>From the web page http://www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook THE CITIZEN'S HANDBOOK A GUIDE TO BUILDING COMMUNITY IN VANCOUVER Charles Dobson Vancouver Citizens Committee As far as we know this is the most complete grassroots organizing guide available on the Internet. It is recommended by many pointer sites, including Yahoo. The introduction and sections 1, 2, and 3 will be useful to people living in other cities. Introduction 1 Community Organizing Introduction to Organizing Beginning Research Planning and Acting Getting Noticed Evaluating Getting People Keeping People Leading Meeting and Deciding Facilitating Fundraising Group Structure 2 Community Building Activities Child Minding Co-ops Community Gardens Community Kitchens Block Watch and Block Parents Community Crime Prevention Block Parties Block Cleanups Festivals and Parades Guerrilla Gardening Community Image Making Intergenerational Activities Environmental Activities Organizing around Hot Issues Block by Block Organizing Kitchen Table Discussion Groups Visioning Exercises Information Sharing Other Activities 3 The Citizen's Library - Book Reviews Books on building local democracy Books on action organizing Books on publicity and media advocacy Books on working with others Books on cities and Vancouver reports Magazines HOT/ Models of Neighbourhood Participation in Local Government Vancouver Projects Vancouver Programs Vancouver Citizen-Focused Organizations Vancouver Community-Based Organizations Community Profiles of Vancouver's Local Areas Who to Call at City Hall Frisky Democracy - coming soon - a site for building strong democracy Need a hard copy of the Citizen's Handbook? The City of Vancouver makes copies available for the cost of printing. Contact: The Planning Department, East Wing, Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5Y 1V4. The Handbook is 150 pages formatted 5.25 inches X 8.50 inches. The cost is $7.49 Canadian (includes taxes). To ship anywhere in the world, add $5.35 Canadian. Vancouver Citizens Committee 522 East 10th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5T 2A4 Phone: (604) 877-0109 Fax: (604) 879-1550 Email: Charles Dobson (cdobson@eciad.bc.ca) Tell us what you think. We intend to keep expanding and improving the Citizens Handbook. To do this we need suggestions from people with grassroots experience. If you have suggestions send us an email. Contributors so far: Melodie Corrigall, Jim Miller, Megan Stuart-Stubbs, Barbara Berry, Vickie Jo Morris, Claire Gram, Ruth Farrell, Margaret Mitchell, Chris Warren, Mariken Van Nimwegen, and Jon Munn. Thanks also to the Neil K Guy, Colin Stark and Greg Sturk of the Vancouver CommunityNet without whom the present Handbook would have been virtually impossible. The Citizen's Handbook (c) 1995-96 Vancouver Citizens Committee. The Vancouver Citizens Committee seeks to promote community, citizen participation and local democracy. ---------- Introduction Why we need more active citizens The Citizens Handbook is meant to encourage the emergence of more active citizens - people motivated by an interest in public issues, and a desire to make a difference beyond their own private lives. Active citizens are a great untapped resource, and citizenship is a quality to be nurtured. Here's why. A way of tackling large public issues In British Columbia, no less than eight recent task force reports have identified more active citizens as the key to responding more effectively to large scale public issues. The reports include When the Bough Breaks (on child protection); the Ready Or Not! Final Report (on aging); Making Changes (on family services); Closer to Home (on health care); Greenways/Publicways (on the urban landscape); Clouds of Change (on atmospheric change); Report of the Round-table on the Environment and the Economy; and the Safer City Task Force Report. A way of solving local problems When people become involved in their neighbourhoods they can become a potent force for dealing with local problems. Through co-ordinated planning, research and action, they can accomplish what individuals working alone could not. When people decide they are going to be part of the solution, local problems start getting solved. When they actually begin to work with other individuals, schools, associations, businesses, and government service providers, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. A way of improving liveability Citizens can make cities work better because they understand their own neighbourhoods better than anyone else. Giving them some responsibility for looking after their part of town is a way of effectively addressing local preferences and priorities. Understandably, boosting citizen participation improves liveability. It is no coincidence that Portland, Oregon - a city with a tradition of working in partnership with neighbourhoods - regularly receives the highest score for liveability of any U.S. city. Cities are sources of potential conflict, between government and citizens, between different citizens groups, and between citizens and special interests such as real estate developers. Recent studies have shown that greater citizen participation in civic affairs can reduce all of these sources of conflict. In particular it can prevent the firestorms associated with changes brought about by growth and renewal. A bridge to strong democracy When citizens get together at the neighbourhood level, they generate a number of remarkable side effects. One of these is strengthened democracy. In simple terms, democracy means that the people decide. Political scientists describe our system of voting every few years but otherwise leaving everything up to government as weak democracy. In weak democracy, citizens have no role, no real part in decision-making between elections. Experts assume responsibility for deciding how to deal with important public issues. The great movement of the last decades of the twentieth century has been a drive toward stronger democracy in corporations, institutions and governments. In many cities this has resulted in the formal recognition of neighbourhood groups as a link between people and municipal government, and a venue for citizen participation in decision-making between elections. A little recognized route to better health In the late 1980s, following Canada's lead, the World Health Organization broadened its definition of health to account for the fact that health is much more than the absence of disease. The new definition recognizes that only 25% of our health status comes from health care, the rest comes from the effects of an adequate education and income, a clean environment, secure housing and employment, the ability to control stress, and a social support network. Understandably, public health professionals have become some of the strongest advocates for more active citizens. Health Canada has provided many resources to nurture the grassroots including the recent Community Action Pack, a full crate of material on community organizing. A way of rekindling community Active citizens can help to create a sense of community connected to place. We all live somewhere. As such we share a unique collection of problems and prospects in common with our neighbours. Participation in neighbourhood affairs builds on a recognition of here-we-are-together, and a yearning to recapture something of the tight-knit communities of the past. Neighbourhood groups can act as vehicles for making connections between people, forums for resolving local differences, and