Smart Communities

Effective Practices Collection at CNCS

Those looking for effective practices in the subject areas of education, environment, human needs, program management, public safety, service affiliation, and volunteer management should check out the collection of links compiled by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  I won't say that everything compiled there is helpful to everyone but there are a number of great ideas represented with links to extensive discussion of various effective practices.  Just browsing through the collection I found one entry on improving neighborhoods with web-based community mapping; the site described efforts in Los Angeles (through the Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles project) to map out communities using property data in an attempt to locate neighborhoods in decline.  Normally we don't cover efforts strictly driven by technology, there are a lot of blogs already out there doing that sort of reporting, but this initiative was particularly interesting for its marriage of technology with on-the-ground assets.  Definitely worth your time if you haven't already browsed their offerings.

Many Roles Possible in Addressing the Dropout Crisis

Angela Pascopella wrote an article for District Administration this month critiquing the National Education Association's 12-point plan to address the dropout crisis.  The article examines the plan step-by-step and is encouraging in its reporting that there is a broad availability for different groups to step up to the table and contribute their efforts to this challenge.  Ultimately, there is no silver bullet and the 12 points outline roles that probably should be fulfilled in every community.

Our solution, as we've mentioned before, is a community-wide initiative to reduce the dropout rate called Learning to Finish.  Two of the facets of the campaign we're currently engaged-in are promoting greater participation on our dropout wiki and getting the word out about the 2007 Civic Change Award.  We'll be making some more announcements about the campaign in coming months, stay tuned.

Master Builders, Past and Present

Three new exhibitions in New York City are honoring a man well-known to historians, city planners, and activists from the Big Apple and beyond.  The work of Robert Moses, dubbed the "Power Broker" by biographer Robert Caro, is being re-examined by a new generation of urban chroniclers who seek a more sympathetic interpretation of the man than that given by Caro.  Moses is responsible for planning some of the more visible aspects of New York including numerous neighborhood parks, Lincoln Center, the West Side Highway, the Long Island Expressway, Jones Beach, the Triborough Bridge, and had a clear hand in the decision of the United Nations to be located in New York rather than San Francisco.

In executing these projects, Moses was roundly criticized for favoring city planning over community values and interests.  He dismantled ethnic neighborhoods throughout the city to accomodate his plans for housing projects and roadways such as the Cross Bronx Expressway.  The emphasis he placed on travel by car, rather than public transportation, is also cited by some as an unnecessary contributor to the traffic congestion which marks travel through New York City.  A complex person, Moses was both loved by the people of New York for his construction of public parks and beaches, and despised for his willingness to seemingly sacrifice *only* ethnic and African-American neighborhoods for the greater good of the city.

The new exhibitions emphasize Moses as a master builder who oversaw the greatest period of expansion in New York's history.  Not an undeserved reputation, and given the unique set of positions he held within the government and the contacts he cultivated with project funders such as the Rockefellers, it is doubtful that the city will ever witness a similar figure.

Last week's mention of Moses was followed this week by a story about the new aerial tram in Portland.  Apparently it offers breathtaking views and, aside from the obvious benefits offered by mass transit, it seems like one of the more daring projects undertaken by a city in the United States in the past year.  This is yet another distinctive feature of a city already marked by innovative approaches to mass transit.  Kudos to Portland on their investment, they show that a master builder isn't needed -- communities can achieve greatness one project at a time.

Following Kalamazoo, El Dorado Makes a Promise

The model for keeping kids in school started by an anonymous Kalamazoo, MI donor is being repeated in the Arkansas community of El Dorado.  In this instance the Murphy Oil company, a business with almost $12 billion in revenue, has committed $5 million annually for a decade toward sponsoring the college education of graduates from El Dorado High School.  Unlike the Kalamazoo Promise, graduates from El Dorado High can apply their scholarships to higher education institutions in Arkansas or out-of-state.  The only catch is that the scholarships are capped at just over $6,000 (the highest in-state tuition charged by a public university in Arkansas.)

Murphy Oil has indicated it hopes the scholarships not only help keep young people in school but also serve to attract business investment.  As we've noted in earlier posts on the Kalamazoo Promise the idea of a free college scholarship has attracted considerable attention, and some new residents, to that Michigan community.  No word, yet, on whether business investment has followed.

Kudos to Murphy Oil on its commitment to community although the Arkansas Leader reports that there may be some long-standing, and very poignant, sentimental reasons for this new initiative as well.

Upstate New York - Our Next Appalachia?

In his successful 2006 campaign for the New York State governor's seat, Eliot Spitzer made a stark assertion about upstate New York -- it resembled Appalachia in a number of ways.  The comparison doesn't immediately seem accurate to me but statistically it appears to have some applicability.  The Public Policy Institute of New York made an economic comparison between the two regions and released some striking news on its UpstateBlog:

* In terms of population, upstate New York is in considerably worse condition than Appalachia.  The population of Appalachia rose 9% from 1990-2000 while upstate New York grew only 1%; at that, upstate New York has gained significantly more population by percentage of foreign born residents than Appalachia which indicates, in part, that immigration is keeping upstate New York's population statistics from falling further.
* Just matching West Virginia's rate of growth in 2005 would have meant 36,000 new jobs for upstate New York.

Other sources have added the following details to this portrait of upstate New York:

* The composition of the population decline may signal tough times ahead for future rebuilding with 25% of young adults (ages 25-34) disappearing from the 52 upstate counties between 1990 and 2004.  Even more discouraging is that, according to the New York Times, 30% of the new population in upstate are inmates transferred to upstate prisons!
* Average job rate growth in the ten years prior to January 2006 was twice as high in Appalachia as in upstate New York.
* "40 percent of the 100 fastest growing counties in America from 2004 to 2005 were in Appalachian states. None were from Upstate New York."
* An article in U.S. News & World Report indicates that any efforts to improve the region will meet from a surprising source -- the residents.  According to a survey of residents in the western part of the state, 35% believe things will get worse in the next five years.

