16 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 Social and Cultural Resources The majority of participants at the Co-Lab described various social and cultural resources in their city. Social resources include neighborhood networks, community organizations, and trusted relationships between residents and institutions. Cultural resources are described as arts and music events, traditions, festivals, and cultural institutions like museums, libraries, and community centers. These assets often become “strategies” for coping with and adapting to change, helping both longtime residents and newcomers navigate cities in transition. Community Organizations During earlier periods of economic upheaval, some communities had existing organizations that helped process that disruption collectively. In many cases, the “right ingredients” were already in place. In Bethlehem, Touchstone Theatre was familiar and trusted, and the organization was able to support and even lift the community during the closure of Bethlehem Steel in 2001. Through its production of Steelbound, Touchstone helped residents work through the anger, grief, and loyalty many steelworkers felt toward the plant and created one of the first opportunities for former workers to return to the site. Similarly, the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, through its play Hard Coal: Life in the Region, helped communities
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