When the Virtual Connection Goes Local

Welcome back!

Well I am pumped in a big way! I just met some wonderful new/old friends and my business focus just got a little sharper.  Let me explain…

For about 2 years I’ve belonged to a pretty active and engaged women’s small business networking group that has among its membership some of the most successful and recognized online business owners like Nicole Dean, Alice Seba, Leesa Barnes and owner Kelly McCausey.  The group is called Mom Masterminds and it’s a pretty unique destination on the net.

After joining this mentorship group in 2007 I learned how to take my daughter’s art business online, set up a website for my own marketing business and establish a blog–this one– for my 15-year passion about new urbanism.

Rarely does a day go by that I don’t check-in to our online discussion forum to see what questions are being asked or to ask one of my own or even just to welcome a new member.  But that’s just the business side of things.  While this group is about business, it’s also a network of women so you know we inevitably talk about “more” than business on our treasured discussion forums.

At any given time of the day someone may be feeling a little unmotivated because of family demands, someone else may have a sick child–whatever the personal need, our discussion forum has become a place to learn, unload and relax with “virtual” colleagues who in many cases have become friends.

That explains why my first experience hosting an in-person “meet-up” this past weekend in Toronto was like a meeting of old friends.  Our virtual connections went “local” when the group’s Michigan based owner Kelly McCausey with partner Lynette Chandler decided to add a local component to our online network of hundreds of women.  By encouraging local “Meet-ups” of members and non-members in cities across the U.S. and Canada we added one more great benefit to this group.

The information and resources offered through MM are targeted at new or established women entrepreneurs who really want to grow their business through best practices in Internet marketing.  In fact, one of the great treats about this recent local “Meet up” is that Kelly McCausey came in person to talk about the group and also shared her newly published book “The Complete Internet Marketing Moms Start Up Guide.”

This guide contains just about everything a new entrepreneur should know in order to plan, successfully launch and operate an Internet based business.  I feel so strongly about this book that I plan on sharing it at other venues in my own local community.  I know a lot of commuters, neighbours and frustrated professional women who would be interested in the options/choices this guide offers for those who want to work for themselves.

I learned so much from the women I met this weekend and I look forward to connecting in the short term with Leesa Barns, Imie Belanger, Lexi Rodrigo and Angela Wills

Some pictures from our meet-up:

The Community Garden Concept

Our neighborhood has homes situated on lots that are perfectly suitable for decent gardens.  That’s why I was surprised at the popularity of the community garden.

I actually can’t confidently say I knew there was one. But yesterday my son spent his second visit there with a dear friend of our family who kindly invited him to join her.  He LOVES it there.

The community garden in our neighborhood is made possible because of the generosity of a local family who have allowed access to a portion of their private property for this specific use.

The concept is really wonderful. Participants make a donation to the area’s local Food Network and contribute their time and available resources towards the maintenance of the garden and the purchase of supplies.

Relationships develop as participants meet their “plot neighbors” on visits and gradually learn more about each other. According to William a visit there is like witnessing a neighborhood busy about it’s business of socializing and working. Individuals dig about their plots, chatting about their interests and local events.

On William’s previous visit he met an older couple from England who captured his imagination with the brief glimpse of their personal history that they were kind enough to share with him.

I can’t recall if I’ve posted this before or not, but William plans to be a film maker.  His wheels are spinning about the potential story that could come from this community garden with its cast of players – from the intriguing couple from England, to the “neighbours” from Sri Lanka.

William could easily tell from the easy conversations and the sense of complete contentment on the faces of these “gardeners” that the community garden serves more than one purpose; it’s a place for growing food and for nurturing relationships that help to strengthen our larger garden – our town.

What an apt definition for new urbanism.

Supporting New Urbanism and the Question of Moving

So let’s say you live in one of those cul-de-sacs that are such a no-no in the new urbanism movement. Does that mean you have to consider moving to practice what you preach as a new urbanism convert?

