Livable Neighborhood Program: A handbook for neighborhood organizers

This book looks like a great handbook about how to create a livable neighborhood. Written by the same authors as the READY SET GO book about emergency preparedness for neighborhoods, they draw upon decades of experience in delivering citizen and neighborhood empowerment programs for cities throughout the U.S.

This statement about the book is very powerful:

“It is the premise of this program that livable neighborhoods come from we the people. The kind of neighborhood we all want to live in has an endless number of potential supporters and partners, because everyone benefits from them. But the primary responsibility for creating them rests with neighbors.”

I am also inspired by the following statement, because I have noticed that the main problem with getting people involved is inspiring them to prioritize the time to take action. If this book can help with that problem, that is 95% of the problem!

“The driver of the program is Empowerment Institute’s state-of-the-art knowledge of what it takes to motivate group action. The secret: clear incentive, immediate reward. This proven methodology incorporates a structured format linking grassroots effort with government services and civic and business leadership.”

Wow! Sounds almost too good to be true, yes? I am looking forward to ordering this book and being able to implement the ideas. At this point in time, though, all I have is this description which I think you will find to be helpful and insightful just in itself:

Program Overview Why A Livable Neighborhood Program? Much has been written about neighborhoods as the organizing principle in community development. This is where concerns about quality of life are tangible and a sense of pride is easily established. As a consequence, initiatives designed to work at the neighborhood level have great potential to capture peoples’ imagination and sustain participation. Neighborhood initiatives are also attractive because they awaken a sense of community. The Livable Neighborhood Program is designed to coalesce these different strands into an effective neighborhood empowerment tool to assist local government and non-profits in delivering services and improving the overall livability of the community. The program concept is simple and builds directly on Empowerment Institute’s two decades of experience in designing and delivering citizen and neighborhood empowerment programs for municipalities throughout the United States. About Making Life Better on the Street Where You Live… This program uses the mysterious power of numbers. If you think about it, community “social problems” are caused by a lot of little causes. These causes add up to big effects that are too large for us to manage alone. When we work together, however, things change. The greater our cooperation, the greater the impact of our efforts. This is a formula for taking the leverage away from problems and giving it to people, one neighborhood at a time. While the Livable Neighborhood Program will help communities fix what’s broken at the grassroots level, more than that it will help neighbors create their neighborhood into the kind of place they’d like it to be. Too often, neighborhoods wait for the appropriate government agency to show up and fix what ails them. Meanwhile, government at every level is being stressed because we the people demand that more be done with less. The backbone of the Livable Neighborhood Program is a detailed menu of actions that everyone can take in any neighborhood setting — urban, suburban or rural. Its purpose is to help citizens take the steps they can on their own while at the same time interacting with local government as efficiently as possible. It is designed so that any level of activity will produce benefits, but also so that success snowballs. Clearly, the ideal situation combines energetic grassroots initiative with strong partnerships with government, community service organizations and businesses. It is the premise of this program that livable neighborhoods come from we the people. The kind of neighborhood we all want to live in has an endless number of potential supporters and partners, because everyone benefits from them. But the primary responsibility for creating them rests with neighbors. The driver of the program is Empowerment Institute’s state-of-the-art knowledge of what it takes to motivate group action. The secret: clear incentive, immediate reward. This proven methodology incorporates a structured format linking grassroots effort with government services and civic and business leadership. It’s easy to implement. It’s enjoyable to take part in. Neighborhoods that follow the simple instructions will become: safer, healthier, quieter, prettier, friendlier, more entertaining, more economical, better places to raise kids and kinder to the environment. How The Program Works The Livable Neighborhood Program consists of four topic areas: health and safety, beautification and greening, resource sharing and neighborhood building. Each topic area has an assessment to gauge the livability of that aspect of the neighborhood and 8-10 carefully crafted actions. The program also includes an easy to use meeting format and planning guide for taking the actions. Neighbors form teams of 5-8 households and meet seven times over a 4 month period to carry out the actions they choose. When contracted by a city, EI will link the actions to local municipal, non-profit and business programs and services. Beneficiaries of the Program Along with neighborhood residents and various municipal and non-profit service delivery agencies, other beneficiaries include property owners, developers, realtors, businesses, chambers of commerce, economic development councils and places of worship. Cost and Implementation This depends on the scale in which a municipality or non-profit wishes to implement the program. It can be done intensively over a shorter period of time or gradually over a longer period of time. To assure maximum accountability for results, EI is able to manage the program with trained local field staff. Another way of working is to provide program materials, training and consultation to an organization’s staff. The program is designed to be of maximum flexibility based on budget and outreach goals. For more information about the Livable Neighborhood Program please contact: Empowerment Institute PO Box 428 Woodstock, New York 12498 Tel: (845) 246-6290 Fax: (845) 246-6291 E-mail: info@empowermentinstitute.net Livable Neighborhood Program full color, illustrated brochure: Click Here to download in PDF form. (requires Adobe®Acrobat® Reader)

