How to Use Facebook to Connect with Strong Towns Allies Near You
(Source: Unsplash.)
Last year, I reached out to nearly 100 Strong Towns Local Conversations across North America. A Local Conversation is a group of people in a particular neighborhood, town, or city who meet to talk about how the Strong Towns approach can make their communities stronger and more resilient. I was curious how these local groups were faring this side of the pandemic, what they were working on, and how we at Strong Towns could come alongside and help.
Over the course of several months, I spoke with dozens of local leaders across the U.S. and Canada. Our conversations touched on the topics above, but we ranged further afield too, including talking about how their groups had gotten off the ground, what strategies had worked for them, and more.
Facebook: The Secret Weapon of the Strong Towns Movement?
Something that initially surprised me is just how many of our most vibrant and effective Strong Towns groups had an active presence on Facebook, usually as Facebook groups.
In addition to meeting in person, the Local Conversations were using Facebook to stay connected online. In their Facebook groups, they shared articles (not only Strong Towns articles, but also local and international stories), videos (like those from Not Just Bikes), and photos. They also organized events and discussed what was happening in their city.
What I learned was that inviting neighbors to join a Local Conversation’s Facebook group was a low-bar way of bringing neighbors into the Strong Towns discussion. It didn’t matter if those neighbors had heard of Strong Towns before or not, so long as they cared about one or more of the key Strong Towns issues: safe and productive streets, housing, financial solvency, and so forth. Newcomers could dip their toes into the conversation without the pressure of showing up right away to an in-person meeting.
More than a couple local leaders told me that their groups had actually gotten their start on Facebook. (Cary Westerbeck talked about his own experience with this in our Local Motive session earlier this year.) In time—it usually didn’t take long—these groups transitioned from connecting only in the metaverse, to connecting in the real world as well.
As I contemplated why Facebook had been so effective for many Local Conversations, I came up with two theories:
Facebook is where people are. Not everyone of course, and Facebook users tend to skew older than users on Twitter and TikTok. Still, Facebook is the largest social media platform (the competition doesn’t even come close). Nearly 70% of Americans use Facebook, and 70% of those use it daily.
Facebook is built for online community. Near as I can tell, Facebook provides a much better scaffolding for online community than do other social media sites like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. Facebook groups let you start and join discussions, share media, create and promote events, share files, and host group video hangouts. Other sites like Discord—a platform I’m learning and loving lately—let you do these things, too. But what they don’t do is allow you to connect organically with other potential allies. Joining a Discord server is a higher bar to entry for the Strong Towns-curious than accepting an invite into a Facebook group. That said, I think Discord and Facebook can be used beautifully in concert with one another.
(Source: Unsplash.)
How I’m Using Facebook in My Own Community
Many people have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I certainly do. If it wasn’t for Strong Towns, I probably would have deactivated my account years ago. Yet, hearing how leaders are using the platform for the good of their communities makes me glad I kept a presence there.
Last month, I started an occasional series documenting the process of starting a Local Conversation where I live in Silverton, Oregon. In this second installment, I want to explain how I recently set up a Facebook group. But first, one more reason why I went this route, in addition to the benefits described above:
I’m an introvert.
I’m passionate about the Strong Towns mission, and I’m all-in on the Strong Towns approach to making our cities stronger and more resilient. But the thought of initiating a new Strong Towns conversation is, I admit, intimidating. This is true not only with strangers but with acquaintances, too. A Facebook group appeals to me not only because it is an easy entry point for Strong Towns newcomers—it is also a less intimidating way for me to get the discussion going here.
I won’t go step-by-step on how to create a group of your own. That wouldn’t be enjoyable to read, and there are already simple guides out there. But I will draw your attention to the description I created for our group. Feel free to reuse it for your own Strong Towns Facebook group. Or do what I did and write your own based on a few different sources:
The Strong Towns Action Lab: This was especially helpful when summarizing some of our key issues.
“6 Principles for Building a Strong Town”: An article I wrote last year.
Bo-POP Facebook Group: I really liked their four simple strategies. I copied them with very mild revisions.
The Strong Towns Home Page: This is where I copied the description of the Strong Towns Approach.
“The Strong Towns Approach”: Chuck wrote this article seven years ago, but I link back to it regularly when I’m unpacking the Strong Towns approach for newcomers to the movement.
Strong Towns Political Affiliation: One of our group rules is “Find common goals and common ground.” I explain: “Strong Towns Silverton—like the broader Strong Towns movement—is proud to be a non-partisan group. Here, neighbors from across the political spectrum gather around the common goal of making the Strong Towns approach real in Silverton.” That’s adapted from the Strong Towns Political Affiliation statement in the Action Lab.
After I set up the group settings, description, and rules, I added a couple images. I also added a welcome post encouraging folks to introduce themselves. Then, I sent an invite to many of my friends in Silverton.
I sent out 64 invitations in all, and within 24 hours, 43 people had joined. My hope is that this is the seed from which will be planted a more livable, more lovable, more resilient Silverton. And it is starting, of all places, on Facebook.
John Pattison is the Community Builder for Strong Towns. In this role, he works with advocates in hundreds of communities as they start and lead local Strong Towns groups called Local Conversations. John is the author of two books, most recently Slow Church (IVP), which takes inspiration from Slow Food and the other Slow movements to help faith communities reimagine how they live life together in the neighborhood. He also co-hosts The Membership, a podcast inspired by the life and work of Wendell Berry, the Kentucky farmer, writer, and activist. John and his family live in Silverton, Oregon. You can connect with him on Twitter at @johnepattison.
Want to start a Local Conversation, or implement the Strong Towns approach in your community? Email John.