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Community
Service . Indications
of Community ... There are probably more and more varied answers to this question than we might imagine. But then, too, there are some things that most folks can agree on. ... What do you think? ... Most of us would like good schools, adequate employment or business opportunities, reasonable access to health care, and a relative freedom from crime or pollution. But even if we put all these together, while the community in question would certainly be a better place to live, we would still not approach the kinds of things that make for a "livable community." ... At least not according to a national clearinghouse for info on such matters. ... Livable Communities. Livable Communities is a project of The National Livability Resource Center -- "a clearinghouse for decision-support data, information, tools, and federal programs and resources to support livable communities." ... The Center is part of a network of similar sites -- including Sustainable Measures out of North Andover, Mass., which focuses on developing indicators for "sustainable communities," and the Green Mountain Institute For Environmental Democracy, located in Montpelier, an outgrowth of of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Comparative Risk Assessment conducted in 1991. The Center provides tools & resources to support ...
In addition, there are also numerous links to tax incentive & grant programs specifically aimed at helping communities develop along 'livable' & 'sustainable' lines. Each of the organizations within the clearinghouse network of Livable Communities is focused on essentially the same type of work -- using statistical data to inform and strengthen an active community planning effort. The basic idea is to extract data from communities that are acknowledged to be better places to live and translate that data into "indicators" that allow individuals, community groups, towns, or state agencies to focus their efforts on the kinds of things that will achieve. ... The project provides indicators for a host of community issues, including:
What are some of these 'indicators'? ... In some cases, there are, literally, dozens for each of the issues listed above. But in this context, we thought it might be interesting to see what they had to say about "community involvement." ... In this category, there are two focal points -- Connectedness & Volunteerism. ...
The indicators are not always what one might expect. And, particularly in this case, we can easily imagine adding to the list. ... But the real point here is whether or not the growth and development of our communities is going to come about as a result of conscious & planned efforts, or whether, at best, it will come as a result of a free-for-all. Beyond that, these organizations provide lots of useful tools -- for everyone from individuals to towns and those responsible for setting policies at any level ... in short, anyone who wants to make our communities more livable & sustainable. It's an important idea. And that, in itself, is a start. ... . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for our Community Service feature, or if you simply would like to suggest something you think we ought to cover, e-mail us at ... autotravel@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
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