Long before a lot of Oklahoma artists made their way to big stages and bright lights, they were playing on front porches, sharing good times with friends, writing, laughing and dreaming.

Its a natural habitat for a songwriter, watching the world go by with a guitar in hand, picking along on a summer afternoon. Its a side of the music life that fans dont often see, but it will be on full display when the second annual Norman Porch Festival returns from 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 19 to the Miller Historic District.

Last years festival was the first of its kind in Oklahoma, and organizers Wess McMichael and Sara Kaplan didnt know what to expect. People showed up by the hundreds, on foot, on bike, towing toddlers, walking dogs and soaking in an evening of music as they bounced from one front yard to another.

Singer/songwriter Kierston White will make her Norman Porch Festival debut this year, but like so many other artists, she said shell feel right at home.

Itll be more like going camping than playing a show, she said. Front-porch picking is how a lot of us started. Thats what we do at home, thats how we write. You just sit around on a front porch and play.

I think its more organic. You wont have the noise of a bar and well all be outside during a perfect time of year.

White said shes not sure who shell have playing with her, but like any good front-porch jam, shes not too worried about the details.

Im going to grab whoevers around that day, she said. We like to get together and jam any chance we get and I think itll be perfect.

McMichael said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout and the reception last year, and is looking forward to a similar block-party atmosphere this time around.

It was up in the air, he said. There were a lot of unknowns there, but it was an overwhelming success. Some people asked me to do it twice a year, some people asked if we would do it in different neighborhoods. We were very excited and its something were going to try to carry forward.

McMichael said he had worked with the Dreamer Concepts board, and after Midsummer Nights Fair folded in 2016, he was looking for a new way to showcase Normans musical talent.

Norman is the City of Festivals, and to that point, McMichael treated Midsummers end as a means to exercise the law of conservation of festivals.

This year, McMichael said he was initially worried about securing enough artists, but when he started making calls, he found a lot of enthusiasm. And when he secured Norman legend Mike Hosty, he said it upped the cool factor.

Theres a lot of goodwill involved, he said. This town has some of the best musicians per capita of anywhere in the world. Maybe not all of them are famous, but people in Norman get it and they like to hear them. So, putting those two things together is easy.

It really wasnt that much of a deal. Once I let people know I needed PA systems, they started coming out of the woodwork. It really made itself and it really kept the grass roots vibe going. No sponsorships, just a lot of good will and people volunteering to make it happen.

Theres no committee. There are no meetings. I think Sara and I had pizza once. Theres a unique want to hear these amazing musicians and the musicians just want to be heard and the two come together naturally.

Last year, the festival had 33 performers on 11 stages. This year, there could be even more artists involved and a few improvements.

McMichael said the only issue last year was bathrooms, or the lack thereof. So, this year, McMichael said the festival has arranged to provide portable outhouses. To help people find their way to their favorite stage, McMichael said the festival will be providing an interactive Google map with band lineups and venues at mcmichaelmusic.com, though lineups have yet to be finalized.

McMichael said he will also be unveiling two new stages the new artist stage and a spoken words stage. To make sure everybody will get a chance to see their favorite acts, show times will be staggered.

White and McMichael said its a great time for performers, but theyre not the only ones who get to enjoy the atmosphere. Some of them, well, they live there.

This is my second year and Im ecstatic, said Sheila Dilling, who manages the stage at 503 S. Crawford Ave.

I think we need to keep it going. We had such a fantastic turnout and it was a great opportunity for neighbors to mingle purposefully, instead of just while were working on our yards or walking our dogs.

There was a lot of anticipation and immediate interest and I think everyone was pleased with how it turned out. Theres nothing like a porch in the summer and our neighborhood has some great porches. It was a neat opportunity to showcase our neighborhood.

She said 405 Brewing will be sharing some of their beers at her place, much like Lazy Circle Brewery did last year. She said thats the kind of community Norman is, and festival helps bring people together. Having the Miller Historic District host the event adds a little something extra.

