Smart Communities

FDR-For the Ages and Now

I listed a new book in the "What I am reading" section entitled Franklin & Lucy by Joseph Persico. On first blush you would think this is a book about FDR's personal life. While it is surely that but it is also a wonderful portrait of the measure of the man. No matter which side of the political aisle you choose this was a man of enormous courage, intelligence, and wit that moved the country from disaster to destiny. As Walter Lippman wrote of him, " He has served these interests [vital interests of the United States] with audacity and patience, shrewdly and with calculation and has led the country out of the greatest peril which it has ever been to the highest point of security, influence and respect which it has ever attained."

This was particularly relevant as I read Tom Friedman's op-ed in yesterday's New York Times. He said that the challenge for the new president is not Iraq but rather the task of nation building here at home. In so many words, we are losing our edge economically, civically, and socially. If we don't make some of the big decisions and investments needed to secure our future, we may be lost forever. We are not moving fast enough to be competitive globally in areas like clean energy and renewable power. We are hopelessly in debt personally and collectively. And to sum it all up Friedman says, "as General Motors goes, so goes America." Well the GM stock price is at a 34-year low. According to Friedman so are we as a nation. Go back to FDR for a minute. We need leadership at all levels that make us more secure, give us global influence, and garner the respect from world leaders and private citizens. FDR was the man of the age when we needed him most. We need him again.

What to Do on Monday: Buy Local

Yesterday the stock market went down several percentage points. For most Americans the talk is less about the market and more about gasoline prices and egg prices. No matter how you slice the economy right now it is affecting everyone in some way. As you have heard me say in this blog, "to make long-term gains, you must do well when the market is down." This applies today in a very real way. 

For those whose portfolios are hurting--rebalance. For those whose grocery and gasoline bills are skyrocketing--buy local. In these precarious economic times, we must think as we haven't before of protecting local businesses, buying from local farmers, and frequenting local eating establishments. After this downturn is over, we still want our local drycleaners, hardware stores, and meat and threes. I am not saying turn away from lower priced discount stores and chains completely but think about the folks with the lower profit margin, the convenience of having a jewelry store or watch repair business in town, and take them your business. This op-ed from Jackson, MI makes the point.

Bad news from Wall Street and Washington cause us to hunker down. While I believe in caution and conservative spending at times like these, we must continue to support our local businesses. Buying fresh vegetables, honey, and jam from your local farmer's market helps the suppliers and you. The folks in Hattiesburg, MS, believe that these markets build community too.

High Schools Can Lead to Jobs

A new study released yesterday from the Manpower Development Corporation evaluating career academies in high school showed that students who focus on career paths while still in high school make more money down the road. This finding supports our own work in Learning to Finish that career academies, apprenticeship programs, and school-to-work applications keep kids in school as well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics we can expect 42 million jobs available from 2002 to 2012 that do not require a college degree. That is three times the number of jobs that do. Add to that the cry from employers 80 percent of them saying they can't find enough qualified workers and the career academy concept gathers even more appeal.

People always ask me what really works to improve education. Well here is one thing that apparently does work: giving students a pathway to succeed without college. So maybe what we are learning that some individualized attention, an application of learning to the real world, and a plan really do make the difference.

Energy Costs Can Define Where We Live

Lots of people want to get away from it all. The Internet has made it possible to live where we want to and commute electronically every day. But there are still lots of Americans who commute long distances to maintain their chosen quality of life. I drove 12 miles on Monday from my mountain home to the nearest grocery store. That distance makes you pause if you need one or two items. According to an article in the New York Times today, prospective home buyers are figuring gasoline costs as they decide where to buy. At a time when many rural areas are losing population, this is bad news. 

I have written over the years that we don't want a country connected by fast food restaurants. Unfortunately this is where we are headed. Gasoline prices are regressive in my mind. We penalize people who have chosen to live in America's rural areas. While they will always pay more in transportation costs (which is fine to a point), we are making in prohibitive to live anywhere but in cities. Even our friends in the United Kingdom are feeling the pinch. Do we want a nation or a world where people must choose our overcrowded cities on economics alone?

Higher Education and the Environment

You have read in past blogs about an array of college courses and initiatives related to the environment. You have also read my lambasting of colleges of universities for their lack of engagement on the big issues of the day. Well here is a good news story on the topic. According to an article in The Washington Post, a number of colleges and unversities are well past the single course and program stage to engaging students, faculty, and the whole institution on improving the environment. I was impressed by the creativity of the efforts and the depth which many are going. My local university, the University of Virginia, is taking a leadership role through the architecture school to be "green" but also has developing a teaching barge to help high school students learn about ways to save the environment.

