The Abundant Community

The Economy: Under New Ownership

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The deep redesign of our economy isn’t beginning in Washington, D.C. It is rooted in relationships: to the living earth and to one another. It’s about a shift from dominion to community.

A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Margaret Mead is not the only person to recognize that the way the world changes is through individual acts and the efforts of small groups of committed people. Parker Palmer has long helped us search for ways to give a life meaning and to change the world.

Harnessing and Harvesting “The Ignorant Perfection of Ordinary People”

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The first of a series on the learning, challenges and opportunities seen at Connecting4Community to shift to more citizen-centered, bottom-up ways of living and structuring our approaches to the problems we see around us.

Sensible Life ~ A Thought

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

John reminds us that relationships in a personal world are the antidote to following the siren call of progress in a tool-ruled world.

Seeing Blue

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Having to stand in line for this service or that program is one of the most powerful reinforcers of the scarcity mindset. It symbolizes helplessness, hopelessness and the constant concern that there is not enough ... and that it will run out just before it is my turn. Edd Conboy is doing something about that.

Measuring and Evaluating Community Initiatives

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Highlights from Peter's April 16 online/dial-up conversation with Tom Dewar, co-director of the Aspen Institute’s Roundtable on Community Change and long-time member of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute.

Resident-Centered Community Building: What Makes It Different?

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

"This is the first report that I have ever read that really feels 'community friendly,'" says Roque Barrios of San Diego. He's talking about the story of how local community building leaders came together to share strategies and discuss lessons learned about how to improve conditions in disadvantaged communities.

Flying Down

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

John reminds us that progress is not all that it seems.

Green Housing: In Buffalo, It's Not Just for Rich People Anymore

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Can we build sustainable housing that's affordable, too? The city of Buffalo did, and created a community jobs pipeline in the process. Here's what can happen when neighborhoods take the lead.

Why Unions Are Going Into the Co-op Business

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

From a food hub to industrial manufacturing to a commercial laundry and more, the United Steelworkers are experimenting with a new business model that invests in workers and invests in communities.

Downtown Vancouver to Get "Knee to Knee"

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Alisdair Smith shows what's possible when people get knee to knee and focus on what each has to bring and wants to do to help co-shape their neighborhood's future.

How to Use Local Assets to Make Your Community Effective

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Highlights from Peter and John's March 5 online/dial-up conversation with Mary Nelson, the founder and longtime Director of Bethel New Life, one of the nation's best neighborhood development organizations.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500

"Almost Amish" tips for supporting your local economy and building community with your neighbors.

"The Well" ~ A Symbol of Healthy Community

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The I Ching reading "The Well" is a symbol of community and offers a powerful expression of what a healthy and sustainable community could look like.

Modern Mentoring

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

In response to a neighborhood’s concern about youth problems and violence, John takes a gifts-minded look at how to connect young people to productive adults and offer a means to express their own constructive capacities.

The Neighbor Project

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Rodney Rutherford created a comfortable place for neighbors to come together and share their perspectives, knowledge and gifts. All it took was some gift-mindedness and a coffee machine.

Growing Global Divisiveness Gets Disrupted

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Ian Edwards discovers how three-person conversations can open space for creativity, build trusting relationships and counter the divisiveness we see every day.

Meet Mary Nelson

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

How Mary Nelson got started in Chicago, building community on strengths, relationships and assets in the neighborhoods around her.

Love Letters to Strangers

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Hannah Brencher believes in the power of pen and paper, so she started a community that encourages strangers to exchange love letters.

Three Steps to Building a Better Block

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

How can we drive change in our communities and move past stagnant committees and outdated regulation? Jason Roberts of Build a Better Block encourages us to stop waiting around. Even if that means painting in our own crosswalks and blackmailing ourselves into action