SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: Placemaking and the gentle art of nixing community stakeholders when applying lipstick to an alley.

Welcome to another installment of SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS, a regular Wednesday feature at NA Confidential.

But why all these newfangled words?

Why not the old, familiar, comforting words, the ones that worked so well during the glory days, before inexplicably naked greed kicked in like a bond-issue-percentage speedball, knocking you back into the turnbuckles but feeling oh so good, and now as the Great Elongated and Exasperated Obfuscator in the comic book series, you teach detailed principles of banking to bankers, at least when not otherwise occupied making healthy deposits into your own account?

Thankfully, even if one toils for the Sun of the Democratic Future, a healthy vocabulary isn't about intimidation through erudition. Not at all. Rather, it's about selecting the right word and using it correctly, whatever one's pay grade or station in life.

Municipal corporate attorneys reaping handsome remuneration to suppress information and to squelch community dialogue also can benefit from this enlightening expansion of personal horizons, and really, as we contemplate CPIs, IUDs and IOUs, all we really have is time -- and the opportunity to learn something, if we're so inclined.

Earlier this week, the city's economic dishevelment director took time away from failing to populate the industrial park, and stewarded an alleyway beautification project through the forever somnolent Bored of Works, producing terrifying visions straight outta Hieronymus Bosch ...

... but garnering free column inches at the Hansonator.

New Albany approves bid to transform alley into "more of a place" ... “it's going to be a really cool project.”

Of course, dozens of city streets remain inadequately illuminated on a daily basis, which does nothing to enhance public safety, but I digress.

It would be useful if either David Duggins or the newspaper explained what is meant by "more of a place" in the context of gentrifying an alley, and because neither has done so, this week's word is placemaking.

We turn to the Project for Public Spaces for a basic, working definition.

WHAT IF WE BUILT OUR COMMUNITIES AROUND PLACES?

As both an overarching idea and a hands-on approach for improving a neighborhood, city, or region, Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, Placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, Placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.

With community-based participation at its center, an effective Placemaking process capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, and it results in the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people’s health, happiness, and well being.

Wait, what was that?

With community-based participation at its center ...

And this ...

Unfortunately, the rigid planning processes of the 20th century have become so institutionalized that community stakeholders rarely have the chance to voice their own ideas and aspirations about the places they inhabit. Placemaking can break down these silos by showing planners, designers, and engineers the broad value of moving beyond the narrow focus of their own professions, disciplines, agendas. Experience has shown us that when developers and planners welcome this kind of grassroots involvement, they spare themselves a lot of headaches. Common problems like traffic-dominated streets, little-used parks, and isolated or underperforming development projects can be addressed – or altogether avoided – by embracing a model of Placemaking that views a place in its entirety, rather than zeroing in on isolated components.

Using the newly monetized alley project as the most recent example of a long-term trend, we find that community-based participation is almost entirely lacking, and community stakeholders largely excluded from voicing "their own ideas and aspirations."

Consequently, the alley running between Spring and Main will be transformed into a "place" that reflects the "ideas and aspirations" of a relatively small number of elected and appointed officials.

This may constitute kingmaking or sausage making, David, but it isn't placemaking.

Dear Mr. Duggins: "The solutions to many of our most entrenched problems are likely to come from the bottom up not the top down."

First, the details.

I've emphasized one aspect of this program to "champion" independent, locally-owned businesses.

• access to capital
• a level playing field i.e. governments should stop favoring big corporations through subsidies, infrastructure and awarding contracts
• laws against monopolies enforced
• laws that allow cooperative ownership of real estate and community investments. While somewhat off topic, she also suggested the effects of gentrification also could be mitigated by community land trusts which, if formed early enough, could buy up properties to control the rise in rents
• easing business licensing, permitting and zoning, which are nearly impossible in Chicago due to the strong effect of political influence

Next time you run into David Duggins holding court at Quills, often in the act of entertaining an out-of-towner with promises of boilerplate tax abatements and subsidies, remind him of the virtues of locally-owned businesses, and enjoy the economic development director's nervous laugh. That's because what's "cool" for Duggins isn't necessarily best for the community.

Community Allies: the virtue of locally-owned businesses, by Bruce Nesmith (Holy Mountain)

As Cedar Rapids prepares to welcome two more strip malls on the edge of town, and one of our malls announces a new franchise tenant, it's instructive and inspiring to hear evidence that the most potent tax-gathering areas in towns of any size are downtowns and Main Streets, and that locally-owned businesses contribute far above their weight when it comes to developing strong communities. Those messages were crisply presented by Ellen Shepard in a talk Friday at Loyola University's Center for Urban Research and Learning. Ms. Shepard is the founder and CEO of Community Allies, which works with communities to develop organizations and leadership, facilitate community engagement, and "to grow stronger from within." Prior to that she headed the chamber of commerce in Andersonville, a neighborhood on the north side of Chicago.

People in Hays, Kansas are looking critically at their growth and revenue issues. We're just breaking wind.

"The future of Hays depends on an acute understanding of our history and how it effects the current financial situation."
- Toby Dougherty, City Manager

Can you even imagine such a public discussion occurring in Jeff Gahan's Down Low NA?