a means of looking after one another. Most important, they can create a positive social environment that can become one of the best features of a place. ---------- Introduction to Community Organizing Do-It-Yourself Organizing This section is a do-it-yourself guide to grassroots organizing. It focuses on bringing together people who share a common place such as an apartment building, city block, or neighbourhood. The focus on people acting together does not diminish the importance of citizens acting alone. Nor does the focus on organizing around a place diminish the importance of organizing around an issue. Learn-it-yourself organizing Before you can do-it-yourself you will have to learn-it-yourself. Most provinces in Canada do not offer full training programs in community organizing. In Canada, our faith in government has placed decisions about our communities in the hands of politicians and professionals. When you can't do it all yourself A paid, experienced organizer can help when the task is to pull citizens together quickly, or involve people who normally stay at home. Paid organizers often begin by gathering information on the neighbourhood, then proceed by introducing themselves to residents, bringing people together in discussion groups, building self-help skills, and finally, training new leaders to take over the organizing task. The presence of a professional organizer may lead some volunteers to wonder why they are working for free while someone else is being paid. A few groups have addressed this problem by turning funds for an organizer into honoraria for volunteers. For tips on hiring a paid organizer see Taking Action by Elizabeth Amer, reviewed in "The Citizen's Library". The Active Ingredients of Organizing Community organizing is often presented as a step-by-step process. The ingredients of a process often make sense, but the step-by-step sequence usually fails to fit actual circumstances. What we've done is look at community organizing from the point of view of its ingredients. Which of these you turn to at any given time will depend on your circumstances. Except for the first, ingredients are added and readded regularly as part of community organizing. All, as well, are interwoven. For example, planning requires research, which depends on getting and keeping people, which is affected by decision making, which requires evaluating, and so on. ---------- Beginning Where do you begin if you want to become more involved in your neighbourhood? Here are some options. Begin with research Although professionals often start with research, you don't have to start here. On the other hand, you might be wise to begin with research if you intend to tackle an issue you do not fully understand. Begin with a community building activity The "Community Building Activities" section of the Handbook lists seventeen informal opportunities for neighbours to meet one another. The bulk of community building in Vancouver comes from these activities. The most common are Organizing Around an Issue, and Block Watch. Begin by joining an existing group Most neighbourhoods have many different kinds of active organizations. Linking up with one of these can be an easy way to get involved. Begin by checking out the groups listed in the "Inventory of Community Organizations". Begin by starting a new group If working with an existing group looks difficult, you might have to start a new group. New neighbourhood organizations usually form around a core of three to five committed people. Putting together a core of first-rate people is worth the effort. Once you have done so consider these questions: * What are we trying to do? * What size of area are we going to organize? (The smaller the area, the easier.) * Who will support our efforts? * What is a good idea for our first action? (It should be simple, focus on a local concern, and increase the group's visibility.) * How are we going to reach out to others? Should we organize a general meeting and invite the community? Make a special effort to remain friendly with other local groups that have similar goals. Friendliness can replace the common tendency toward competition with the potential of cooperation. Inter-group cooperation is the engine of real progress at the grassroots. ---------- Researching Cities behave in tricky ways. What may seem an obvious problem, or an obvious solution often seems less so after a little research. Acting before researching can waste time and energy. It can also reinforce the stereotype of active citizens as highly vocal, but largely uninformed. The stereotype is the most often-cited excuse for dismissing calls for greater citizen participation in local decision-making. Here is a typical story of what can happen for lack of a little research. People living in a quiet neighbourhood receive notice of a proposal to use a nearby residence as a psychiatric half-way house. Fears of "crazy people" running amok prompt them to form an ad hoc citizens group, which moves swiftly into action to combat the proposal. Having skipped research, they don't discover that most special needs residential facilities (or snrfs) do not create problems, or reduce property values. They don't discover that most snrfs are not even known to local residents. Without these facts, the group goes to battle. Over nothing. Gather existing information on your neighbourhood Information on your part of town already exists. The municipal planning department has community profiles, traffic studies, zoning and other maps, aerial photos, and possibly an official community plan. Local health authorities or service agencies may have a needs assessment or more focused studies of your area. Back copies of community newsletters and local newspapers will contain the recent history of many local issues. Your branch of the public library will have copies of many local reports, studies and newsletters. Find out what people want In the absence of a single over-riding concern, your group will have to identify neighbourhood issues. In many cases you will try to answer the following questions: * What do residents like about the neighbourhood, and what do they want to change? * What are the opportunities for making the neighbourhood more interesting, identifiable, understandable, helpful, friendly. * What is the highest priority problem? Who is affected? * Where is it located? What has been done? What can be done? Who can help? Give this research some time. A question such as, "What do you like about the neighbourhood, and what do you want to change?", can take a group a couple of evenings to itemize, condense and prioritize. Consider a survey of residents Any survey requiring face-to-face interaction not only provides information but helps build community. For details on conducting a listening survey see "The Downtown Eastside Listening Project" in the chapter ," Local Projects". Go to those in the know Interview those who know what is going on in the community, and those who know how to deal with an issue. Often they are people with first-hand experience. A small focus-group discussion with six teens can reveal more about teens in the community than a survey of 500 adults. Other sources of information are community activists, such as the contact persons named in "Community Building Activities" and "The Inventory of Community Organizations". Discover your human resources To really understand your neighbourhood, you need to research its capacity to act. Start by answering these questions: * Who can help? * What resources does our community