When we launched our Kind
Communities program at the start of this year, we knew it would be a long
haul. Researching and capturing elements that lead to kindness in communities
could be a rather nebulous target to reach for. With the status quo to displace
people in favor of profitable projects and to level old neighborhoods to build
speedways, talking about kind places was sure to bring only blank stares.
Wrong! I have been thrilled by the response. Nearly everyone
I have spoken to about Kind Communities gets it. They have either lived in such
a place and miss it terribly or they have been angered by the lack of kindness
in their own communities and have envisioned similar changes. A common comment
is that few people talk to each other anymore, not even neighbors. Others note
the loneliness of living in isolated places where houses are far apart and
driving is the only way to reach community services.
During my recent trip to Washington, D.C., I met with staff
at the nonprofit development firm Community Preservation and Development
Corporation (CPDC). A few minutes into my introduction to our program, they
jumped in to tell me about the success they’d had at one of their affordable
housing projects—Edgewood Commons. After a horrible murder, CPDC took the
opposite approach from the normal lock down. They engaged the tenants as
experts for solving their community's problems.
Two years later, they have dozens of active tenant groups
teaching classes, starting businesses, and keeping their community safe. They
captured their success in this white paper including the steps they took to
engage residents. CPDC is also looking at ways to bring similar processes to their
other developments in the D.C. area, including bicycle initiatives so residents
can obtain their own bicycle as well as career training in bicycle businesses.
Can you imagine how excited I was to connect with them?
After that meeting and follow up calls, I convinced myself that
CPDC is a special case and to lower my expectations again. Then I asked a
Japanese friend who lives here in Prescott, whether he had any connections in
Okinawa. Okinawa had made our list of potential models because citizens control
the economy through local trade and their culture is to take care of each other.
Within a few days, we were sitting down with Mitsuko, a friend of his who is
from Okinawa and now living in Prescott.
I couldn’t take notes fast enough to capture her
explanations on how the Okinawan people developed their kind culture and have
preserved it through too many forced take overs by foreign nations, including
the U.S. until 1972. Now, though Okinawans’ ancestors have closer ties to China
and Indonesia, the ruling government of Okinawa is Japan, and the U.S. still
has tens of thousands of military personnel on bases there. Through all this, including
unimaginable horrors during World War II, they have preserved their culture of
kindness toward everyone. I will meet with Mitsuko again this weekend to
continue our discussion. She’s so excited about our Kind Communities program
that she has offered to help me connect to more models around the world.
Now I can’t help but look at our list of potential models
with a sense of excitement for what I will discover next. Here are the next
likely for my outreach:
·
Nantes, France –focus on fun, citizen
engagement, and honesty about their past. Video from Velo-city 2015: https://vimeo.com/97097924
·
Paqueta island in Rio de Janiero. Brazil
– funny video of bicycles and car-free island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C4lNCLcfa8
·
Worcester, Vermont – citizen-led, community
lunches every Wednesday, central gathering place, online forum for sharing
things, community pride. 1,000 population.
·
Villages and tribes that are unlikely to
identify themselves as anything special. I’ve got some calls in to our local
tribe here in Prescott.
I also have my eye on communities that seem to be trying to
rebuild into kind communities, either after disasters or simply to recapture a
sense of community they once had. Here are some from that list:
·
Christchurch, New Zealand - http://www.regeneratechristchurch.nz/
Earthquakes hit in 2010 and 2011. Started this entity in 2016.
·
Greensburg, Kansas – called their
rebuilding after the 2011 tornado “green” and focused on energy-efficient
buildings. Now locals are grumbling, but there still seems to have pride in
their effort - http://www.npr.org/2014/04/29/307913565/kansas-town-destroyed-by-tornado-spreads-blame-for-lack-of-growth
·
Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada – efforts at
engaging local artists and business owners: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/09/zappos-ceo-tony-hsieh-what-i-regret-about-pouring-350-million-into-las-vegas.html
oddly begun by the millionaire CEO of Zappos.
·
Key West, Florida – seems to be a kind
community, residents trying to organize to stop reckless developers and
preserve old community including affordable housing and bicycle access.
We’re looking for more potential models to add to our list
so we’ll have a broad range to learn from as we compile case studies and
resources to help all of you shift your own communities back toward kindness. Here
is our current list of criteria (sure to be refined as we move forward):
- Residents feel secure and affordable housing is not threatened;
- Well-used community center including workshops with tools to share and classes led by residents;
- Improvements, projects, and activities organized by residents;
- Businesses owned and operated by residents (few if any outside chains), most necessities served (grocery, hardware, clothing, staples, etc.), social enterprise?:
- No charity services;
- Residents care for each other, none marginalized;
- Community goals and changes serve as many residents as possible, especially those near the margins, without doing any residents harm;
- Streets are all traffic calmed with pedestrians and bicyclists prioritized;
- Easy access to affordable transportation, especially bicycles, bikeways, and affordable bicycle repair.
As you can see from our Kind
Communities webpage, we believe that such a backdrop of kindness will
enable significant improvements for bicycling, for everyone, no matter their
ability, age, or income level.
Do you know of a kind community that could be a model for
this program? If so, please offer it in the comments section.
WOW What a project! An amazing approach to a core problem. All the best to all. Sue is a world changer. Thank You Sue
ReplyDeleteHey thanks! Be sure to share any examples if come upon any.
ReplyDeleteI'm in awe. More power to you and the people who work with you, Sue.
ReplyDeleteYou're cool. Thanks, Silda!
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