Authored by Aaron Hurst, Founder and CEO of the US Chamber of Connection
I have hosted dozens of dinners in my home in Seattle over the past few years, bringing together people across backgrounds and life stages to talk about their experience building connection and community. What I heard wasn’t random; it was the same story, over and over. People wanted deeper relationships, but didn’t know where to start, even after years in the city.
At first, I thought this was a Seattle problem. But after surveying nearly 2,000 people across the country, it became clear it wasn’t. Nearly one in two Americans is at risk of social disconnection. A majority say they can’t rely on neighbors in an emergency, and most don’t regularly spend time with friends.
Local leaders are seeing the consequences: declining civility, more tension in public spaces and less trust between neighbors. Increasingly, municipal officials and staff are feeling it too, reporting rising levels of harassment, especially online.
We tend to treat this as a behavior problem, but it’s a systems problem.
In the US Chamber of Connection’s research, we found that people who had recently started a new job reported higher levels of connection. Not because they were different, but because workplaces are intentional. Workplaces onboard people and cities don’t; they leave it to luck. If we want stronger communities, we have to intentionally design them.
In Seattle, we began testing what it would look like for a city to actively support connection, and realized we needed to combine narrative, onboarding and infrastructure. We’ve begun reframing the “Seattle Freeze” to an expectation that we show up for one another. We’re piloting citywide onboarding where the mayor welcomes newcomers and makes it clear: you are a Seattleite now.
This onboarding continues with practical pathways into the community, like social club fairs that introduce newcomers to dozens of ways to get involved, from run clubs to cultural groups. We’re also investing in the people already doing this work by training community builders on how to welcome and integrate newcomers so that connection doesn’t stop at the first interaction.
Before jumping to solutions, it’s worth asking a few questions:
- What are the expected behaviors toward newcomers and strangers in your city?
- If someone moved to your city tomorrow, how would they know how to build community, or where to start?
- How easy is it for residents to start a social group, host a gathering or organize something locally?
- Are the people already building connection in your city visible, supported and connected to one another?
- Do your public spaces encourage interaction, or just co-existence?
- Who, if anyone, is responsible for social connection in your city?
If these questions are hard to answer, that’s not a failure, but could signal that a system to foster connection doesn’t exist yet. Here are four considerations to get this critical social infrastructure started in your municipality:
1. Municipalities Are Well-Positioned to Take the Lead
Right now, no one owns social connection and that’s the problem. If no one owns it, it doesn’t happen. Cities can change that by making it someone’s job. Workplaces don’t leave connection to chance; they onboard newcomers and cities can do the same.
2. Build Intentional Systems by Working Across Sectors and Community Groups
In Seattle, we brought together leaders from across sectors — the mayor’s office, civic and cultural organizations and major employers — to begin aligning connection as a shared priority. That shift from isolated efforts to shared ownership is where real progress starts.
Welcoming initiatives are one place to start, but the real opportunity is to build a system to support anyone entering the community. Every city already has people doing this in their own time with little support, from hosting dinners to leading niche social meetups. Small investments and coordination across sectors, like access to space, fewer permitting barriers or modest funding, can unlock far more connections than building something from scratch.
3. Provide New Residents with a Clear Connection Pathway
For most residents, the biggest barrier is simple: the first step. People don’t need more options; they need a clear way in. Cities can lower that barrier by curating opportunities, creating simple entry points and making it normal to participate.
We’ve also seen how public spaces can be reimagined to support connections. Libraries, parks and cultural institutions are often one of the first places newcomers go to experience their community’s amenities. They serve as natural hubs but are often designed for passive use. When cities design them for interaction, they become clear entry points into civic life.
4. Set the Culture You Want to See in Your Community
Culture matters and a city’s narrative about itself shapes how people behave. The “Seattle Freeze” became a norm, and it set expectations for how Seattle residents interacted with one another. However, cities can set new ones — culture isn’t what we say, it’s what we expect from each other.
Social connection and trust influence public safety, economic mobility, civic participation, and the daily experiences of residents and municipal staff. The good news is we’re not starting from scratch: the people, the places and the intent is there. Local leaders have a chance to serve as coordinators and provide the conditions for connection to happen consistently and at scale. In the end, strong cities aren’t built just on infrastructure and policy — they’re built on relationships.
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