What to Do on Monday: What's Available for Youth

It is essential as we begin this summer season to inspire, challenge, and protect our youth people. While an inventory of what is available, where the programs are located, and what they cost will help, you really need to know what your community is doing to reach out to the kids with too much time and too little supervision. You will notice that I did not use the term "at-risk." All kids are at-risk if they have the two proceeding attributes. So start by finding out what is going on, level of participation, and what is planned for the summer by the community, nonprofit groups, churches, etc. If you see holes, start the process of filling them--now. Here is a short article to help you evaluate what you find. You need to be looking for programs that are more than grown-up baby sitting services. They should have a service component that is age-appropriate, they should have a link of some sort to something challenging, and they should protect children from the influences that ruin their lives.

Crime and Summer

Tomorrow is the first day of summer. Along with the mosquitoes invariably comes an increase in crime--youth crime to be exact. Just this week a promising athlete was shot outside his high school graduation while we were in Philadelphia. In an interesting article recently in The Economist, the writer profiles the increase in crime and what Chicago is or isn't doing about it. That city had 36 shootings during the April 18-20 weekend.America had 37% more gang-related murders in 2006 than in 2000 while the overall crime rates are lower. Essentially gang violence heats up in the summer as members have time on their hands and feuds are fueled. The typical response more police and more summer jobs is hampered this year by the economy. So what to do on this eve of summer? The article suggests that Boston has done a very good job getting a handle on the problem. In the 1990s Boston targeted gang violence by offering services and help to gang members but assured them that gang violence would be met with the severest penalties. If there was a gang murder, the police would go after the killer and the gang. In other words the gang business was at risk. This strategy has worked. Youth murders have dropped significantly.

Another program mentioned in the article is the federal initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods that combines gun policing with meetings with former felons and tough prosecutions. In its first two years, districts that employ this program report more than a 30 percent decline in homicides. This is the time--sooner not later--to get some anti-violence programs going in your community.

Higher Education Needs to Engage

Last week I was delinquent with my blogs because I was participating in the Engagement Academy at Virginia Tech and attending a board meeting of the Kettering Foundation. I tell you both of these because the themes were parallel. At the Academy, representatives from universities across the United States were learning together about ways to better engage their universities in their communities and around the globe. The issue was not public relations or short courses but ways to use the intellectual resources of the university to address critical issues in our society. I spoke to the group on the relationship of the university to the community and how that could be strengthened. My bottom line and a paraphrase from a Kellogg Foundation report: the problems of society cannot be solved without higher education. Our challenge is to connect the dots with the campus and community. The University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher Education in partnership with Wingspread has done some great work on this.

Likewise at the Kettering meeting, we were addressing the question of what conditions make it possible for citizens to come together to solve problems. Higher education's role--extension in particular--was one of the discussion points. The Kettering conversation used a new report, Organization-First Approach, by the Harwood Institute to start the conversation. The findings in a nutshell from the report says that many organizations really don't know how or have an interest in engaging the public. Both limit our ability as organizations and communities to imagine a different way of addressing issues.

I will be blogging on both of these topics in the days ahead but thought you would enjoy learning more about these ideas.

Tim Russert set a new standard

Tim Russert's death on Friday has had an impact on millions of people. Not only was he a very recognizable face in American politics but his personal writing was enjoyed by people everywhere. His book, Big Russ and Me, was a bestseller. Amid his considerable accomplishments though is the personal. To the person people have talked about his integrity, his devotion and loyalty to family and friends, his fairness, and his work ethic. He was the epitome of the good guy. While the tributes to this one man have been overflowing, they also say something about us. We value the things Tim Russert stood for in his work and his life. In this microwave, text-messaging society of ours, we still know what is important, how to act, and what to do. I think that is why it hurts so much to lose a person like Tim Russert. He played by the rules and still got ahead.  His death reminds us of what and who is important. He never forgot.

Public Engagement is a Science and an Art

One of the organizations that knows a lot about how to engage the public is Public Agenda. Founded by Dan Yankelovich and Cyrus Vance over 25 years ago, Public Agenda has helped organizations and the public understand how to deliberate about the important issues of the day. If the word "engagement" alludes you a bit as it does me, I highly recommend that you read more about Public Agenda's approach to the topic and what they have found works. Their "how to" guide is a must for organizations and citizens alike. If you ever wondered how to get citizens involved, this short publication will tell you how.