have: public institutions, business groups, religious organizations, citizen associations, clubs, ethnic groups, sports and recreational groups, cultural associations, service groups, major property owners, businesses, individuals? For a practical guide to tapping local capacity see John Kretzmann's and John McKnight's book, " Building Communities from the Inside Out", reviewed in "The Citizen's Library". * How, why and where do people get together? * How do people find out what is going on? * Who most influences local decisions, local funding, and local investment? Who has a big stake in the neighbourhood? Research solutions from other places A problem in your neighbourhood probably exists in other neighbourhoods in Vancouver and other cities. Find out how citizens in other places are solving the problem. Connect with residents groups in other parts of the city using "The Inventory of Community Organizations". Check out the books and periodicals in "The Citizen's Library". Ask citizens in other cities for help; if you have a computer and Internet access, post requests on the freenets of other cities. ---------- Planning Planning is necessary if you want to avoid wasted activity, and make your collective efforts count. It should move from the general to the specific, from the big picture to the small, from the long term to the short, from "what" to "how". Planning entails: * Setting a goal * Devising objectives (or strategies) to achieve the goal * Devising actions to achieve the objectives. Look beyond the obvious to find good objectives In trying to deal with a problem like growing juvenile crime your group might decide on the obvious objective of getting more police. If you looked beyond symptoms, at causes, you might decide to try to open local schools during evenings. Research can help you look beyond the obvious. How do your objectives score? Generate ideas for objectives that will lead to your goal, and then decide which to pursue. Test alternative objectives by asking: * Does it have strong group support? * Is it specific enough? ("Reduce crime" is too general. "Eliminate street prostitution on Angus Drive" is specific.) * Is it easily attainable? * Will it have an immediate visible impact? * How will we know when we've reached our objective? How do we measure progress? To be effective, your group should pursue no more than one or two objectives at any given time. New groups should begin with small projects having a high probability of success over the short term. Plan the action Generate ideas that will lead to your objective, then decide which to carry forward. Once your group agrees on an action, create an action plan. It should include a time-frame; an ordered list of tasks to complete; persons responsible for each task; a list of resources required including materials; facilities and funds. Keep action plans flexible so you can respond to the unexpected. One good way to identify a group's priorities is to ask people to write their views with thick markers on large post-it notes. Each person sticks their notes to a board or large sheet of paper where everyone can see them. A facilitator then helps the group arrange the notes into clusters with similar characteristics. Acting Once you've completed the necessary groundwork, you need to act. Surprisingly, many groups never get around to acting. John Gardiner says, "Many talk about action but are essentially organized for study, discussion or education. Still others keep members busy with organizational housekeeping, committee chores, internal politics and passing of resolutions." While many interest groups get together just for discussion, community groups tend to work best when acting accompanies talking. Otherwise, they tend to shrink to a few diehards for whom meeting attendance has become a way of life. ---------- Getting Noticed If you want to expand the number of people who know what you are doing, you need to get noticed. This usually means working with the media. Besides informing a larger public, the media can empower residents, nudge politicians, and add momentum to a grassroots initiative. According to David Enwicht in Reclaiming Our Cities and Towns, empowerment comes from simple exposure. "Group members say, 'Did you see we were in the news again. Isn't it great? We are really starting to get places now'". When you understand the media, you can also raise public issues that are being ignored, and reframe issues from a citizen's perspective. Be careful, however, if you are not used to dealing with the media. Many journalists look for stories rooted in conflict, error and injustice. They may impose a confrontational agenda that can actually make it more difficult for you to resolve your issue. Assemble a list of sympathetic journalists If you have a positive news story, you may find no one is interested. One way around this is to cultivate a list of journalists who care about community building. Note their deadlines, so you can call after a deadline. Find the media professionals in your community Seek help from the people in your community who work for newspapers, radio and television stations. They can provide advice on what is newsworthy, how to get attention, and who to call. Most will not want to appear in the foreground, but in the background they will be invaluable. Define your objective, then your messages Don't rush off to the media without a clear idea of what you want to accomplish. Use this to create a set of clear messages you wish to project. If you intend to air a problem, one of your messages should suggest a reasonable solution. Make actions newsworthy To get media attention you need to tell a good story with a human focus that is happening now. The more creative, colourful, and humorous, the better coverage will be. Getting noticed is largely a matter of dramatizing issues. Link actions to other news events Your actions will stand a better chance of getting covered if they tie into other events in the news: government announcements, holidays, local conferences, world events, hot issues. The media like a good feeding frenzy. Issue news releases Send out a news release if you have fresh information you wish to publicize. Issue the release on your group's letterhead. At the top put "For immediate release" and the date. Next, create a strong newspaper style headline that will interest an editor who has to shuffle through hundreds of news releases every day. The first sentence of the copy should contain the most important fact in your story. The rest of the release should cover the essentials of who, what, where, when and why. At the bottom put "For more information" and contact name and phone number. Keep the whole thing short, one to two pages double spaced. For big events send out a news release seven days prior, then telephone a reminder one to two days before the event. Faxing a release without any personal contact is usually a waste of time. Aim at TV Some of the most effective citizens groups get TV coverage by staging events that provide action and good pictures. Greenpeace, for instance, gets attention by sending little rubber boats buzzing around huge aircraft carriers. Some groups also shoot their own broadcast quality video or create video news releases to help control what is broadcast. Try to schedule actions on dull news days, allowing enough time to process material for the 6 o'clock news. Choose a spokesperson who comes across well on TV. On television a great deal is communicated non-verbally through tone of voice, facial expression, and