Contents
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- About Our Blocks (3)
- An open letter from Bill Berkowitz of Community Tool Box Re: "Taking Action in Your Neighborhood"
I got this note from UMass Professor Emeritus Bill Berkowitz earlier this week, and with his permission have posted it here so you can share your own thoughts…
- Community Tool Box announces partnership with Our Blocks
Very grateful to have Christina Holt and Jami Jones join the Blockheads. They do great work at the Community Tool Box, where I volunteer, and it's inspiring to…
- Thanks to friends, old and new
A quick note of thanks to old friends who've helped with our recruitment drive. Our Blocks is an all-volunteer project that needs more editors in order to…
- An open letter from Bill Berkowitz of Community Tool Box Re: "Taking Action in Your Neighborhood"
- art (4)
- 11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places
Thanks to Richard Layman for pointing us to PPS, and to Bill Berkowitz for recommending the book. The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit…
- Images of Traditional Communities in Hong Kong
This is a selection of eclectic images of Hong Kong communities from P H Yang Photography. Hakka means "guest people", the wandering tribe in China,…
- Introducing Neighbor Chalk!
Fellow Neighborhood Organizers, It's Joseph Porcelli, I'm the Chief Executive Neighbors at NeighborsForNeighbors.org and I'm also one of the editors here on…
- Lessons learned - from Neighbor Power, by Jim Diers
Excerpts from Neighbor Power, by Jim Diers. I will conclude by summarizing what I have learned about community, community organizing, community initiatives,…
- 11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places
- Asset-Based Community Development (8)
- AmeriCorps Member Revitalizes Neighborhood
via Serve.gov | Stories of Service: Profiles in Service: AmeriCorps Member Revitalizes Neighborhood. By Fred Wong On April 21, 2009, President Obama…
- Building Communities From the Inside Out
Notes from Building Communities From the Inside Out, by John P. Kretzmann In distressed communities across the United States, savvy organizers and leaders…
- Capacity Inventory samples
Source: Discovering Community Power: A Guide to Mobilizing Local Assets and Your Organization’s Capacity | The Habitat Exchange. A. From Greyrock Commons…
- Discovering Community Power: A Guide to Mobilizing Local Assets and Your Organization’s Capacity
Discovering Community Power: A Guide to Mobilizing Local Assets and Your Organization’s Capacity (2005) is a workbook developed by the Asset Based…
- Invitation to a Solutions Salon for West Oakland Leaders, 2/24/11
The Acorn Residents Council, BRIDGE Housing, and The John Stewart Company cordially invite you to an evening of fun and fellowship at the Town Center at…
- KaBOOM! - Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play
In Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play, Psychology Today columnist Peter Gray asked his readers to help him develop a proposal to build a neighborho…
- Lessons learned - from Neighbor Power, by Jim Diers
Excerpts from Neighbor Power, by Jim Diers. I will conclude by summarizing what I have learned about community, community organizing, community initiatives,…
- Mapping the Assets of Your Community: A Key Component for Building Local Capacity
From the abstract to Mapping the Assets of Your Community: A Key Component for Building Local Capacity , by Lionel J. Beaulieu, Southern Rural Development…
- AmeriCorps Member Revitalizes Neighborhood
- Best practices in community empowerment (8)
- Best practice malpractice
I'd been asked to prepare a presentation for the "Someone’s Done That Already: the Best Practice of Using Best Practices" session of the June 2 Craigslist…
- Best Practice resources from Richard Layman
This is the second installment in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. Richard Layman, author of Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, is an…
- Bringing people together to make things better
15th in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. Brian Fier is involved in community building and development. He is interested in information…
- Building community and improving neighborhoods, by Barbara Pantuso
12th in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. Barbara Pantuso (@barbarapantuso) is Founder and CEO of Hey, Neighbor!, a location-based website…
- Community Action Toolkit and other resources from The Young Foundation
Annisa Muchtar works on Communications at The Young Foundation (@the_young_fdn), and is an Analyst at Market Sentinel. The Young Foundation's work covers…
