Bowling Together

  Just read that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a long-time bowler, has challenged bowling-impaired Barack Obama to a match. So why I am writing about this on a planning blog? We'll here's what The New York Times reported on its Politics Blog today about Clinton's thoughts about bowling:

"She was most amused about the whole bowling thing, parodying the idea of 'bowling alone,' as proposed in a 1995 essay by Robert Putnam about how people were doing more isolated activities and fewer communal ones. 'This is a big sociological phenomenon,' she said. 'Bowling alone is a sign of our times. We could bring it back. We could like, transform the entire society. We could have bowling alleys on every corner. We could have a sense of community together. People setting pins again. End the automation! Get the pin boys back. No telling what could happen.' "

OK, she's (probably) joking about this. But is it really such a bad idea? In fact, take a look at this photo from an article by Lila Shapero (published in our Summer 2005 issue) titled Bowling Together: The Role of Neighborhood Associations.

By the way, Shapero put together a quite interesting article, highlighting ways in which neighborhood associations can help build community, while supporting local planning efforts.