Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most celebrated groundhog, scurried back into his tunnel Feb. 2. According to folklore, that means winter will continue for six more weeks—continuing a season that included a “bomb cyclone” that, in many areas, was the most frigid stretch of weather surrounding New Year’s in recorded history.

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind and flight to the imagination.” These are the words of Plato, and centuries later, music continues to be a building block of community-building and engagement.
 
Two members of the NeighborWorks network offer good examples of how the universal attraction of music can be harnessed to bring people together.

How do you design a public space for everyone—a space that is not only welcoming and inclusive but fosters a sense of community and well-being?

Kenneth Balfelt says you need to be strategically unprepared.  That is, you should start with only half a plan for what your space will look like, because the other half must come from the users of that space—whether they’re young or old, working parents or retirees, or people who are homeless.