Bridging to a New Home

A bridge, depending on context, can describe many things. It describes a structure that spans a gap, a connection between two sides of a debate, or a common connection between people. Regardless, it always symbolizes a positive relationship.

The bridge pictured is the Royal Gorge Bridge in Fremont County, Colorado. Completed in 1929, it was the highest suspension bridge in the world with a deck height of 955 feet above the Arkansas River. It physically demonstrates many of the definitions outlined earlier. It connects two points, it brought people together to work on a common effort, and it exemplifies courage and confidence in its boldness.

For me, it symbolizes a creative solution designed to achieve all three aspects identified: planning (people), design (process), and implementation (place).

Building bridges is the act of crossing gaps to achieve a destination. Sometimes, that destination is a goal you set for oneself in life. Goals and inspirations are motivators drawing one forward. When using the phrase, “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” one is proclaiming that issues and obstacles in one’s future will not overcome one’s efforts and talents.

Confidence and courage are traits we all have. Some are displayed in overt and admirable ways; some are internal motivations, privately steering one’s efforts and ambitions. Recently, p3 communities, inc. moved from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains. This relocation is a bridge I have come to cross, both literally and figuratively, and demonstrates my confidence and courage in building a new practice, and I know this move will not overcome my efforts and talents!

p3 is elated to call Cañon City, Colorado and Fremont County, home. I will continue to build healthy, sustainable, and prosperous communities both in the architectural projects I develop, and in the community development exercises I facilitate. I look forward to the many bonding and bridging relationships I will develop. I know that my past twenty-five years of service to people and their communities will provide me twenty-five more years of service in my new home.

I’ll see you on the other side!

Finding the Wind at Your Back

by Lester Limón Cultural Capital Human Capital Natural Capital Social Capital Uncategorized

In bicycle racing, the rule is conservation of energy, You spend your time looking for wind shadows among the peloton while your strategy, whether team or individual, plays out along the miles of road ahead and underneath.

I have spent most of my time playing both the role of windbreaker and sufferer. Making large holes in the wind where teammates could plan their win is both frustrating and noble for me. I like the idea that I’m strong enough and fit enough to pull an armada of carbon technology behind me for miles. I also like the notion that suffering was my job, and I played the role selflessly for the betterment of the team. I don’t know what that says about me specifically, but I’m sure there’re others who feel similarly. We enjoy the work and we do it for little recognition. We like being appreciated, and certainly we like winning! But the work is the focus. However, race day is a single event.

Training for race day takes weeks of physical and mental preparation on roads lonely and alone, devoid of the camaraderie of the peloton. Pros train together in temperate climates in exotic locations, and are supported by mechanics, nutritionists, and managers. Privateers have only their tool bags and the myriad bars and gels they carry in jersey pockets.

Training using miles of endless tarmac and gravel give you the opportunity to hone what you love about the suffering and perseverance. It also gives you the opportunity to read the landscape surrounding you, building the encyclopedia of knowledge of the wind; how it gusts and where you can both hide from it and use it to your advantage.

The best time spent in the cockpit of a bicycle is that sweet spot where your speed matches the wind at your back. You suddenly hear the world around you. The click of the shifter and the subtle shift of the derailleur, the soothing rhythmic rotation of pedals, cranks, and shoes. All the mechanization that happens on every ride is suddenly part of your senses. You suddenly hear the sound of rubber tires on pavement or the crunching of gravel beneath mountain bike tires. Listening to the world around you is truly bliss. It is the closet thing to weightlessness I can imagine on Earth.

Finding that sweet spot in daily life is a quest we all pursue. When do you find those moments? Do you recognize them when they appear? And do you enjoy and take advantage of the moment?

Strategic planning will win races, both in business and life. Training and hard effort will prepare us for the work it takes to be successful, whether we win individually or as a team member. But enjoying those moments that are solely experiential are the cream of life. Skim it off every chance you get.

Bicycling Supports Community Resiliency

by Lester Limón Built Capital Financial Capital Human Capital Social Capital

In the Winter 2015 edition of American Bicyclist magazine, a publication of the League of American Bicyclists, an interview with Harriet Tregoning, Director of the Office of Economic Resilience, says linking housing development and bicycling infrastructure creates community resilience. She makes three salient points: bicycling as a transportation alternative can be a lifelong activity, bicycle infrastructure makes neighborhoods more attractive for residents, and bicycling helps create car-light households. How do these three points create community economic resilience?

The first consideration is creating a community of lifelong exercisers. The prevalence of obesity in all adults over age 20 in 2012 was 34.9% (2013, Center of Disease Control). That number gets higher each year. A healthy workforce is a resilient workforce. Without a healthy labor pool, business and industry lose money. By becoming more bicycle friendly, communities can build economic sustainability through the creation of a healthy workforce.

