Our Project: The Neighbor Dispatch uses human-centered design to meaningfully improve quality of life within Cincinnati neighborhoods. Communities across the U.S. are experiencing increased disconnection and isolation, one in three adults reports loneliness, and many younger residents avoid interacting with their neighbors altogether. This breakdown in local connection limits access to shared resources, weakens support systems, and erodes a sense of place.

We identified neighborhood newsletters as a powerful vehicle for rebuilding community and promoting cultural equity. Rather than producing a newsletter ourselves, we created a comprehensive, approachable guide that empowers residents to create their own. The fold-out poster and interactive “Know Your Neighbor?” activity walk users through the steps needed to start a newsletter while encouraging them to shift perspective from self-focused thinking to the needs and interests of their neighbors. Through 1:1 and focus group testing, users moved from statements like “I care about [blank], so I would write about [blank]” to “My neighbor cares about [blank], so I would write about [blank],” demonstrating a measurable shift in empathy and mindset.