Community Is More Than a Zip Code

— It’s a Choice We Make Every Day

Every town has a story. Maybe it starts with a thriving main street, a tight-knit neighborhood, or a memory from a time when everyone knew each other by name. Over time, that story can shift. The store windows get dusty, the sidewalks get quiet, and people start to forget what it looked like when hope was active.

Still, deep down, the desire to restore what once was—or even better, create something new—never goes away. I see it in meetings where plans are floated but never funded. I hear it in voices wondering why the energy just isn’t there anymore. I feel it in the tension between wanting things to change and fearing what that change might ask of us.

Here’s what I’ve learned real community building isn’t about bringing back the past—it’s about letting go of what no longer serves us, so we can make room for what will.

If we’re going to talk about building community, we need to get honest about what’s holding us back. And we need to see — really see — what makes some communities thrive while others stay stuck.

Looking at why some communities crumble, while others come alive with energy, dignity, and momentum. Let’s talk about how we build — not just events and appearances, but a real foundation. Let’s talk about how we create places we want to live in. Places that feel like home.

Because at the end of the day, community isn’t a zip code. It’s a choice. And every one of us has a role to play in choosing what we become together.

We Say We Want Change… But We Grip the Past Too Tightly

I serve on the board of a Main Street organization in a town that, like many others across America, is desperate for revival. This main street doesn’t just need help — it needs resuscitation. You can feel it in the boarded-up buildings, the quiet streets, the places that used to buzz with life.

But sometimes the communities crying out for change are the same ones unknowingly standing in their own way.

That tight grip on the familiar becomes the very thing that keeps us stuck. Businesses resist new leadership. Neighbors side-eye fresh ideas. Organizations repeat the same old routines hoping for new outcomes.

And we wonder why nothing moves.

Real transformation demands that we let go of outdated ways of thinking. It demands we stop pretending comfort equals progress.

Communities are like living organisms — they need breath, movement, change. And just like a body can grow stiff and immobile from years of being still, so can a town that refuses to evolve.

Events Are Not a Strategy

I’ve seen a lot of towns try to fix their problems with events, where I live and also up north where I have property.  Street fairs. Parades. Holiday markets. And listen — I’m not knocking those. They bring joy. They bring people together, and that matters.

But events alone don’t build infrastructure. They don’t put people to work. They don’t renovate abandoned buildings or fill empty storefronts with thriving businesses.

Without a strategy — without vision — all we’re doing is dressing up a deeper wound.

Main Street America, in its annual 2023 Reinvestment Statistics report, found that communities implementing structured transformation strategies — those built around comprehensive planning, economic development, stakeholder collaboration, and equity — consistently outperformed communities that relied only on episodic events like street fairs and pop-ups.

According to the report, for every $1 invested into a formalized Main Street program, there was a $33.39 return in public and private reinvestment. In one year alone, these strategies led to 6,630 net new businesses and 29,470 net new jobs nationwide. That’s not just a promising number — it’s evidence that with the right structure and collective buy-in, community revitalization is not only possible, but profitable. That’s impact — measurable, scalable, and repeatable.

We need more than moments. We need momentum. We need community planning that connects local businesses to economic development, residents to shared goals, and public services to measurable outcomes.

Picture a wheel. A strong, steady wheel that turns forward with force. Now imagine each spoke on that wheel represents a person, a family, a business, a leader in the community.

When even one of those spokes is broken or resisting movement, the wheel wobbles.

It drags. It stalls. And eventually? It collapses.

That’s what happens when people try to grow alone, when businesses hoard knowledge, when leaders isolate, when residents divide themselves by old cliques and grievances.

If one block thrives but the next is abandoned, the town still struggles. If one business grows but refuses to mentor or uplift others, we stay stuck. If a new voice speaks up and gets shut down because it challenges tradition, the whole community loses out.

This is where we get in our own way. We treat growth like a competition instead of a collective mission. We spend energy on drama instead of development. And we forget that community is built not in isolation, but in collaboration.

The places we admire — those towns that feel vibrant, safe, full of opportunity — they didn’t get there by accident. They got there because people decided to build together.

According to research published by the Brookings Institution, when community members collaborate early and often, redevelopment happens 40% faster than when it is led by top-down management alone. When local residents, business owners, and nonprofit leaders are engaged at the core, their neighborhoods rebound with more resilience and long-term investment.

Community is Business, and Business is Community

Marcus Lemonis, entrepreneur and host of The Profit, is known for stepping into struggling businesses and diagnosing the real problems. What he demonstrates time and again is that businesses don’t usually fail because the ideas are bad; they fail because the people running them resist seeing and addressing what needs to change.

Marcus doesn’t fix businesses with money. He fixes them with clarity. He helps folks see what they couldn’t see on their own — that their fear, control, or pride is blocking their potential.

And that same principle applies to our communities.

We often fear new development, fresh voices, or new leadership because we’re afraid of losing control. But you can’t grow if you’re only willing to build inside your comfort zone.

What I love about Marcus is that he makes things visible. He lays it out so people can finally see the connection between their internal habits and their external results. We need that same lens when we look at the place we live in.

Healthy communities are not passive. They don’t just hope things get better. They take the principles of healthy business — clarity, accountability, vision, innovation — and apply them to how they lead, build, and grow.

The truth is, business health equals community health. When local businesses grow strong, they create jobs, attract foot traffic, fund public programs, and bring back pride to neighborhoods. Economic vitality isn’t separate from community development — it is community development.

Main Street America, Brookings, and the National Main Street Center have outlined the DNA of thriving communities. Whether rural or urban, oppressed or under-resourced, communities that come back strong have the following in common:

• Collaborative Culture: Communities that thrive don’t wait for rescue. They build coalitions across business, nonprofit, education, and faith sectors to solve problems together.

• Broad Ownership: Local ownership and resident investment lead to more resilient and committed communities.

• Diverse and Equitable Leadership: Diverse perspectives in leadership bring about inclusive policies and creative solutions.

• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Thriving towns support new business creation and reduce barriers for entrepreneurs.

• Shared Vision: Everyone is rowing in the same direction because a common plan has been agreed upon and publicly shared.

  
  

In towns where these factors are present, revitalization doesn’t just happen — it accelerates. In fact, a study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation found that when communities activate local ownership and collaborative planning, recovery occurs 30–50% faster than in communities waiting on external intervention.

In other words, if we want to rebuild, we have to start with ourselves. From the inside out. Because the strongest communities are the ones that didn’t wait on help — they became the help.

So if you ask me what community really is — it’s not just where you live.

It’s how you live with others. It’s what you give your energy to. Who you choose to uplift. Where you show up, even when it’s inconvenient.

It’s choosing to support someone else’s progress, even if it doesn’t benefit you immediately. It’s investing in people and places with long-term thinking. It’s putting your pride aside for the sake of collective momentum.

Change rarely is easy. But the place you call home deserves more than survival. It deserves to thrive.

And you are a part of that blueprint.

Start where you are. Speak up. Collaborate. Share your skills. Mentor someone. Ask the tough questions. Push for the plan.

-Troy Rienstra