Category Archives: Building Community

01.20.16
by

Building Bridges

Another strategy identified in past forums for restoring a sense of community was for different groups to get together with those they don’t regularly talk or work with in order to get to know each other.  And participants emphasized the importance of listening.

These last two weeks provided several opportunities for people to come together, whether to talk about common interests, such as the dialogue held by the Cradle to Career Alliance on January 11 as part of their “Raising of America” video series; to celebrate our diverse community as many did at the 2016 Columbia Values Diversity celebration; or simply to come together in fellowship and support as others did at the breakfast buffet held at St. Luke United Methodist Church.

Here are some quotes from the week, all aligned with the strategy of building bridges:

“We are one. There’s no color -we’re all just one.  And when we can decide that we’re one, then Columbia can unite together.”  – Rev. James Gray, Second Missionary Baptist Church, quoted in the Columbia Missourian Jan. 19, 2016

“There are people that need a meal, and we have a meal for them.” – Annabelle Simmons, St. Luke United Methodist Church, quoted in the Columbia Daily Tribune Jan. 18, 2016

“We stop exploring, we stop challenging ourselves to learn.” – Brenda Jackson, Stephens College Student Government Association President, quoted in the Columbia Daily Tribune, Jan. 19, 2016

“I’m pleased we honor diversity, and eventually we will get to a more accepting community – we just have to keep moving forward in recognizing and accepting each other’s differences.”  Barbra Horrell,  Columbia Values Diversity 2016 Individual Honoree, quoted in the Columbia Daily Tribune, Jan. 14, 2016

 

01.08.16
by

Citizen-Centered Planning

What is citizen-centered planning?  Our forums identified at least three factors:

  • Adequate notice and opportunities to be heard.
  • Opportunities for meaningful input.
  • “Reporting back.”

What is adequate notice and opportunity to be heard?  It includes reaching out to citizens in ways that get their attention and adequately inform them why input is needed.  Consider Dave Meslin’s Ted Talk “The Antidote to Apathy” for ideas on how this area of planning might be improved.  Ideas shared by our participants included more readable notices provided in a variety of formats, scheduling meetings at different times of day, and at accessible places served by public transit.

What makes for meaningful input?  This would include opportunities to help define the problems to be solved, not just comment on proposed solutions.  It includes timely provision of information — citizens should not be asked to a meeting and then told a 100+ page report has been issued just that afternoon.  It also includes efforts to help break down complex issues and provide information in context and formats that help citizens digest that information.  Boone County’s recently released Citizen’s Guide to County Finances is a good example of one effort to do just that.  “Meaningful input” also means that there is actually a possibility that the input will make a difference.  It is the opposite of what our participants described here:

“With the trash issue, the city asked for opinions, and then it appeared they were definitely going to use roll carts. At that point I stopped responding to surveys.”

“Was the city really “up in the air” about rollcarts, and wanting to gauge opinions, or were they trying to find out “If we do this thing, how many people will hate it?” I am being facetious but the perceptions were there that participation was meaningless.”

Reporting back simply means communication on what input was received, how it was used, the decisions made, and the reasons for these decisions.  Forum participants thought this was an area where significant improvements could be made.

Share your thoughts on “citizen-centered planning” in the comments. Where do you see it? What changes would you make?

 

01.08.16
by

Are We An Us?

The Trib Talks forums to date have made it clear that the citizens of Columbia are concerned about where we are going as a community.  The rapid growth over the last 10 years has resulted in tensions and stressed existing divides of place and race, town and gown, “old” and “new” Columbia.  How can we as citizens heal the divides?  Key approaches discussed during the forums were to use more “citizen centered” planning,  address existing inequities, and build bridges between groups. We will consider each of these further on this blog, and on our February 11 forum.  Add your thoughts below, or take our survey.