I do think its fitting, she said. I think the porch fest highlights the unique character of our neighborhood, even though its just a few blocks. There are all these fantastic porches that you dont see so much now. I think its a sort of hidden gem. Its this little pocket of cottages. I would love to see the porch fest continue. I also think its a great close to summer. Its kind of that last chance to really spend some quality time on your porch and include as many people as you can.

Then, theres the music.

Sometimes youre lucky when youre hanging out on the porch and somebody maybe has a guitar and youre all having beverages, but this opens it up to the entire neighborhood, she said. Its like that times 10.

First-time porch host Allie Halford, who moved to Norman from Oklahoma City in May, said she wanted in immediately when she heard about the festival.

These are the kinds of things that we love, Halford said. We lived in a neighborhood in Oklahoma City that did a lot of things like that, and you really got to know your neighbors and feel part of your community.

Halford said turning porches into stages brings people together. She has a lot of musician friends and shes hoping Norman band Cedar House will get to perform on her porch. If they dont, she said its cool. Shell just get to meet more musicians.

Confirmed artists:

Mike Hosty

Caleb McGee

Susan Herndon

Camille Harp

Lacy Saunders

Kierston White

Katie Williams

Derek Paul

Dorian Small

Steven Baker

Clint Hardesty

Read more here:
Porch Pickin': Norman Porch Festival returns for second helping - Norman Transcript

Essex, Vt. - Police say there is a thief targeting an Essex neighborhood and packages are being stolen right off of porches.

According to Essex Police Department, officers have heard about stolen packages in the East Street and Mansfield Ave area and are looking for two teens on bikes. Only a couple people have filed formal reports.

Residents are talking on a community group called Front Porch Forum and have written that Pleasant and Arlington Streets are also involved. From speaking with residents, Local 22 & Local 44 has learned of one incident where a woman on Arlington Street had a package stolen. It was later found torn apart and thrown onto someone else's lawn.

Neighbors are coming together until police can catch whoever is doing this. Tom Stone lives next door to the affected home on Arlington Street.

"She did end up I guess recovering the merchandise but since then she has asked if UPS and the Post Office could deliver her stuff to our home and we said sure," Stone said.

Police suggest doing just this. Officer Kissinger said it is a hard problem to fix. He suggested having your package delivered to a safer place or picking it up at the post office.

Stealing packages is a federal offense.

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Packages Pinched From Essex Porches - My Champlain Valley FOX44 & ABC22

There are some good ideas for bringing people together in simple celebrations of life, there are great ideas and then theres Play Music on the Porch Day.

It falls on the afternoon of Aug. 26, a Saturday. The idea is to go out onto the porch or deck or lawn or sidewalk and, mindful that many others around the world are doing the same, create music for free.

That could mean strumming a guitar, performing with a string quartet, humming into a kazoo, anything you regard as music.

At playmusicontheporchday.com youll see that people in 17 countries played along last year and the goal this year is 35.

In Santa Rosas Grace Tract off Fourth Street and Bryden Lane, Annie Cooper is encouraging neighbors to join in and make it a hoot. Annie envisions families and individuals making music, then strolling about to see and hear what others were doing.

If there are lemonade stands, bake sales and other neighborly activities to accompany the music, she figures, all the better.

Our friends in Napa are out in front of this phenomenon with its annual PorchFest, the most recent taking place just two weeks ago. Local bands played for free on 67 porches, many of them attached to historic homes. There were food trucks and happy hordes of music lovers of all ages.

Lets see how much fun we have on Aug. 26, sort of a music-unites-the-world day.

...

SPEAKING OF NAPA, our loss is Napa Countys gain as driven reporter and good guy Derek Moore leaves the PD after nearly 19 years in the newsroom.

Derek shone, you may recall, in reporting stories such as the Napa Valley earthquake, the Golden Gate Bridge suicide of 14-year-old Marissa Imrie, the rocky start of the BottleRock festival and the financial crisis of the regions state parks.

Derek leaves the newspaper to become public information officer for the Napa Valley Transportation Authority. A true newsman, he made clear as he said his goodbyes on Friday that theres much he will miss about his time with the PD.

But the resident of Napa and former reporter for the Napa Valley Register will not miss that daily drive into Santa Rosa.

...

