Empowering the Neighborhood

I loved Mr. Rogers when I was little. He showed us how to do crafts, took us on tours of local factories, and showed us a pretty cool imaginary land accessed by trolley. Only now that I am much older, do I realize all the really good messaging that was included in the show (though I am sure not all of it was intentional). Not only did he talk kids through subjects like divorce and family members dying, but he walked around his neighborhood, getting to know it and the people who lived there (let's not forget Mr. McFeely, the mailman). To me, the show was conveying the importance of the neighborhood as a solid community unit.

In Roseland's chapter on governance, he discusses how neighborhood associations can be "very successful at promoting leadership, responsibility, and collaboration among community members." By forming an association, people are empowered to take action to solve problems quite literally in their own backyards. The associations function as miniature units of governance, bringing neighbors together, giving them experience with civic participation. Roseland also says that members of the association "can address all areas of local concern, whether they concern social, educational, economic, land, environmental or cultural dimensions of the community." The association does not have to be purely homeowners or even just residents; it should involve all members of the neighborhood including business owners.

Bloomington

I guess it should come as no surprise that Bloomington has a thriving scene of neighborhood associations. (This city is really on top of that kind of stuff.) Many of the 49 neighborhood

associations have their own websites, such as Elm Heights. The city of Bloomington lists the associations on its website as part of its HAND (Housing and Neighborhood Development) program. The HAND program provides the neighborhood associations of Bloomington with "tools and resources for planning and development that reflect their individual needs and to facilitate communication between neighborhoods and City Departments." Neighborhood maps on the website only residents to know which association covers each area. The program also provides grants to the associations for neighborhood projects.

Seattle

Since the plan is to move to Seattle next year, I thought I'd check out what kind of neighborhood associations are over there. Again, no surprise, Seattle has a very robust program. 264 associations give people a voice and the ability to improve their community. Like in Bloomington, the city of Seattle has a program to support the associations, The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Their mission is to engage residents in civic participation and empower them to make positive contributions to their communities. They also strive to involve commonly

underrepresented groups including ethnic groups and immigrants. Their programs include everything from dealing with pet loss to social justice. The coolest project is the P-Patch project which is a network of community gardens throughout Seattle. The gardens serve to improve the appearance of neighborhoods, increase involvement and interest in the community, and provide food.

Ostrom's View

I have heard quite a bit about Elinor Ostrom while at SPEA, but I was actually surprised to have her name come up when I Googled "neighborhood governance." I didn't realize that her theory challenges the famous tragedy of the commons, saying that common pool resources can be maintained sustainable by those who depend on them. This theory can apply to neighborhoods. The residents of a neighborhood feel a sense of collective ownership. Ostrom maintains that self-governance of a neighborhood will not only be effective but is more likely to be successful than a top-down approach by a city government. So basically, a Nobel prize winner is telling us that neighborhood associations are the way to go.

Three Sustainability Events

I didn't realize until this past week that we had to go to three sustainability events, so I hammered three of them out quickly so I can scratch it off of my list. Fortunately, both SPEA and the Bloomington community offer ample opportunities to attend sustainability-themed events.

LEED Talk

November 9

I went to a talk about LEED Certification and saw a few other members of our class there. The two speakers talked about the general aspects of USGBC, LEED Certification, and becoming a LEED Green Associate. I learned that LEED considers site planning (which includes the building relationship to the other buildings around it), indoor environmental quality (which includes things like what cleaners are used), material use, energy, and water management.

I was surprised to find out that many buildings that get LEED certified are already existing buildings, and that LEED addresses the complete lifecycle of a building. The steps to LEED certification are 1) Register the project, 2) Track progress and document achievement, 3) Apply for certification. I was surprised to hear that only about 20% of registered projects get certified.

Another things that I wasn't aware of is that you can get multiple certifications for one building. For example, the LEED headquarters are in the Empire State Building which is Gold Certified (impressive!), but the headquarters themselves are Platinum Certified. Another thing I was pleased to learn is that the local chapter of LEED is going to be partnering with Habitat for Humanity.

The talk was informational and I am bummed that I can't take the class next semester. A member of SDA said that she might be writing a grant to purchase the study materials for the exam so there is a possibility that I would have the opportunity to study for the exam over the summer (if I haven't gotten a job yet). I think that being a LEED Green Associate would be a great boost for my resume and would hopefully come in handy in my future career.

