According to the Project for Public Spaces:

Neighborhoods–whether in cities, suburbs, or small towns–are the level where people interact most regularly and naturally. Neighborhoods provide a ready-made forum for tackling problems like traffic, crime, or social alienation that seem too daunting to address on the national or municipal scale. Even in communities where there are no pressing troubles, the neighborhood remains an ideal setting for important work such as restoring a park, enlivening a business district, or boosting an inherent “sense of community.”