Of course not. While a McMansion on a cul-de-sac doesn’t appeal to me anyhow, personally I would love to move to one of the newer new urbanism developments in my community because I love the neighborhood design, the small but stylish homes and I have friends there.

I won’t be moving though because where I live allows me to conserve energy and spend less!

I’m in one of those small, post-war homes that was thankfully built near a nature conservation area, our town’s Main St., amazing libraries and museums and excellent public transportation. Looking at all those benefits helps me to keep a level head about moving.

That’s a good thing since the temptation is always there – after all I put out the Top Ten New Urbanism Communities list every year and the research involved in creating that list has me submersed in the details and attributes of some of the most attractive and affordable new urbanism communities in all the locations we would consider moving to (both in the U.S. and Canada).

Overall I think that’s a good thing. It’s an indication that more and more builders are building quality, affordable homes that regular families like ours can afford.

So keep a level head about new urbanism. Don’t feel you have to move to embrace the ideals of this movement. If you were planning on moving anyhow, then yes this is a great time to consider your options of moving to a city or a new urbanism development that embraces the close knit community feel of traditional neighborhood designs.

But if moving isn’t on your agenda, some of the more important questions to ask are:

• Can I use public transportation more?
• Can I buy more of our food, clothing and housewares from  local vendors and producers?
• Can I lobby or work with community leaders to ensure that there are resources and infrastructures in place to support work-at-home-opportunities and attract more businesses to my town?

3-Minute Video about New Urbanism

New urbanism is one of those concepts that can be difficult to grasp. It’s a term that’s not part of our daily conversation, yet its meaning is very much a part of what most people engage in every day.

If you go to work or are looking for work that you can afford to get to every day, you’re involved in new urbanism.

If you worry about the safety of your community, activity options for you, your kids, your family, recycling and other green living initiatives – you’re thinking about new urbanism.

I just came upon the Congress of New Urbanism’s 2009 Video Award winner and that’s exactly what it is – a winning definition for “new urbanism:”

And…Action! Teens Calling the Shots

One of the things I love about our “new urban” town is the effort that community organizers put into engaging and focusing on the needs of all residents, from toddlers to seniors.

Last year I published a post about the dangers of creating age specific or segregated communities, like those 55+ communities scattered across the nation especially in Florida.  That discussion was part of a review I did of Andrew Blechman’s novel Leisureville (to listen to a discussion I had with Andrew on this topic you can listen to the New Urban Podcast).

While sometimes it can be a pain sharing a theater with giggly teenagers or maneuvering through a group of awkward teens at the mall….our “positive” interaction with them does “them” a world of good.  They learn from us and we learn from them.  That’s a good system for preparing good citizens for the future.

Of course it helps when some thought goes into engaging our teens in meaningful ways and that’s what our town has done.  We actually have a teens’ council and this weekend the teens’ council is sponsoring a 24-hour film challenge.

The challenge works like this: Interested teens including my 16 year old son, were invited to gather at our local art gallery on Friday evening to receive some resources and guidelines before setting off to create a short film in 24-hours.  Cameras had to be provided by the teens themselves (well their parents).

Since last night parents, including ourselves, have been driving groups of teens from one destination point to another (based on their scene plan).

At the 24 hr point (9 p.m. tonight) they have to hand in their finished film on VHS tape or DVD.  The really exciting thing is the winner will be announced at a ceremony the kids will be attending in our town hall tomorrow evening.  So there’ll be no long wait to find out who won (a definite sign that kids put this together).

Here we have a youth driven initiative, supported by parents (as chauffeurs and gofers) and the community as a whole to ignite and inspire our youth to do something creative and constructive.  Our local art gallery, town hall and other facilities were all made available for the teens to use for networking, getting information and for ultimately celebrating this great artistic, community based initiative.

I’ll keep you posted on the winner…

A Nation Coming of Age – The Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama

Around the country and around the world communities are buzzing with the kind of excitement that we don’t often get before a presidential inauguration.

