Yet where Bowling Alone reviewed the vast body of evidence of declining social capital in America, Putnam’s 2003 book, Better Together: Restoring the American Community, co-authored with Lewis Feldstein and Don Cohen, highlights case studies where “creative social entrepreneurs were moving against the nationwide tide and creating vibrant new forms of social connectedness.” These diverse, compelling stories originate from mega-churches in California to blighted urban neighborhoods – but they all reveal common themes and lessons learned. To their credit, the authors also point out the challenges inherent in building social capital and admit that they are not “free of conflict or controversy.”

The book is not meant to be a rigorous scientific review of social capital methodology, but a collection of stories and protagonists that inspire and highlight places where community building has bucked the trend. The use of storytelling reinforces the most common theme within the case studies: that personal storytelling is a powerful, if not essential, technique for building trust and empathy. The fundamentals of community organizing include starting with what a constituency cares most about. In a chapter on the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston, the authors write, “getting people together to tell their own stories in their own words seemed to create the mutual understanding and sympathy that made collective action possible.” This was as true for Portsmouth, NH’s Shipyard Project, which used art to bridge cultures and communities, as it was for Valley Interfaith in Texas, where a coalition of churches and schools organized to improve conditions for low income and immigrant families. “Abstract ideas do not connect people and social action when it is not rooted in the heart of people’s life experience withers in the face of opposition and disappointment.” Stories build relationships.

Relationship building takes time – lots of it. Better Together acknowledges that it takes a lot of time to go door-to-door, neighbor to neighbor, and listen. In Portsmouth, nearly two years of preparation preceded a one-week performance. Trust building between factions on Dudley Street went on for five years. The account of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) tells of the union’s successful organizing approach: go to employees for conversation and trust and relationship building one at a time. The HUCTW story also reveals the challenges of organizing people in the absence of a demonized enemy or a threat. These are the exact challenges of participation in planning processes – how do we galvanize the public to create a vision for the future when we are not reacting to a controversial or immediate development proposal?

Better Together also offers interesting perspectives on the involvement of local government. In some cases government simply responds to organized turnout. With the Chicago Public Library case, mayoral support and adequate funding contributed to success. In Portland, OR, a story of growing civic engagement, the Mayor’s leadership was instrumental in the widespread creation of neighborhood associations and a willingness on the part of government to share decision-making with residents. What stands out in the story of Portland is “the evolving capacity of public officials and government to respond and adapt to citizen initiatives. Just as citizens honed their civic skills and vociferously pressed their views, government developed a culture of responding to and learning from, rather than rejecting, many grassroots initiatives.

Better Together acknowledges the challenge of bridging diverse social networks versus working within more homogenous groups. Organizers of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative have worked hard to ensure that representation and leadership reflect the diverse cultures of the neighborhood. And the compelling story of the Chicago Public Library demonstrated the importance of providing common ground to minimize class and race differences between neighborhoods. Without offering advice, the authors note that “social capital strategists need to pay special attention to the tougher task of fostering social ties that reach across social divisions.”

The authors tip their hats briefly in their conclusion to the role of urban planning and architecture in contributing to social capital. They write, “Common spaces for commonplace encounters are prerequisites for common conversations and common debate,” thus allowing places for diverse networks to intersect, foster opportunities and create a common sense of purpose.

Sometimes, when I think of the Foundation’s focus on a deeper, “heart & soul” method of community planning, I am reminded of how the most intuitive and effective approaches to citizen engagement have become lost within our institutional structures and formal processes - processes that make no sense as the basis for determining our future or that of the next generation. How often does public discourse about a community’s future leave out the youth who will inherit and lead this future? How often does a discussion of community resilience occur without the wisdom of those who have lived through generations of change? Reading Better Together was both an inspiration for leadership and a grounding for community development activities. 

Betsy Rosenbluth is Northeast Director of Projects for the Foundation and has over 20 years of experience in community development. She lives in Charlotte, VT with her family.