Who's your city? A neighborhood's impact on your identity by Darlene

A neighborhood can make you scared, right? I know this because A) TV shows tell me so and B) My parents had the house I grew up in built with all the first floor windows much higher off the ground than our neighbors, so no one would be able to climb in. This is the first time I knew, in real life, that where you live or lived can change your way of thinking. My parents grew up in Brooklyn and Jersey City, much more “rough” neighborhoods than the small Jersey Shore town they moved too. So when they built the house at the end of the block with a white picket fence, it was only second nature to request that windows on the first floor be higher to make it less of a target for burglars Their former ‘hoods conditioned them to think this way.

It’s still very odd and even funny to me, but today when I think about the communities we live in I’m reminded of this home with the higher windows and wonder…if a neighborhood, a city, or a street can make you scared, what else can it make you? Conscientious or Carefree? Uptight or Artistic? Democrat or Republican? Open-minded? Racist?

The communities we live and work in impact our lives and our individuality. We know that economy, family ties, and historic bonds can make or break a community. But they can also make or break a person. Identity and a sense of belonging can be defined geographically. Shared space becomes the primary characteristic of community members and individual character traits can be rooted in the places we associate with most. You are what you eat. You are also where you lay your head at night. You can run (move) but, just like an acquired accent, what you picked up in “your” city will move with you.

This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it should and could be a very good thing. Of course, it’s all relative to how much we care and it’s an investment. An investment in ourselves, our children, and our neighbors. An investment of money and time. To make a city safer, cleaner, more prosperous. Each bit changes us.