All neighborhoods face challenges.  In healthy neighborhoods, neighbors are able to manage the day-to-day concerns that arise.  Neighborhood management, the effort to develop and sustain a vital neighborhood and influence others to cooperate in the effort is at the core of a healthy neighborhood.  Neighborhood management capacity refers to the skill and degree to which neighbors are willing to act collectively on behalf of their neighborhood.

Neighborhood management takes on many faces and it is more than organizing neighbors to act.  The basic level of the concept is the mindset of individuals.  Not everyone chooses to be part of a group, but no one is absolved of their responsibility to their neighborhood. 
 
At a minimum, residents should demonstrate a willingness to invest and maintain individual properties and homes in a manner that reflects pride and accountability.  The second level involves taking the initiative to connect with adjacent neighbors for social engagement or to assist with a project.  Thirdly, active individuals will see the need to engage several neighbors on the block, which may spark the beginning of a core group that could ultimately become a neighborhood association.  The levels of neighborhood management are highlighted in the table on page 2. 
The City of Garland promotes neighborhood associations as an excellent opportunity for residents to build relationships with one another and community stakeholders, to create a forum for planning and setting goals, and to build social capital.