body gestures. Practice your blurb For regular TV and radio news you will have 15-30 seconds to make a statement. Practice what you want to say before the event. Your statement or a minor variation can be used in response to any question asked. No one will know the difference. Reframe stories on live radio If you can get on a live radio show you can actually shape the news, because you won't be edited as you would on TV or in the newspaper. Just make sure you know what you want to say. Write a Letter to the Editor Writing a letter to the editor of a community newspaper is an easy way to get publicity. Small papers will publish any reasonable letter that does not require a lot of fact checking. Common Cause, the largest citizens group in the US, did a study which showed that a letter to the editor was one of the most effective ways of influencing politicians. Don't rely on the media to educate The mass media prefer to entertain. If you want to get out detailed information, you will probably have to do it yourself through newsletters, bulletins and other methods listed in the Handbook. Consider other kinds of announcements Community bulletin boards run by radio and some cable stations can announce your event. So can ethnic newspapers, TV and radio stations. Public service announcements on radio and TV offer another opportunity. For radio, send in public service announcements of 30 seconds or about 75 words. Include a start and stop date, plus information on your organization. Consider alternative media Consider printed t-shirts; buttons; window signs; posters; bumper stickers; notices in apartment building laundries, church orders of service, and the newsletters of other groups. For more methods see "Getting People" and "Information Sharing". Try the direct approach Consider phoning or writing those who have the power to put things right. If you have a city-related problem that you cannot solve, even with the help of city staff, call or email a city councillor. ---------- Evaluating Your group will need to evaluate both projects and processes if you wish to improve your effectiveness and stay on track. Unfortunately, many grassroots groups rarely evaluate either. Don't evaluate when trying to create Avoid evaluating and criticizing when trying to generate ideas. If you are facilitating a meeting, prohibit criticism when the group is brainstorming. Make honest evaluation part of your group's culture Make a habit of asking what worked and what could be better for both actions, and projects. Consider a round to evaluate group process at the end of meetings. If you don't ask for honest feedback, you won't get it. Unhappy people will simply drop out. To get the most honest feedback, make responses anonymous, and obtain responses from people outside your immediate group. Check on benefits to members At the end of actions ask participants about benefits. Did you learn anything? Did you have too little or too much to do? Did you have any fun? Did you feel part of the group? Compare results with objectives Is there a gap between what is happening and what you want to happen? If there is a persistent gap, you might consider getting help from a professional organizer. Another way of dealing with a persistent gap is to revise your objectives. ---------- Getting People One of the main on-going activities of any grassroots organization is getting more people involved. This is not easy; most people don't like the idea of being "roped into" doing community work in their spare time. The heavy emphasis on the individual by modern commercial culture has driven participation rates below 5% for most community activities. If that sounds low, remember a few people committed to a single course of action can achieve amazing results. Ask members to invite others Eighty per cent of volunteers doing community work said they began because they were asked by a friend, a family member, or a neighbour. Go to where people are Instead of trying to get people to come to you, try going to them. Go to the meetings of other groups, and to places and events where people gather. This is particularly important for involving ethnic groups, youth groups, seniors, and others who may not come to you. Never miss a chance to collect names, addresses, phone numbers Have sign-in sheets at your meetings and events. At events organized by others, ask people to add their name, address, and phone number to petitions and requests-for-information. In return, hand out a sheet explaining the nature of your group. Try to include those who are under-represented Minority language groups, low-income residents, the disabled, the elderly and youth all tend to be under-represented in neighbourhood groups. In some cases not participating is a matter of choice - most transient youth choose not to take part. In other cases, English language competence poses a formidable barrier to participation. In still other cases, people get overlooked. This can happen to the disabled and the elderly, even though they have proven invaluable as active citizens. Here are some ways to include the under-represented: * Go to people in the group you are trying to reach and ask how they would like to be approached. * Address their issues. * Think about who you know who knows someone in the group you are trying to reach. Use your connections. * Identify a group as people you want to work with, not as a target group you want to bring "on side". Treat people as people first. * Organize projects that focus on kids. Parents of different ethnic backgrounds, and income levels will meet one another while accompanying their children. Do surveys Surveys are a good way to stay in touch, increase participation, and bring in new members. They show your group is willing to respond to a broad base of others, not just those who tend to participate in community activities. Door-knock Door-knocking is the oldest and best outreach method. For a how-to description see "Information Sharing ". Create detailed membership lists Create membership lists with places for entering name, address, day and evening phone and fax numbers, priorities for local improvement, occupation, personal interests, special skills, times available, what the person would be willing to do, and what the person would not be willing to do. Consider using a computer to update lists and sort people by address, priority, and interests. With such a computer database you can easily bring together people who belong together. Membership lists can also form the basis of a telephone tree, a system for getting messages out to large numbers of people. For suggestions on setting up a telephone tree see " Information Sharing ". Generate newsletters and leaflets Newsletters keep group members in touch. Because most neighbourhood groups deliver to all residents whether members or not, a newsletter helps attract new people. For tips on newsletters see "Information Sharing " in Community Building Activities, and "How to do Leaflets, Newsletters & Newspapers" by Nancy Brigham. ---------- Keeping People People join community groups to meet people, to have fun, to learn new skills, to pursue an interest, and to link their lives to some higher purpose. They leave if they don't find what they are looking for. Citizens groups need to ask themselves more often: What benefits do we provide? At what cost to members? How can we increase the benefits and decrease the costs? Here are a some ideas on where to begin. Stay in touch with one another. Regular contact is vital. Face to face is best. If you have to