Nonetheless, the new governor has pledged to turn things around and he does have some good material with which to work.  Upstate New York has a healthy percentage of residents with high school (83%) and college (21%) degrees; it also has real assets in its colonial-era history, its parks and recreation, and a burgeoning wine industry in the Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley regions.  It will also help that the state has committed to near-universal broadband service for the upstate area by 2010.

We look forward to hearing more about efforts to change upstate New York's chances for prosperity in the coming months.

Roanoke's Smart Web Efforts

The Roanoke area has a unique blog that other communities might want to replicate.  The Connecting People blog reaches out to young adults in Roanoke and the New River Valley and provides discussion and links related to professional and social opportunities.  The blog provides the sort of information about jobs and social networking opportunities that young adults want and which can result in keeping them in the area after graduating from high school or college.  There should be lots to blog about following the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce's 3rd annual regional economic summit (we were happy to see education and the workforce as one of the main topics addressed.)

I was introduced to the blog by way of a comment by Connecting People's author, Stuart Mease, who (according to his blog biograophy), "was hired by the City of Roanoke, Virginia, USA to create programs and events, both social and professional, with existing regional entities to retain and attract young adults to the city and its surrounding region."  Stuart and another blog poster, Will Farmer, are also involved in another Roanoke-based effort named NewVaConnects that is sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce and which also seeks to retain and attract young professionals to the region.

Best of luck to Stuart and Will in their efforts, hope you both check in with us in the future and let us know what is happening in Roanoke.

Community Partnerships Vital as Universities Expand

When business increasingly demands a well-educated workforce there will naturally be incentives for universities to grow in order to accomodate a rising interest in college education.  This expansion is often welcomed by communities because of the benefits provided to the local economy or by way of an improved standard of living.  Not all communities embrace university expansion, though.  Take the example of Santa Cruz where the university is seeking to expand enrollment by 30% over the next 14 years and is being met by stiff resistance from local residents.  Their concerns include a shrinking tax base as the university acquires more land as well as the impact that the addition of thousands of new students, faculty, and staff will have on city services and the environment.  This is not a struggle that would happen everywhere, some localities would embrace any expansion by their institution of higher education, but the culture of the Santa Cruz area - the New York Times described it as "a place where hiking trails, yoga mats and surfboards are as common as backpacks filled with books" - suggests there is a clash of values at stake here as well.

Universities and their local communities often have stellar records as collaborators with symbiotic relationships in business, arts, and community development.  For those looking to establish relationships between their community and its institution of higher education we encourage you to examine the section on university-community partnerships in our publication New Directions in Civic Engagement.  Check it out on the resources page over at the Pew Partnership for Civic Change website.

Alma Powell Speaks on Dropout Epidemic

Alma Powell recently spoke with Mike Hambrick on the radio show America's Business about the dropout epidemic in general and the Learning to Finish Campaign specifically.  Ms. Powell, chair of the national advisory board of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change,  helped introduce the campaign to the media when we launched back in October of last year.  The interview is available in MP3 on the National Association of Manufacturer's website.

To learn more about dropouts and what needs to be done to keep young people in school until they graduate, check out our dropout prevention discussion guide, "The School Dropout Crisis".  There is information about our Learning to Finish Campaign on the 'What's New' page of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change website, and expert advice on what can be done to combat the growing epidemic on our dropout prevention wiki.

Libraries as a Core Component of Community Engagement

We receive correspondence every year about libraries that are facilitating community engagement through a variety of programs and initiatives.  Today's post is both a reminder not to forget about libraries as a key partner in community engagement efforts and an opportunity to point out a resource for those interested in incorporating libraries into their own community efforts.

The Americans for Libraries Council has a website that offers information about how American libraries are working in communities to better serve residents.  One of the initiatives, sponsored by Atlantic Philanthropies, is Lifelong Access which is geared toward better serving older residents in a number of ways including through increased civic participation.  Their website has short descriptions and links to some notable programs across the country.

For those who would like to learn more about the larger role libraries can adopt in engaging communities check out this article (link to PDF) by American Library Association president Nancy Kranich from the March/April 2006 issue of Knowledge Quest.  Kranich outlines some of the possible linkages and partnerships libraries can form in the coming years that will enhance the ability of communities to address common challenges.

Unique Housing Dilemmas of the Northeast

Two northeastern cities are reporting housing problems that pose a unique set of challenges.

First, in Massachusetts the workforce is facing the unusual dilemma of a shortage of affordable housing caused by a prospering economy.  The state has a highly-educated workforce, 37% of residents over age 25 have a bachelor's degree, that has attracted a lot of business and high-paying jobs.  Elevated incomes have driven the price for housing stock higher than young adults can afford - not to mention lesser-skilled laborers and other low-income workers.  As a result the state has experienced a contraction in its labor force as workers leave for states where they can afford to live near their workplace.  The problem is apparently acute among tradesmen as workers with limited education leave the workforce rather than retrain with new skills.  The Christian Science Monitor has put together an excellent story on this trend.

New York City is experiencing its own crisis with affordable housing.  According to the New York Times, the way in which affordable housing stock is developed in the city is going to change significantly in the coming years.  This goes beyond Mayor Bloomberg's multi-year plan to expand low-income housing opportunities and gets to the question of how independent sector groups are operating in the public interest.   Given the sheer scale of New York this article gives a look into the possibilities of the future for other well-developed metropolitan areas.

For those interested in reading more about expanding the opportunities for home ownership we can recommend our own Solutions for America webpage on this topic.