GLENDA ANDERSON, who for the past 13 years covered Mendocino and Lake counties for the PD, just retired. Already were missing her, too.

Before she joined us, she worked for a decade on the staff of the Ukiah Daily Journal. Glenda may travel to Oregon to witness the eclipse and see how it feels not to be thinking all the time of how shell start the story.

...

IF THAT WAS YOU who quietly paid the tab of the diner at Bettys Fish & Chips whose cap identified him as a Vietnam veteran, know that he is grateful.

He told me that whoever bought him his dinner almost certainly could not have known that his wife passed away not long ago.

The loss has him appreciating the kind act all the more.

...

THAT FIBERGLASS in the crawl space and between the walls can be fairly irritating to work with.

Excerpt from:
Smith: Grab your band or kitchen pots for Music on the Porch Day - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

August is a tough month in Bloomington for coming up with new Homes stories. Many of our neighbors are out of town, enjoying a few final weeks of calm before the whirlwind of the school year. Others are home, outside by a pool, working in their yard or, as I discovered last August, enjoying their porches. The popularity of last years porch story led Homes to ask: Why sweat out the Dog Days when there are great conversations to be had with people chilling on their porches? Most are willing to chat with a drop-in visitor, even an inquisitive, camera-toting writer.

Few Bloomington neighborhoods show off their porch culture as robustly as does the South Dunn Street development. This example of neotraditional urban infill, begun in 2005, quickly became one of the citys most desirable neighborhoods. Most of its homes offer modern takes on early twentieth-century Foursquare or Craftsman-style designs. Set on narrow lots, they feature large front porches oriented toward the sidewalk and street, encouraging interaction with neighbors and passersby. It was exactly these qualities that attracted Padraic and Iza Kenney to South Dunn Street when they moved to Bloomington from Boulder, Colorado, in 2008.

When we first came to Bloomington to look at houses, we were shown around Elm Heights, and Iza said, This is lovely, but I want to live in a new house, Padraic recalled. At that time about half of these lots were not finished. We watched it fill in for about a year and a half. I loved watching the construction and seeing our new neighbors move in.

The Kenneys home has two porches, a screened east-facing porch on the back of the house, and a large west-facing porch on the front, where they spend many mornings drinking coffee and reading. The trees have gotten larger in the past nine years, so its shadier and very pleasant, said Iza. Between 4 and 9 p.m. the sun is very strong in front, so we mostly use the back porch at that time.

Both Padraic and Iza find the unspoken but understood codes of their neighborhoods porch culture fascinating. We are close enough to be interacting, and often do, but people also respect each others space and privacy, noted Iza.

If you want to see this place go crazy, porch-wise, come back at Halloween, Padraic interjected. Think of this place from the perspective of a candy collectorhouses close together, close to the street, everyone on their porch and eager to give out candy. I swear people come from all over the county to trick-or-treat here. If you were the parent of a small child and thought she had about 20 minutes to trick-or-treat before she melts down, this would be the street to do it.

A few miles to the east in Hyde Park, on their very private screened porch, Jim and Jeanne Madison recall a conversation they had with their homes builder in 1999.

The original house plans had no screened porch, but we insisted, Jim remembered. We had one at our former house, and it seemed a necessity to me. Its my favorite part of the house.

The Madisons comfortable screened porch is on the back of their home, overlooking a large pond. Its only three-season. We decided we didnt want to close it off with glass, said Jeanne. We use it as much as possibleeven when a bit cold or hot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, to after-dinner reading.

It rained steadily the only day the Madisons were available for photos on their porch; they were leaving the next day for the rest of the summer. But rain doesnt matter if youre on a screened porch, right? On this gloomy day, the light on the porch was fine for photos, and there were two vivacious bright spots: the Madisons grandchildren, Anna and James, were on hand to enjoy the porch, protected from the elements and the insects.

The next day I spotted Kaye Lee Johnston walking her dog Winston and literally followed them to her front porch. Kaye and her husband Blair Johnstons 1930s Foursquare in Elm Heights originally had a wooden front porch, but over eight decades the elements had taken a toll.