One year ago, Chuck Marohn gave a Curbside Chat in Hays, KS, which kickstarted an ongoing conversation in Hays. We are seeing real impacts as a result of the Strong Towns message, and the enthusiasm and willingness of the people in Hays to look critically at their growth and revenue issues.

Hays' relative isolation has forced it to be more self-sufficient and, in many ways, more self-reliant than the typical American city. The town has some great leadership and they're in the midst of a brave conversation. We see Hays as a model for beginning to implement Strong Towns ideas on the ground.

In light of this, they've created a document called "A Stronger Hays" ...

The document: A Stronger Hays: Building a Stronger Future -- A Candid Conversation
The website: A Stronger Hays

Is our doggie water park ready yet?

Now what? The "Subdivision Christmas Village" is no longer in stock.

It's a very clever pitch for donations from Smart Growth America, which suggest the "Walkable Downtown Christmas Village" is by far the better selling item.

Just try telling it to the knuckleheads hereabouts.

Smart Growth America advocates for people who want to live and work in great neighborhoods. We believe smart growth solutions support thriving businesses and jobs, provide more options for how people get around and make it more affordable to live near work and the grocery store. Our coalition works with communities to fight sprawl and save money. We are making America’s neighborhoods great together.

Making Communities Work for Everyone
At the heart of the American dream is the simple hope that each of us can choose to live in a neighborhood that’s beautiful, affordable, and easy to get around. We want to create healthy communities with strong local businesses, schools and shops nearby, transportation options and jobs that pay well.

Americans want to make their neighborhoods great, and smart growth strategies help make that dream a reality. Smart growth is about creating local jobs and protecting the environment. It is about being able to safely walk to a park close by. It is about spending less time in traffic and more time doing what’s important to you.

Smart Investments and Common Sense SolutionsSmart Growth America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks so people can walk to their town center to ensuring that more homes are built near public transit or productive farms remain a part of our communities, smart growth helps make sure that people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods.

"If globalization is the hallmark of today’s mainstream economy, relocalization is the hallmark of the alternative."

Photo credit: Community Matters

"The plan to build better, more connected, flourishing communities is here—and it won’t require putting a Starbucks on every block."

It's funny the authors should mention Starbucks, seeing as I'd just mentioned the coffee giant on social media.

Rather than becoming aesthetically outraged by the cookie cutter chains (Starbucks hates Jesus, Chick-fil-A is anti-gay) why not ignore the distractions and come to the point: They're bad for your community economically. Follow the money, not the matador's cape. Independent local businesses are better for the local economy. More money stays here and recirculates. When you shift spending to the local economy, you're making a genuine difference. To repeat: Follow the money ... and death to chains. Enjoy your Monday.

A good discussion followed, which did not neglect oft-noted expressions of dissent, with varying degrees of relevance: "But I like chains," and "big companies create jobs and give back, too," and "localism is the new mercantilism."

Subsequently, Jeff G helpfully pointed to the following article, which outlines the parameters of a localist's alternative. It's what I was saying throughout the mayoral campaign, albeit nowhere near as clearly as stated here. It's what we've discussed for years in the context of organizations like AMIBA and writers such as Michael Shuman.

Excerpts are provided below, but PLEASE CLICK THROUGH AND READ THE ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY, especially if you're an independent local business owner. Nothing can be done to change the fact that we've just now re-elected a cadre of politicians and functionaries willfully ignorant of these principles, but even they cannot impede our progress at a grassroots level if -- it's a big "if" -- we decide to unify, organize and bypass them.

I've underlined a few key passages.

7 Paths to Development That Bring Neighborhoods Wealth, Not Gentrification, by Marjorie Kelly and Sarah McKinley (Yes Magazine)

In cities across the nation, a few enjoy rising affluence while many struggle to get by.

An August 2015 study by The Century Foundation reported that—after a dramatic decline in concentrated poverty between 1990 and 2000—poverty has since reconcentrated. Nationwide, the number of people living in high-poverty ghettos and slums has nearly doubled since 2000. This situation is created in part by the practices of traditional economic development, which prioritize corporate subsidy after corporate subsidy over the needs of the local economy. Current trends threaten to worsen, unless we can answer the design challenge before us.

Can we create an economic system—beginning at the local level—that builds the wealth and prosperity of everyone?

Economic development professionals and mayors are working in partnership with foundations, anchor institutions, unions, community organizations, progressive business networks, workers, and community residents. What’s emerging is a systems approach to creating an inclusive, sustainable economy where all can thrive. The work is place-based, fed by the power of anchor institutions, and built on locally rooted and broadly held ownership. It’s about building community wealth across the United States—in more places than most would imagine, a new kind of economy is beginning to appear. It’s an economy that, because of its fundamental design, tends naturally to create inclusion and prosperity for many, not simply for the few.

1. Place
2. Ownership
3. Multipliers
4. Collaboration
5. Inclusion
6. Workforce
7. System

The seven drivers of community wealth building work together. Starting with a devotion to a place, this approach builds on local assets of many kinds. At the heart of it all is an inclusive focus on the needs of low-income families, people of color, and those with barriers to employment. The end goal is a new system that helps broadly held community wealth to flourish.