Neighbourhood solidarity isn’t dead, it’s dozing: here’s how to wake it up
Loneliness & connection · Équipe Viatous · 4 min
You’ve been passing the woman from the third floor for four years. You say hello in the lift, you comment on the rain, sometimes on the heating bills. You don’t know her name. She doesn’t know yours. And yet you sleep ten metres apart, with nothing but a floor between you.
People often say neighbourhood solidarity is “a thing of the past.” The numbers tell a very different story.
Neighbours matter more than you think
According to the Fondation de France loneliness study published in January 2026, neighbours are among the social networks people in France draw on most often: 54% , almost as high as friends (58%) and slightly ahead of family (52%) ( Fondation de France, 2026 ).
The same study highlights the role of small local shops: 23% of people in large French cities had talked about personal matters with a shopkeeper in their neighbourhood over the past year. So local connection hasn’t disappeared. It’s dozing, just waiting for an opening.
Start with small gestures
Among the simple actions that strengthen social connection, the WHO lists greeting a neighbour and joining a local group ( WHO, 2025 ). Nothing heroic, then. Just a little attention:
Remember names. “Morning, Martine” is a world away from “Morning.”
Ask one more question. “Is the building work downstairs driving you mad?” opens a real conversation.
Offer something concrete. Water the plants during the holidays, take in a parcel, lend a drill.
Let people help you too. Asking a favour is often what builds a bond fastest. You tend to feel closer to someone you’ve helped out.
Create a reason to get together
Neighbourly connection needs an excuse. And anyone can provide one, including you:
A note in the hallway : “Drinks in the courtyard Friday at 7pm, everyone bring something.”
A little book or seed box by the letterboxes.
A building group chat for parcels, leaks… and invitations.
A swap of plants, kids’ clothes or tools on a Sunday morning.
A litter pick in your street or the nearby park.
Even if only three people turn up the first time, that’s three more people you know. And three neighbours who talk to each other is already the start of a building that feels alive.
Build on what already exists
You don’t have to invent everything. Your area probably already has:
a residents’ association or community centre;
a shared garden;
a library that runs workshops;
organisations offering short, group volunteering missions, like Benenova, mentioned by the Fondation de France, which operates in Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Paris and Rennes.
The Fondation de France describes community organisations as real pivots of social life for people who are alone or isolated. One hour a week there means meeting the people who live around you and who also want to get things moving.
Think of the people you don’t see
Every building has someone who rarely goes out: an older person, an overwhelmed single parent, a student who’s just arrived. A simple “If you ever need anything, I’m on the second floor” can mean a lot. No pushing, no imposing: just leaving the door open.
What’s in it for you
Neighbourhood solidarity isn’t just a good deed. It makes your own life better too:
You feel at home , not just in your flat, but in your street.
You have people to count on for life’s small hiccups: a forgotten key, a breakdown, a parcel.
You meet people you’d never have crossed paths with otherwise, of other ages and backgrounds.
And often, the mood of a whole building changes because two or three people dared to start.
From idea to action, with a few people
The hardest part is often finding the first two or three motivated people. That’s where Viatous can help: you write what you feel like doing, and Viatous looks for compatible people to form a Room of 2 to 4 people, in person or online.
For example: “Looking for two or three people in Rennes to pick up litter along the canal on Sunday morning.”
Roomi, the Viatous robot, welcomes the group, walks everyone through the steps and goes over the rules. And if the team wants to do it again next month, the Room can become a Circle , but only if everyone wants to. That might be how your next neighbourhood group begins.
So this week, set yourself one tiny challenge: learn one name in your building. And if you feel like going further, you know where to find your first partners in crime. See how a Room works .