Stories & Blog Posts
A Solstice Invitation to Rest and Reset
Sometimes growth comes in the nighttime, just as sometimes the sunshine can burn you.
Third Spaces
Less than four decades ago, the term “third space” was introduced into American culture and the English lexicon. “Third space” rhetoric emerged to describe the social gathering spaces that exist...
From volunteerism to accompaniment: how to love your unhoused neighbor
Part 3 of 3: November is National Homelessness Awareness month. To honor our unhoused neighbors during this month we will be featuring a three-part series on homelessness by DJ Johnsen....
Parking Spots and Deli Meat
My alarm went off and I woke to find myself drenched in sweat. There are certainly hotter places to be in the middle of summer than New York City, but...
The man who changed my life.
Part 2 of 3: November is National Homelessness Awareness month. To honor our unhoused neighbors during this month we will be featuring a three-part series on homelessness by DJ Johnsen. ...
The place we’re in.
Part 1 of 3: November is National Homelessness Awareness month. To honor our unhoused neighbors during this month we will be featuring a three-part series on homelessness by DJ Johnsen. ...
Learning How to See: Neighborhood Found Poetry
Found poetry does not require you to be a trained poet. Rather, it is training your eyes to see and pay attention to the nuances of your community, to the...
The Power of Proximity
Our home was so close to Bao and Lydia’s that I could literally see their orange paint from our yellow stairwell. We exchanged courtesies with them when our outdoor projects...
National Good Neighbor Day 2024: A Note from the Director
When we launched The Hopeful Neighborhood Project in March 2021, the world was still reeling from COVID-19. We had to make adaptations to many of our plans, creating options that...
What Makes for a Happy Life?
Some of the things we think will make us happy, or ought to make us happy… actually don’t, at least not in the long term. Things like lots of money,...
The Possibilities of Neighborhood
When we uprooted our family of five from a home, neighborhood, and city that we loved, we were unsure about when, where, or how we would experience the kind of...
Neighboring Lessons from the City of Brotherly Love
Moving is hard, especially moving to a city you have no connection to. When I made the move from Durham, North Carolina, to Philadelphia, it was a massive culture shock....