As a matter of interest, how long have you lived at your current address?
- <1 Year
- 1-2 Years
- 2-5 Years
- 5-10 Years
- 10+ Years
I wondered whether there is a link between how long you have lived in a place, and how involved you might be in campaigning for it.
Does your ‘relationship’ with the street and the neighbours increase with time, or do we get used to “the way things are”, so newcomers are more likely to seek change?
If you are a Telraam host or a mobility campaigner, please let us know your thoughts and what motivates you and your neighbours.
1 Like
I’ve seen our street change a lot over time. A (mostly) elderly population in the street when we moved in, gradually changing into predominaly young/middle-age families street. It does change the dynamic, with kids playing on the street (cul-de-sac). Still room for improvement traffic-wise though! 
1 Like
Interesting thought process Rob!
In my view, the type of building/street/neighbourhood people live in also plays a role in terms of community involvement.
I live in a large apartment block along a busy road in Antwerp (the block has 17 floors, the road has car and tram traffic in both directions). Living in such a large building creates a sense of anonimity: I regularly meet people who live on other floors in the hallways and in the elevator, I know they live in the same building as I do, but I don’t necessarily see them as “my neighbours”. There isn’t really a sense of community. And if there is, I get a sense that it is limited to each floor seperately.
On the other side of the road though, there is a smaller residential street with single-family homes. Here, I know the people have set up a kind of “action committee” to discuss issues that affect their street. In the past, they’ve bundled forces to launch a call for new pavement, to complain about drainage problems, to organise a street party, …
This might be a sidenote, but does reflect my personal experience here in the neighbourhood.
1 Like