Collective Wisdom: Engaging neighborhoods - Incite at Columbia University

Neighborhoods are about more than just geography or the abstract shapes and names you see on a map. They represent a living history and shared social fabric — environments that thrive with human connection, intentional collaboration and care.

Journalism can only benefit from more thoughtful engagement and coverage of neighborhoods by hearing directly from the communities they serve. Many are leading such approaches — Block Club Chicago, Pittsburgh’s Public Source and Boyle Heights Beat among them.

Local news can also learn from organizations outside of traditional media that are already working on the ground level everyday. To bring those insights closer to local newsrooms’ experiments, we asked five leaders with community engagement experience outside of news about the opportunities they see for local media to build trust or belonging, from using physical spaces like libraries and community gardens to digital platforms that support shared experiences.

Which approaches can be effective for encouraging action around practical solutions? And what can news leaders learn about engagement from other mission-driven initiatives?

Read more at American Press Institute.