Q: Why did you want to leave Little Forest Hills originally?
A: It's typical to want to grow up and explore the world and get out of one's immediate surroundings and neighborhood no matter what they are. People want to leave small towns. There's no particular reason - it's just that when you grow up, it inevitably seems small no matter how big it is.
Q: Besides the lawn-mowing neighbor who fled your greeting when you moved into your subdivision, what other experiences have you had that led to you study U.S. neighborhoods?
A: That kind of experience kept happening. I started relating that story to other people, I heard that same story told back to me many times by many people who live in this area.
Then I started doing some research and reading, and I found out there has been a general decline - a statistical decline - in community involvement over the past 30 years. It's a national phenomenon and an historical phenomenon, and I wanted to look into that.
Q: What other effects does poor community planning have on Americans today?
A: When you have a loss of social capital - a lack of community - the problems are many. Basically if you don't have community at a local level, you may not have democracy.
When you are isolated, statistical research has shown you are more unhealthy, you age faster, and you are two to five times more likely to die of all causes if you're socially disconnected.
Crime rates are known to be directly related to social connectedness. A lot of the things people think are crime problems, and they tend to try to solve them by creating more barriers, more walls, more fences, more isolation, more separation. That actually makes the problem worse, not better.
Q: Have you observed any other communities in the area besides Little Forest Hills that are tight-knit in a way that has a strong social connection within itself?
A: I can tell you I am one block away from the university in Canyon Creek in Richardson where a lot of other professors live, and as far as I can tell, it's a pretty strong community over here. We met most everybody immediately.
Instead of searching for a house anymore, we're searching for a place - a neighborhood instead of a house.
Q: What would you tell someone who tries to strengthen the connections within their subdivision communities?
A: Most people do want some kind of connection to others to varying degrees. There are some who will always want to be pretty isolated and shut in.
It's very hard to overcome neighborhood inertia and style. The style of neighborhood I was in before was basically cold. To overcome that takes a tremendous amount of effort and understanding as to what makes things work and not work.
Q: What are the differences between subdivisions and communities like Little Forest Hills?
A: Planning means everything. Modern subdivisions are very poorly planned for community and for people. They're planned for automobiles, for one thing. When you create subdivisions, which are disconnected from everything else - shopping, work and school - and are economically segregated, you've created a situation that encourages isolationism.
Q: How do you plan neighborhoods that will encourage strong social interaction?
A: The main thing is to be able to enter public space. There should be a public realm.
There should be something to do, places to go, places to interact with people in a casual way.
I like some elements of modern design, but I also recognize that it can be very cold and very inhuman. At our own campus, we're sort of fighting some of the issues with that style of architecture, and I know there are efforts being made to improve it.
Q: What examples of strong community do you recall from growing up living in Little Forest Hills?
A: I don't think it was there as much, then. There was a lot more crime. I found it a little bit scary and dangerous back then. There were a few murders.
In the past eight to 10 years, there has been a group of people that have come together, and through their efforts have made it a very safe and welcoming place. If they weren't there and disappear, it may become a not-so-welcoming and maybe scary place once again.
