Smart Communities

America's Promise Turns Ten

This week we celebrate the tenth anniversary of America's Promise—The Alliance for Youth, the initiative for youth grew out of the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future in Philadelphia co-chaired by Presidents Carter and Bush. With founding chairman General Colin Powell followed by chairs Senator Harris Wofford and Alma Powell, the organization has set the bar high with it five promises for youth. The organization has answered in both words and deeds what our promise must be for all young people:

• Caring Adults
• Safe Places
• A Healthy Start
• Effective Education
• Opportunities to Help Others

Through community partnerships, corporate partnerships, and nonprofit partnerships, the Alliance has called attention to the millions of children who do not have even one promise in their lives let alone all five. Through research released last year, Every Child, Every Promise, we saw what must be done now for childen.

Congratulations to all those associated with America's Promise particularly Colin and Alma Powell for leading the way so that all children in our country can realize their promise.

What's New on the Wiki

The latest wiki developments are changes to the section devoted to vocational training and extensive revisions made to the wiki tutorial.  There has been some confusion about the structure we recommend for new article posters to use.  We've noted that format and added some basic description about the syntax (or language) used to create the wiki and how new users can imitate the format of existing articles in order to get ahead of the learning curve.  Ultimately, wiki users have to just jump in and get their feet wet by trying new things to see how they work.

We're still sitting on a couple new tools for the wiki, these were developed earlier in the year but have been put on the back burner as we finish-up some other projects.  Hopefully by the end of July we will have something ready for new users to test.  In early August we may be doing a blogging event as well but it's too early to tell, a lot depends on who we'll want to be involved next on the wiki and what we think would be the best way of achieving their participation.  Finally, there may be some changes to category headings and we may be introducing some new categories so stay tuned for more info.

Assorted Articles on Historic Preservation

Historic preservation might get the most media attention of any topic related to community development and lost in the avalanche of articles are some pretty interestings stories about historic preservation in the United States.  Here's a sampling of what we've found to be interesting reads:

* The city of Phoenix, AZ is debating the status of a building that has been deemed the "mushroom bank".  Unusual to say the least, this product of the 1960's is caught between those seeking new development and those looking to preserve a little unique piece of Phoenix's landscape.  Even if you're not interested in the debate about the bank's preservation it's worth chekcing out the story just to get a gander at the bank.  The article's description of the bank as "iconic" seems spot on, how could this structure not help define the surrounding area?

* Looking for new ways to spice up tours of historical areas?  How about mixing some half-truths in with the standard presentation and ask visitors to separate fact from fiction?  Just an innovative suggestion from Preservation Online.

* Not getting enough foot traffic to your local historic sites?  How about organizing a bike tour?  How about having 100 people attend like they did in Somerville, MA?

* "Is Preservation a Price too High to Pay?" is an article worth reading, it explores the tension between historic preservation and property rights.  Note the article's date of publication -- 1994 -- the article's discussion is still timely, though, and some of the examples make for good case studies in community historic preservation efforts.

* Finally, a story of community resistance to historic preservation.  Not everyone resists historic preservation for the same reasons, in this case that would be the desire to forget a shameful legacy.

Once again, if anyone has an article they would like to share please leave a link in the comments section and we'll share with everyone in a future post.

Community Development on Film (Part 2)

Last October we highlighted a few community development videos that appeared on YouTube.  This week we went back to see if there was anything new and, in fact, there is.  The raft of pop culture videos on YouTube is not in any danger of being replaced by videos related to community development but there are some new examples of how YouTube might be used by folks in the field.  Here's some of what's new and interesting:

* A group from Milton Keynes, England has put together a video about their efforts with local youth.  Their video covers the highlights of what they believe to be sound community development principles and demonstrates how they have been put into practice in the area.

* Hamburger Helper has posted a video that blends a description of its "My Hometown Helper" grant program with video from the NASCAR racing team it sponsors.  Not exactly a model for viral marketing efforts but a good idea nonetheless; it might be interesting if granting organizations began producing videos that demonstrated what they sought to achieve or have already achieved) in communities.

* We're including a promotional video that seeks to bring tourists north to beautiful Maine.  Titled "It Must be Maine" this work probably offers the highest production value of this group of videos, it makes perfect sense to place a promotional piece like this on YouTube.

