Community Sustainability

1
Community Sustainability

• Holistic Approaches to Community Development

2
Challenges Facing Communities

• Loss of traditional economic base and current
  economic slowdown
• Intense competition for service employment
• Flat tax revenues in the face of increasing local
  government costs
• Unplanned sprawl threatening municipal tax base
  and family farms

3
Challenges Facing Communities

• Cuts in state and federal transfer payments due
  in part to events of 9.11.01
• Changing face of agriculture
• Increasing residential segregation
• Weakening of traditional community based
  organizations decreased civic involvement

4
Community Development

• Restoring balance, environmental health, quality
  of life, sense of community
• New Goals of for the 21st Century
• High Quality of Life
• Social Cohesion
• Ecological Integrity
• Effective Decision making

5
Terminology

• Community sustainability

Community Capacity Building
Community Wisdom
Community as Place
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Community Sustainability

• .. ability of a community to utilize its
  resources to ensure that all present and future
  members can attain a high degree of health and
  well-being, economic security, and a say in
  shaping their future while maintaining the
  integrity of the ecological systems on which all
  life and production depends.

7
Community Capacity Building

• The process of empowering people and
  organizations to realize their full potential and
  the achievement of some level of self sufficiency
  and self determination.

8
Community Wisdom

• We need to claim a place as home and possess
  local knowledge, which is not primarily the
  scholars knowledge, but the hard-won knowledge
  of men and women with long experience in a
  specific landscape. - Deborah Tall

9
Community as Place

• To decide to be someplace as members of a
  community demands that we become active
  placemakers again, that we participate with
  others in our communities in thoughtful, careful,
  responsible action. ... Schneekloth and Shibley

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Community Development

• What is it that we are all working toward?

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Sustainable Communities

• How do YOU view a sustainable community?

• What is YOUR philosophy?

• Group Exercise

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Community and Economic Vitality Principles

• We work toward the long term sustainability and
  well being of communities by
• Encouraging strategic planning and vision
  development
• Identifying assets and building from local
  resources and skills
• meeting local needs with local sources
• Developing the local workforce
• Considering quality of life issues for all age
  groups
• Protecting working landscapes

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Key Characteristics of Community Based Planning

• Resident-driven
• Participatory decision-making
• Action-oriented
• Asset-based
• Sustainability-striving

• Start small build on success
• Organizational capacity-focused
• Emphasizes learning
• Organic

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TOTAL DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM
(Layer Cake Model)
Economic Base
Physical Infrastructure
Support Infrastructure / Quality of Life
Human Infrastructure / Leadership Infrastructure
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CD Process
Assess Assets
Continuous Evaluation
Implement Projects Plans
Identify Needs
Establish Goals Objectives
Seek Potential Funding
Formulate Action Plan
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Long-term Process of Capacity Building
Next Process
COMPLEXITY COST
Next Process
Next Process
Next Process
On Going Processes
Process
TIME
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CD CHALLENGES RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS
Community Comprehensive Plan
Challenges
Neighborhood Plan
Strategies
Visioning Process
Search Conference
Resources
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Wendell Berrys set of rules

• Always ask of any proposed change or innovation
  what will this do to our community
• Always include local nature the land, the
  water, the air, the native creatures
• Always ask how local needs might be supplied from
  local sources

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Measuring Community Success

• Increased us of the skills, knowledge and ability
  of local people
• Strengthened relationships and communication
• Improved community initiative, responsibility and
  adaptability
• Sustainable, healthy ecosystems with multiple
  community benefits
• Appropriate and diverse healthy economies

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Constituents

• Residents, Neighborhood Groups, Community Leaders
• Under represented groups youth/senior/immig
  rant populations
• Area Businesses
• Government elected officials
• Agencies and organizations
• State Federal agencies

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Commonalities of Successful Communities

• 1) Well articulated vision
• 2) Looks for Opportunities
• 3) Risk Taking
• 4) Holistic Perspective
• 5) A Belief in Doing
• 6) Find Ways for ALL to Participate
• 7) Develop PEOPLE first
• 8) Builds upon Community Resources
• 9) Nothings Succeeds like Success
• 10) Good Use of Knowledge
• 11) Trust

22
Community Development

• Restoring balance, environmental health, quality
  of life, joy, sense of community
• New Goals of for the 21st Century
• High Quality of Life
• Social Cohesion
• Ecological Integrity
• Effective Decision making