Co-Lab
2025
Social and Cultural Resources
This booklet examines inclusion and belonging in small city life. Small cities are often praised for close-knit communities, but participants described a persistent divide between those who are "from here" and those who "came here." Drawing on cities across Pennsylvania, the Midwest, and Northeast, it traces how social and cultural resources, such as festivals, traditions, and civic institutions, shape belonging, and asks whether they can help dismantle long-standing insider-outsider divides.