Abstract:
This brief case narrative tells the story of how a few people managed to wring consensus from over 40 of their neighbors on repaving a shared driveway. While there was general agreement that the driveway, which ran behind their buildings, was in poor shape, there was little impetus to do something about it, in large part because of the daunting task of organizing a large and disparate group of residents, who had hitherto shown little interest in working together on common goals.
Learning Objective:
The case describes the barriers to mobilization in the Maple Lane neighborhood, and the tactics used to maneuver around them. It can be used in politics courses as a simple illustration of the challenges associated with organizing a latent community around a common interest, and in microeconomics courses as the basis for discussing the problem of allocating the costs of a public good, including a discussion of Lindahl pricing.