Last fall we replaced our leaky wooden porch floor with stamped concrete which has a slight slope. Water no longer pools on the porch, Kaye said. We love sitting on our porch in the springtime to view our yard. From the porch, the flowering trees are just divine to look at. I told Blair we could just move onto our porch and stop living inside. But the reality is that we typically only use our porch in the spring and fall, since I hate mosquitoes, but they love me!

In 2007, Dan Selvaggi and Cindy Lestikow decided to have a 9x 13 screened porch built on the original concrete pad behind their small historic home in Prospect Hill.

Weve been loving it ever since! exclaimed Dan. I truly believe wed have moved by now due to the small living space if not for this addition. Facing west means more direct sun in the late afternoon and evening, but coffee, breakfast and the newspaper happen there most mornings. Late evening is super sweet with loads of fireflies and an occasional passing skunk. Of course, our kitty loves it as it provides fresh air without the perils the outdoors can present an aged cat. More than a few acoustic music sessions have happened out here, too, and so far, no complaints from the neighbors, bless them!

This homes writer is sometimes a homesitter, and a good porch makes the job even more of a pleasure. This summer, good friends going abroad gave me they key to their home. There, I could work without any distractions except those generated by my restless mind. From the vantage point of their dining table, I could see baskets of lush ferns hanging on their wide veranda. When I reached a logical stopping point in my work, I would venture out to the porch and feel the breeze. Some days, when my work was done, my husband would drop by with our dog, and wed enjoy a glass of wine under the ferns before we walked home.

A porch is a very special place, indeed. Thanks to everyone who agreed to share their porch stories for this issue.

Editors note: If you love your porch and would like to have it considered for next years porch round-up, contact homes@heraldt.com.

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Come back and sit a spell on the porch - The Herald-Times (subscription)

Radnor >> When Cathy Agnew heard a story on WHYY about musicians playing on front porches in West Philadelphia it resonated with her. She remembered a next door neighbor, Carol Inman, playing on her front porch in Ardmore with musician friends when home from Indiana University every summer.

I remembered how beautiful it sounded, said Agnew, who was sitting on her own porch in Wayne when she spoke with a reporter recently. We just loved it when they would playIt was such a beautiful memory.

The idea for musicians playing on porches for the community or PorchFests, began in 2006 in Ithaca, N.Y. and has since spread. Agnew is spearheading the First Annual South Wayne PorchFest set for Sept. 9 from noon to 5 p.m. With all the porches in Wayne, Agnew believed the town was a perfect location for PorchFest.

Joining with friends and neighbors Susan Stern and Sue Metzger, who set up the website, Agnew began organizing. She said everyone she approached about lending their porch was very enthusiastic.

She obtained a permit from Radnor Township and praised Commissioner Luke Clark and Radnor Police Deputy Superintendent Chris Flanagan who she said were extremely helpful. Charlotte Higgins designed the logo.

The South Wayne PorchFest musicians will play on 17 porches along St. Davids and Windermere avenues. Portions of those streets will be closed to allow families to walk safely from porch to porch. Maps will also be provided once scheduling for the various bands is completed, said Agnew. The South Wayne PorchFest will be a family-friendly environment, she said.

I think its an interesting concept for Wayne, said singer Jackie Covatta, who will participate with guitarist Joe DiStefano. Together they are the group JC Lauren. I think it will go over really well. The Wayne townspeople will really enjoy that and the businesses will benefit. I think it will be a good thing.

Covatta characterized her style as soulful, blues with a soft rock edge.

A King of Prussia resident, Covatta has been performing for about 20 years and has written more than 40 songs. Shes been performing with DiStefano for two years.

Singer John McKee is also looking forward to PorchFest.

A pastry chef who lives in Bryn Mawr, he moved to the area about seven years ago with his partner because the cost of living in the San Francisco area had become unaffordable.

McKee sings songs from the American canon, mostly standards from Sinatra, Michael Buble and Nat King Cole.

Im looking forward to it, said McKee about PorchFest. He has sung at weddings and at a nursing facility but also started going to open mic events at local clubs to perform and met Agnew, who was scouting for talent for the PorchFest. McKee will also perform at the Taste of Berwyn on Sept. 17.