* There are few efforts on YouTube to advance historic preservation initiatives but one of them asks viewers to save the former Histon Station from being turned into a parking lot.  This is a nicely done amateur work without music or editorializing, the quiet buzz from the occasional passing car is the only thing that competes with the station as the star of this video.

* The New Orleans Food and Farm Network partnered with a Vietnamese Neighborhood organization to host a brunch highlighting Vietnamese food.  This is a nice way to capture a community event and this is especially true for organizations that lack the resources to do extensive written summaries of their projects or otherwise lack a website or newsletter to promote their work.

I hope you'll check out some of these videos in order to get a sense of what's possible and how your organization might benefit by producing video for an online audience.

Assorted Articles on Community Development

We have a number of articles to share that are all related to community development but which otherwise have no common theme.  Here are summaries of those articles and links for full access:

* "Historic Preservation Meets Community Development" (direct link to PDF) takes a brief look at the development of historical preservation initiatives in the United States and enumerates the ways in which historic preservation dovetails nicely with community development efforts.  While the article itself is worth reading there are several others that look interesting and are contained in the same Summer 2007 issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Communities & Banking (Vol. 18, No. 3).

* Cascade, a publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, recently published an article on an organization serving women in Philadelphia, PA called AchieveAbility.  This group helps homeless young mothers become self-sufficient by promoting, in part, the importance of education to attaining good employment.  The goal is for program participants to achieve at least a 2-year degree following high school graduation.  Despite the fact that this is a group facing serious challenges, approximately 37% of the participants in AchieveAbility reach their goal -- an impressive feat and certainly one worth learning more about.

* An unlikely segment of communities across the country is looking to reinvent itself.  Read this article from Scotland on Sunday to see how cemetaries are being forced to find new ways of engaging communities in an era of increased cremation and decreased burials.

* Finally, the New York State Assembly adjourned for the summer without any further action on "Upstate Now".  Some lawmakers believe they may be called back to session mid-summer but it looks like this piece of legislation is further down the list of action items for state leaders.

That's all for today.  If you have an article that you think our readership would enjoy then please let us know by leaving a message in the comments section (below.)

(Sub)Urban Sprawl: Challenges and Solutions

Urban sprawl has been labelled the culprit for all sorts of maladies from an increased incidence of obesity to a decline in social capital to an increase in pollution ... the list of its crimes is lengthy.  Recently two more victims were added to the list -- historic sites and commonly-found birds of North America.  Historic sites throughout the Mid-Atlantic region are being threatened by new power lines needed to serve growing urban areas according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation; meanwhile, the National Audubon Society is reporting that (sub)urban sprawl was one of the forces behind the dramatic decrease in population of a large number of North American birds that live and thrive in areas with open fields.

We know that urban sprawl causes ill effects but what are some possible solutions?  Calgary, Canada is considering a host of measures to combat the rising incidence of obesity due to urban sprawl including the creation of mixed use neighborhoods and an overhaul of zoning regulations to encourage greater pedestrian and bike traffic.  As population creeps out from Montreal, Canada into surrounding rural areas some farmers have taken to fighting the purchase of abandoned farmland that leads to development.  If some advocates have their way there will soon be a ban on new developments located on arable land.  One farmer indicated in this Canada.com story that arable land developed into strip malls and bix boxes will never be used for farming again.  In Britain the government now recommends a greater density of dwellings in new developments in order to encourage developers to build up, rather than out, and thereby also incorporate greater physical activity in getting about these communities.  BBC News published an interesting short article that discusses the future changes in land use in the U.K. as well as some of the consequences for biodiversity.

Those interested in learning more about urban sprawl might do well to stop by Sprawl Watch where there is a host of resources including a fairly detailed list of further reading.  Our readers are encouraged to leave comments about websites and books they can recommend on urban sprawl, we'll highlight those as we have a chance.

Surveying Young People Becomes More Difficult

A report released this week from the Pew Research Center indicates that the prevalence of cell phone usage among young people may significantly impact the results of survey research conducted with that group.  According to Pew, more than a quarter of all people under the age of 30 use only a cell phone and don't keep an active land line.  This is significant for survey researchers because the report estimates that "interviewing a cell-only respondent costs approximately four to five times as much as a landline respondent."  More importantly, the report indicates that omitting cell phones from surveys can greatly distort the results of answers to questions about drug and alcohol use, technology use, and voter registration.

