Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

supernuclear.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

281–290 of 517 posts

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#281

Post by bluGill »

mcculley wrote: post #277
bluGill wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Suburbs are not hostile to pedestrians. They are hostile to getting anyplace on foot so cars are common. However they are great places to walk for exercise and many people who live there do that. (see the sibling comment about walking the dog)

My experience with suburbs is different from yours. I have lived in places where walking is downright dangerous because the architecture is oriented around cars and the drivers are not accustomed to yielding to pedestrians. Many homes are designed such that the inhabitants rarely use the front door, using only the garage.

That doesn't sound like suburbs I know. The streets are so empty you can safely walk down the middle of them most of the time. People don't, but you could. (kids used to play baseball/basketball in the streets, stopping play when cars come). Of course to get anywhere you need to leave and so it is never far for a major road that is dangerous to be near.

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#283

Post by mmooss »

stronglikedan wrote: post #38
josefritzishere wrote: post #23

This used to be completely normal. It was caled being neighborly.

Still normal in a lot of places that are not big cities.

As many other people have said, I find big cities more neighborly. People you pass on the sidewalk won't say hi - too many people to do that - but neighbors know each other and can be friendly.

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#284

Post by mmooss »

renewiltord wrote: post #20

Amusingly, we live in a high-rise in SF and it's like what people talk about neighbourhood living. We have a Whatsapp group and people meet for ethnic festivals, borrow an egg, or sugar, or flour, or a jump start kit, or an iron. It's honestly quite nice. It helps that you self-select for the audience by who can afford the building, just like they've done the same with their neighbourhood.

Why is that easier with affluent people?

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#285

Post by h3half »

tptacek wrote: post #76
afavour wrote: post #2

> my husband Tyler and I wanted that sense of community that feels like it’s only possible in the suburbs, but we believed we could achieve this while living in San Francisco. This genuinely threw me because in my experience the suburbs are the antithesis of this, just lots of people occupying neighboring space and rarely talking to each other. Still, a heartwarming story all the same. And yes, this is _exactly_ what…

It depends on the suburb. Some suburbs are effectively just city neighborhoods in a different school district, and they have blocks and block parties. Other suburbs are nests of culs-de-sac, where you'll say "hi" to your next door neighbors but not know anybody else.

This is very true; I've experienced both extremes.

In one neighborhood there was a yearly block party where we closed the street and cooked out, kids played together in the street consistently and visited each others' houses, neighbors babysat, etc. Everyone on the street knew everyone else's name. Whether this was a suburb is maybe up for debate, I don't know, but it was at least all single family homes.

I moved directly from that to a more rural suburb. Homes were still pretty close to each other - nobody had much land - but there were no sidewalks and the neighborhood was a network of cul de sacs. I knew the last names of my two next door neighbors but only talked to them maybe three times in about ten years. I knew of some people ("a fire chief for a nearby town lives in that house, that one has a family") but that's really it.

My assumption is that this is getting worse over time as entertainment gets more and more individually catered. Basically _Bowling Alone_ but moreso and as the most civically-minded people die off. Not sure if there's anything individuals can really do about it other than be friendlier with your neighbors

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#286

Post by alistairSH »

kasey_junk wrote: post #175
alistairSH wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe it's both/and. Cities are that too dense (Manhattan) don't have the space to do "stoop coffee" or equivalent. Everybody is in a tall apartment. The cookie-cutter suburb is too spread out and too car-dependent. You could have "stoop coffee" but your neighbors are in their cars, so don't stop to talk. An older bedroom community, or smaller city with single family dwellings (row homes or tightly-packed detache…

I live in Chicago, in a denser part, and we have all the things you mention. I think this idea that a “city” is like Manhattan just doesn’t hold up in the US. Manhattan is approaching unique here and there are places in Manhattan that could be described by your ideal.

Yeah that was kinda the point. :shrug:

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#287

Post by mikesabat »

czhu12 wrote: post #94

Really heart warming story. My 2 cents: The group is at a critical point now, having ~100 Whatsapp members. From what I've seen this creates a chilling effect where you inevitably end up with cliques and social cooling. No new members will feel like they can actually send a message into a 100+ person group, while the old guard starts to use it as a notification board, rather than a real chat. Eventually, newer member…

I think things could also 'creep' in the other direction where the group communication becomes overwhelming. The article mentions that someone actually sold an item through the WhatsApp group. My worry would be that the WhatsApp group becomes and meetings turn into Craigslist, where it's people looking for dogsitters and Buy Nothing posts.

The point, if I have one, is that editing and saying no, especially with the technology, will help the group stay together. In person, obviously, neighbors can talk about whatever they like.

In my opinion a broadcast/newsletter would be the better fit for group communication.

Re: Stoop Coffee: A simple idea transformed my neighborhood

#290

Post by chrisdhoover »

I went to school in Richmond Va. Our flats had big covered porches. Summers there were brutal. The buildings were brick. While sturdy, bricks are excellent. Storing heat and releasing it slowly. None of us had AC. Porch life dominated. Everyone would sit out. Some folk had gliders. I once sat on porch as Dave Brockie strummed away on guitar working out some of his songs

It struck me that no one really did that in San Francisco. For one there are few if any big front porches. For two the damn cold evening fog chases the women inside. It took me a minute to realize the social life was at the corner boozer.

Post reply on HN