Folk musician, Jerry Krantman, will play guitar and sing during PorchFest.

My range of folk music is unconventional, he said. It includes traditional songs as well as songs from the 20s, 30s, and 40s. These include political songs and humorous songs. I pride myself in having a far-reaching set of surprising acoustic tunes, many that youve never heard, some right on the edge of memory, some destined to become new favorites. Ive played music since I was a child, and played the guitar since what we then called junior high school.

Krantman grew up in Harrisburg and now lives in Plymouth Meeting. A Temple University graduate, hes lived in New Mexico and Georgia, and spent 30 years living in northern California. Hes worked as a family therapist, a computer consultant, and is currently a college instructor.

I always enjoy playing to a receptive audience, wherever they might be, said Krantman. Well see whether thats what actually happens. I am a big fan of building community, though, so I hope that this will bring people together with their neighbors, perhaps without the use of electronics.

PorchFest will also feature a porch for Rising Stars, said Agnew. These performers are teenage musicians from area high schools. The Archbishop Carroll High School Pep Band and the Radnor High School Pep Band are slated to play, too, she said.

Agnew also had help from the Eastern University music department. Sara Herman, office manager, and Sarah Shulman, a senior music education major, gave advice on how far apart the porches with performers should be sited and whether bushes and trees would dampen the sounds.

Agnew recommends that people bring blankets or lawn chairs. They can also picnic or walk into Wayne for restaurant fare. Each band will perform for about 45 minutes. St. Katharines parish will allow the PorchFest patrons to use their restrooms, said Agnew. The event is free and the performers are also volunteering their time, she said.

This is a low budget endeavor, said Agnew, a lawyer who is working from home in order to focus on writing her first novel, tentatively titled The Gravity of Regret. She described it as literary noir. Her husband, Brad Mortensen, is also an attorney at Kennedys CMK. The couple has two grown children, Anne Mortensen-Agnew, 26, a writer who lives in Los Angeles, and Colin Mortensen-Agnew, 22, a student at the University of Alabama.

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First Annual South Wayne PorchFest slated - Main Line

Fliers believed to be sent on behalf of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan were found this week in Gloversville, the third time this year that white supremacist activity has been reported in the area.

City residents on Monday and Tuesday found the fliers tossed on stoops, porches and in driveways. The fliers said in large letters save our nation! with an American flag design, and depicted what appeared to be an image of an open Bible and a headstone with a hypodermic needle next to it.

The anti-drug fliers had a phone number for the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations treatment referral service. The agency did not return an email and telephone request for comment.

Just say no to drugs ... Your family members, friends, and even your neighbors could be next, the fliers said. The fliers were contained in sandwich bags along with a small amount of cat litter, which was likely used to weigh the bags down so they could be tossed from a vehicle.

The flier also said, we care about you! and included an image of a burning cross.

The other phone number found on the flier belonged to the Loyal White Knights of the KKK. A reporter called the number but nobody answered. A recorded answering message included information on the groups [N-word] of the month award and ended with the signoff, white power.

Gloversville Mayor Dayton King said that while city leaders do not tolerate racism, it would be hard to charge the person or persons distributing the fliers with any crime as the speech contained within appears to be protected. Even under the citys anti-littering statute, other groups, such as Jehovahs Witnesses, regularly leave leaflets at peoples homes.

So where do you draw that line? King said.

He added that the Gloversville Police Department did investigate and interviewed a person of interest, but that person was not charged with any crime. King declined to say whether police believe the person to be responsible for distributing the fliers.

My fear is that theyre going to leave this on the wrong persons lawn or porch and theyre going to get beat up, King said. Not that I condone that either, but Im afraid thats what might happen.

King said its unclear if a serious racial element is operating in the area or if the fliers are the work of someone looking to provoke a response.

Its hard to say, its just crazy to me that people have the time to do this kind of stuff, King said. Im all for free speech/ ... I think its just really inappropriate and it certainly upsets people, and rightfully so. Unfortunately it could result in consequences worse than getting arrested.

He also questioned the tactic of tying drug dealing and use to race.

We arrest people of all races and economic status for selling and using drugs;weve arrested people who have tons of money and people who have no money, he said.