Government and Community Leaders Speak About The Livable Neighborhood Program: “Through the Livable Neighborhood Program neighbors are taking specific actions to make their homes and their blocks better places to live. The City is re-inventing itself through my Neighborhood Transformation Initiative and the Livable Neighborhood Program fits perfectly. Transformation is not merely about building new houses and offices, because those structures will crumble and fall if not maintained, transformation is not just getting the City to clean vacant lots, for lots can be filled all over again with trash if the City and its citizens cannot work with one another. The Livable Neighborhood Program serves to enlighten citizens on how to better maintain their homes and neighborhood blocks to improve the quality of life. Simply said: Livable Neighborhood Program is a winner.” John Street, Mayor, City of Philadelphia “I have been personally struck by the remarkable effectiveness of Livable Neighborhood Program’s ability to engage neighbors and empower them to take and sustain action on a block level. Through our work with the Livable Neighborhood Program, I have become absolutely convinced that the program’s state-of-the-art “social technology” has immense potential here in Philadelphia, throughout the Commonwealth, and across the country to transform individual behavior and neighborhoods.” Christopher Patusky, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Fels School of Government, University of Pennsylvania “The Livable Neighborhood program serves to empower people by providing them tools to successfully improve their neighborhoods. The program creates accountability between the city and its citizens, creating a win-win civic compact. In today’s world it is so hopeful to find a program like this… a great service to our communities.” Kathleen A. McGinty, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection “The Livable Neighborhood Program is a cutting edge tool for municipal officials and neighborhood organizers. It is comprehensive, easy to use, and provides a common sense approach to building stronger and more livable neighborhoods. The hands-on exercises will help neighbors translate their needs and visions into practical and tangible results.” Elton Gatewood, President, Neighborhood, USA (NUSA), Coordinator, Neighborhood Council Office, City of Tacoma, WA “I reviewed the Livable Neighborhood Program with community organizers in Madison. They were unanimously enthusiastic about it’s action-oriented grassroots approach. They saw it as a low cost and effective blueprint for neighborhood empowerment. We used an almost identical blueprint to develop and grow Empowerment Institute’s very successful EcoTeam movement in the Madison area. Everyone who reviewed the Livable Neighborhood Program is eager to get it started in our community. They really liked it!” Mark Miller State Representative State of Wisconsin “The Livable Neighborhood Program is an excellent tool for local municipalities. It empowers neighbors and puts them in control of creating their neighborhood into a connected and safe community. There are activities in the program that fit the needs of almost any type of neighborhood and that is really appealing to us as a city!” John Stufflebean, Director Kansas City Department of Environmental Management Kansas City, MO “I like it…I like the fact that you have set down in one place many of the things that a neighborhood can do together that can have so many benefits.” Karl Bren Non-Profit Affairs Director Virginia Housing Development Authority, State of Virginia “I like the topic groupings, the format and the writing style. Collectively the actions in each section fit together as a whole. Overall it is a very strong and effective program.” Dana Warner Health Education Program Planner Columbus Health Department Columbus, Ohio “I see the Livable Neighborhood Program as a blueprint to bring measurable improvement to households, neighborhoods and our environment – city wide. What is great about the program is that everyone, neighbor-to-neighbor is working together and taking responsibility to keep the environment not only beautiful but clean and safe for each new generation.” State Senator Shirley Kitchen, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania “The Livable Neighborhood Program empowers citizens to take personal responsibility for the communities in which they live. It makes a real difference in the lives of many. I am pleased that the program is serving as a model for other cities and proud EPA is part of such an important and worthy program.” Donald S. Welsh, Regional Administrator, US EPA Region III

