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All neighborhoods have their treasures. The treasures can be obvious to everyone, both residents and guests, or they can be subtle and discreet, maybe even invisible. What are the treasures of your neighborhood? How do you interact with them? What would a treasure map of your neighborhood look like?

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Mr. J’s shop isn’t much of a shop. Still, it feels significant to many people. Why is that? What kind of role does Mr. J play to the kids and to the neighborhood in general? Do you have anyone in your neighborhood like Mr. J? If so, why is this person important to you? How would your neighborhood be without this person?

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When you buy at a locally owned store more money stays in the community. The independent London think tank The New Economics Foundation has analyzed the consequences of buying produce at a supermarket instead of a local farmer's market. The result? Twice the money stays in the community when you buy locally. "That means those purchases are twice as efficient in terms of keeping the local economy alive," says author and NEF researcher David Boyle.

What are your options of buying locally in your neighborhood? How much can you cover? Do you think differently about the locally owned store and the chain store? If yes, why? Would you like to see more local shops in your community? What kind of shops do you miss?

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Imagine the mayor coming to a party in your neighborhood. What would you tell him if you had 30 seconds? What must change? What should remain as it is? Mayors tend to forget things. Maybe you should write an open letter to the local newspaper. It often helps to get the words down on paper.

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The kids believe that the mayor will have the power to secure Mr. J and his shop, but neighborhood dynamics are a combination of the wishes and wants of a multitude of stakeholders. Who should the kids be talking to if they want to make a case for Mr. J and the shop? What could their arguments be? What kind of value is Mr. J creating in the neighborhood? And who benefits from this value? Draw a map of potential stakeholders interested in Mr. J and his shop. What are their goals? Do they have anything in common?

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The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) initiated a major study of the value of place and placemaking based on the assumption that if creating better places translates into better profits this could encourage more and better developments to come forward. RICS investigated five areas within an hour’s drive from London and found that investments in a place as a whole (including investments in the social, cultural, and local economic aspects) add considerable value (up to 56%). Furthermore, the team found that on top of the list for people seeking a new home is a sense of ‘neighborhood’.

What are the elements creating a sense of “neighborhood” where you live? Do you sense that these elements are anybody´s responsibility, or do they just happen? Are they widely shared? Could they be made stronger and more resilient? How do you add to the feeling of neighborhood? Would you like to take on a new role and provide something new? What’s the one thing that your community misses?

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What’s the worst problem in your neighborhood? Why hasn’t it been solved? How would you solve it - and with whom? What will happen to your neighborhood once the problem is solved?

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We often think that our communities will benefit from large international corporations moving in, creating jobs, and boosting the local economy, but the opposite is often true as a multitude of studies show that strong local businesses are key to the creation of local jobs and income equality.
Have you ever thought of the number of locally owned businesses in your neighborhood? How many can you name? Are you supporting new local entrepreneurs? Can you do anything to nurture local talent? Are your local politicians supporting local businesses?

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When we're sharing stories, we're building social capital. Whenever we listen to a story, we're activating the parts of the brain which would be used if we were going through the experiences ourselves.

If we're telling an inspiring story of something that made an impact on us, the story might have a similar effect on the audience. Uri Hasson, professor at the department of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton, explains that storytelling creates a significant "brain connection" between storyteller and listener. Hasson has made a brain scan of a woman and an audience of five listeners as the woman retold a personal story. The scan showed matching brain activities with storyteller and listeners. The woman made the listeners share her feelings - just by telling a story. This matching brain activity can't be reproduced in any other way of communicating.

If you really want to change something for the better - and if you really want to get through with your message - we encourage you to look for a story to tell. Stories matter. Stories have value. Stories create impact. Stories can be shared by everybody.
Pick a story from your community and tell it as you would tell it to a stranger. It can be short, long, funny, serious. There are no right and wrong stories. The important thing is that you’re giving your community a voice and an identity. Consider writing the story down and explore your own role in it. Why is the story significant to you and your neighborhood?

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What would you tell the kids? What are their options? Can they make a difference in the neighborhood? How?

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Do you find it important to have places where time stands still? Do you have any places like that in your community? Can you describe their qualities?

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Humans are wired to be social. Community is keeping us alive, and this shows in the way that we shape our surroundings. When we’re creating thriving, vibrant places, we’re building social capital. Research shows that social capital not only makes us healthier, but also happier, richer, more educated, and even more just. Social capital doesn’t just happen. It needs social infrastructure, informal meeting places, restaurants, libraries, and shops. It needs a constant dialogue between past, present, and future. New results indicate that cities with a strong social capital are up to ten times as resilient as those with a weak social capital.

Can you make a map of your neighborhood highlighting the places where people meet informally? What’s the character of these places? Are they thriving? Should they be supported? Do you enjoy them? If yes, what do you enjoy? If no, what could be improved?

• Treasure mapping

• Local economic consciousness

• Shared storytelling

• Shop and community care

Imagine that you are in charge of the development. That the march of events can be stopped. That ‘the human factor’ becomes the most important. If you don’t have a Mr. J nearby, imagine what would happen, if someone like him opened a shop nearby. What would it look like? Where in your neighborhood would you put up a bench to strengthen local life? Could you actually do it?

If you’re looking for more inspiration, watch this micro film/interview (5 minutes) with the owner of a book store in one of the most lively streets of Copenhagen. Or read (2 minutes) about the real character on which the fictive Mr. J in The Fall is built. Mr. Jaffe lived in Greenwich, NYC, next door to Jane Jacobs, one of the most influential urban thinkers in the world.