In June, similar fliers, complete with sandwich bags containing cat litter, were found in the Fulton County village of Northville. The fliers in that case were advertising a KKK rally. The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said the cat litter is harmless and likely meant to make the bags easier to toss onto lawns. The sheriffs office advised people to simply throw the bags out.

Fliers from the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan urging people to join the organization were found in FortPlainin Montgomery Countyin February. An official with the Southern Poverty Law Center told The Daily Gazette in February that the organization saw an uptick in so-called lit dropsby white supremacist groups throughout 2016.

A man who lives on Yale Street in Gloversville, who declined to give his name, said he found one of the latest fliers in his driveway Monday. He said he remembers hearing about the fliers in Northville in June and was sad to see that they reached his city.

Its nuts they showed up here in Gloversville, he said.

Asked if he believes a white supremacist is working in the area or if the fliers can be chalked up to someone looking to get a rise out of people, he said:I think its a little bit of both. As far as Im concerned no normal person thinking would do that, but if hes part way into his stupidity he probably would.

Another Gloversville resident, Kelly Nellis, said shes heard about the fliers but has not seen them around her First Avenue home. She added that she is surprised that there is KKK literature being distributed locally.

I guess everyone has the right to freedom of speech, as long as it doesnt infringe upon the rights of others, Nellis said. If theyre leaving it laying around like that, its kind of like littering littering litter.

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Racially charged fliers found on Gloversville porches, lawns | The ... - The Daily Gazette

WAYNE, PA South Wayne will turn into a veritable music festival in September, as the first ever South Wayne PorchFest is set for Sept. 9.

"What is PorchFest," you may ask. PorchFest is a community music event where musicians perform on residential porches during the daylong event.

For the first time ever, 17 Wayne porches from St. Davids Road through Windemere Avenue will turn into stages from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9.

Nealy 30 performers with a broad range of genres are on board for the festival so far. They include How To Trick A Bear, Death To Saul, Sunny Side Girls, Main Line Bluegrass Jam, local school bands, and much more.

Check out the full list of performers online here.

As the festival draws closer, organizers will release a map of participating porches and who is performing on those porches.

The festival is completely free and artists are performing free of charge.

Volunteers and more performers are sought by organizers. Anyone interested in helping out or performing during the festival should email Organizer@SouthWaynePorchFest.com.

PorchFest began in 2007 in Ithaca, New York and since then has spread across the country and Canada, organizers said.

Visit the South Wayne PorchFest website to learn more about the inaugural festival.

Image via Eric Haines, Flickr Commons

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Originally published July 26, 2017.

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PorchFest Bringing Music To South Wayne Porches Sept. 9 - Patch.com

NORFOLK, Va. A man accused of stealing items off porches in Norfolk is scheduled to be in court Wednesday morning.

Since his arrest on April 11, Anthony Strickland has been behind bars without bond.

The thefts started in February and one was captured on surveillance videoFebruary 6 around 9:30 p.m.

It showed a couple getting out of a white Nissan sedan and stealing assorted lawn ornaments from Otzis Tattoo Agency.

A friend of the owners told News 3 he took down the license plate of the car and that was one of the pieces of evidence that helped police link Strickland to the crimes.

He was charged with petit larceny, among other charges.

According to a search warrants, Strickland is known to steal and be a heroin addict and wanted to sell the stolen goods to antique and metal shops.

Since February, there have been at least 19 reported cases where items have been stolen off porches in the West Ghent area.

Strickland will be in court at 9 a.m. Stay with News 3 for updates on his arraignment.

36.846225-76.285691

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Man arrested for Norfolk porch theft now facing a judge for the crimes - wtkr.com

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To ensure that your sunroom or screen porch installation goes smoothly, a dedicated project manager will guide your home improvement process through to completion, keeping it on budget and on schedule. Because we complete a vast number of projects every year, we have perfected a systematic approach that ensures consistent results.

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Sunrooms | Screen Porches | Decks | Pergolas | Patio Covers

In an increasingly divisive American society, its become a common trope to say we need to reach out to each other and build bridges. But its not a bridge we should buildits a porch.