Sure, in most instances the installation of a new president brings about some anticipation about what the new administration will do to affect your situation, but this time it’s different.

First of all, the world economic situation is so bad right now that in all honesty I don’t think anyone seriously believes that the man about to be inaugurated in a few hours will change it anytime soon.

I think instead it’s this man’s campaign mantra and the “man” himself that has us holding our breath with…hope.

Here is a man that was elected by people of all colors and even all political beliefs because of his competence and what he represented.  Sure he represents “change” from the current administration, but I think more importantly he embodies the feeling, emotions, mindset and convictions of a nation that has come of age.

Who would have thought that the U.S. with its still-fresh scars of racial inequality and violence “could” not only elect but come together as a “community” of Americans to support and embrace the installation of  a black man as its 44th president.  It is hard believe that this is all taking place within the same century that saw blacks being denied the right to vote because of the color of their skin.

I’m overjoyed at this development not just for myself and the opportunity I have to witness this in my lifetime, but more so for our children.  Our young people feel energized (I see it and I could cry).  They feel hopeful and positive about our country’s leadership and about what they can do to change and protect our world and that is the best outcome of all.

Mr. Obama has come at the right time for us as a nation and as people who share and embrace a history and the future.

Community Schools…An Old Concept Come Anew

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a conference that really left me with the feeling that this wasn’t going to be yet another conference program that I’d drop in a file.  Change is happening.  I guess it’s been a week for change in our world.

During the conference we talked about ways to make public schools in every community the center for life in the community.  We focused on how to make better use of the financial and intellectual resources we have at the local level so as to make this “ideal” a reality.

The community school concept is a historical model that came back into vogue about ten years ago I believe.  Though this model may never have left some small towns, it is a model that makes sense today on a broader sense- especially in new urban communities where “smart, multi-purpose, thinking for the benefit of people” is very vogue.

There really is no reason why a school shouldn’t serve an important, central role for the broadest cross section of the community — and I’m talking beyond its intended and often standard optional uses (e.g., facility for scouts and girl guide meetings etc.).  What about a place for seniors to gather, a fitness place for individuals on the weekend, a facility for residents to come meet and have dinner together as a large group one night during the week, etc.)?

With the national and global economy being in tatters, we’re going to be seeing more initiatives that will be based on practical and creative ideas that allow us to do more with less.  Perhaps it’s about time we dig deep for solutions for our most vulnerable public schools.

Nothing saddens me more than when I hear about all the failed levies for local schools.  When community citizens turn these revenue generating options for schools down that’s a death knell for a lot of school programs that will have a detrimental effect on the quality of education delivered to students in that community.  Of course communities that turn down levies for their local schools are usually those that need the resources for kids the most.

I guess those residents without children don’t really care about that, or they share the other popular sentiment – school board staff aren’t able to allocate and manage resources effectively so they aren’t going to direct any more dollars their way.

Wherever the blame lies, the reality is the kids pay for it.

Nothing makes a conference more enjoyable than when the focus isn’t just on talking about the problems but on finding solutions and that’s what we did yesterday.

We talked about making the school relevant to the whole community.

We’re an aging population. In my region more than 70% of residents DO NOT have children in school – and that’s a statistic that is close to a nationwide trend.  So to continue to make our schools the center of community attention and support we have to find ways to make the community feel they have some demonstrable ownership for schools (since they in fact do as taxpayers).

What we don’t want is the scary reality that we see appearing in places like Arizona and Florida (see my review of Leisureville).  Age segregation benefits no one – especially those who are aging.  Our children are the ones that will be making decisions in the future that impact our care. Why would we want to alienate them by sequestering ourselves in age restricted settings?

But self interests aside, when we all can be confident that even the most vulnerable of high-risk children are being educated adequately and compassioinately in our public schools, doesn’t that make us feel good? As much as some folks think they can continue to live in silos or in segregated havens, it never stays that way.  We are a community whether we acknowledge it or not.  That makes me smile

Show 15 – The Community Builder

What qualifies a community to be on the New Urban Mom Top Ten Communities List? A commitment to building or redeveloping neighborhoods that will nurture a real sense of community.