meet, getting together in someone's house is better than meeting in a hall. Welcome newcomers. Introduce them to members of your group. Consider appointing greeters for large meetings and events. Call new contacts to invite them to events, or to pass on information. Help people find a place in the organization. The most appealing approach is to say, "Tell us the things you like to do and do well and we will find a way to use those talents." The next most appealing is to say: "Here are the jobs we have, but how you get them done is up to you." Invite newcomers to assume leadership roles. If the same people run everything, newcomers feel excluded. Pay attention to group process Most volunteer groups do not give adequate attention to how they work together. Decision-making methods are not determined explicitly nor are roles, or healthy behaviours. Some groups make process a topic of discussion by appointing a process watcher. Discuss the group contract Set aside occasions when members describe what they expect of the group and what the group can expect of them in terms of time and responsibilities. This information should become part of your membership lists. Act more, meet less The great majority of people detest meetings; too many are the Black Death of community groups. By comparison, activities like tree-planting draw large numbers of people of all ages. Keep time demands modest Most people lead busy lives. Don't ask them to come to meetings if they don't need to be there. Keep expanding the number of active members to ensure everyone does a little, and no one does too much. Work out realistic time commitments for projects. Do it in twos Following a practice from Holland, we suggest working in pairs. It improves the quality of communication, makes work less lonely, and ensures tasks get done. Ethnically mixed pairs (such as English and Chinese) can maintain links to different cultures. Gender mixed pairs can take advantage of differences in ways of relating to men and women. Provide social time and activities Endless work drives people away. Schedule social time at the beginning and end of meetings. Turn routine tasks into social events; for example, stuff envelopes while sharing pizza. Some groups form a social committee to plan parties, dinners, and trips. Provide skills training Provide skill-building workshops and on-the-job training. Simply pairing experienced and inexperienced people will improve the skills of new members. Training in leadership, group facilitating and conflict resolution are important enough to warrant special weekend workshops. ---------- Leading Good leaders are the key to community organizing. They do not tell other people what to do, but help others to take charge. They do not grab the limelight, but nudge others into the limelight. They are not interested in being The Leader, but are interested in creating more leaders. They recognize that only by creating more leaders can an organizing effort expand. Model the effective leader: Set realistic expectations Nothing buoys a group more than tangible success. The smart leader will steer the group toward things it can easily accomplish. Divide-up & delegate work Divide-up tasks into bite-sized chunks, then discuss who will do each chunk. Make sure everyone has the ability to carry out their task, then let them carry it out in their own way. Have someone check on progress. People do not feel good about doing a job, if nobody cares whether it gets done. Show appreciation for work well done Recognize people's efforts in conversations, at meetings, in newsletters. Give thank you notes and other tokens of appreciation. Give certificates and awards for special efforts. Respect all contributions no matter how small. Welcome criticism Accepting criticism may be difficult for some leaders, but members need to feel they can be critical without being attacked. Help people to believe in themselves A leader builds people's confidence that they can accomplish what they have never accomplished before. The unflagging optimism of a good leader energizes everyone. Inspire trust People will not follow those they do not trust. Always maintain the highest standards of honesty. Good leaders air doubts about their own potential conflicts of interest, and about their own personal limitations. Herald a higher purpose People often volunteer to serve some higher purpose. A leader should be able to articulate this purpose, to hold it up as a glowing beacon whenever the occasion demands. A good leader will celebrate every grassroots victory as an example of what can happen when people work together for a common good. Convince others they can lead Make the practice of leading transparent. Invite others to lead. Don't try to run the whole show, or do most of the work. Others will become less involved. And you will burn out. ---------- Meeting Meetings are necessary for planning, and decision making. How well they work influences whether people remain in a group. All meetings should be as lively and as much fun as possible. The basics of meeting Fix a convenient time, date and place to meet. You can find free meeting places in libraries, community centres, some churches, neighbourhood houses, and schools. Some groups meet in a favourite restaurant or cafe. To keep a group together, decide on a regular monthly meeting time, or think of another way of staying in touch. Agree on an agenda beforehand. A good agenda states meeting place; starting time, time for each item, ending time; objectives of the meeting; and items to be discussed. Start the meeting by choosing a facilitator, a recorder, and a timekeeper. Begin with a round of introductions if necessary. Next, review the agreements of the previous meeting. Ask for amendments or additions to the agenda, then begin working through the agenda. If you have trouble reaching agreement, refer to "Decision Making" below. Record actions required, who will carry them out, and how much will be accomplished before the next meeting. Finally, set a time, place and an agenda for the next meeting. Display everyone's contribution Consider using a flip chart, overhead projector or a blackboard. Follow a set of discussion guidelines Regular meetings work better if everyone agrees on a set of discussion guidelines. Some groups post their guidelines as a large sign: * Listen to others * Do not interrupt * Ask clarifying questions * Welcome new ideas * Do not allow personal attacks * Treat every contribution as valuable Develop a friendly culture Encourage humour. Provide food and drink, or meet in a restaurant. Allow for social time. Decision Making Your group should discuss, agree on, then post guidelines for reaching decisions. Straw polling Straw polling entails asking for a show of hands to see how the group feels about a particular issue. It is a quick check that can save a great deal of time. To make straw polling continuous, agree on a set of hand signals everyone will use throughout the meeting. These silent signals enable people to gauge how others are reacting moment by moment. They can also provide invaluable feedback for a speaker who is trying to work with a large group. Voting Voting is a decision making method that seems best suited to large groups. To avoid alienating large minorities, you might decide a motion will only succeed with a two-thirds majority. Alternatively, you might decide to combine voting with consensus. Small groups usually follow informal consensus procedures. Large groups, on the other hand, often try to follow Robert's Rules of Order