Two articles on dialogue and civic involvement in USA Today
Thanks to Bill Potapchuk for alerting the NCDD listserv about this tonight!
Community involvement important across demographic lines
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY, December 8, 2010
This article (and video) in USA Today features our friends at the National League of Cities, Connecting with the Community in Longmont, CO, and Portsmouth Listens in Portsmouth, N.H. http://content.usatoday.com/news/americawants/story/2010/12/Community-involvement-important-across-demographic-lines/41598136
Citizen involvement helps build sense of community
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY, December 8, 2010
This article mentions Portsmouth Listens as well, talks about participatory budgeting and mentions the Knight Foundation’s “Soul of the Community” study. Here’s an excerpt:
In Portsmouth, N.H., the 12-year-old Portsmouth Listens program involves citizens in key decisions relocating or renovating a historic middle school by forming “study circles” that have attracted hundreds of residents in the city of about 20,000.
“In a public hearing, people get up and they speak for three minutes, they have their say, but there’s not a lot of interaction between them and City Council,” says Jim Noucas, 58, a lawyer and co-chair of Portsmouth Listens. “Here, they work together three to four weeks at a time and then give recommendations. It’s important for citizens to share responsibility not only for what they want but what’s good for everybody.”
