEO’s for Cities’ 2004 report, “The Changing Dynamics of Urban America,” cities with low levels of racial and educational segregation have higher rates of economic growth. So clearly there's something to this whole making cities attractive to people thing. In fact, Putnam believes that to bring people together, we need to develop “more opportunities for meaningful interaction across ethnic lines where Americans (new and old) […] live.” Since younger Americans are moving to cities in large numbers, there's clearly an opportunity to make this happen in city neighborhoods. So I wouldn't be so quick to write off the power of the basic hello to your neighbors.
Finally, please note that we don't tolerate criticism of physical appearance on this blog. Feel free to rip into our ideas with the fury of a thousand isolated suburbanites. But leave physical appearance out of it.
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