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Let’s bring back the block party

August 2023

Building local community seems to be on many people’s mind right now (mine included). And there are many Big Ideas in flight—from new towns (i.e. Culdesac, "Chautauqua of the West"), to dedicated third spaces (i.e. The Commons), to friend communes. These are exciting and wonderful. 

And—being a part of these might not be possible for you right now. Maybe your kids are in school and moving isn’t an option. Maybe friend communes sound ideal, but are logistically or financially impossible right now. Maybe you don’t have a version of The Commons in your neighborhood. 

This is a friendly reminder that the Small Ideas for local community building matter, too. If we cannot change geography—for whatever reason—our next best alternative is to build community with our existing neighbors. There are many, many things each of us can do to build this community this without changing geography, spending money, or even having a place to host people. 

I’ve started collecting (and trying) some Small Ideas that I’ve seen in SF and thought I’d share in case you’re trying to do something similar where you live.

Running list of real examples

These examples are intended to get you thinking about what might work for you. Copy them verbatim, make some tweaks, or ignore them and do something different altogether. I’d love to grow this list over time, please send me things you’ve organized/attended/seen ([email protected]) and I’ll add them.

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Sidewalk pancakes: This person hung up flyers all over Bernal Heights and made pancakes. Over 75 people came and over 125 pancakes were consumed . Tara also hosted one of these in the Lower Haight and setup shop right on the sidewalk. 

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Noe walks: Chris started a weekly walking group that meets every Saturday at 10am on 24th & Sanchez and walks for an hour, same route every week. At the end, everyone says their name and shares any upcoming neighborhood events. There are regulars age 18 to 99 (actually!) show up. This one requires no $, no dedicated space, and I especially love that it’s recurring, which opens up the possibility for it to grow organically by word of mouth (though there’s also this fun instagram account!). I heard about it through a friend, have brought several other Noe friends to it, and told many others. It’s wonderful. 

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Noe Whatsapp group: Dan and Christina started a Noe Valley Whatsapp group that makes impromptu meetups easy (ie "Going on a walk on Sanchez at 4pm if anyone wants to join"). People organize casual hangouts and share local events.

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Noe neighbors & bagels: I recently co-hosted a "Noe neighbors & bagels" breakfast with a Noe friend. The whole thing took 3 hours total (including prep/cleanup) and cost ~$50. We shared it with the Noe Valley Whatsapp Group and ~20 people came, half of whom I’d never met. Very easy and fun.

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Baked goods delivery. Matt and Griffin are often baking things for neighbors. It’s a great excuse to knock on someone’s door and say hello. You don’t have to know them to bring something by!

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Run club: Dakota has become a regular of the BV Run Club. 

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Open weekly basketball/pickleball/tennis game. Harris & friends reserve a court at the same time every week. Whoever comes plays, and the group keeps widening. 

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Introduce yourself to the owners and staff of your favorite local shops. You are allowed to do this! It’s fun to go into your favorite wine shop and say hi to the owners. 

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…[what else?]

Where people typically get stuck

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"I don’t have a place to host people." Most of the ideas above don’t require that you have a dedicated space. Find a local spot that works for your idea—could be a great street to stroll on, a stoop or sidewalk with a table and some food, a playground or your favorite coffee shop. 

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"I don’t have budget for something like this." Most of the ideas above are free (ie Noe Walks). Make it BYO[beverage, coffee, meal] or meet in/near a coffee shop or restaurant so folks can grab something and come meet everyone. 

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"I don’t know anyone in my neighborhood to even invite." This is the big blocker for many. Alas, the cold start problem is very tractable with a little creativity and courage. Some ideas on getting started and then expanding the circle crew over time:

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Get started: One of the few times door-to-door marketing still makes sense!

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Put up flyers around the neighborhood or your building

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Start super small and just host something for your block of building or floor. Put post-its on people’s doors: "Hi, I’m Nan in 2B. Thought it’d be fun for more neighbors to get to know each other so I’m having folks over for…[x]."

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Expand over time: It will take time to build your local community, but initiating local gatherings will likely get easier and easier over time. 

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Use your door-to-door marketing as an excuse for people to opt-in to a neighborhood Whatsapp group: IE, add to your post-it: "Also, adding folks to a local Whatsapp group, text me if you’d like to be added! [your number]."

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Let people know you’re open to them bringing another neighbor (either on your post-it for your initial event, or in your new Whatsapp Group).

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Make your event recurring, and people may start telling their friends about it. For example, Noe Walks doesn’t have a Whatsapp Group but it’s gotten around through word of mouth and expanded because it happens weekly.

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"What if noone shows up or it’s boring/lame/awkward?" Consider finding a co-host if you can, so worst case you’re just hanging out with each other. If noone shows up, then noone knows that :). If one person shows up, great—you now have a cohost for your next one! If it’s awkward at times, that’s fine and normal and doesn’t actually matter. Everyone will be grateful you went to the effort of making it happen.

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"These aren’t going to be my people." That’s probably true for most of them. If you find only one that would be a big win. And if you find zero, that’s OK too—I’d argue there’s merit to knowing more people in your neighborhood beyond close friendship—be it a friendly face on the street or a plant-watering pal.

Bottom line

Don’t overthink it. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or take a ton of time, or cost anything. Just start—perhaps this weekend!