Front porches unite divisions: us and other, inside and outside, private and public. They encourage us to engage in trust-building and face-to-face conversations with our neighbors. They give us a sense of security, but they also increase our willingness to engage with others. The lessons from the front porch are waiting to be reinterpreted and scaled-up in the fabric of our increasingly dense suburban and urban futures.

Extending ourselves to understand the other is inherently challenging; being open to outside ideas means we also take on more uncertainty. Front porches (or verandahs, as they are called in some cultures) allow homeowners some sense of control over their environment while also being ready to entertain new circumstances. These sheltered spaces tap into our primal desire to reside at an elevated surveillance point in order to spot nearby threats or opportunities: This concept is called prospect and refuge, and its often cited within landscape-design theory.

The front porchs ability to encourage interaction from a position of physical and personal safety is explored by Richard Thomass article From Porch to Patio:

When a family member was on the porch, it was possible to invite the passerby to stop and come onto the porch for extended conversation. The person on the porch was very much in control of this interaction, as the porch was seen as an extension of the living quarters of the family. Often, a hedge or fence separated the porch from the street or board sidewalk, providing a physical barrier for privacy, yet low enough to permit conversation.

We need to apply this mode of thought to the task of rekindling civility and unity in our day-to-day discourse. Whether between neighbors at home, colleagues at work, or even between opposing political parties, we can make more progress by situating ourselves within a safe spot as we reach out to build relationships with others (pitchers of iced tea optional). In an article written for Front Porch Republic, author Patrick Deneen summarizes that a front porch is exactly what is needed for even the largest political bodies:

For those who would stand and defend the future of the republic, a good place to start would be to revive our tradition of building and owning homes with front porches, and to be upon them where we can both see our neighbors and be seen by them, speak and listen to one another, and, above all, be in a place between, but firmly in place.

Though porches are a simple, cost-effective solution for community building on the neighborhood level, the concepts they embody havent gained traction in the larger urban-design sphere. This is because they have questionable utility in our busy lives. The people on the sidewalk whom you might hope to chat with are now cruising in their cars instead of strolling with their kids. In the American South, porches as places to cool off have been supplanted by air conditioning in living rooms. Avi Friedman, who rethinks home and community design in his book A View From the Porch, writes, If the telephone reduced the need for face-to-face contact and contributed to the erosion of the front porch, computers and smart phones became the porch.

If the telephone reduced the need for face-to-face contact and contributed to the erosion of the front porch, computers and smart phones became the porch.But this lack of modern utility is surmountable. To reintroduce the front porchs importance into contemporary life, we need make it the most indispensable room in the house. Turn it into your front-yard office with a desk and an outdoors electrical cord. Weather-proof it with solar- or wind-powered heating and cooling equipment. Blur it with the edge of your garden using a green wall. And, of course, make sure theres a permanent place for a pitcher of tea to offer any passersby.

No room for a wrap-around? Urban dwellers can devise porch-like vistas of their own. Whether its a brick stoop in Brooklyn or a sidewalk bench in Chicago, the same principles of safety-within-vulnerability can be applied to existing structures. Or, you could redesign new ones. Apartment tenants could lobby for street-level parking spaces in front of their buildings to be re-zoned as parklets, as we have seen happen in San Francisco. These small spaces could be greenified and have porches added for both residential and public use. Yet-to-be-constructed buildings could also designate a section of their street-facing spaces for micro-porches for exploratory engagement with public. This is often seen with bar-height stools in the front windows of coffee shops that face out to pedestrians, allowing for spontaneous, eye-to-eye interactions.

We can build community from places of personal security. But its not just literal front porches we need more ofwe need metaphysical ones, too. Brene Brown is an author and expert on feeling secure from the inside out. She suggests that if we want to feel more self-assured and comfortable reaching out to connect with others, we need to find the courage to be imperfect and practice gratitude. She argues that our self-acceptance leads to empathy, which is the strongest vehicle to connect with others.

That seems very porch-like: a place or way of being where you can relax and enjoy what is, while turning strangers into friends whose differences we can celebrate.

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Building bridges has failed to unite us. America needs to embrace the front porch instead - Quartz