How to Build Community

[ysabetwordsmith]

Someone asked me about resources for building community. This is a favorite topic of mine.

The most important thing is to start by identifying values. Usually individuals and groups will have some different and some common values. Begin building on common ground. Use that to lay out shared interests and goals. Then make plans to pursue those. Where these factors diverge but are compatible, individuals or groups can take responsibility for developing different projects so as to create a more diverse community. Especially, use community values to set priorities, settle conflicts, and make decisions between different possible options.

Here are some resources ...


People

http://loobylu.mcclux.webfactional.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/howtobuildcommunity.jpg

http://ohmyhandmade.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/sixtyways_OMHG.jpg

http://www.inclusion.com/downloads/actionsthatbuildcommunity.pdf

http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Files/Guides/Playing-Live/Busking-Guide-in-Liverpool

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Peace-in-Your-Community

https://www.c-q-l.org/resource-library/resource-library/all-resources/its-about-social-ties-and-trust---for-everyone

https://www.c-q-l.org/resource-library/resource-library/all-resources/its-about-social-ties-and-trust---for-everyone

http://www.issuelab.org/resources/9756/9756.pdf

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement/key-influentials/main


Places

http://www.pps.org/reference/what_is_placemaking/

http://www.pps.org/reference/toward-place-governance-civic-infrastructure-placemaking/

http://www.pps.org/reference/grplacefeat/

http://www.pps.org/blog/multicultural_places/

http://www.pps.org/reference/lighter-quicker-cheaper/

http://www.pps.org/reference/place-capital-re-connecting-economy-with-community/

http://www.pps.org/blog/challenge-explore-your-community-with-the-power-of-10/

http://www.pps.org/reference/ten-strategies-for-transforming-cities-through-placemaking-public-spaces/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthy_community_design

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_design

http://vnrc.org/resources/community-planning-toolbox/tools/vermont-traditional-neighborhoods/landscaping-and-areas-that-encourage-social-interaction/

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/implement/physical-social-environment/places-for-interaction/main

https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/characteristics.htm

http://www.shareable.net/blog/how-to-design-a-neighborhood-for-happiness

http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/3661148.html


Community Strategies

http://blog.jospoortvliet.com/2011/08/10-steps-to-building-local-community.html

http://www.communitypartnering.info/an40.html

http://www.communitypartnering.info/a39.html

http://www.options-empowers.org/inclusion/inclusion-in-practice/community-mapping/

https://www.communityroundtable.com/research-2/introducing-the-updated-community-skills-framework/

http://www.newyorklife.com/learn-and-plan/how-to-get-your-business-involved-in-community-by-giving-back-gaining-loyalty

http://www.transitionus.org/guides/how-build-local-community-directory

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_85.htm

http://www.orton.org/blog/five-tips-using-community-valu

http://www.ic.org/


Examples

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR855/mr855.ch5.html

http://www.pps.org/places/streets/loiza-street/

http://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10726095.html

https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/10480773.html?thread=23618181

Comments

[mdlbear]

Thanks -- it will take me quite a while to sort through these, but a lot of them look useful.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad you found these promising. Good luck.

[rhodielady-47.livejournal.com]

Putting together a viable community is harder to do than many people think it is.
For one thing, even though you do need for everyone to share a pool of basic moral values (i.e. you earn your own living and don't mooch off of others, you clean up your own messes, you all pitch in as a group to do community chores, etc.), you also need a diverse set of people with a very wide ranges of talents and abilities.
Just think what would happen if a community had no one to do the weekly garbage collection or if it didn't have a small business which specialized in installing and maintaining septic systems. Or how about someone who was really good at small engine repairs?
Now that I think of it, there's a long list or a complete web (an ecosystem maybe?) of essential service industries that aren't very glamorous that no one ever thinks about UNTIL THEY NEED THEM.

And this leads me to another question:
Just how big must a human community be to contain all the people necessary to a community?
:^)

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> Putting together a viable community is harder to do than many people think it is. <<

Yes, that's true. I've tried for years, and had only intermittent luck.

>> For one thing, even though you do need for everyone to share a pool of basic moral values (i.e. you earn your own living and don't mooch off of others, you clean up your own messes, you all pitch in as a group to do community chores, etc.), you also need a diverse set of people with a very wide ranges of talents and abilities. <<

You need enough common values that people will 1) agree on some things to do together for mutual benefit and 2) respect each other while doing so. You need enough diversity to furnish different skills and problem-solving approaches for long-term sustainability, and along with that, the skills for people to view this as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

>> Just think what would happen if a community had no one to do the weekly garbage collection or if it didn't have a small business which specialized in installing and maintaining septic systems. Or how about someone who was really good at small engine repairs? <<

Rich people are beginning to realize that if they make cities too expensive for poor people to live in, they can't hire anyone to clean their toilets.

>> Now that I think of it, there's a long list or a complete web (an ecosystem maybe?) of essential service industries that aren't very glamorous that no one ever thinks about UNTIL THEY NEED THEM. <<

Yep.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> And this leads me to another question:
Just how big must a human community be to contain all the people necessary to a community?
:^) <<

That depends entirely on the civilization level. The low end seems to be around a dozen people at hunter-gatherer level in poor habitats such as Australia. More often it's tribal size, several dozen to several hundred people. Many intentional communities fall in this size range, as do villages and flyspeck towns. A more typical size for a small town is several thousand people. That would be largely self-sustaining if designed that way, but nobody does so in local-America these days. Neighborhoods may be a few hundred to a few thousand people, depending on planning. People in towns that size drive to the nearest hub town to shop or get services, and those are typically in the 10,000-25,000 range.

A key difference between local-America and Terramagne-America is that the latter prefers walkable communities and plans neighborhoods accordingly. The neighborhoods usually have a range of housing from apartments to small houses to large houses; the corner lots often hold sharehouses, boarding houses, multiplexes or small apartment buildings. Scattered among those are small businesses. Some people have a home office or workshop for crafts, consulting, etc. You'll see antique stores, hair salons, resale shops, handymen, etc. working out of converted houses. Thus within each neighborhood there tend to be basic services available, so that folks don't have to drive clear across town for every little thing. The core of each neighborhood will have stuff like a school, a park, and a clubhouse. Strip malls and community clinics are often located toward the corners of a neighborhood such that several neighborhoods can reach them conveniently. Different designs are possible. Here's a neighborhood with a green core and its function spaces toward the edges. In the downtown area you see denser housing: live-work buildings, rowhouses, medium or larger apartment buildings, multiuse buildings with retail below and several floors of business and/or residential space above, etc. Community centers, malls, town parks, promenades, medium or larger businesses, and other major attractions are located in this area also, although larger towns often have more than one cluster of them. Take a look at some different parts of a municipality and compare more and less walkable neighborhoods.

Re: Thoughts

[rhodielady-47.livejournal.com]

"Here's a neighborhood with a green core and its function spaces toward the edges."
When I read this, I immediately thought of the old style medieval towns that had a village green in their center where everyone pastured their livestock together. Good design is ageless.
:^}

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

In fact, cohousing communities frequently cluster houses around a commons. If it's an ecovillage, the kitchen garden and/or small livestock may be placed there for maximum convenience.