Introducing: Connective Tissue

A newsletter on the connections, communities, and commitments that bind us together.

The issues of isolation and loneliness are having a bit of a moment right now. The Surgeon General has declared an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation.” Memes suggesting “unconventional” cures for male loneliness can be found all over the internet. Hillary Clinton has even entered the cultural conversation.

But the other side of isolation and loneliness is connection and community. And a new wave of community-oriented thinkers and doers–both those who are new to these issues and those who have been doing the work for decades–is starting to coalesce. 

As community-builders ourselves, Connective Tissue is our attempt to make sense of, connect, and invite more people into this emerging movement. 

We hope to show how community and our relationships are the connective tissue of seemingly disconnected areas, from the economy, to democracy, to health, and everything in between. We hope to bridge the typical silos of discipline, scale, and place among researchers and practitioners alike. And we hope to make this work more accessible to the “community curious”–those who may be interested in these issues and would like to become more involved. 

As we get started, we’ll send along a weekly email featuring reads we find interesting, a thought-provoking piece of research or theory, and an example of a community group or policy that’s worth checking out. We encourage you to read our first such email below. Over time, we’ll publish essays and interviews surfacing divergent perspectives on community and connection. 

Connective Tissue is our attempt to learn out loud. It’s a conversation, not a one-way publication. It’s an experiment and work-in-progress, not a finished product. We invite you to shape it with us. 

- The Connective Tissue team (Sam, David, & Eric)

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The Reads

National Affairs - “The Loneliest Crowd” by Ian Marcus Corbin

Ian Corbin, a philosopher at Harvard Medical School, complicates our current technocratic and individualistic societal conversation about loneliness, encouraging us to push past narrow psychological definitions and public health prescriptions and “get serious again about the deep, dark, difficult human questions.”

Question raised: What is the relationship between loneliness, solitude, and community?

→ read the full article here.

The New York Times - “For People to Really Know Us, We Need to Show Up” by Brad Stulberg

Stulberg asserts that to “build community and cultivate lasting friendships,” we must find ways to shift our focus from inward (on ourselves) to outward (on our commitments and relationships with others). He suggests that we need to engage in activities (book clubs, community gardens, etc) that create “obligation with others,” and that once obligation is established, it will become much harder to return to the opting out state we’re currently in.

Question raised: Can non-religious forms of community foster the same sense of commitment and obligation as religious communities? 

→ read the full article here.

Bloomberg - “What if we had a 15-minute city for friendship?” by Sarah Holder

This article highlights the urban planning concept of a "15-minute city," emphasizing the role of physical proximity in fostering friendships and support networks. It argues for policies promoting affordable housing and social infrastructure based on research indicating that living near friends enhances well-being and connectedness.

Question raised: To what extent do cultural factors and social norms influence our ability to build close-knit communities rather than just our built environment?

→ read the full article here.

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The Research

Rubbing Shoulders: Class Segregation in Daily Activities by Maxim Massenkoff & Nathan Wilmers

Which Americans are most and least likely to experience cross-class interactions? And in which “third places” do Americans interact across class most frequently? It turns out that households in the top income quintile are the most isolated from other classes, in line with Richard Reeves’ Dream Hoarders thesis. More surprisingly, the authors find that affordable chain restaurants, such as Applebees and Olive Garden, are the places where rich and poor are most likely to rub shoulders.

The paper leaves many important questions unanswered, but perhaps the most important is this: does encountering others across class in the same spaces lead to connecting with people across class in those spaces?

—> download the full article to read here.

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The Work

Community Renewal Inc. - Shreveport, LA

• What it is: Community Renewal Inc. (CRI), founded by Mack McCarter, is a Shreveport-based nonprofit that connects neighbors and residents to restore the foundation of safe and caring communities.

• How it works: According to this article in America: The Jesuit Review, “Friendship Houses have served as a kind of connective tissue within neighborhoods, helping residents to find the resources that could move them from isolation into a supportive community.”

• Why it matters: CRI’s neighborhood-based approach to cooperation has strengthened the social fabric in their community, contributing to a 55 percent decline in crime in the neighborhoods where their Friendship Houses operate.

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  Have feedback on the newsletter? Want to share content for us to feature? Interested in getting involved as a contributor? Email us at theconnectivetissue@gmail.com.

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