Secondly, studies continue to show that choices in transportation opportunities for neighborhoods make them more valuable to people, when choosing where to live. In fact, a report published on January 29, 2015 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) claims that commuting in America is behind us. While the reasons for this decline are subject to debate, the statistics show a decline by demographics, and will continue to show a decline for the next 20 years. The resiliency created here is the stability of housing in communities nationwide. Economic stability is only partly created by providing opportunities for stable, equitable employment; it’s equally about providing good quality, equitable, and affordable housing opportunities for a healthy workforce. Making housing opportunities attractive in your community makes your community economically sustainable.

And finally, by creating an opportunity for car-light (or in some cases, no-car) households, we reduce the monthly cost of transportation for families. More financial capital is available for use in the community economy. Families can also afford to save money, making the individual family unit more resilient in the face of personal losses and gains.

Community resiliency should always be the goal of development efforts and strategies. And as said by Megan Odett, founder of Kidical Mass DC, “Don’t just settle for safe routes to school – build safe routes to everywhere” (2015, American Bicyclist). Well said, Megan. Well said.

Go ride your bike (and take the kids)!

Entrepreneurial Skills

by Lester Limón Financial Capital Human Capital Social Capital

Lichtenstein and Lyon (2001), working with their own research and that of Gerber (1995), developed four essential skills for the entrepreneur, of both the social and business variety. They are:

Technical Skills: ability to perform the key operations of that business;
Managerial Skills: ability to organize and efficiently manage the operations;
Entrepreneurial skills: ability to identify market opportunities and create solutions that capture those opportunities; and
Personal maturity: self-awareness, willingness, and ability to accept responsibility, emotional development, and creative ability.

The first three in this set are the most obvious, and I imagine anyone attempting an entrepreneurial enterprise would focus on these continually throughout their careers. These skills are also the ones most likely to be learned either through education, experience, or mentorship. But what about the fourth? How many entrepreneurs, experienced or inexperienced, hone the skills involved with personal maturity? Entrepreneurs aren’t only start-ups and first time business owners. They are independent business people who are engaged in their communities and regions, pursuing all manner of opportunities for the sake of wealth generation, creativity, personal fulfillment, and a desire to fill a void in the marketplace. It is just as important to hone the fourth as this is the basis for reputation and reputation is just as important in the business community as it is in the social community. Each of these capitals are cornerstones to a solid entrepreneurial foundation.

Be a well-rounded and continually trained and educated entrepreneur and encourage others to do the same. It builds the stability, sustainability, and prosperity of your community!

References

Lyons, T., & Wyckoff, B. (2014). Facilitating community wealth building: Understanding the roles played and capacities needed by coordinating institutions. Journal of the Community Development Society, 45(5), 443-457.

Attributions

Photo by Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, NoDerivs 2.0 Generic, No alterations.

Bicycling in Rural Communities

by Lester Limón Built Capital Cultural Capital Human Capital Social Capital

Many larger communities are seeing the benefits that bicycling can have on health and well-being, their economy, and their image. Some are beginning to incorporate this activity as a mission objective in their comprehensive plans, while others are moving forward actively with bicycle-specific master plans. These plans call for improved infrastructure, ordinances, education, and advocacy. Some invent the process on their own and some use guidance from the League of American Bicyclists. Whatever process they choose, it has to be right for their own community because not all communities are the same.

How should smaller, rural communities approach bicycling and planning? Some recognize bicycles as traffic and some create specific infrastructure to support the activity. Whether for recreation, commuting or sports, bicycling should be available for all ages and ability levels. I believe that increased ridership should be the overall goal and with increased ridership comes increased responsibility for all users of public ways.

Most rural communities have neither the budgets nor the expertise to install bicycle specific infrastructure, but there are ways every community can plan to make bicycling a safe, enjoyable experience for their citizens. Designating safe routes to schools, for example, is a great way to provide safe bicycle routes for our younger members to use on a daily basis. Providing racks and areas for bicycle parking in retail and governmental areas to promote the idea of bicycling as a form of transportation. Encouraging local business and industry to make accommodations for bicycling employees through the installation of lockers, changing rooms, secure bicycle storage and shower facilities is a great way to increase ridership. But mostly, increasing the awareness and education of safety among all road users is paramount to preserving the small-town safe activity of bicycling!

To find out more about how to promote bicycling in your hometown, visit the League of American Bicyclists for ideas, and considering joining the other 1,000,000 people who support bicycling advocacy at People for Bikes.

Photo credit: MoBikeFed (The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation), from the Flickr Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic. No alterations to the original photograph.

Plains, Kansas and Kanstarter

by Lester Limón Built Capital Financial Capital Human Capital Social Capital Uncategorized

Plains, Kansas isn’t a town you read about in the New York Times very often. In fact, I’d be surprised to find it mentioned anywhere in the newspaper’s 163 year history. But yesterday was the exception. This rural community in southwest Kansas is striving to reconnect fresh, healthy food with their residents. The article mentions other critical bits of infrastructure needed to not only keep a community alive and vital, but give it a sense of longevity and identity. Those listed were a post office, library, and school. Others, I assert, are a medical clinic or hospital, church, police/fire services, and a gas station. Typically, in rural communities, a convenience store/gas station fills the void for food items, but at the risk of lower quality and less fresh options, and the overall health of the community suffers as a result. Plains is making the effort to preserve the community by making choices that are move than just economic development, but will provide sustainability in the future.

