This is my first year living in a house in Davis and I was really excited
— not because of the amount of leaves I get to rake, but because of the
invitation I found on my door to my neighborhood’s block party. The Ninth
Davis Neighbors’ Night Out (DNNO) took place on Sunday, and organizers
set the aim of breaking the Guinness World Record for “Most
Neighborhood Potlucks On the Same Day.”
DNNO is part of the City of Davis’s Good Neighbor Initiative, which
was created to promote understanding and effective communication
between neighbors. The way DNNO works is that multiple people sign
up as “party sponsors” who are in charge of sending out invitations to the
event or have the option of getting invitations directly from the city. When
I went out to my neighborhood’s block party and met our party sponsor,
Susan, she said that it was her second year as a sponsor. The neighbors
each pitched in by bringing a dish and their lawn chairs, thereby making the
workload more manageable for her. The only thing that troubled Susan was
wondering how she was going to finish all the leftover food.
The City of Davis highlights that DNNO is important because there
are 64,000 residents living in nine square miles; however, I think that every
city could benefit from a mass neighborhood block party, regardless of its
Another way to build relationships with those living near you is
through social media. A social network that has the potential to change the
way people gather is Nextdoor.com, which is essentially a social network
for neighborhoods. The City of Davis promotes this site on the infographics
they provide about the Good Neighbor Initiative. Curious to see if my
neighborhood had a “profile,” I created an account on Nextdoor.com and
found one for Central Davis. Although I am still waiting to be verified via
mail (see, it’s secure) I already found listings about the need for a
babysitter and a potential car break-in. It’s like the neighborhood crime
watch group you never had. Also, the fact that I could potentially find a job
(and a job on the very street I live on, no less) is amazing. Normally, when I
use babysitting sites, they require me to bike long distances in the wee
hours of the morning; therefore the locality of these postings is appreciated.
I could personally find Nextdoor.com useful because it might lead
to me meeting more people on my block than the actual block party
established by DNNO. The turnout for my personal neighborhood was
15 people and I know there were a few faces missing (like my neighbors
that play music loud at night – hey, it’s OK, no hard feelings – I wanted to
get to know you too). Some possible ways to encourage greater turnout
is using rewards as an incentive and establishing more of a face-to-face
connection when passing out invitations. It’s a big step in itself to have a
night like this, and one of the many reasons I feel blessed to go to school
in Davis; however I am looking forward to seeing DNNO’s awareness
and attendance grow, and possibly be promoted through websites like
Nextdoor.com.
To get her spinach dip recipe or to find out how to win the hearts of your
own neighbors you can email NICOLE NELSON at nsnelson@ucdavis.edu.