Bloomington Handmade Market

November 12

This event and the next event are events that I would have liked to go to anyway, and it happened to work out that they incorporate many elements of sustainability. The Bloomington Handmade Market was located in the Bloomington Convention Center. The location alone was pretty cool as it is a renovated old building (I believe it used to be a car factory), and it is great that Bloomington has a space to host these type of events.

I went to the event since purchasing items made my local artisans prevents carbon emissions from shipped products and it supports the local community and economy. I also found, however, that there were more sustainable elements present. The majority of artists sold items that creatively recycled old materials. There was plenty of jewelry made out of watches that no longer functioned or the keys of old typewriters. Clothing was made of clothes picked up at a local Goodwill or thrift shop and then redesigned to make something new. Since "handmade" doesn't necessarily mean environmentally-friendly, I was pleased with all the recycling. I also saw several people I know there, so there was an added social element.

Cider Fest

November 12

After the Bloomington Handmade Market, I headed to Cider Fest. I had never been to the Community Orchard before so I was looking forward to walking around and checking it out. When I arrived, I was sad to hear that they were already out of cider and food, but at the same time I was happy about the unexpected turnout. Kids bobbed for apples and could get their faces painted. Local musicians set the mood. I walked around the orchard and was very impressed by the variety of fruits that will be growing there in the future. I got a demonstration of the cider press, and was actually surprised to find out that apple cider is purely the liquid from crushed apples, nothing else added. It makes me like apple cider even more. Before I had arrived it seems that there was a display of foods made with local ingredients. It was very cool to see the community come together in this way, and, of course, to see the orchard itself, one of Bloomington's finest examples of sustainability. I had a good time and I did end up getting a bit of cider after all!

Project Green My Wedding: Location, Food, Decorations, Transportation, and Accommodations, oh my!

This is my second to last blog post about my personal project so I am throwing in all the remaining categories I want to talk about so that I can focus on my reflection on the project in my last blog.

Location

Location is one of the hardest choices you have to make while planning a wedding. Especially when you are doing a green wedding. Add to that the fact that I am not there is person to check places out, and you can imagine that this one was a tough one for me.

Being a girl with a major case of biophilia, I have always known that I wanted to get married outside. I am a forest or natural, open field kind of a person, but after doing quite a bit of research on green weddings, I realized that the foot traffic of over 100 people is probably not what is best for a natural space. After extensive research, I have decided to have my wedding at the Green Bay Botanical Garden in Green Bay, WI. It is a bit more manicured than I would have preferred, but it is set up to accommodate weddings with little impact to the garden, and Cory and I can still stroll in the wooded area (in the first picture) to do photos which is still not completely natural but it will have to do.

So what is green about holding my wedding here? There are many things! First of all, holding your wedding ceremony outside is probably the best choice you can make to green it. We will not need artificial lights or temperature control or decorations, because it will all be provided by nature! We decided to get married in September, because that is a not-too-hot, not-too-cold time of year in Wisconsin and everyone should be pretty comfortable. That is, of course, unless it rains. I will be devastated if it rains. (I imagine a scenario where I am irrationally declaring that we are postponing the wedding on account of rain.) The best I can do to prepare for rain is to rent a giant tent to have at the ready, but it will ruin the whole effect. I guess it is a gamble it will have to take.

Another thing I love about the wedding site at the garden (pictured in the black and white photo above) is that is has paths up the side. We will have the ceremony in front of the dome in the way back and have the guests seated in the grassy area. Breaking the normal tradition of being walked up the middle aisle to meet the groom at the front, Cory and I are going to enter at the same time on opposite sides of the oval garden. We will each walk up the path on the sides and meet in the middle in front of the dome. I guess you could say it is my way to involve the social equity aspect of sustainability in my wedding.

Another big reason I chose this location for my ceremony is that we can do the wedding photos and the reception all at the same place. Minimizing travel makes it more green. Guests can wander the gardens (complete with a children's play area) while we do photos and then move to the reception hall on site. It has big windows, so I hope to utilize the natural light as long as possible and with it being September, we hopefully will not have to run air conditioning or heat and can leave doors and windows open to let in the fresh air.