Livable Neighborhood Workbook Introduction A Kind of Magic This program uses the mysterious power of numbers. It’s a power that could reverse the leverage of most of society’s challenges. By harnessing this power we can make our lives better. No matter where we live. No matter what our circumstances. If you think about it, community “social problems” are caused by a lot of little causes. These causes add up to big effects that are too large for us to manage alone. After all, what can we do about giant issues like air pollution, illegal drugs, earthquakes and hurricanes, the welfare of children, the general health of the environment? By ourselves, not much. When we work together, however, things change. The greater our cooperation, the greater the impact of our efforts. This is a formula for taking the leverage away from problems and giving it to people, one neighborhood at a time. A Tale of Two Neighborhoods Pretend for a moment that you’ve been house hunting. After much searching you’ve narrowed your choices to two different houses in two different neighborhoods. Let’s say the houses are so similar you can’t choose between them based on the usual considerations—size, condition, yard, location, etc. Six of one, half-dozen of the other. Also assume that the neighborhoods would be identical, except for one thing. One of the neighborhoods—let’s call it “Neighborhood A”—has a certain appeal you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s just a little neater, somehow gives off a “cared-for” feeling. And those times you drove through it… was it just your imagination, or did there seem to be an unusual amount of visiting going on among neighbors? Let’s say your curiosity got the better of you. What if, in your attempt to understand the elusive difference between these two neighborhoods, you introduced yourself to a few of the residents of both places. And what if you learned from the residents of “Neighborhood A” that they participated in a program which makes theirs an unusually nice place to live? Just a really pleasant and secure setting. And not for material reasons, either. What if you discovered that the secret of “Neighborhood A” was a sort of invisible infrastructure, a web of rich and helpful relationships? All other things being equal, which neighborhood do you suppose you’ll choose? What Is The Livable Neighborhood Program? This program is based on a state-of-the-art understanding of what it takes to change individual and group behavior. The secret: clear incentive, immediate reward. The process uses a proven methodology that incorporates a highly structured format linking grassroots effort with government services and business and civic leadership. It’s easy to implement. It’s enjoyable to take part in. Neighborhoods that follow the simple instructions will make themselves: Safer Healthier Quieter Prettier Friendlier More entertaining More economical Better places to raise kids Kinder to the environment Benefits and Beneficiaries: Partners, Partners Everywhere It’s hard to imagine a more classic example of win/win possibilities than the Livable Neighborhood Program. Ask yourself, “Who doesn’t benefit from livable neighborhoods?” and it’s hard to come up with an answer. Ask, “Who does?” and the answer looks like this: Residents of all ages, of course Property owners Developers (livable neighborhoods are easier to market) Realtors (homes in livable neighborhoods are easier to sell) Businesses (livable neighborhoods house secure customers and happy workers) Chambers of commerce and economic development councils (companies like to locate in livable areas) Schools (livable neighborhoods make for happier students) Places of worship (livable neighborhoods inspire devotion) Police (livable neighborhoods have less crime) Government (livable neighborhoods are easier to serve) Posterity (livable neighborhoods pass on priceless gifts) Where Livable Neighborhoods Come From, Really… It is the premise of this program that livable neighborhoods come from… well, from we the people. The kind of neighborhood we all want to live in has an endless number of potential supporters and partners, because everyone benefits from them. But the primary responsibility for creating them rests with neighbors. It’s important to understand this, because these days those on the front lines of neighborhood development stress that one of the biggest obstacles is epidemic “entitlement mentality.” We’ve become a society that expects government to take care of everything. When it comes to building strong neighborhoods, that’s a little like expecting government to exercise for us, or eat healthy food for us. Too often, neighborhoods wait for the appropriate government agency to show up and fix what ails them. Meanwhile, government at every level is being stressed because we the people demand that more be done with less. The backbone of the Livable Neighborhood Program is a detailed menu of actions