Strongly connected local communities are important to have. They satisfy our social needs for in-person connections, and help organize mutual aid. These needs cannot be sufficiently satisfied exclusively by online friends/communities - of particular note, new parents need help raising their kid.
Historically, society has had these strongly connected local communities, via the way society was organized (i.e. tribes, multi-generational households, etc.) or through entities that focused on community (i.e. local churches). Churches in particular would ensure everyone meets up regularly to see each other, connect, and catch up. They'd host community events and services throughout the year, and mobilize the community during emergencies.
The religious aspect of churches was never a requirement for the benefits they contributed to their local communities, and in fact there are mega-churches today that do not confer these benefits despite retaining the religious aspect.
There are several reasons for why local communities have since weakened. The car has weakened them by making the people physically more spread out and reducing the number of "third places". The internet created a convenient alternative whose communities were not immediately recognized as insufficient imitations of in person communities. Newer generations trend towards irreligiousness, making churches decreasingly popular. Combined, these changes have led to a cultural shift towards Individualism and Neoliberalism that has further cemented our weakened local communities.
The way to "fix" our local communities and make them more strongly connected is to support multi-generational households, increasing population density, and using or creating entities that can replace the community-building role of the church. Such alternatives could be community centers or HOAs. HOAs get a bad reputation due to their tendency to attract those who want power to micro-manage the community, but there are ways to organize them to mitigate that issue (see Anarchism).
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