Importance of Shared Proximity
Shared proximity highlights the way people, organizations, and communities coexist within common spaces, relationships, and systems. It underscores the fact that scarcity, opportunity, and innovation emerge from the conditions of living and working alongside others. For development and social change, shared proximity matters because it defines the stage on which power, collaboration, and conflict play out. It draws attention to both the tensions and the possibilities inherent in closeness.
Definition and Features
Shared proximity refers to the social, spatial, and relational nearness that brings diverse actors into connection. Its defining features include:
- Spatial Dimension – physical closeness in neighborhoods, workplaces, or regions.
- Social Dimension – relational ties across communities, institutions, and networks.
- Interdependence – interactions shaped by shared resources, constraints, and opportunities.
- Tension and Collaboration – coexistence can produce conflict or creativity.
- Contextual Variation – proximity plays out differently in rural, urban, and digital environments.
How this Works in Practice
In practice, shared proximity shapes everyday experiences such as community organizing, service delivery, and market activity. For example, urban neighborhoods where diverse groups live side by side may generate both friction and innovation. Shared proximity also informs how services are designed. Schools, clinics, and markets, for example, all operate as proximate institutions that bring people together. In international development, refugee camps, border regions, and climate-affected zones are contexts where proximity deeply influences outcomes.
Implications for Social Innovation
Shared proximity reframes innovation as something that happens not in isolation but in the spaces where lives intersect. It encourages solutions that recognize diversity, negotiate difference, and build on the strengths of closeness. Proximate leadership, participatory design, and collective impact approaches all leverage shared proximity to unlock social advantage. For funders and practitioners, embracing proximity ensures that innovation remains connected to the lived realities and relationships that ultimately shape systems change.
