At ICMA, we believe that the future of community leadership is defined by vision, creativity, and a steadfast commitment to progress. We are dedicated to nurturing innovative leadership and empowering entrepreneurial ideas that shape resilient and vibrant communities. This article presents the innovative thought leadership of Telosa and members of the Telosa team, introducing important community-building strategies detailed in an approach titled Community 2.0.

Community as Critical Infrastructure

At their core, cities are about people. When residents feel a sense of belonging and shared purpose, communities become healthier, safer, happier, more prosperous, and more vibrant. Strong social bonds, built on trust and collaboration, make places more innovative and resilient. Decades of research confirm that social capital is as critical to civic success as roads, bridges, or technology.

We are living in a moment of extraordinary change. Advances in technology, shifting demographics, evolving economies, and a growing sense of polarization are reshaping daily life at a pace that challenges traditional governance. This constant motion creates both challenge and opportunity. The communities that thrive will be those that cultivate trust, strengthen collaboration, and nurture connection—adapting quickly while holding fast to a simple truth: People—residents, neighbors, families—are the critical infrastructure of a thriving city.

The Challenge: Trust and Polarization

Trust is the currency of effective governance. Yet across many communities, that trust is fraying. Residents question whether governments listen, act fairly, or deliver on promises. National polarization amplifies these doubts and spills into local debates, discouraging participation and delaying progress.

A study by Polco and the Alliance for Innovation found that nearly 70% of local officials believe political division is harming their communities. The impacts are visible: stalled projects, disengaged residents, and weakened resilience.

Still, local governments remain uniquely positioned to bridge divides. Unlike national politics, they deliver visible results, foster direct interaction, and provide platforms for inclusive problem-solving. With their role as strong institutions and trusted anchors, local leaders can pursue strategies to rebuild trust, intentionally treating connection, collaboration, and belonging as essential infrastructure for civic life.

A Glimpse into the Future

Telosa is a people-first city model that plans to co-design with residents, measure what matters, and reinvest value from the community into expanded opportunity and quality-of-life outcomes. When entrepreneur Marc Lore unveiled his vision for Telosa, a new city imagined for the United States, much of the attention focused on sustainability, architecture, and technology. But perhaps the boldest part of the vision isn’t physical at all—it’s social.

Lore imagined a place where opportunity is accessible to all, where prosperity is broadly shared, and where community itself is the foundation for innovation and resilience. Guided by the values of being open, fair, and inclusive, Telosa’s mission is to create a more equitable and sustainable future—one where trust and belonging are as intentionally built as the essential infrastructure for civic life. Telosa is envisioned not just as a physical city but as a blueprint for communities everywhere—a living laboratory where lessons can inform today’s cities and counties.

To help bring the vision to life, the Telosa Community Foundation has formed a unique partnership that bridges sectors: academic experts from Dartmouth, the Henry George School of Social Science, and the private sector through Polco, a leading civic analytics and engagement company. Together, this coalition is advancing a new framework called Community 2.0. Although Telosa is a city of the future, its central idea that people thrive when they feel connected and invested in one another is urgently relevant for every city and county today.

Community for the 21st Century

Community 2.0 is a framework and an implementation approach that treats connection and trust as the core infrastructure of civic life. It combines both in-person and digital contact by blending traditional anchors such as schools, neighborhoods, and local government with modern approaches like digital engagement, inclusive planning, and data-driven decision-making to rebuild reciprocity and belonging.

It is designed to be multi-sector, drawing in residents, nonprofits, businesses, and governments to co-create solutions that strengthen trust and foster meaningful engagement. This approach goes beyond communication to ensure that community members are actively shaping decisions that affect their daily lives.

Tools like participatory budgeting, cultural programming, and systematic engagement help local leaders make collaboration and shared responsibility the foundation of civic life. When trust and engagement are prioritized, communities experience safer neighborhoods, stronger social bonds, better well-being, deeper civic participation and more effective governance, creating a resilient and connected public life.

More information on Community 2.0 can be found here.

