Smart Communities

Thanks for Thinking

There will be sporadic postings this week because of the holiday and my travel schedule. This has been the year of years for our family because of my husband's death. Amid all this, however, I have a long list of things I am thankful for this year. The important but predictable things like family, health, and general welfare but also the exhilaration I feel that people are thinking again. This financial crisis has finally made us know that we can't have it all and that we need to help others. Every morning when I hear the alarm I am thankful for people like you who I can have a conversation with about real issues in real time. Your comments, your ideas, and your calls are inspiring. This blog was created to give voice to hope and possibility but also to catalyze the kind of civic thought and action that is necessary for "America to be America again" in Langston Hughes words. Have a great Thanksgiving.

The Bounty of Hunger

This is the time of year when we focus on hunger. Schools are doing food drives and grocery stores have barrels for grocery donations. We feel good about ourselves. Well according to the Agriculture Department, November and December giving is not enough. Last year almost 700,000 children went hungry sometime during the year. Thirty-six million adults and children suffered last year. While this number is up slightly over 2006, experts expect much more this year with the downturn in the economy. Food Banks and local pantries are overwhelmed. So this year do more at this time of year and work with others to develop a plan for the other 10 months. I heard a great idea from one of our LeadershipPlenty participants this week about work in Martinsville, VA through their backpack program. Also, churches in the area who have hunger as their mission have gotten together to coordinate their efforts: one is responsible for vegetables, one for meat, one for staples, etc. It is time to work together to prevent hunger at this time of job loss, economic downturns, and decline of government dollars. 

Local Leaders Will Make the Difference

There is excitement and expectation around the country and the world about the president-elect and his plans for the future. Despite the economic, energy, and health care issues we face, there are signs of hopefulness. We saw that hopefulness in real time these last two weeks at our LeadershipPlenty trainings in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Virginia. By the end of this week in these four sites alone, we will have trained 175 people from 60 communities to offer this skill-based leadership program in their communities. We concluded the training in Roanoke, VA (our partnership with Virginia Tech) yesterday afternoon. The roster of that training speaks volumes about who is interested in community change in our country. Among the participants in this train-the-trainer institute were two current (and one former) elected officials, a Chamber of Commerce executive and a Chamber board member, non-profit leaders from a variety of community development, arts, and economic development organizations in rural and urban communities, a person representing extension, three community college staff people, a community foundation staff person, two pasters, a person who trains Vista and Americorps volunteers, a college professor, a Main Street director, a local business person, and two state government community developers. Now if you are looking for a pattern here--don't. This group represented our communities in the best possible way. From a variety of perspectives, all of these folks want to make a difference, want to engage more people in the community and the region, and want to build on the incredible assets that exist everywhere. As we listened to their plans for implementation, we heard college students, churches, senior citizens, arts organizations, rural regions,and small cities. 

Last year more than 5,000 people participated in LeadershipPlenty programs around the country. We expect the same or more this year. What all of this tells me is that we are building a momentum in this country for change that we haven't seen in a long time. Some of that change will come from Washington, DC, and state capitals but most of it will come from main street. We saw the beginnings of it this week with the 160 communities that now have newly certified LeadershipPlenty certified trainers. You will hear more about these programs in the coming weeks.

Foreclosure of the American Dream

Levittown, NY was once considered the beginning of a bright and prosperous future. In a name synonymous with "starter" homes, it was a place that young families got their start in the housing market and in their lives. Now it is being hard hit by the foreclosure tidal wave. Aside from the obvious tragedy of the situation, this also sends a signal about who is most affected by the financial crisis--the middle class. While all of us are taking a hit on investments, job losses for some, and loss of budgets, those home owners in the middle are also victims. Often in the press it sounds like the people that "caused" all this were the adjustable rate mortgage folks with little capital and little understanding of what an adjustable rate can do to you. While I am sure some of the Levittown homeowners have adjustable rate mortgages, it is a metaphor for how rampant and widespread this crisis has become. We have got to stop the bleeding everywhere. Take a look at this Business Week article from January to get a better idea of why we are where we are.

Huntington on the Health List

Associated Press reported yesterday that Huntington, WV, is one of the unhealthiest cities in the United States. One-half of its population is considered obese. The mayor was quoted in the article as saying that because of the cities serious economic woes--poverty, unemployment, etc--the issue of health never comes up. Well it must. As health care costs zoom, prevention takes a front row seat. We know that being overweight leads to diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, and a host of other things that make for a poorer quality of life. One of the thing that we are learning through this bad economic time is that we can't do what we did before and get a different result. We need to learn to use less of everything including food. While I am not advocating the food police I am advocating healthy choices in schools and public facilities and a health campaign in Huntington and every other city and town that makes people more aware of the dangers of overeating. From a public policy side, what can we do? Should we pay Medicare and Medicaid costs for people who refuse to improve their own health? That sounds too authoritarian for my taste but I do think we need to rein in the costs of health care no matter who pays with a strong incentive for prevention. Any ideas for Huntington?  

What is a Summit?

