25 more ways to make your neighborhood a community

Create a community-friendly front yard

20. Plant a colorful perennial border between your sidewalk and the street, put a chair or bench in your front yard, then prepare to say hi to your neighbors when it becomes part of everyone’s stroller route.

21. Instead of tall, narrow walls or fences that close neighbors out, build half-walls wide enough to function as a seat.

22. Plant in front of as well as behind perimeter walls. “It’s like a gift to the neighborhood,” one homeowner said. It also inspires adjoining houses.

23. Build a firepit in front of your house. On cooler nights, throw down some beach blankets, share a glass of wine with the neighbors, and watch the kids play. Or just settle down out front in some folding chairs on a Friday or weekend afternoon, and invite the neighbors to join you.

24. Hang a swing from your porch to get you out front and socializing.

25. Transform those big trash containers into works of art. Working with the local garbage company, one neighborhood painted its containers with scenes of tropical islands, flower gardens, a Southwest landscape ― even a strawberry ice cream cone.