- Compendium for the Civic Economy - a review by Kevin Harris
11th in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. This review of the Compendium for the Civic Economy is reposted here (with some addenda) with…
- How to build a neighborhood playground: recommended resources at KaBOOM! by Lisa Palmer
Seventh in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. Lisa Palmer (@lattman) is Director for Corporate Partnerships at KaBOOM! where she encourages…
- Julian Dobson: Gather and share, gather and share
Eighth in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. Julian Dobson (@JulianDobson) is director at Urban Pollinators Ltd, and co-founder of Our…
- Best practice malpractice
- Civic Economy & Social Enterprise (2)
- Compendium for the Civic Economy - a review by Kevin Harris
11th in our Best practices in Community Empowerment series. This review of the Compendium for the Civic Economy is reposted here (with some addenda) with…
- Compendium for the Civic Economy - Lessons Learned
Excerpts from Compendium for the Civic Economy, by Indy Johar and Joost Beunderman. Published in May 2011 by 00:/, with support from the National Endowment for…
- Compendium for the Civic Economy - a review by Kevin Harris
- community engagement (8)
- "Solutions Salon" Brings West Oakland Community Together
OAKLAND, CA, March 11, 2011 - Lyn Hikida - More than 40 people participated in a solutions-oriented community meeting hosted in West Oakland last Thursday by…
- 'Connect the Dots' to showcase the best of Duluth neighborhoods
Area residents are invited to Marshall School on Saturday morning to learn about the services offered by more than 35 community organizations. The…
- 11 Drivers of Community Attachment - Ranked. Findings from "Soul of the Community", a Gallup/Knight study
The goal of the Knight Foundation-Gallup Soul of the Community project is to explore how community qualities influence residents' feelings about where they…
- 5 Rules of Community Engagement
Excerpts from From the Ground Up: Community's Role in Addressing Street Level Social Issues, by Jim Diers. This is the fourth report of the Core Challenge…
- 5 steps to your new community garden
When I moved into my new apartment in Washington DC, the first thing I did was contact the two nearest community gardens to apply for a garden plot. The first…
- 50 ways to serve in your neighborhood
<br /> <a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2044686/" mce_href="ht…
- 77 ways to build community in your neighborhood
Extracted from 150 Things You Can Do to Build Social Capital, The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement In America, an initiative of Professor Robert D. Putnam at…
- A beautiful day comes to town, and other stories
A beautiful idea comes to town Duncan Banner - Kevin Kerr - The idea got to her, and she came up with something that has turned into a day-long event…
- "Solutions Salon" Brings West Oakland Community Together
- community stories (8)
- 'Connect the Dots' to showcase the best of Duluth neighborhoods
Area residents are invited to Marshall School on Saturday morning to learn about the services offered by more than 35 community organizations. The…
- 'Friends and Neighbors, Not Just Houses'
"We're always thinking of ways to draw the community together the way neighborhoods were 70 years ago," Waters said. The aim is to be "a community of friends…
- 150,000 Celebrate Bike to Work Day in SF Bay Area
Energizing for a greener city - Ferry Building, San Francisco Click for more details and images. (This photo essay on CNN i-Report.) Click for Fab Bike…
- A beautiful day comes to town, and other stories
A beautiful idea comes to town Duncan Banner - Kevin Kerr - The idea got to her, and she came up with something that has turned into a day-long event…
- Acclaimed conductor brings music education to neighborhood kids, and other selections
Acclaimed conductor brings music education to neighborhood kids Twin Cities Planet - Mckenzie Martin - In 2008, Alsop founded OrchKids, an after-school…
- AmeriCorps Member Revitalizes Neighborhood
via Serve.gov | Stories of Service: Profiles in Service: AmeriCorps Member Revitalizes Neighborhood. By Fred Wong On April 21, 2009, President Obama…
- Communal gardening takes root in valley
Patches of green are sprouting up across the arid desert as Coachella Valley residents join a nationwide trend of community gardening. Following in the…
- Community comes together for library
How do you build a library in the middle of the woods? Pretty Lake Vacation Camp did it with a lot of friends, a lot of donations, and a lot of coincidence. …
- 'Connect the Dots' to showcase the best of Duluth neighborhoods
