Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a TimeAn “essential and engaging ” (Richard Florida) exploration of social decline in America: its true causes and the practical steps each of us can take to combat it, starting with the places we call home. The neighborhoods we live in impact our lives in so many ways: they determine who we know, what resources and opportunities we have access to, the quality of schools our kids go to, our sense of security and belonging, and even how long we live. Yet too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between. In Fragile Neighborhoods, fragile states expert Seth D. Kaplan offers a bold new vision for addressing social decline in America, one zip code at a time. By revitalizing our local institutions—and the social ties that knit them together—we can all turn our neighborhoods into places where people and families can thrive. Readers will meet the innovative individuals and organizations pioneering new approaches to everything from youth mentoring to affordable housing: people like Dreama, a former lawyer whose organization works with local leaders and educators in rural Appalachia to equip young people with the social support they need to succeed in school; and Chris, whose Detroit-based non-profit turns vacant school buildings into community resource hubs. Along the way, Kaplan offers a set of practical lessons to inspire similar work, reminding us that when change is hyperlocal, everyone has the opportunity to contribute. |
Contents
Applying a Sideways Approach | |
Church Saving Marriage at Scale | |
Scale Sideways and Other Operational Lessons | |
Rethinking the American Dream | |
Other editions - View all
Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time Seth D. Kaplan No preview available - 2023 |
Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time Seth D. Kaplan No preview available - 2023 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed October American Angus Deaton Appalachia areas build Center challenges CHAPTER Chicago Chris Chris Lambert church collective efficacy commitment Communio connections create crime culture David Brooks Detroit divorce Dreama East Lake economic efforts Émile Durkheim ensure example fragile groups high school housing impact improve individual initiatives interactions interview by Seth investment kids leaders levels live low-income marriage mobility models neighborhood neighbors networks nonprofits norms opportunity organizations parents partnerships Patrick Sharkey percent Pew Research Center political poor poverty problems programs quarterback Raj Chetty region relationships Remodeled residents revitalization Robert Putnam role rural Sarah Hemminger Seth Kaplan social capital social dynamics social habitats social institutions social media social repairers society strengthen structures Theda Skocpol Thread Tom Cousins trust urban volunteers William Julius Wilson York youth Yuval Levin zip code