Engaging, Organizing and Community Building

The work of building a community begins with old-fashioned organizing, sophisticated relationship building and a diverse “big tent” approach to achieve lasting personal commitments to neighborhood action.  Only by bringing a wide range of people to the discussion, and by enabling them to shape and own what is being decided, do we build the critical mass of doers and supporters needed to drive neighborhood change. 

 Different constituencies are engaged in different ways.  Rallies and public hearings may be good to alert the wider community and spur popular support, but other key supporters, such as a bank president or block club leader, are better recruited via personal outreach.  Hard-to-reach constituencies such as teenagers are more likely to be drawn to a wall mural project or a concert. 

The tools in this section provide a broad range of strategies and approaches to engage, organize and build community.