- Comprehensive Community Initiatives (7)
- Community Change: Theories, Practice, and Evidence
Edited by Karen Fulbright-Anderson and Patricia Auspos. The Aspen Institute 2006. A growing body of literature has begun to document encouraging lessons…
- Core Principles of Community Building
Excerpts from Voices From the Field II: Reflections on Comprehensive Community Change, by Anne C. Kubisch, Patricia Auspos, Prudence Brown, Robert Chaskin,…
- Introducing ThePublicProfessor.com
Friends, NeighborsForNeighbors.org, the 501c3 I run that operates neighborhood social networks that connect neighbor who live work and serve in a…
- Strengthening the Capacities and Connections of Community Residents
Highlights from Voices From the Field II: Reflections on Comprehensive Community Change, by Anne C. Kubisch, Patricia Auspos, Prudence Brown, Robert Chaskin,…
- Tapping the Power of Social Networks: Understanding the Role of Social Networks in Strengthening Families and Transforming Communities
This report presents the base from which the Casey Foundation has built its work on social networks. It compiles relevant definitions, key findings from the…
- The Community Builder’s Approach to Theory of Change
A theory of change can be a helpful tool for developing solutions to complex social problems. At its most basic, a theory of change explains how a group of…
- Voices from the Field II - Reflections on Comprehensive Community Change
Excerpts from Voices From the Field II: Reflections on Comprehensive Community Change, by Anne C. Kubisch, Patricia Auspos, Prudence Brown, Robert Chaskin,…
- Community Change: Theories, Practice, and Evidence
- Environmental Justice (5)
- "Built Environmental Justice" is the joke of the day...
Ask Richard Layman of Citizens Planning Coalition, Washington DC, who recently sent us an inspiring e-mail (we hope you don't mind us sharing this on our…
- 11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places
Thanks to Richard Layman for pointing us to PPS, and to Bill Berkowitz for recommending the book. The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit…
- Jersey retirement community turns kitchen waste into fuel
Bill Sperry didn't mind all the joking around when he told neighbors at his Morris County retirement community he was helping to convert used frying oil into…
- Local farmers reclaiming the valley's rich agricultural history
Excerpted from Growing a Revolution by Stett Holbrook in metroactive Like much of Silicon Valley, Full Circle Farm was once an orchard, but the rows…
- Majora Carter's tale of urban renewal
Majora Carter is a visionary voice in city planning who views urban renewal through an environmental lens. With her inspired ideas and fierce persistence,…
- "Built Environmental Justice" is the joke of the day...
- faith-based (2)
- News roundup: stories of community
Students 'Make a Difference' volunteering at nine homes in Saginaw Saginaw News - The three 16-year-old juniors joined about 170 students from 10 high…
- The Charter for Compassion - An Introduction
What is it? Crafted by people all over the world and drafted by a multi-fath, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders, the Charter for Compassion…
- News roundup: stories of community
- Free Libraries Online (8)
- 11 Drivers of Community Attachment - Ranked. Findings from "Soul of the Community", a Gallup/Knight study
The goal of the Knight Foundation-Gallup Soul of the Community project is to explore how community qualities influence residents' feelings about where they…
- Community Development Research at IssueLab
IssueLab archives, distributes, and promotes the research produced by nonprofits. It archives hard-to-find research from small community-based organizations…
- Compassion, Altruism, and Do-Gooding - from the Greater Good Science Center
The Greater Good Science Center is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and compassionate individuals, strong…
- Free Resources Recommended by the Community Development Exchange
Excerpted from the Community Development section of CDX's 74-page Resource Briefing, to include only those publications that are available online for free.…
- From Everyday Democracy: The basics of dialogue to change
A national leader in the field of civic participation and community change, Everyday Democracy helps people of different backgrounds and views talk and…
- Public Agenda's Center for Advances in Public Engagement
The Center for Advances in Public Engagement (CAPE), the academic arm of the public engagement group of Public Agenda, is at the forefront of efforts to…
- Reemberto Rodriguez's List of Lists
