Little things make great places

The Great Neighborhood Book, by Jay Walljasper

How’s this for a concept: a “do-it-yourself guide to placemaking.” I like the notion that you and I can do this ourselves – make great places in the communities where we live. This phrase is the tagline to Minnesota author Jay Walljasper’s recent publication, “The Great Neighborhood Book.” The book is a delightful compendium of simple concepts and ways to lend a hand in making the places we call home even better.

One of the themes that recur in the short and eminently readable chapters is introducing yourself. Saying hello to strangers you pass on the sidewalk is an easy way to shift from thinking about them as strangers to recognizing them as neighbors. Walljasper shares a couple of success stories where residents decide to “take back” nearby parks that don’t feel so safe anymore. Their method? Teaming up with neighbors to go for a stroll through the park, deliberately saying hello to everyone they encountered. “It’s a simple thing, and it sounds corny, but it really works,” says Steve Coleman, a concerned Washington D.C. resident who found this method successful.

A related chapter shared the secret of another neighborhood’s success in reclaiming a shady park that no longer felt safe for children. Residents put together a survey and asked all park users what they liked about the park. When they heard that the local troublemakers liked the way the park was closed off from the activity of the street, with narrow entrances and limited sightlines into the park, the citizens had their answer: widen that entrance!

Most of the ideas in the book are simple and celebratory, reminding us of the little (and awfully important and rewarding) things in life: go for a stroll, give yourself a break, have some fun. Walljasper reminds us how much we crave and enjoy social interactions, and how the simplest thing, like hanging out in your front yard instead of the back, can make all the difference. He encourages people to put benches in their front yards to encourage passersby to stop and enjoy the block. And in this time of economic recession, we’re all spending more time at home and in our neighborhoods, so his message has never been more needed.

Walljasper offers insights on traffic planning too. I’ll never underestimate the humble stop sign again. The psychology of stop signs versus stoplights is not something I’d really considered before, but Walljasper teases this out. He writes, “Think about it. You see a stoplight in the distance when you’re driving and naturally hurry up, usually exceeding the speed limit, so you don’t have to stop. It’s a human instinct, even among normally safe drivers who care about pedestrian safety.” Umm, guilty as charged. Stop signs, however, work differently. “You know you must stop, so there’s no incentive to speed. But you also know that soon you’ll be able to move again.”

So maybe you don’t have a dangerous park nearby, and you don’t see an opportunity to replace a local stoplight with a stop sign. But I bet you have sidewalks, streets, neighbors, nearby businesses you like to frequent, and places you like to sit outside and watch the world go by. These are the makings of great places, and they are ours to embrace, enjoy and share.

I’m going to put a bench in my boulevard this summer. How about you?