HAMILTON TOWNSHIP — A staple of suburban life — the block party — is endangered in this burgeoning Warren County community.

        Hamilton Township police no longer will approve requests to close off streets for block parties or festivals. The trustees said blocked streets could create problems for emergency vehicles.

        “If you've got 10 people on the street and one person on the end needs help and the rescue crew can't get through, then we'd have a problem,” said O.T. Bishop, trustee president. “We're not against somebody having a block party, but just stay out of the street.”

        Two other fast-growing nearby townships are split on the issue. West Chester Township in Butler County does not allow residents to close streets, but Warren County's Deerfield Township gives the OK.

        Concerns about delayed response times have little merit, said Patrick Donnelly. His Dayton, Ohio, neighborhood has thrown block parties for 35 years — they even have their own construction horses to block the roads.

        “If you put a couple of horses at the end of a block, it doesn't take a firefighter 10 seconds to remove the barriers,” said Mr. Donnelly, a sociology professor at the University of Dayton who studies neighborhood cohesion and what builds strong communities.

        Since the rise of suburbia in the 1950s, block parties have been a casual way for neighbors to meet and form relationships. Most suburban neighborhoods aren't designed for front yard interaction, Mr. Donnelly said. There are few sidewalks, and people tend to relax on the back yard deck instead.

        Block parties help bridge the gap, particularly in areas with rapid development. Already this year, Hamilton Township has issued 537 permits for single-family homes. Six years ago, the total was 116.

        Hampering block parties “can reduce the amount of neighborliness and friendships in a community,” Mr. Donnelly said.

        Carissa and Tim Porta and two of their children moved to Hamilton Township in April. They couldn't attend this year's block party in their subdivision, but they were looking forward to the next one. The township's ordinance will make it more difficult to throw block parties and for neighbors to build relationships, she said.

        “It's hard to get to know your neighbors, especially in a new subdivision,” Mrs. Porta said. “Everybody's so busy and going in different directions that it's nice to have a set time to talk, to know you're going to be able to meet people.”

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