that everyone can take in any neighborhood setting—urban, suburban or rural. Its purpose is to help citizens take the steps they can on their own while at the same time interacting with local government as efficiently as possible. It is designed so that any level of activity will produce benefits, but also so that success snowballs. Clearly, the ideal situation combines energetic grassroots initiative with strong partnerships with government, businesses and community service organizations. The program is also designed to take advantage of the natural process of social change. Research shows that breakthrough ideas at first tend to be picked up by only about 15 percent of the population. These “early adopters” blaze a trail that is soon recognized as beneficial by the next 35 percent of the public. Sociologists call this second group the “early majority.” Once these two leadership groups show the way, the “late majority,” another 35 percent of the population, follows. For a variety of reasons, sometimes as much as 15 percent of the public never goes along with useful change, but that’s okay. As long as what most of society is doing makes sense, the majority carries the day. And Who Needs Livable Neighborhoods, Anyway? The problem is, many traits of modern neighborhoods don’t make sense anymore. It’s not just that there are too many problems. It’s that too many opportunities are being missed. While the Livable Neighborhood Program is intended to help communities fix what’s broken at the grassroots level, more than that it’s meant to help neighbors create and act on their own visions of how they can transform their neighborhood into the kind of place they’d like it to be. A generation ago, only impoverished neighborhoods in the grip of urban decay — the “Hell’s Kitchens” of the world — were considered troubled. These days it is understood that no geographic or socioeconomic setting is immune from challenges. Sociologists tell us that modern lifestyles carry burdens of isolation that cost us dearly. The loss of “social capital” — which basically translates into networks of helpful relationships and good will with those around us — can be more than unfortunate. It can be toxic. Nowhere is this more true than in the neighborhoods we call home. In the aftermath of the April 1999 shooting that left 15 students dead at Littleton, Colorado’s Columbine High School, New York writer Lakis Polycarpou laid part of the blame for the tragedy on the emotionally barren life in Littleton. Polycarpou graduated from Columbine High in the early ‘90s, and in a May 10, 1999 Washington Post opinion piece he faulted the media for failing to probe the social roots of such terrible violence. He wrote: “We are unlikely to hear much of that kind of analysis, because it would indict something much deeper than action movies or the gun culture. It would blame suburban society and the inherent alienation in places like Littleton, where culture and community are either a function of monotonous consumption or dispensable altogether… “I always pictured community as something that happened anywhere but in a place like the Littleton area. We never knew our neighbors, except in passing; we certainly never had a social connection to them. Children rarely played outside on the street… As far as I know, no one in my family ever joined a ‘neighborhood community’ anything in the area. There was no pool, no ice rink, no town square in the area around Columbine. Neighbors moved into homes and then moved out, and it was often some time before you realized the people next door were new… “My neighborhood was the apotheosis of a bedroom community, where shiny new automobiles slipped quietly in and out of their automatic-door garages and there was never any need to step past your mailbox.” Clearly, that is not the description of a livable neighborhood. As you’ll see, the step-by-step recommendations set forth in this program will not only create specific tangible results of a kind most people would prefer, they will make such profound disconnection with neighbors impossible. How the Program Works 1. The program is divided into 4 topics: neighborhood health and safety, neighborhood greening and beautification, neighborhood resource sharing, and neighborhood building. 2. Neighbors form a team and meet 7 times over a 4-month period taking actions to improve the livability of the neighborhood. Some actions will be done in this timeframe, others will extend into the future. 3. In each topic area the team chooses the actions it wishes to pursue, divides up responsibilities, creates a plan and takes action. 4. Each topic area has an assessment to gauge the livability of that aspect of the neighborhood and carefully crafted actions to maximize the team’s effectiveness. 5. The program includes an easy-to-use meeting format and planning guide for taking the actions. Have fun as you make life better on the street where you live!