Building a village without leaving your street

<div class="header alignfull header--article has-background has-blue-diagonal-gradient-background"> <div class="header__layout"> <div class="header__content"> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-category"> Blog Posts</div></div></div> <h1 class="header__title">Archives</h1> <div class="header__metadata"><div class="header__metas"><div class="favorite-block"> <button class="favorite" data-id="263420" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" /></svg></button></div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--date"> July 15, 2026</div> <div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-program_tax"> <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/weave-the-social-fabric-initiative/">Weave: The Social Fabric Project</a></div></div></div> </div> </div> <figure class="header__media" role="presentation"> <img decoding="async" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3.jpg" alt="Neighbors enjoying a community meal and shaking hands. Photo credit: Andy Clayton-King" width="1531" height="853" srcset="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3.jpg 1531w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3-800x446.jpg 800w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3-1500x836.jpg 1500w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3-768x428.jpg 768w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3-1200x669.jpg 1200w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3-1024x571.jpg 1024w, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3-300x167.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1531px) 100vw, 1531px" loading="eager" class="header__image" style="object-position: 49% 57%"> <span class="header__overlay" style="opacity: 0.8"></span> </figure> </div> <div class="alignfull cta has-primary-background-color has-background"><div class="cta__layout"> <div class="cta__content"> <h2 id="h-subscribe-to-weave-s-newsletter" class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant">Subscribe to Weave&#8217;s Newsletter</h2> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This story was originally published on Weave’s newsletter. Every week, you’ll get resources on how to weave our communities and restore social trust.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="https://aspeninstitute.tfaforms.net/forms/view/5146617">Subscribe<span class="wp-block-button__effect"></span></a></div> </div> </div></div> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When Savannah Kruger moved from a shared living community into a traditional apartment building, she immediately felt lonely and isolated. Residents avoided conversations in the hallways and averted their eyes in the laundry room. Kruger started to ask herself, “Does it have to be this way? What if we all knew each other? What if we all supported each other?” She and her partner Jon started knocking on doors, making flyers for events, trying to create the sense of community she had always cherished.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It worked. Within a few months, a small friend group formed and neighbors started gathering for community events like book swaps, potlucks and block parties. Two neighbors even fell in love.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Seeing the positive impact on her neighbors inspired Kruger to help others reweave their neighborhoods together. She started the Neighborhood Village Project (NVP), which offers a free 6-month curriculum that helps folks re-learn how to be good neighbors and cultivate deep connection and trust in their communities.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The curriculum uses practical strategies like role-playing exercises to help neighbors overcome shyness and the fear of knocking on doors, and guides participants through each step of hosting a neighborhood gathering or starting a community project. “You won&#8217;t learn anything wildly magical here,” says August Elliot, co-founder and program director of NVP. “We just teach the time-honored techniques that really work.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">One practice is inviting participants to be on the lookout for “co-conspirators” — other folks eager to build connection and trust. Who showed up early to the gathering or jumped in to help? Who had interesting questions or suggestions? These are the people you’re looking for. At the same time, the program teaches how to find and partner with the neighbors who are already bringing folks together. “You don&#8217;t want to disrespect what is already there,” Elliot advises. “You want to ask before you offer.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Another strategy is leaning into what people are already interested in. For example, one NVP participant tried door-knocking and hosting a potluck, but nobody responded. Instead of giving up, he tried a different approach. He knew that brush fires were a common concern, so instead of another potluck invite, he suggested clearing brush together to help prevent fires from breaking out in the neighborhood. This invitation sparked a lot of interest, and neighbors worked together to clear about 8,000 pounds of brush. When he sent out a second potluck invitation, neighbors responded with excitement. Now that they had spent time on a shared project, they were eager to gather just to be social.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Elliot says he used to believe that finding community was possible only in cooperative living situations, but he now believes we can all have community everywhere that we are. “Much of what we teach is very specifically around asking, how do we help people realize that it&#8217;s actually easy? It&#8217;s effort, but the effort actually isn&#8217;t challenging. You just have to remember how to do it.”</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Today, NVP has community stewards in 31 neighborhoods in the Boulder, Colo. area and over a hundred “alumni” helping to build community in cities across the US. If you want support in building a closer-knit community where you live, you can <a href="https://nvp.community">apply to NVP’s next cohort</a>.<a href="https://nvp.community">&nbsp;</a></p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/building-a-village-without-leaving-your-street/">Building a village without leaving your street</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org">Aspen Institute</a>.</p>