I woke up this morning to my housemate knocking on my door saying “your friend is here to work on the porch”. I ambled sleepily downstairs and greeted my friend. I met him in my neighbourhood about a year ago and he is just about the nicest guy. He is working on our porch on the weekends eventhough he doesn’t need the money. A little later our nearby building supply store’s truck (small business. not home depot) pulled up to deliver the wood for our porch. The driver started talking to my neighbour who was washing his car. Turns out they knew each other. No big surprise in this city.

Later on, i left to go look in on my friend’s neighbour a few blocks away. He is elderly, recently had major surgery and is recovering. I’ve been going over there while my friend is away, checking his glucose, making sure he is eating right etc.

After that, i borrowed my friend’s car to go pick up chicken feed at a feed store up near fairmount park. I’ve been going up there for a few years now about 4 times a year. The shop is non-descript with only a small sign if any indicating that it’s a store. When i get there, the lady is standing in the doorway (she knew i was coming) smiling. She had saved a newspaper article for me on chicken coops. We chatted for a long while and i found out that she spins her own wool! She’s amazing.

Back to yesterday. My plumber calls me and says “should i get coffee or do you have some there?’ I replied “we have plently. come on over”. As we hadn’t seen each other in awhile, we sat down at my kitchen table for over an hour (at no charge!) and caught up. His shop is a few blocks down and he has been my plumber for ten years. If he sees me walking in the neighbourhood he always stops.

I love my big city and my neighbourhood.

Guede
Philadelphia, PA

When people talk about the community and closeness that they get from a small town, I think that I have that in the big city — and a lot more people get to experience it here than would in a small town. Philadelphia is known as a “city of neighborhoods,” but all cities are, really. We carve a close relationship-based group out of the mass of people in the city and call it a neighborhood. And in the city, if you don’t like your town, you can easily move to another one. Some of us are Northern Libertines, some of us feel more comfortable in West Philly or even Rittenhouse Square. . . but there’s a community for everyone within a few square miles

Janet Finegar
Philadelphia, PA

My next door neighbor and I are polar opposites in nearly every demographic category. You could fill a whole page describing the differences in our employment, economic status, education, race, sexual orientation, religion, family background, etc. What we share, however, is a commitment to make our neighborhood a good place to live, so together we examine the vegetables growing in front porch pots, discuss block parties and neighborhood happenings, bandage little boys’ skinned knees, commiserate about faltering relationships, lament broken car windows, gripe about city politics. Although she and I might contrast on the outside, our core values line up: values of caring for the people around us, even if—as often happens in big cities—they are strangers; values of actively contributing to our community, even if—as often happens in big cities—we are frustrated by the effects of crime and poverty and corruption; values of respecting and honoring differences, especially when—as often happens in big cities—we are surrounded by so much diversity.

Mel
Philadelphia, PA

To start, my big-city values include multiculturalism, public transportation, block parties, community gardens, neighborhoods, and so much more.

I love taking my daughter on public transportation, knowing that there will be all different types of people all doing the same thing – going somewhere.

I love that we know every person on our block. That we throw spontaneous block parties with ping pong in the street and Rock Band projected on the wall of a neighbors house.

I love that yesterday we rode our bikes to visit the Philadelphia Magic Garden and the Green Festival, all in our community. I love that these things are important to Philadelphia and people have organized to make them exist.

Mia L
Philadelphia, PA