These are some resources you can use to plan community-building activities in your neighborhood around National Night Out, August 3, 2010 (unless you’re in Texas: 10/5). The National Night Out website. From the About page: NNO is designed to Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; Strengthen [...]

Thanks to Ashoka Fellow and e-democracy founder Steven Clift for sending me this list, which was drafted at his request by Our Blocks friend Jim Diers, the author of Neighbor Power and former head of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods. You can add to the list by going to the Block activities wiki on e-democracy.org. In [...]

I got this note from UMass Professor Emeritus Bill Berkowitz earlier this week, and with his permission have posted it here so you can share your own thoughts and suggestions. Dr. Berkowitz is a writer, editor, and core team member of the Community Tool Box, the most extensive web site on community health and development [...]

Recommended resource: GOOD Issue 19, The Neighborhoods Issue. GOOD started planning the issue back in January, inviting its readers to help plan and produce it. The printed magazine went out to subscribers this month, and pieces are being published online in daily increments. Dozens of good articles in the issue (here’s the rss feed), but [...]

Some free icebreaking, team-building, community-making resources and selections, mainly from nonprofits, schools, and government agencies. Some notes on when to use icebreakers, and what makes them good – from the Resource Center of the Corporation for National & Community Service (@nationalservice). “Icebreakers are often used to encourage people to open up or feel comfortable, invite [...]

Sources: Block Party Guide, Oakland CA and Block Party Planning Tips from Block Party NYC. These resources include forms and other tools. For local restrictions and guides, try searching the term “block party permit” and the name of your city/town. Click on this, for example. 10 Reasons To Have a Block Party To have fun [...]

Bike Your Block Too: Tips for Bike-Themed Block Parties 15 Oct 2009 by MikeOnBike An hour into NOPA’s popular Bike the Block party last month, a few neighbors announced, “We’ve got to do this next year” and “We should do this every month.” But the comment that grabbed our attention the most was “I wish [...]

All it took to rally the neighbors was a little prime rib and an invitation. “I know how easy it is to make friends when you’re a chef,” Crocker said with a chuckle. “So when I moved to Claremont, I thought I would combine both. I bought the largest prime rib I could find, put [...]