This is a list compiled by Professor Dick Schoech of the School of Social Work, University of Texas Arlington. He received these suggestions from members of COMM-ORG and ACOSA. Ten of these videos are available on YouTube, and I’ve organized them into this a playlist, which you can play (in the order listed) by clicking [...]

City residents take part in a pilot project to live longer, better lives TwinCities.com – Could Albert Lea be a new Blue Zone? For the past 10 months, the southern Minnesota town has tried to adopt the lifestyle habits of such places as Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; and Icaria, Greece, dubbed ‘Blue Zones’ because residents [...]

In Empowering Neighborhoods and Restoring Play, Psychology Today columnist Peter Gray asked his readers to help him develop a proposal to build a neighborhood play and learning center “that could serve as a model that communities everywhere might emulate”. I said I’d help, and after putting in a few hours, recommended that he check out [...]

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 asks that we practice the Golden Rule: to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. It reminds the faithful (and the faithless, like me) that founders [...]

Excerpts from TED Talk by Karen Armstrong: What I’ve found, across the board, is that religion is about behaving differently. Instead of deciding whether or not you believe in God, first you have to do something. You behave in a committed way, and then you begin to understand the truths of religion. And religious doctrines [...]

We’re collecting educational and inspirational videos about civic engagement, service, and community; please comment below if you have any to recommend. Thanks! Watch Our Blocks on the YouTubes. Changing the Odds Conference 2009 (video highlights) prev123next TitleChanging the Odds Conference 2009 (video highlights) Runtime3:40 TitleGetting back to Government Is Us Runtime5:50 TitleJim Diers Part 1 [...]

Earlier in September, two thieves stole all the money of a 94-year-old Loxley woman. She had saved the money to paint her home. Now some Good Samaritans have come to her rescue. The house used to be a dingy gray color, but not anymore. People in the community came together over the weekend to repaint the outside [...]

Lessons learned: (a) do something fun, (b) 2 people with a vision + 20 trained professionals + 800 volunteers = 20,000 people dancing, (c) Facebook and Twitter do serve some useful social function after all.

Majora Carter is a visionary voice in city planning who views urban renewal through an environmental lens. With her inspired ideas and fierce persistence, Carter managed to bring the South Bronx its first open-waterfront park in 60 years, Hunts Point Riverside Park. Excerpts: Why is this story important?  Because from a planning perspective, economic degradation  [...]

Community builders have to bridge all sorts of divides – of race, religion, money, politics, philosophy. In this TED talk, psychologist Jonathan Haidt gives an overview of how — and why — we evolved to be moral. By understanding more about our moral roots, his hope is that we can learn to be civil and [...]