Extending this insight, network science explains why one lifted neighbor can lift many. Mark Granovetter’s “The Strength of Weak Ties” (1973) showed that opportunity often travels through casual connections—exactly the links that stitch blocks into neighborhoods. Help that expands a person’s ties multiplies job leads, health information, and civic invitations.
Complementing this, Robert Sampson’s Great American City (2012) documented “collective efficacy”: when residents trust and help each other, neighborhoods reduce violence and improve outcomes. Therefore, aiding even one neighbor increases the visible stock of trust, nudging others to participate and reinforcing the web that carries benefits. [...]
