I moved to Philly from DC two years ago and I’m still blown away by the community feel here. One of my neighbors lovingly takes care of several flower planters on our street. I assumed they came from the city but apparently she purchased them herself. I recently became a committeeperson and haven’t found my stride yet, but hope to do something useful. I hear a lot about increasing isolation and lack of social contact but this move has definitely felt like an antidote to that.
I couldn't agree more! To add to the isolation, there's also political exhaustion. Americans are exhausted by politics because our political rhetoric on both sides is inflammatory and incessant-- the 24 hour news cycle makes sure that there's infuriating content always available. But I'd argue the root of the exhaustion ultimately stems from feelings of powerlessness. Powerlessness to do anything besides doomscroll and show up to the polls in November.
It's like with burnout at work-- even if you're working 12-hour days every day, you're not going to be burnt out if you can see the fruits of your labor moving you forward. Like if you're in sales and you can directly tie your hours and success to a bigger commission. Burnout happens when you're turning the crank again and again, but not seeing results. In the same vein, exhaustion with politics happens when you watch the news again and again and it keeps getting worse, but you can't do anything about it.
My personal antidote here is to focus effort on local and state politics, since those are much easier to move. I've seen how just one person or a handful of people showing up at my local community board can influence the outcome of a decision. (I wrote about it here: https://nycpolitics101.substack.com/p/how-to-influence-your-local-community)
I moved to Philly from DC two years ago and I’m still blown away by the community feel here. One of my neighbors lovingly takes care of several flower planters on our street. I assumed they came from the city but apparently she purchased them herself. I recently became a committeeperson and haven’t found my stride yet, but hope to do something useful. I hear a lot about increasing isolation and lack of social contact but this move has definitely felt like an antidote to that.
Love the article and loved the term tactical urbanism!
How do you think the world of Real Estate Development and Urbanism can collide to benefit both cities and Real Estate Value?
What can Development do to encourage city improvement?
Nicely done. I'm reminded of the Lu Xun quote:
"Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing -- but as people walk this way again and again, a path appears."
I couldn't agree more! To add to the isolation, there's also political exhaustion. Americans are exhausted by politics because our political rhetoric on both sides is inflammatory and incessant-- the 24 hour news cycle makes sure that there's infuriating content always available. But I'd argue the root of the exhaustion ultimately stems from feelings of powerlessness. Powerlessness to do anything besides doomscroll and show up to the polls in November.
It's like with burnout at work-- even if you're working 12-hour days every day, you're not going to be burnt out if you can see the fruits of your labor moving you forward. Like if you're in sales and you can directly tie your hours and success to a bigger commission. Burnout happens when you're turning the crank again and again, but not seeing results. In the same vein, exhaustion with politics happens when you watch the news again and again and it keeps getting worse, but you can't do anything about it.
My personal antidote here is to focus effort on local and state politics, since those are much easier to move. I've seen how just one person or a handful of people showing up at my local community board can influence the outcome of a decision. (I wrote about it here: https://nycpolitics101.substack.com/p/how-to-influence-your-local-community)