Not Just a Magazine
(“Turning neighborhoods into communities.”)
If there’s one thing we’ve seen in our consistent travels, has been the gradual breakdown of “community” in this country.
Neighbors used to know neighbors.
Neighbors used to really know neighbors.
People would walk about the neighborhoods, stopping regularly at various front porches to talk with neighbors, at length, about the “stuff of life.” The sense of community was palpable.
And as these relationships grew, there was more of a proclivity to rally to help each other.
There were more neighbors, not just parents, at the Little League games. More school levies passed because neighbors, not just parents, were interested in helping the schools because for their neighbors’ kids’ sakes. There was, in effect, a “strong sense of place” in these neighborhoods.
Not so much anymore.
Now solid, three-dimensional community building, continually competes with a one-dimensional world of television and computers. With air conditioning, people are also often now inside instead of on their front porch. And a lot of Little League stands are a lot emptier, and school levies fail a lot more.
N2Publishing magazines are intended to reverse some of this trend. They are designed to get the “stuff of life” dialogue going again – and, in turn, community strengthens in kind. That simple.
And this “stuff of life” is divided into a number of different categories in the publications. The following are some of the section headings.
Click each heading for a sample story from Liz’s magazines.
*Note: N2 Publishing is a relatively new publication. Most of their magazines, at this point, are in relatively affluent neighborhoods across the country, primarily because advertisers are more willing to commit based on income levels of those in the circulation market. However as time goes on, because of what an impact this does have on stimulating stronger community, middle class neighborhoods, and even low income neighborhoods, hopefully will have similar publications.
As an example, during our campaign travels we stopped in Wichita, Kansas, where we learned about “Go Zones.” The city has been subdivided into 15 block neighborhoods, with their own Neighborhood Councils, safety committees, and so on… What’s more, churches here are twinned with suburban churches to create more help. An N2 Publishing magazine, or even a regular neighborhood newsletter for that matter, would be an excellent conduit in moving people closer together in these “zones.”