Another wonderful revelation in the article was the Kanstarter.com crowd funding program recently started by Marci Penner and Phil Anderson of Newton, Kansas. Granted money by the Kansas Department of Commerce to facilitate the start of the program, these two people, who are themselves leaders in their own community, are using a popular form of entrepreneurial online funding but scaled to the city level. What a wonderful opportunity for rural communities and community development activities! Good job!

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/us/a-kansas-town-rallies-for-a-lifeline-in-supermarket-form.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

Community Capacity

by Lester Limón Social Capital

Capacity is generally defined as “the ability to do something: a mental, emotional, or physical ability (2014).” Therefore, to build community capacity is to empower it with the education, motivation, and tools to tackle issues and opportunities with equal confidence. It can be further defined by its propensity to generate new skills over time either by building on past successes, or learning from successful failures. Through these exercises, social networks of bonding and bridging social capital are increased, strengthening the fabric of the community.

Bhattacharya (2004) defined community development as a process that yields solidarity and agency through efforts of self-help, felt needs, and participation. Solidarity is the feeling people have when they belong to something larger than themselves. Agency is the freedom to direct one’s own course of action at any scale, whether neighborhood, or community. When a community follows a directed vision rather than self-help method, neither solidarity nor agency has been generated. Impartially facilitated self-help methods keep communities engaged longer and in a more determined manner. The outcomes are more personal, tailored to fit the community, flexible in their design, and resilient.

“Visioning is an asset-based approach to community development (Green & Haines, 2012).”

The first step in any community change project is to have a collaborative, collective vision as the outcome of the effort. As has been documented by Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone, traditional frameworks of community civic engagement have declined precipitously in the past thirty years leaving the newest generation of community stakeholders and professionals without a formal network of engagement, leaving them somewhat unable to tackle even the smallest community change projects. Trends toward solely technical assistance forms of planning and community development have since prevailed, taking power from the citizenry and producing sanitary, logic-based plans. A different guide and organizational framework gives the newest civic generations a roadmap for community change.

“The visioning process begins with identifying an overall community vision and then develops visions in strategic areas (Green & Haines, 2012).”

By using the standardized self-help framework p3 has developed for communities and facilitators to use for envisioning their future, communities are better able to resolve their own issues and implement their own strategies achieving any goal.

The highest and best result of any community development effort, whether through self-help, technical assistance, or a collaborative mix of the two, is to build community capacity; this, I assert, is largely accomplished by focusing on the community’s health, sustainability, and prosperity. By focusing on self-help and capacity, a community is more resilient; it is more capable of overcoming shock.

References

(2014). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. doi:www.merriam-webster.com

Bhattacharya, J. (2004). Theorizing community development. Journal of the Community Development Journal 34(2) pp. 5-34, doi: 10.1080/15575330409490110.

Green, G. P., & Haines, A. (2012). Asset building & community development. (3 ed., p. inclusive). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Putnam RD. Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of american community. (1 ed., p. inclusive). New York: Simon & Schuster; 2000.

Attributions

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, used under the Creative Commons license. No changes were made to the original photo.

Circle C Store: star on the rural map.

by Lester Limón Social Capital

Local food initiatives, community gardens and farmer’s markets are buzzwords at the national level in discussions around healthy food strategies in urban environments. Less known is a phenomenon known as “food deserts.” These are areas where citizens must travel distances greater than what is comfortable to secure healthy, fresh food. Very small, rural communities are most vulnerable. The town grocery, a high-overhead business, closes as the community declines in population and business. Now in a food desert, low-income residents can’t easily afford travel expenses, and older populations may be physically unable to regularly travel.

Enter Cody, Nebraska. The Rural Grocery Initiative (http://www.ruralgrocery.org) at Kansas State University invited members of the Cody Circle C store to share their story of determination and success at the regional grocery summit in Manhattan, Kan., the summer of 2013.

Located at the north central border on US Highway 20, Cody is a community of 155 people with a median age of 45. In 2009, the students of Cody-Kilgore school decided to work toward a community grocery store, a vital need in their rural food desert. After many years of work and diligence, and after the construction of a 3,000-square foot, straw bale-constructed building, they took delivery of their first inventory at 6:45 a.m. on March 22, 2013.

Perseverance by stakeholders and community champions makes all things possible. Sustainability is less about the age of rallying participants and more about the cohesive drive of a community to meet critical needs. It always comes down to the work ethic of the citizens and love of one’s community. The students and citizens of Cody, Neb., didn’t set out to be a star on the White House flag, nor did they desire the spotlight at conferences; they came to fill a need in the community and enjoyed, along the way, each other’s company and camaraderie. These are the true virtues of rural community life.

Follow their progress here.

References:

Blog post by Dough McKalip, senior policy advisor for Rural Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council, titled Working Together to Bring Healthy Foods to Communities in Need

http://villageofcody.com/Circle_C_Market.html

McKalip, D. (2014, March 26). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/03/26/working-together-to-bring-healthy-foods-to-communities-in-need/