Creating Healthy Communities
Some cities, towns, other localities as well as virtual / online arenas continue to incorporate ways to bring citizens together to define a community’s course as well as to develop strategies that make it more sustainable. The successful communities have incorporated approaches and techniques to involve citizens and create collaborative efforts for success.
Creating community does not come without a price and it takes commitment and effort like any worthwhile thing in life. Whether you are building a yoga community, spiritual online community, or beginning a neighborhood garden, the success of it depends on other factors that are often neglected while investing in the actual physical labor. Success means opening up all your senses to possibilities and engaging the brain and sixth sense when creating relationships for sustainability.
Community Visioning
A community must develop a vision in order to address sustainability. A community visioning process can often provide guidance for citizens who are unclear about a future course. This section identifies alternative approaches and resources that can assist the visioning process and must be address prior to moving forward.
Inventories and Indicators
Preparation of a community resource inventory and the identification of local indicators are important in order to measure progress toward sustainability. Presenting examples of what other communities are doing and provide the ability to help other recreate what works.
Building Partnerships
Innovative and constructive partnerships between different sectors and interests often provide significant progress toward creating sustainability. Partnerships may evolve from successful visioning, inventory, or indicator projects or they may form around specific issues or areas of concern.
Civic Engagement
Communities with the greatest and most diverse citizen participation are often resilient and strong. Engaging citizens to address common issues is essential for educated decision-making. Motivating all socio-economic classes to participate in honest communication to build common ground.
Justice and Equity
Justice and equity are fundamental in a civilized society. Examples of injustice are a lack of adequate housing, poor sanitation, an inadequate supply of pure water, and environmental degradation related to industrial pollution. Teaching individual community members to do what is “right” for the people and planet!
Conflict Resolution and Mediation
Alternative dispute resolution is a tool for resolving conflicts within a community, and mediation is used in the workplace and in institutions to help individuals find common ground and peaceful solutions to problems. Given any group of people in any situation and there will always be conflicts and disagreements. However, with the realization we are all on the same team it should become easier to resolve most conflicts.
Culture, Art, Ethnicity, Heritage and Celebrations
Every community has a history, and events planned around it are both educational and cultural. These activities provide local character and strengthen community ties. Embrace your differences and learn to flow like the river of life, allowing the cultural diversity to bless and enhance a community.
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To learn more about Creating Healthy Communities: http://www.sustainable.org/creating-community