That’s not an easy concept to explain and that’s why we’re thrilled to have on this week’s show the builder responsible for the New Urban Mom Top Ten List community, Longleaf .

Longleaf development’s Perry Reader, is an architect and planner who was there when new urbanism took hold in the U.S. over 20 years ago. Today as President of the Florida division of Crosland he is part of a company which has as its corporate mission the development of sustainable communities that enhance urban and natural environments.

Listen in as Perry informs us on what makes his firm’s communities so beneficial for the people living there and the environment as a whole.

Show 15

New Urbanism comes to Hollywood…Florida

The town of Hollywood, Florida is just about ready to approve the construction of an “urban village” that will cost upwards of $500 million. This ought to have some impact on efforts to curb urban sprawl by keeping/attracting residents to more urbanized areas of this region.

Even though this Florida development is described as the model of the future “that will feature connected network of streets accommodating pedestrians, cars and bicycles” it still had to overcome significant concerns of county and city governments and local residents before getting to this final stage of approval.

That’s a point worth noting in order to manage some expectations. One of the reasons that new urbanism has had a slow but steady growth over the last 18 years or so is that it requires appropriate infrastructure and “communications” to ensure sustainability and community buy in.

Introducing a high density project to a neighborhood isn’t always greeted with open arms and that’s no surprise. Visions of crowded spaces and noise come to mind and no one wants that.

What we do want, however, is a cleaner environment and a way to reduce costly commutes to work. Over the years architects and community planners have come up with increasingly better designs that build on the strengths of urban living while finding ways to incorporate green space and other features that support a healthier lifestyle. Those improvements are converting more naysayers into new urban champions.

To read more about Hollywood, Florida’s newest new urban community click here.

New Urbanism and Web 2.0

It occurred to me today that the reasons why more and more people are choosing new urbanism as the kind of community they want to live in is for much the same reasons why so many people are attracted to social media and web 2.0 technology.

We are social beings. We try our best to build barriers between one another but before long we eventually break them down.

In the 1950′s we built suburbs 30 miles from where we worked on the belief that our happiness was linked to driving big cars, mall shopping and lawn care.  The “people” factor was secondary.

Today we recognize how much richer, “greener” and satisfying our communities can be without long commutes. We’re rediscovering the joy of shopping locally for food and supplies.  Working and socializing in our community is not something to fear but something that can really enhance our lives – socially and financially.

Finding ways to attract more employers to our communities is now becoming a full-time community effort as we recognize that the sustainability of our communities depends on the social and commercial mix of our neighborhoods.

Community building is at the heart of new urbanism which is why I couldn’t wait to get a copy of a new publication called Instructions from the Cook: Recipes for New Conversations.  This book by George Nemeth and Jack Ricchiuto (two individuals you can follow on Twitter) looks at how “conversations” between people can build community and eliminate the misunderstandings that can cause fragmentation.

If you haven’t joined Twitter you should. Twitter is one of those web 2.0 technologies enabling conversations between people and nurturing a great mix of commercial and social chat. It’s the “virtual water cooler” for many who work at home and others as well.  The popularity of Twitter and a number of discussion forums on the web is rooted in the fact that real, breathing people want to share their thoughts, ideas, humor and fear with other real people everyday.

We congratulate each other on the birth of children and share condolences at the loss of a loved ones.  Thousands (if not millions) of people connect in this way regularly, almost without fail.  This is, IMO, a truly awesome concept and development in our modern lives.

We’ve found a way to make “cold, unfeeling techonlogy” very touchy feely much like we’ve done with our communities.  From the ‘burbs to new ‘urbs we’re rediscovering the gift and impact of conversation outside of our protected circles and the appreciation of being in community with each other.

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