The Belonging Bus
A mobile community living room for building local belonging
The Belonging Bus is a Westborough Connects initiative developed by Kate Storm, DSW, and shaped through community design and experimentation.
What if belonging came to you?
The Belonging Bus is a mobile community living room designed to create welcoming, low-pressure opportunities for people to stop, sit, play, talk, listen, and return.
Rather than asking residents to find their way into existing community spaces, the Bus brings connection directly into the places where people live, work, and gather.
From theory to experience
The Belonging Bus was designed with community members—not simply for them.
An 18-member local design team helped translate a theory of belonging into a physical prototype and then into a 12-week community demonstration. Learning from the initial pilot helped shape the design and approach for the Summer 2026 Demonstration.
The Belonging Bus grew from research and theory on belonging, social connection, and community design. The model was originally developed as part of Kate Storm's doctoral research at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
Read Dr. Storm’s Thesis HERE.
We have plenty of places to be. We don't have enough places to belong.
Communities have plenty of places where people can go—but fewer opportunities for the kind of repeated, low-pressure interaction through which relationships actually develop.
Declining civic engagement, social isolation, polarization, and the disappearance of informal gathering spaces can leave people surrounded by others while still feeling disconnected.
The Belonging Bus asks a simple question: What if we brought belonging to the people?
The Belonging Bus transforms a small mobile space into a welcoming neighborhood gathering place. The Bus meets residents where they live, work, and gather, creating an inviting space where people can stop by without needing to register, commit, or already know someone.
Activities are intentionally low-pressure and designed to make conversation and participation easy. Residents can stop, sit, play, talk, listen, and return—with no expectation that every interaction has to become a lasting relationship.
The goal is simple: create more opportunities for meaningful interaction and make it easier for relationships to grow over time.
Local Bus Stops - Summer 2026
During Summer 2026, Westborough Connects launched a 12 week Demonstration Project, with weekly visit to the Park Village West Apartment Community and the Westborough Farmers’ Market.
We are grateful to Greater Worcester Community Foundation for funding our 2026 Demonstration Project of the Belonging Bus.
We’re looking for additional partners to support the growth and sustainability of the Belonging Bus.
Interested in learning more? Contact Kelley Petralia at kelleyconnects1@gmail.com to learn more.