without anyone really understanding how to Amend a Motion, or the number of people needed to Move the Question. If rules are used, they should be simple and understood by everyone. Some community groups limit the privilege of voting to people who have come to three or more consecutive meetings to prevent stacked meetings, and to encourage familiarity with the issues being decided. Voting usually means deciding between X or Y. But not always. Some issues will admit a proportional solution, part X and part Y. In such a cases the ratio of X to Y in the solution usually reflects the ratio of people voting for each alternative. Consensus A consensus process aims at bringing the group to mutual agreement by addressing all concerns. It does not require unanimity. Consensus can take longer than other processes, but fosters creativity, cooperation and commitment to final decisions. Here is a sample outline: * A presenter states the proposal. Ideally, a written draft has been distributed prior to the meeting. * The group discusses and clarifies the proposal. No one presents concerns until clarification is complete. * The facilitator asks for legitimate concerns. If there are none the facilitator asks the group if it has reached consensus. If there are concerns: * The recorder lists concerns where everyone can see them. The group then tries to resolve the concerns. The presenter has first option to: ~ Clarify the proposal. ~ Change the proposal. ~ Explain why it is not in conflict with the group's values. ~ Ask those with concerns to stand aside. By "standing aside" a person indicates a willingness to live with a proposal. By "crossing off a concern" a person indicates satisfaction with clarifications or changes. * If concerns remain unresolved and concerned members are unwilling to stand aside, the facilitator asks everyone to examine these concerns in relation to the group's purpose and values. The group may need to go through a special session to examine its purpose or resolve value conflicts. * The facilitator checks again to see if those with concerns are willing to stand aside or cross off their concerns. If not, the facilitator keeps asking for suggestions to resolve the concerns, until everyone finds the proposal acceptable or stands aside. Often the solution is a "third way", something between either/or, black and white. * If time runs out and concerns persist the facilitator may: ~ Conduct a straw poll. ~ Ask those with concerns if they will stand aside. ~ Ask the presenter to withdraw the proposal. ~ Contract with the group for more time. ~ Send the proposal to a sub-group. ~ Conduct a vote, requiring a 75% to 90% majority. At the end, the facilitator states the outcome clearly. For consensus to work properly everyone must understand the meaning of "legitimate concerns". They are possible consequences of the proposal that might adversely affect the organization or the common good, or that are in conflict with the purpose or values of the group. Consensus will not work properly if concerns come from ego or vested interests, or derive from unstated tensions around authority, rights, personality conflicts, competition or lack of trust. Trust is a prerequisite for consensus. If your group adopts consensus as a decision making method you do not have to use consensus of the whole group to decide everything. You can (and should) empower individuals, committees, or task forces to make certain decisions. Live with disagreements Get agreement on the big picture, then turn to action. Don't exhaust yourself trying to achieve consensus on details. On a contentious issue, embracing a variety of positions will make you more difficult to attack. ---------- Facilitating The facilitator's role is to help a group make progress. Good facilitating keeps a meeting on track and moving forward. The more people who learn to facilitate the better. If you accept the role of facilitator you must be neutral. You should also try to: Watch group vibes If people seem bored or inattentive, you may have to speed up the pace of the meeting. If people seem tense because of unvoiced disagreements, you may have to bring concerns out into the open. Ask open ended questions For instance, "We seem to be having trouble resolving the matter. What do you think we should do?" Summarize what others say For instance, you might begin, "It seems we agree that . . . " Make sure everyone gets a chance to speak One way of ensuring quiet people get a chance to speak is to initiate a round. In a round you move around the table with everyone getting a few minutes to present their views. Inject humour There a few better ways of overcoming cranky, niggling or petty behaviour. Learn to deal with difficult behaviour * Flare-ups When two members get into a heated discussion summarize the points made by each, then turn the discussion back to the group. * Grand standing Interrupt the one-man show with a statement that gives him credit for his contribution, but ask him to reserve his other points for later. Alternatively, interrupt with, "You have brought up a great many points. Would anyone like to take up one of these points?" * Broken recording When someone keeps repeating the same point, assure them their point has been heard. If necessary ask the group if they want to allow the person to finish making their point. * Interrupting Step in immediately with, "Hold on, let X finish what they have to say." If necessary, ask the person who tends to interrupt to act as the recorder for the meeting. * Continual criticizing Legitimize negative feelings on difficult issues. You might say, "Yes, it will be tough to reduce traffic congestion on Marguerite, but there are successful models we can look at." If necessary, ask the critical person to take on an achievable task. Suggest options when time runs out Identify areas of partial consensus, suggest tabling the question, or create a small subcommittee to deal with the matter at a time of their choosing. Consider a round at the end of the meeting Going quickly around the whole group gives people a chance to bring up matters not on the agenda. You can also use a round to evaluate the meeting. ---------- Fundraising You do not need to fundraise to begin organizing your neighbourhood. However, you will need money to organize large numbers of people, or launch a large action program. If you decide to fundraise, be careful. You can lose money, and divert time and resources away from your objectives. If you must raise money, here are some suggestions. Individual contributions Asking for contributions from local people turns fundraising into community building. People become more attached to groups, projects, and places they feel they own. Money can come from memberships, voluntary subscriptions to newsletters, collections at meetings, door-to-door canvassing, planned giving, memorial giving and direct mail. Lots of books cover these approaches. Some groups make donations tax deductible by registering as a charity with the federal government. In Canada call 1-800-267-2384. In-kind donations Seek in-kind or non-monetary contributions. This includes donations of printing, equipment, furniture, space, services, food, and time. Local businesses respond well to requests for in-kind donations. Auctions Consider a dream auction. Elizabeth Amer writes in Taking Action, "Neighbours can donate overnight babysitting for two children, a local landmark embroidered on your jacket, cheese cake for eight, four hours of house repairs. At a big community party your auctioneer sells