In my years of attending meetings--thousands--I am always amazed by what they are called. You will recognize these terms from your own experience: conferences, seminars, meetings, etc. Rarely do we get invited to "Summits." Why is that? According the definitions, it is usually reserved for the heads of something as in states or countries. Of course, we have heard heads of corporations refer to meetings as summits as well. So part of the definition would have to be whose there. A second part of the implied definition is that the folks who attend summits are decision makers of the highest order. That is, things can get done at the summit. The attendees don't have to call people back home or at the office to get permission to act. Finally, summits signal the importance of the issue being discussed. If you have a summit on something, it must be important. 

Well we have all those things hopefully going on at once when the G-20 leaders meet this weekend on the world economy. Let's just hope that they have the backbone, the authority, and the creativity to make progress on this ever-growing issue of the economy. While it is a great photp op for the people involved, the future of the free world is at stake here. Maybe that is too heavy a burden to put on this summit but we have got to have united leadership from our partners in the world if this problem has any chance of being solved. However if the LA Times is right, that is about all we can expect from the weekend's work: a signal to the world that these partners will work together to address the crisis. The details so says this article will be worked out in the months ahead. Now remind me again the definitions of a summit. I thought it was about getting to the mountaintop not stopping along the way to rest. I know that we need to be judicious about our response to the economy but for once in our lives why don't we just keep pushing to the top and signal to the markets and the public around the world that there is a plan of action that is more than just the details.

It's Education...Still

As I wrote yesterday, we all know that things are rough. People are worried, jobs are being lost, and businesses are filing for Chapter 11. But we cannot lose our focus on improving education and preparing the workforce of the future. That is really our only option to move forward after this crisis subsides...and it will. Nicholas Kristof wrote a disturbing op-ed in this morning's New York Times saying that the Obama team has moved education down the priority list. In my view improving education is a large part of the financial story and cannot be relegated to a secondary category. While there are lots of problems with the Big Three that they caused themselves, we cannot take a chance of other industries going the same way. Being sure that we have a workforce ready for the new challenges of technology and work is critical--education is the pathway to that both in and out of school. We need people who have the basic skills of course but also people who are computer literate, creative, and technically minded. That requires good schools, different approaches to education, and a completely overhauled worker training approach. Let's bailout our failing schools.

Show me the Money

It seems like with the economy in the tank any question that is asked is answered with "we don't have the money." Over the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to talk with a number of elected and appointed officials about their communities and their plans for the future. Far too many of them really don't have plans that don't involve larger tax receipts or grants from their state or the feds. HELLO. There is not going to be much money coming from outside sources over the next few years. So what to do? Innovate, create, imagine with what is available. These are tough times for communities for sure but can we just forget the needs people have, the investments that must be made, and the planning that must be done? No we cannot. We must continue to push forward and not wait on someone else to fix things for us. I honestly believe that much of what we need can be found within our own regions if we just think a little differently and ask a few questions. 

My thoughts on this were bolstered this morning when I read Tom Friedman's op-ed "Fixing a Flat" about the auto industry bailout. Among his suggestions for a "fix" was to put Steven Jobs in charge for a year. He said we would have an I-Car before we knew it. His major complaint on the bailout plan was that we would be rewarding the auto makers for not innovating long ago to produce products that were more energy friendly and cost effective. While there are many reasons that it has been hard to turn the ship in Detroit, he makes a good point. We all have to take a new look at what we are doing and the results we are getting. What would an I-Community look like?

Civic Health Index--How are you feeling?

The National Conference on Citizenship (NCOC) released its 2008 Civic Health Index recently subtitled, "Beyond the Vote." It is an interesting snapshot of where we are in our civic life particularly in light of the record turnout of voters. It rehashes though some of the same themes that have defined the civic engagement conversation for decades--volunteerism, giving levels, and connections with family and friends. Of course these are important but I think we need some new language here. The survey found that one-third of the public doesn't even know what the term "civic engagement" means and another 22 percent gave responses that could not be classified. In other words, 50 percent of the public doesn't understand what those of us civic engagement junkies are even talking about. Now granted the public understands the "practice" of service and volunteerism but there is a clear disconnect between those in the field (me included) and a good portion of main street. So how should we be feeling about our civic health?

I would argue that we should be feeling pretty good. There was a large voter turnout. There seems to be a spirit of working together from most quarters and there is obviously a crisis or two to bring us together. But there is a good news/bad news story here. The challenge lies in the variety of answers that the NCOC survey uncovered. We really don't have a shared vision of democracy, service, or even citizenship. There is limited understanding of how the democracy was formed and why.We have lost our understanding and experience with local institutions. We don't know the basics of the roles and responsibilities of the three branches of government. 

I don't think the answer to this is a revival of the old civics courses but we do need a deliberate strategy. Maybe what we are looking for is a cross between civics and service. We need to build knowledge but we also need to build skills for participation. What if every freshman in high school participated in such a course? This is a preventive civic health measure. It is time to eat right, exercise more, and learn our civic skills. 

 

Remembering Those Who Served

Veteran's Day is the time to remember the courage and honor of those who serve and those who served their countries in the protection of freedom. Today will be a day of speeches and parades across this country and abroad. It is also a time to commit ourselves to war as a last resort. I am a child of the Viet Nam era. As my hand has passed over the wall in Washington, DC, I often wonder what our world would have been like if those 55,000 men and women had survived. The same could be asked of any war--what if. There is a poignant op-ed in today's New York Times about the celebrations in Europe. We can never forget.