How to Weather a Disaster: Know Thy Neighbor

Is it truly important to “know your neighbor,” as the old expression goes? According to a recent article from The Atlantic Cities , not only is it important, but it could save your life in a disaster. Sociologists looked at mortality rates in the Chicago heat wave of 1995 in different neighborhoods, and found interesting results. When comparing two demographically similar neighborhoods, they found that the loss of life in the neighborhood with local diners, grocery stores, and people who “knew their neighbors” was significantly less during that mournful period than the neighborhood with less quantifiable social cohesion. Read More »