every treasure to the highest bidder." Grants from governments & foundations With so many potential sources of assistance, half the battle is figuring out who supports what. After identifying a possibility, find out about application procedures. Getting a grant usually requires writing up a good proposal. Look for matching grants. In many cases governments will contribute a dollar for every dollar raised by citizens. Casinos A provincially registered non-profit society can make several thousand dollars a night by running a casino. Typically a group will provide people to help staff the casino over several nights. There is a long waiting list of applications for this fundraiser. In British Columbia call the BC Gaming Commission at 387-5311. Charging fees Consider the possibility of charging fees for services, or products. Time tithing Ivan Sheier, an expert on volunteerism, dislikes the time and energy spent on grant writing and big fundraising events. Instead, he recommends time tithing as a way of producing a steady flow of cash. It is a system that relies on supporters contributing high quality services. A group might advertise such services as conducting a workshop, painting signs, or providing professional assistance. When a supporter performs a service, they do not keep the money they are paid; but have the amount, minus expenses, sent directly to their group. ---------- Grassroots Structure Citizens groups should have as little structure as possible. The right amount is just enough to address their goals. In an attempt to become legitimate, many small groups decide they need more structure. Unfortunately, this can lead to spending more time on the needs of the organization than on the reason for getting together. Networks, Cooperatives, Collectives Grassroots organizations seem to work better with a flat structure as free as possible of boards, directors, and chairs. Flatness, or the absence of an organizational hierarchy, does not mean the elimination of individual roles or responsibilities. It does mean the end of people with over-riding authority over other people's work. Citizen's groups must avoid the common mistake of involving small numbers of people heavily. They should strive to involve large numbers of people lightly. Flat organizations, which emphasize horizontal connections, seem to be the best bet for involving large numbers of people lightly. Traditional structure Traditional organizational structure seems to dry out the grassroots. Nevertheless it continues to be recommended by many citizens umbrella groups in North America. The most successful traditional organizations have: * An elected leadership Some groups elect a set of officers - a president, one or two vice presidents, a secretary and a treasurer. In order to include people doing important work, some expand the leadership group into a steering committee that includes the chairperson of each committee. Leaders should be elected on a regular basis at well-publicized membership meetings. One or two people should not try to run the organization. When that happens others become less involved. * Regular meetings * A newsletter * A means of delegating tasks and responsibilities * Training for new members * Social time together * A planning process * Working relationships with power players and resource organizations. Power players are people with the ability to make things happen: politicians, owners of key businesses, media people, heads of key government departments, heads of agencies, major landlords. Provincial non-profit societies Traditional organizations frequently wind up as provincially registered non-profit societies. The advantages of non-profit status are few, beyond less circuitous access to certain sources of funds. On the other hand, non-profit status means having to follow the rules and organizational structure required by the Societies Act. If you wish to become a non-profit regardless, get a copy of Flora MacLeod's Forming and Managing a Non-profit Organization in Canada, published by Self-Council Press. Committees & Task Forces Committees and task forces are the main way jobs are shared. They make it possible to get a lot done without anyone getting worn out. Standing committees look after a continuing group function; task forces carry out a specific task, then disband. Both provide members with a way of getting involved in projects that interest them. A large, action-oriented group might have the following standing committees: coordinating, publicity, membership, outreach, newsletter, fundraising, and research. Many people prefer the short-term projects of task forces, to the work of committees. Ideally, members of committees and task forces are made up of people selected by the whole group rather than by people who are self-selected. If the whole group is confident in a task force or committee it should empower the subgroup to make most decisions on its own. To keep everyone working together, committees and task forces should regularly report back to the whole group. For more on the effective distribution of work see Ivan Sheier's book When Everyone's a Volunteer, reviewed in the "Citizen's Library", and available from the Vancouver Public Library. Coalitions If you intend to tackle a large issue you will need allies. Approach other organizations by asking to speak on a matter of community importance at their next executive or general meeting. After you have presented, distribute material outlining your objectives, program and budget. A good way of getting agreement is to ask someone from the group you are approaching to help prepare your presentation. A coalition requires that all participants have a clear set of expectations and get together regularly to develop a friendly working relationship. A coalition works best when established for a specific project, and then allowed to lapse when the project ends. ---------- Child Minding Co-ops If you have small children, you know how difficult it can be to find, and pay for a baby-sitter. Many families have found a solution to their baby-sitting woes in child-minding co-ops. In these co-ops, families care for each other's children both in their own homes and in the homes of the children, during the day, evening, or overnight. Most co-ops keep track of baby-sitting hours on a list of debits and credits; one local group keeps track by exchanging poker chips. Hours are not only determined by the clock, but by tardiness, the number of children, lateness of returning, and other considerations. Most co-ops serve a small area, one that allows for participants to walk between each others homes. A co-op works best with fifteen to twenty families - enough to spread the baby-sitting around. Participants are usually found by talking to friends. This is preferable to posting "vacancies" since most people feel happier leaving their children with "friends of friends". A selection committee usually visits a candidate's home to look at general safety, neatness, the level of child-proofing, and to see whether people smoke inside, and who might be coming and going. On being accepted, candidates pay a small start-up fee, and register their name with the co-op's secretary (a position rotated on a monthly or quarterly basis). The secretary is the person who takes "orders" for baby-sitting, usually with a minimum 24 hours notice. Baby-sitters are sought on the basis of their availability, and the balance on their baby-sitting account. The Marpole Oakridge Co-op meets every two months for a potluck, an occasion to socialize as well