Other options for locations:

• hold your ceremony at a local park
• hold your reception a green restaurant (a member of the Green Restaurant Association or certified by a local certification program)
• hold your ceremony and/or reception at a local art gallery, museum, or library
• hold your ceremony and/or reception at a LEED certified resort or hotel
• have you wedding coincide with a local festival and skip the reception to party with your guests along with the community

Food

Since I will be having my reception at the garden, I will have to hire a caterer to bring food in that was cooked offsite. I was disappointed to find that, at least according to my internet search, there are no local caterers that have a green mission. I did however find a Green Bay caterer called The Runaway Spoon that mentions they like to use local foods. I hope to have a conversation with them to encourage them to use as much local and/or certified food as possible. I would like to go a non-traditional route and have a salad, pizza, and pasta buffet. I will encourage guests to only take as much food as they will eat, and then I will donate the remaining food to a local homeless shelter. The same caterer also makes cakes, so I can have everything come from the same place.

I also want to make sure that the caterer will use reusable dishes, utensils, and glasses. For drinks, I would like to serve Hinterland Beer, a local beer crafted right in Green Bay, and wine from Captain's Walk Winery, also handcrafted in Green Bay. Although I prefer that the drinks are served in reusable cups, I understand that isn't always feasible, so I will request that the cups be made of recycled materials and that they are collected and recycled after the reception.

Other options for food:

• have a early ceremony and then serve breakfast or lunch instead of the traditional dinner, that way the meal can be lighter and require fewer ingredients
• have the reception a a green restaurant that serves local foods, and utilizes composting and recycling
• serve vegetarian food since raising livestock has a much greater impact on the environment than agriculture
• make the food yourself to save money and to ensure the sources of ingredients, though this is really only feasible for a small reception (you can also make the beer and wine if you are super adventurous, but plan ahead for it)

Decorations

Like I said earlier, a big advantage of having a wedding in a garden is that I don't have to decorate the ceremony site. In the reception hall, however, I will do some decorating. Since my theme is family tree, I would like to gather tree branches and hang family photos from them. In September, the leaves will be changing and falling in Wisconsin. I will gather a bunch of them up and scatter them on the tables. It will go great with the theme, add a splash of color, and it's green! For the card box, I plan to get an old birdcage from an antique store.

For the flowers (bouquets and boutonnieres), it is important that

they come from a local source and that they are in season. I found out during my research, that most flowers sold by flower shops in the US come from South America. Not only is that a lot of carbon emissions to get here, but the flower industry is the most pesticide laden in agriculture. Since the flowers are not consumed, they do not have the same pesticide regulations as food products. The South American communities that farm the flowers suffer the consequences from the pesticides and the about 60% of women cultivating and cutting the flowers suffer adverse health effects including miscarriages and infertility. My plan is to work with a local grower (I will track one down at the farmer's market), and put together local, seasonal, organic flowers. For September in Wisconsin, it will be flowers like sunflowers, zinnias, and chrysanthemums. The bridesmaids' bouquets can double for decorations at the reception.

Other options for decorations:

• decorate the space with fruits and vegetables and give them to guests to take home after the wedding
• use candles made from natural soy, vegetable-based wax, or natural beeswax
• decorate the space with vintage items from an antique store or from a rental business like re:find Joy right here in Bloomington
• avoid any disposable decorations!

Transportation

The Green Bay Botanical Garden is about 45 minutes from my home city. To reduce the amount of carbon emissions, I will encourage guests to carpool. On my wedding website, I will set up a carpooling section so people can say how much room they will have in their cars for more people. I will borrow two minivans from family, one for me and my bridesmaids, and another for Cory and his groomsmen. The carpooling is especially important for family members that will be driving up from Tennessee.

Other options for transportation:

• take public transportation to the wedding
• rent a bus to take the bridal party or guests to the wedding

Accommodations

Most of my guests will be able to return home after the wedding, but out-of-town guests will need a place to stay. I will ask friends and family to take in as many guests as possible for a couple of nights. (And then they can all carpool together.) For any extra guests, I used the site www.istaygreen.org to determine that Hotel Sierra is the most eco-friendly hotel option in Green Bay. The hotel is also close to the Green Bay Botanical Garden so there will be minimal carbon emissions if everyone carpools to the wedding.