Reemberto Rodriguez, Director of the Silver Spring Regional Services Center, sent us a link to his List of Lists for Community Engagement and Neighborhood…
- The Art of Community
Excerpts from Chapter 1 of The Art of Community, by Jono Bacon. Note from the author: When I started work on The Art of Community I was really keen that it…
- 11 Drivers of Community Attachment - Ranked. Findings from "Soul of the Community", a Gallup/Knight study
- funding (1)
- Out of the Box Prize
The Community Tool Box is hosting a global prize contest for community innovations. The 2010 “Out of the Box” prize will recognize and honor promising…
- Out of the Box Prize
- Housing (4)
- From house to home
The Habitat for Humanity house under construction on Hemlock Avenue is looking more like a home. New owner Janalee Moquin and her son Orion, 13,…
- Habitat for Humanity Home Receives A Lot of Help
Transcript: Ground was broken on a new home back in May that is bringing one community together in the spirit of service. Habitat for humanity is known…
- News roundup: stories of community
Students 'Make a Difference' volunteering at nine homes in Saginaw Saginaw News - The three 16-year-old juniors joined about 170 students from 10 high…
- Residents take over mobile-home park
After four months of living in campers, motels and rentals, residents of Mountain Springs Villas Mobile Home Park in Red Lodge may be days away from moving…
- From house to home
- Ideas (8)
- 50 ways to serve in your neighborhood
<br /> <a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2044686/" mce_href="ht…
- 77 ways to build community in your neighborhood
Extracted from 150 Things You Can Do to Build Social Capital, The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement In America, an initiative of Professor Robert D. Putnam at…
- Community Tool Box: Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources
Community Tool Box is probably the most extensive (maybe even the best) Community Development resource on the planet. A public service of the Work Group for…
- Ideas for Block Activities - from Jim Diers, Steven Clift and e-democracy.org
Thanks to Ashoka Fellow and e-democracy founder Steven Clift for sending me this list, which was drafted at his request by Our Blocks friend Jim Diers, the…
- Out of the Box Prize
The Community Tool Box is hosting a global prize contest for community innovations. The 2010 “Out of the Box” prize will recognize and honor promising…
- Project Ideas for Make a Difference Day
These projects by past Make A Difference Day honorees can inspire your brainstorm sessions for ideas on how your group can use its special services to make a…
- Superbia! : 31 ways to create sustainable neighborhoods
click here for an updated version of this post: we added links to resources cited in the book Easy Steps Sponsor community dinners. Establish a…
- Superbia! : 31 ways to create sustainable neighborhoods (with links to resources)
Easy Steps Sponsor community dinners. Slow Food Community meals Establish a community newsletter, bulletin board, and community…
- 50 ways to serve in your neighborhood
- Organizing (8)
- "A Very Intense and Complex Balancing Act"
Excerpts from “A Very Intense and Complex Balancing Act” – a Reflection by Oakland Making Connections Coordinator Fred Blackwell via Site Stories. The…
- "Solutions Salon" Brings West Oakland Community Together
OAKLAND, CA, March 11, 2011 - Lyn Hikida - More than 40 people participated in a solutions-oriented community meeting hosted in West Oakland last Thursday by…
- Block parties
Sources: Block Party Guide, Oakland CA and Block Party Planning Tips from Block Party NYC. These resources include forms and other tools. For local restrictions…
- Bringing Community Leaders Together - A Step-by-Step Guide on LikeMinded
One of the huge benefits of adopting "community building" as a hobby is that from time to time, you get to volunteer to work with real organizers. Early this…
- Capacity Inventory samples
Source: Discovering Community Power: A Guide to Mobilizing Local Assets and Your Organization’s Capacity | The Habitat Exchange. A. From Greyrock Commons…
- Community Tool Box: Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources
Community Tool Box is probably the most extensive (maybe even the best) Community Development resource on the planet. A public service of the Work Group for…
- Community Voices Heard: Changing People and Public Policy through Low-Income Organizing
This is the product of a research project. Community Voices Heard: Changing People and Public Policy through Low-Income Organizing is a case study of grassroots…
- Free Resources Recommended by the Community Development Exchange
