Empowering Citizens

In this guest perspective, Sylvia Lovely, president of the NewCities Institute, describes how her organization engaged citizens in Moscow, Idaho and Morehead, Ky., to create new visions for their communities.


It was a typical leadership program class, with specialists discussing every aspect of leadership from basic service to taking charge and making things happen. But as the program was about to close, one young woman shared her anguish: "I'm not leaving here until you tell me how to talk to my mayor!" With that comment, she communicated her frustration with the street-level work she was trying to do and the roadblocks she encountered.

The NewCities Institute was founded to reach citizens just like this young woman, to show them how to build great, sustainable communities in the 21st century -- communities are where people come together to agree on a vision and work to make it a reality. Sometimes consensus prevails in the midst of the messiness of democracy. But in all cases, leadership must prevail -- leadership that addresses the real needs of people.

At a time when communities face an onslaught of economic and social challenges, the very idea of uniting citizens to form a common vision and an action plan to renew a community may be a daunting one. However, with an intelligent approach, it is possible.

Small communities often face similar problems nationwide, for instance, the migration of young people from their hometowns with no plans to return.

We also know that citizens connected to their local places will build strong cities and high-quality communal living opportunities. But today those connections are often becoming more tenuous as our fears and disenchantment expand the distance between us, our neighbors and local government leaders.

The daily delivery of news and access to endless resources via the Internet might provide us with more information, but we believe less and less of what we hear, see or read. And we are becoming more convinced that our civic involvement -- whether by voting or other action -- really won't make a difference.

Meanwhile, as the distance between us grows, so does the definition of community. What we do on Main Street will not only have a regional impact, but will also affect how we compete and survive in the interdependent global neighborhood.


Thinking Locally to Compete Globally
How do we build communities under these circumstances? How do we develop the capacity to think and act big (globally) and small (community) at the same time?

We began to tackle these questions in September 2005, focusing our efforts on Moscow, Idaho, and Morehead, Ky., and bringing leaders and citizens together in Community Listening and Community Building forums. The results have been encouraging. Hundreds of citizens in both communities attended these sessions to discuss their community values, and express their hopes and fears for their home places.

Unlike other visioning exercises, our work in Moscow and Morehead encouraged citizens to drill down to the core of their values and define their community's unique qualities that could provide a foundation for the future. The goal for both was to create a prosperous community that offers diverse economic opportunities and a high quality of life.

What we inevitably found in the midst of this hard work were committed and engaged citizens who were passionate about their communities, and eager to share their thoughts and ideas. More importantly citizens in both Moscow and Morehead had high expectations that their local leaders would implement the strategies that the NewCities Institute helped them develop. Again, leadership must prevail, and it must be accountable.

In Moscow, our pilot city, the community values and strategies were fairly straightforward. With a highly educated population anchored by the University of Idaho and Washington