Other options for accommodation:

• tell your guests where they can go camping nearby
• rent an apartment or house to fit in as many guests as possible

The Third Place

Ray Oldenburg coined the term "the third place" in the 1991 release of his book, The Great Good Place. Oldenburg stated that our first place is our home, our second place is our work, and then there needs to be a third place where we can gather with other members of our community. This place should be neutral, free from pressure to purchase something, within walking distance, and equally available to all members of the community despite demographics. When I think about the third place, I think about television sitcoms. They usually have three types of sets: the homes of the characters, the workplaces of the characters, and then that third place where they always hang out and somehow no one else ever takes their spot. There have even been shows about the third place itself (think "Cheers").

In this chapter Roseland talks about creating a community. If people go to work and come home, drive into their attached garage and spend the evening indoors or in a fenced in backyard, there is a good chance they will never get to know the people on the other side of that fence. Human beings as a species are not meant to be so isolated. We rely on social structure for the benefits and safety it brings us. Roseland says that neighborhoods should be designed with physical characteristics that encourage "an atmosphere of peace, security, and pride among residents." Neighbors who socialize with each other can create an informal social system where people help each other with child care, house repairs, and generally looking out for each other. Residents in social neighborhoods are far more likely to report suspicious activity at a neighbor's house.

To facilitate this type of community or "sense of place" as Roseland calls it, every neighborhood needs a third place within walking distance. Often these take the form of a park, a book store, or a coffee shop when there is ample seating and no expectation that something will be purchased (although something often is). Friends can meet to hang out, informal business meetings can take place, or strangers can get to know each other. Now that pretty much everybody and their grandma owns a laptop, netbook, or iPad, retail and food establishments are installing wifi to draw more people in. This trend coincides with the growing number of people who work from home or "telecommute." Places like cafes are seeing many people come in to do work because people have the tendency to want to be around other people.

Many developers and entrepreneurs have set about to create that third place for neighborhoods. One idea is to convert a mall that is failing or has been abandoned. We discussed in class how it is not uncommon for malls to die for one reason or another and then there sits prime real estate and a whole lot of unused space. Developers may rethink the space to make it a place where people go to hang out and create community. However, I have personally witnessed that this isn't always successful if not done just right.

My hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin boasts that it was the first place in the United States

to have a covered mall. Located in a fairly prominent spot, the Valley Fair Mall was still alive and kicking when I was a kid, but somewhere along the line it died. Having the third place idea in mind, developers purchased the mall and planned to turn it into a hang out spot for teenagers. The plans included a skate park, lounge areas, clothing stores, and keeping the existing arcade and movie theater. The city thought this was a great idea. It would give something for teenagers to do and keep them out of trouble. Unfortunately, the developers could never get the funding to go through with the plan and the mall was bulldozed and a grocery store was built in its place.

In the city where I did my undergrad, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, I got much more up close and personal with a dying mall. I worked at a children's museum located in their downtown mall and in the two years I was there, I watched store after store shut down or move out. But something pretty awesome happened as more space became available, community activities began moving in. Old stores were converted into meeting spaces for local groups such as the model train enthusiasts. Community concerts were hosted in the main spaces, fund raisers, the prom, you name it. Unfortunately for this mall too, the money just wasn't there. I sadly read an article during the research of this blog. The city of Stevens Point, wanting to redevelop the site for other purposes, declared the mall condemned for economic reasons and took ownership of the property. A court case is still pending, but it looks like my beloved CenterPoint Marketplace is getting bulldozed.

The Third Place Commons

There is, however, an excellent example of using a redeveloped mall as a third place working out really well. Developer Ron Sher, inspired by Oldenburg's book, purchased a failing and crime ridden mall in Bellevue, Washington and turned it into The Third Place Commons. It is described as basically being an indoor town square. Unlike the projects I have seen fail, Sher made his project a success by creating a partnership involving the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Like a regular mall, there are businesses such as bookstores, cafes, and restaurants with "sidewalk seating." But this place also has a library branch, a children's art center, a stage for performances, a giant chess board, meeting rooms, and plenty of lounge space. The fast food chains in the food court have been replaced with local establishments representing many ethnicities. Outside, the once boring expanse of parking lot now incorporates trees and sculptures by local artists. Bellevue residents have really taken to the new space, and a greater sense of community has been developed. In addition, a building was saved from abandonment.

These types of spaces are necessary for a healthy and enjoyable community. They can happen in any type of city, town, village or rural area and can vary greatly in size and primary purpose. Perhaps, through the development of designated community spaces, we can finally break down this American self-imposed isolation and need for a privacy bubble. Everyone, get to know your neighbors!