Building Community:
Joe Gliessner |
Build it. This vision that spurred the creation of the community-development industry has evolved to include—again—far more than housing and commercial construction. Our strong suit may be the creation or preservation of the structures that visually define our neighborhoods, but both seasoned veterans and the newly trained folks joining us are keenly aware of the myriad facets of building community. Like banking, community development is a relationship business, dependent on many talents for success. In our work, the organizer, architect, fundraiser and bricklayer are all essential to the development team. One facet, too long overlooked, is that sustainable community development requires a respectful relationship between stakeholders—and that includes constituents of the current and “potential” neighborhood. What I mean is that today’s renters and homeowners, business owners and neighborhood caretenders must be at “the table,” but that we must leave room at our tables for people who will want to join us later as neighborhood vision is achieved. Sometimes, that will be the returning son or daughter who longs to invest in their parent’s neighborhood…or it may be the new business investor who can breathe capital into a failing corner store. Have we remembered to leave the “Welcome Mat” at the door of our revitalization plans? Where do community-development corporations fit in? We can be conveners, technicians and coaches. We can be agents of change. We can be custodians or planning facilitators. Whatever our roles may be, we must remember that it is the stakeholders’ vision of success that we serve. Ah, but what about our bottom line? We must leverage resources in highly competitive times. Arenas, stadiums and parks that were once the funding domain of the government or private sector now also depend on the philanthropy that fueled the community development movement. Also, some public financial tools can, unfortunately, serve to separate rather than unite people. These funding mechanisms must be redesigned to help us leverage strengths in the unique and emerging markets that exist in our urban, rural and suburban communities. Innovative community developers must be fiscally strong, and able to weather the fluctuations of an emerging neighborhood marketplace. That is why duplication of service is akin to waste, and why so much energy is invested in collaborative efforts. For the nonprofit, collaborations can serve as both product research and risk mitigation. Collaborations that unite residents, vested business owners and innovative community developers will offer the greatest hope of finding the market-based and sustainable solutions to grow investment and wealth in neighborhoods of choice. The bold entrepreneurs in this marketplace will be the private sector employers who recognize the value of a diverse workforce and customer base. And, so, let’s build it! Let’s build neighborhoods of choice that serve a vision of global citizenship. Let’s build it! Let’s build neighborhoods of learning, where everyone can be a student, from cradle to grave. Let’s build it! Let’s help to build neighborhood economies that retain and build resident wealth. |
Joe Gliessner has been executive director of Louisville’s New Directions Housing Corporation since 1986; he served six years on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and was recently named an Achieving Excellence Fellow by NeighborWorks America®. |
exploring: searching or traveling for the purpose of discovery innovation: to add value by applying a new idea or method to something established |