For this post we have a special treat from you. You have may have seen Clark Anderson’s name last December in the bright lights of the New York Times and MSNBC. He is the Executive Director of Community Builders, a Colorodo-based non-profit that works with inter-mountain West towns on community planning and development. In Divided by Politics, a Colorado Town…
We’re approaching the 2024 calendar page turn, so let’s get a jump start on New Year’s resolutions. The cold, sobering truth is that the vast majority of our New Year’s resolutions don’t succeed. Our brain just isn’t hard-wired to make changes based on a single commitment. We can’t simply will ourselves into new habits or perspectives. The gravitational pull of…
The third in a four-part series diving into the practical nuts and bolts of community engagement processes vis-à-vis community building and intergroup contact. How can community engagement be a counterforce to our increasing social fragmentation, polarization, and loneliness? Taking this challenge to heart will require a shift in community engagement practices. Rather than just soliciting input, we also need to…
This is the second in a four-part series diving into the practical nuts and bolts of community engagement processes vis-à-vis community building and intergroup contact. These will be a bit longer than my typical missives, but they’re packed full of awesome content. Enjoy! In a time of deepening social fragmentation, how do we build common identity amongst diverse residents sharing…
Hi there! This is the first in a four-part series diving into the practical nuts and bolts of community engagement processes vis-à-vis community building and intergroup contact. These will be a bit longer than my typical missives, but they’re packed full of awesome content. Enjoy! In a time of deepening social fragmentation, how do we build common identity amongst diverse…
The English language is a notoriously blunt instrument. It lacks many of the emotive words we find in other languages for complex human feelings and relationships. For example, the Danish hygge (the feeling of coziness from being inside with others), Italian commuovere (having your heart warmed by someone), or Nguni Bantu Ubuntu (being kind to others on account of their…
Those of us who shape the built environment often take pride in our work creating the public living rooms and front porches of civil society. We follow the guiding light of Jane Jacob’s and her seminal 1961 book, Death and Life of Great American Cities, which extols the virtues of vibrant public spaces as an essential component of healthy and…
How do we reverse our troubling slide into tribalism and polarization? How do we create a society where people of different backgrounds and beliefs are tolerant and accepting of one another? How can we convene communities to work together to tackle their shared challenges without devolving into Us vs Them conflict? To find the answers we must dive deep into…
Dog Owners. Park Lovers. Conspiracy Theorists. Community engagement typically involves the participation of many types and groups of people. This is both a wonderful opportunity and a source of potential conflict. To navigate the complex intersection of human behavior and community engagement, it’s helpful to think like a social psychologist. Social psychologists often frame people’s behavior in terms of their…
Way back in the 1970’s, the design and planning professions responded to growing environmental concerns by cross-pollinating with the fields of ecology and biology, birthing the sustainable design movement. Today, those of us who work with communities face a similar moment. The social context of our practice is changing dramatically underneath our feet. Our society is experiencing a seismic shift…