Most people don't need an excuse to throw a block party. Summer heat is reason enough for neighbors to light the grill, break out cold drinks, and turn up the Rolling Stones. But as suburban sprawl continues to unravel the social fabric of traditional communities, neighborhood leaders are using block parties as catalysts for a host of improvements. Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University in New York says the loss of community that people feel is actually contributing to a block-party renaissance.
Block parties are in a sense desperate cries for bonding - but they can be terribly effective.
The fact that people go out of their way to get outside their home is a noble endeavor and often a successful one. My neighbors had a recent block party, and I didn't even know them. Now I have someone to wave at in the morning. They're often at the heart of neighborhood renewal. Though they're viewed as an invention of American culture, Dr. Gay says block parties owe their existence to ancient European street festivals.