Excerpted from the Community Development section of CDX's 74-page Resource Briefing, to include only those publications that are available online for free.…
- "A Very Intense and Complex Balancing Act"
- Place-based communities (8)
- 11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places
Thanks to Richard Layman for pointing us to PPS, and to Bill Berkowitz for recommending the book. The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit…
- 50 ways to serve in your neighborhood
<br /> <a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2044686/" mce_href="ht…
- Feeling Artsy? Help Finish Myrtle’s Mural
Wanted: local painters, no artistic training required. Tomorrow the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project and the South of Navy Yards Artists will roll…
- In one Paris neighborhood, Jews and Muslims live as they did in N. Africa: together
It’s a few hours before Shabbat in the Belleville neighborhood of Paris, and a Lubavitch Chasid is helping an elderly Tunisian Jew put on tefillin in the…
- KaBOOM! - Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play
In Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play, Psychology Today columnist Peter Gray asked his readers to help him develop a proposal to build a neighborho…
- Locals Online - For hosts of neighborhood e-lists, placeblogs, and community social nets
Ashoka Fellow Steven Clift recently created the Locals Online forum on e-democracy.org, to bring together people round the world who are working to connect…
- Meals unite Claremont neighborhood
All it took to rally the neighbors was a little prime rib and an invitation. "I know how easy it is to make friends when you're a chef," Crocker said with a…
- National Night Out resources and ideas
These are some resources you can use to plan community-building activities in your neighborhood around National Night Out. The National Night Out website.…
- 11 key elements in transforming public spaces into vibrant community places
- Psychology (7)
- Community building and the pursuit of happiness
We take an interdisciplinary approach to community building at Our Blocks, and since a little science never really hurt anyone, here are some pertinent…
- Compassion, Altruism, and Do-Gooding - from the Greater Good Science Center
The Greater Good Science Center is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the scientific understanding of happy and compassionate individuals, strong…
- Daniel Goleman on compassion
Excerpts: There's a new field in brain science, social neuroscience. This studies the circuitry in two people's brains that activates while they…
- Emotional competence in public service
Listed below are competencies extracted from the Emotional Competence Framework of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. They…
- Jonathan Haidt on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives
Community builders have to bridge all sorts of divides - of race, religion, money, politics, philosophy. In this TED talk, psychologist Jonathan Haidt gives…
- KaBOOM! - Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play
In Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play, Psychology Today columnist Peter Gray asked his readers to help him develop a proposal to build a neighborho…
- Where conservatives and liberals can work together
I almost tripped over myself this morning as I listened (via the NPR app) to David Brooks talk about the communitarian tradition in the Republican party,…
- Community building and the pursuit of happiness
- Public Service (2)
- Emotional competence in public service
Listed below are competencies extracted from the Emotional Competence Framework of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. They…
- News roundup: stories of community
Students 'Make a Difference' volunteering at nine homes in Saginaw Saginaw News - The three 16-year-old juniors joined about 170 students from 10 high…
- Emotional competence in public service
- Resident Associations (8)
- Block parties
Sources: Block Party Guide, Oakland CA and Block Party Planning Tips from Block Party NYC. These resources include forms and other tools. For local restrictions…
- Meriden neighborhood associations thrive
When the Action 13 neighborhood association held a meeting Thursday to provide information for residents looking to start local block watch programs, a crowd…
- Neighborhood-based community building handbooks recommended by Jim Diers
"Few people in this country know as much about community building as Jim Diers," said Fred Kent, President of Project for Public Spaces (PPS). From 1988 to…
- Neighborly Networking: Web Sites Foster Friendship