From Vision to Practice

Community 2.0 is not just a vision—it’s a set of practical strategies local leaders can use to strengthen trust and belonging. It means creating spaces for connection through parks, libraries, and neighborhood hubs, while advancing equity with policies that expand affordable housing and support marginalized populations. Civic participation deepens when engagement moves beyond conversations to include structured approaches such as surveys, participatory budgeting, and facilitated forums that directly inform planning and investment. Cross-sector partnerships with nonprofits, universities, and businesses expand capacity and spark innovation across health, education, and economic development.

At the same time, Community 2.0 embraces technology as an ally. Digital engagement platforms lower barriers to participation and bring in new voices, while AI and data analytics help governments better understand resident priorities and allocate resources transparently. Hybrid models ensure online input translates into in-person collaboration, and cultural programming reinforces identity and belonging. Together, these strategies illustrate how Community 2.0 harnesses both timeless community anchors and modern tools to build reciprocity, trust, and collective problem-solving.

Measuring What Matters: The First Step Toward Stronger Communities

There are numerous ways to strengthen community life, but the best place to begin is by measuring the connections that hold people together. Just as cities maintain roads and manage budgets, they can also take stock of trust, belonging, and collaboration, which are the civic bonds that form true community infrastructure.

To make this easier, Telosa and Polco have created the Guidebook to Measure Community Connections, a free resource that any community can use. It provides a clear baseline of where relationships are strong and where they need attention, helping leaders focus resources where they will have the greatest impact and can track progress over time. The first step to building stronger, more resilient communities is simple: measure what matters most.

Examples in Action

Buffalo Grove, Illinois, launched a Community City Champions program to integrate diverse voices into decision-making leading to higher participation rates.

Santa Barbara County, California, used an online housing simulation to transform conflict into collaboration.

Austin, Texas, built trust with its Neighboring Partner Program, where residents co-fund projects with the city.

Portland, Maine, developed a city park system with public spaces to foster resident interaction and connection, and to host community events such as festivals, farmers markets, and cultural celebrations.

Elk Grove, California, used data-driven decision making to build trust with residents through transparency and accountability.

Internationally, Dutch cities pioneered intergenerational housing, offering students free rent in exchange for supporting elderly residents—a simple but transformative way to build social bonds.

These examples highlight that the most powerful innovations are often social, not just technological. If you have success stories from your own community, we’d love to learn from them. Please share your stories and insights via email to pm@icma.org.

Why Community 2.0 Matters Now

From climate resilience to AI disruption, today’s most pressing challenges are fundamentally community challenges. They cannot be solved by one sector or ideology alone. They demand collective solutions rooted in connection and trust.

Community 2.0 reframes trust and belonging as critical infrastructure to be invested in, measured, and systematically strengthened. It shifts civic bonds from being “nice to have” to being prerequisites for prosperity, safety, and resilience. Because global disruptions shape local realities, strong civic fabric enables local governments to act as laboratories of innovation where inclusive, community-driven solutions model responses for the world.

As Martin Luther King Jr. observed, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Local leaders have the tools and the responsibility to weave that garment stronger than before.

A Call to Local Leaders

For today’s city and county executives, the message is clear: You are stewards of community trust and connection. Every budget cycle, planning process, and engagement initiative is an opportunity to strengthen civic fabric. Start with small steps: design spaces that foster belonging, support civic dialogue, invest in equity, expand affordable housing, and measure progress along the way.

The future of communities will not be defined only by technology or sustainability. It will be defined by whether people trust one another, feel connected, and are invested in shared success. The most innovative communities of tomorrow won’t just be smart or sustainable. They’ll be deeply connected, deeply resilient, and deeply trusted.

JON MALLON is CEO of the Telosa Community Foundation, a nonprofit advancing a people-first city model and practical tools for existing communities.
CHRISTA DANIELS, PhD, is a resident scholar at Dartmouth College’s Irving Institute for Energy and Society and a lecturer at the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.
TOM ROSSMAN is historian and senior advisor to the Telosa Community Foundation and a board member of the Henry George School of Social Science.
MICHELLE KOBAYASHI is executive strategist for Polco/National Research Center.