Some of these distortions can be corrected in surveys of the general population by weighting the results.  In the case of young people, and perhaps other subgroups as well, weighting the results to obtain greater accuracy might not be possible.  This is very interesting research that applies directly to communities that seek to use survey data to guide their community development efforts.  "How Serious is Polling's Cell-Only Problem?" is available online at the Pew Research Center website.

Big Day for the Future of Upstate New York

Today is the last day that the New York State Assembly meets before adjourning for the summer.  One item of legislation that has been passed by the state Senate and awaits Assembly approval is a bill to revitalize upstate New York's economy titled Upstate Now (bill number S. 5359).

Readers of this blog may recall our post back in January that discussed Governor Spitzer's remarks comparing upstate New York with Appalachia.  The Upstate Now bill passed by the Senate is an attempt to inject some new life into upstate New York's many assets by offering almost $4 billion over three years to economic development efforts throughout the upstate area.  While the scope of the bill is sprawling there is a 10-point plan, published by the North Country Gazette, that organizes and highlights these efforts.

This is an important event for upstate New Yorkers to keep in mind as this sort of effort could truly help transform upstate's revitalization efforts.  There are some who aren't holding their breath for a decision by the close of the session but others have suggested that the Assembly might extend this session further into the summer to reach agreement on this and other matters.  Upstate New Yorkers should keep a close eye on this development both today and in the months to come.

Vermont's Creative Communities

The Vermont Council on Rural Development is an organization devoted to helping that state's communities become more prosperous by making the most of their assets.  Among the projects offered through the Council is one called Creative Communities that helps rural communities work through the process of developing creative approaches to economic development.  It appears that the council helps lead interested community members through brainstorming sessions and then through the first development steps.  There are a number of documents on the website about their process and a report from 2004 that puts their work in a broader context.

There is a long list of projects being adopted by the creative communities partners and among them are:

* Developing trails to tour local farms, arts, and other islands highlights
* Promote the arts through an education center
* Organize evening events in downtown areas to attract more foot traffic
* Improve the town's web presence
* Form groups to address local leadership development, attract off-season visitors, and make the creative economic efforts sustainable

To get an idea of what this group can do, just check out recent stories on the brainstorming session in Middlebury and the warm reception that initial efforts have been met with in Rutland.  It is clear this is a group that does great work and gets results quickly.   The Council's efforts are worth checking out if you're not familiar with the organization or its initiatives.

Trends in Travel: Voluntourism and Vocationeers

We are one week away from the official start to summer and that means it is time to relax and take a vacation.  For many Americans, vacation time is increasingly taking the form of "voluntourism" or travel and tourism combined with volunteer efforts.  Whether spending time rebuilding New Orleans or contributing to the resurgence of a Sri Lankan village battered by the 2005 tsunami voluntourists describe their efforts as fulfilling and more meaningful than traditional package tours.  There are several nonprofits who are trying to match tourists with volunteer opportunities and you can find many of them detailed on a webpage of voluntourism resources established by the Case Foundation.  Interested voluntourists can locate more travel resources on the voluntourism.org website and read about the experiences of globe trekking voluntourists in stories from the Case Foundation, the Los Angeles Times, and the Today Show on NBC.

A variation on the theme of a "working vacation" is the idea of being a "vocationeer".  "Vocationeer" is a concept being advanced by companies like Vocation Vacations that will help place you in your dream job for a few days to see if it is a vocation you would enjoy.  Founder Brian Kurth told one newspaper that about a quarter of his clients explore new careers out of curiosity while the other 75% are just fed up with their occupation and are seriously seeking a new job.  Among the top five fields explored by clients are culinary jobs, those related to animals, fashion, and sports.  Numerous stories have already been written about vocationeers who have tried brewmaking, marine biology, or working with a NASCAR pit crew.

These are both interesting approaches to capture the attention and interest of our ready-to-travel culture.  Both also demonstrate some unique opportunities and possibilities for regions and communities looking for development ideas that will attract tourists but preserve, if not promote, local culture.