When a small fire suddenly sparked in one wing of the high-rise, it set off the sprinkler system, which, in turn, caused damage in many units.…
- Organizer's Workbook and other resources from GINI
This easy-to-use and visually attractive guide, from the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center, is a roadmap to discovering, organizing and engaging your…
- Reflections on Community Organizing and Resident Engagement in the Rebuilding Communities Initiative
Reflections on Community Organizing and Resident Engagement in the Rebuilding Communities Initiative. Bill Traynor. Annie E. Casey Foundation. Reflect…
- Resident Leadership and Facilitation Work Book
The Resident Leadership and Facilitation Training is designed to help participants gain an understanding of the skills needed to lead successful meetings that…
- Superbia! : 31 ways to create sustainable neighborhoods
click here for an updated version of this post: we added links to resources cited in the book Easy Steps Sponsor community dinners. Establish a…
- Block parties
- Resources (8)
- 5 Rules of Community Engagement
Excerpts from From the Ground Up: Community's Role in Addressing Street Level Social Issues, by Jim Diers. This is the fourth report of the Core Challenge…
- An open letter from Bill Berkowitz of Community Tool Box Re: "Taking Action in Your Neighborhood"
I got this note from UMass Professor Emeritus Bill Berkowitz earlier this week, and with his permission have posted it here so you can share your own thoughts…
- Building the Big Society, in a big society way
The Big Society is here - at least in the sense that it's official policy. And it's been here for years, in the real action being done in thousands of…
- Community Tool Box announces partnership with Our Blocks
Very grateful to have Christina Holt and Jami Jones join the Blockheads. They do great work at the Community Tool Box, where I volunteer, and it's inspiring to…
- Community Tool Box: Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources
Community Tool Box is probably the most extensive (maybe even the best) Community Development resource on the planet. A public service of the Work Group for…
- Free Resources Recommended by the Community Development Exchange
Excerpted from the Community Development section of CDX's 74-page Resource Briefing, to include only those publications that are available online for free.…
- How to be an urban change agent - Favorite guides of Shareable readers
by Kelly McCartney, reposted from How to Be an Urban Change Agent, Shareable Style, published 05.18.11 by Shareable Subscribe to Kelly's blog, thekelword,…
- Julian Dobson on "Out of the Ordinary" by David Robinson of Community Links
Last week I was in a conference room in the heart of London listening to some of our leading thinkers discussing the ‘enabling state’ – the formula,…
- Community Tool Box (1)
- Out of the Box Prize
The Community Tool Box is hosting a global prize contest for community innovations. The 2010 “Out of the Box” prize will recognize and honor promising…
- Out of the Box Prize
- 5 Rules of Community Engagement
- Safety (8)
- Block parties
Sources: Block Party Guide, Oakland CA and Block Party Planning Tips from Block Party NYC. These resources include forms and other tools. For local restrictions…
- Citizens propose anti-crime measures
The president of the Tallahassee chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, The Rev. Joseph T. Wright, sent four community officials a list…
- Community Policing – Theory & Practice
from Community Change: Theories, Practice, and Evidence (pdf). Amie M. Schuck and Dennis P. Rosenbaum. Edited by Karen Fulbright-Anderson and Patricia…
- Community safety team members are looking out for criminals
They have no badges, no guns, and no arrest powers. But what they lack in law enforcement authority, they make up for in knowledge of their…
- Facts on Community Safety
The most effective way to create a safe community is by having community members, property managers and outside partners join together to plan and implement a…
- Improve the Community, Deter the Criminal
Crime is a serious and costly social problem that touches every neighborhood in this country. The knowledge base for developing effective neighborhood crime…
- Meals unite Claremont neighborhood
All it took to rally the neighbors was a little prime rib and an invitation. "I know how easy it is to make friends when you're a chef," Crocker said with a…
- Meriden neighborhood associations thrive
When the Action 13 neighborhood association held a meeting Thursday to provide information for residents looking to start local block watch programs, a crowd…
- Block parties