ENGAGED CITIZENS
An important ingredient for a successful community is social responsibility and civic consciousness amongst the residents. This involves active participation of residents with civic leadership to maintain standards and implement policies and bylaws. When public officials are proactive and engaged with the neighborhood, it creates trust and instills a sense of responsibility that permeates. Eckington maintains monthly neighborhood civic association meetings with anywhere from twenty to forty attending residents. This not only provides interaction with public leadership, but also provides a platform for concerns and collaboration on potential solutions. Something as simple as maintaining a community website that offers emergency contact information can go a long way to establishing a network within the community. Ultimately it comes down to the dedication of the citizens to spend time improving their neighborhood step by step.