Bingo -- my parents' street, which is comprised mostly of successful professionals with post-graduate education who work full-time jobs, has excellent community

Bingo -- my parents' street, which is comprised mostly of successful professionals with post-graduate education who work full-time jobs, has excellent community spirit. It's pretty much a given that any Friday evening with warm weather, most of the adults and kids on the street will be outside having a shared meal, talking about their weeks, and so on. They call it "Firepit Fridays," and it's apparently inspired other streets in the neighborhood. My cousins live about a mile away, and have had similar success after installing a big front porch. It's not "energy independence," or anything like that, it simply takes an effort to get these things started, and keep them going. And you have to like your neighbors; having a front porch doesn't hurt, either.