as deal with any concerns. Little Mountain Co-op uses a similar opportunity to introduce new candidates to their group. It holds a social event three times a year for both kids and parents. These events bring a sense of community to a sometimes isolated group of parents. Some co-ops have been in operation for as long as 20 years. The longevity of the co-op depends largely on its ease of administration, and the ability to find new families as others outgrow its services. For more information contact your local neighbourhood house, or family place. ---------- Community Gardens Community gardens are parcels of land divided into small plots for local residents to grow their own flowers, fruit and vegetables. Community gardens owe their existence to the energy of residents. You may remember the debate in the late 1980's over a section of community garden on Prior Street in Strathcona. When City Council finally decided to build housing on the section, gardeners and their friends moved an acre of topsoil to the remaining portion of the garden. Today the Strathcona Community Garden's three acres of reclaimed land is a thriving collection of individual flower and vegetable plots. Community gardens have also sprouted in other parts of the city. Mount Pleasant has established a garden at 8th and Fraser; and another at 8th and Manitoba. Kitsilano is home to the Maple Community Garden, near 6th and Maple. The three acre Cottonwood Garden provides for many residents of Grandview-Woodlands. Kerrisdale has a small garden next to the railway track made up of plots that began as Victory Gardens during World War II. Finding a site for the garden can be a long search, but once the garden is in place, there is always a waiting list of people who want to join. The plots at 8th and Fraser are 100 to 120 square feet. A whole plot rents for $10.00 a year, a half plot for $5.00. Gardeners share common space, fertilizer, tools, a tool shed, and sometimes the cost of buying plants. Grants usually help to cover other expenses such as the cost of metered water and public liability insurance. Gardeners meet several times over the growing season, once for a formal start-up, then a few times over the summer for informal pot luck dinners and an annual open house. For more information call: City Farmer Society, 685-5832 Urban Farmer, 736-2250 Siobahn Ryan, the Vancouver Permaculture Network, 873-4335 Muggs Sigurgeirson, Strathcona Community Garden, 253-4718 Gavin Ross, Mt. Pleasant Community Garden, 879-3676 SPEC, Maple Community Garden, 736-7732 Sherri Reid, Engineering Department, City of Vancouver, 873-7323 ---------- Community Kitchens Community kitchens give people the opportunity to get together to share the cost, planning and preparation of healthy meals. At present there are about 15 community kitchens in Vancouver. Members usually meet twice a month, once to plan four or five entrees and to organize the purchase of food, and once to prepare the meals. Since a licensed kitchen is not required, groups meet in homes as well as church basements, Neighbourhood Houses and community centres. Some specialty kitchens exist in the city. One "cultural kitchen" provides an opportunity for Vietnamese women to learn about Canadian food products, and how they are prepared. Kiwassa Neighbourhood House has a "Canning Kitchen" where participants put up canned goods such as fruit, tomatoes and jam. Other kitchens specialize in vegetarian, ethnic, and special needs cooking. The interests of the group decide the focus of the kitchen. Community kitchens are popular for a variety of reasons. Food costs less because it can be bought in bulk. It also takes less time to prepare because it is cooked in quantity - and sometimes frozen for later use. People most appreciate the way community kitchens provide an opportunity for people to get together. Many people have become close friends through community cooking. Some have discovered common interests that have led to the formation of new groups focusing on a variety of social issues. The Vancouver Health Department has a video on Community Kitchens you can watch in their central library. Call 736-2033 to make sure it's available. Alternatively, you can invite a nutritionist from any of the Vancouver Health Units to bring the video and other information about Community Kitchens to your group. For more information call: Vicki Boere at 253-3575 or call any Vancouver Health Unit. ---------- Block Watch/Block Parents One of the most formal community building activities in the city is the Block Watch program sponsored by the Vancouver City Police Department. This highly successful crime prevention program encourages people to keep an eye on the street and their neighbour's property, and to report any suspicious activity to 911. A block is usually organized across the rear lane since most forced entries into buildings occur from the rear. Each Block Watch has a captain and often a co-captain, who undergo a police security check and then receive an identification badge. Block captains usually set up an initial organizing meeting to introduce neighbours to one another. Someone volunteers to draw up a map of the block with names and phone numbers, and to supply copies to the police and other members of the Watch. Police Officers will attend the meeting if requested, to talk about local policing issues and ways of securing your home against theft. They will also provide guides to home security. Police usually advise neighbours to jointly buy an etching pen ($15.00) so that members can mark their valuables with their driver's license number. Members are then given Block Watch stickers for entry points to their homes. At present there are 243 Block Watch blocks in the city, including some in co-ops and apartment buildings. In many cases, where Block Watch blocks have formed, other activities have followed, from block cleanups and pet minding to plant swapping. When neighbours get together they find they have more in common than an interest in security. The Block Parent program is another initiative sponsored by the Police Department. As with Block Watch captains, police run security checks on potential candidates. Block Parents provide a safe haven for children and, occasionally, seniors. When Block Parents are available to answer the door, they post a sign in their window. In an emergency, children who find themselves in trouble can turn to a Block Parent house for assistance. Potential Block Parents are often concerned that signing-up will mean constant interruption for non-emergencies, such as drinks of water and trips to the bathroom. According to a Block Parent co-ordinator in Cedar Cottage, this does not happen. For the most part, children understand they should turn to these houses only in emergencies. For more information call: Block Watch -- Trevor Black at 665-5064. Block Parents -- Perm Chattu at 257-8739. ---------- Community Crime Prevention Taking part in community crime prevention is a great way to meet your neighbours, and help make your community a safer place to live. Organized citizen participation in crime prevention usually begins with the opening of a Community Crime Prevention Office where people can meet with one another and the police to address local concerns. Staffed almost entirely by volunteers, the activities of an office include promoting crime prevention programs, collecting local crime statistics, referring people with every kind of problem to every kind of agency, sharing community information, conducting workshops, co-ordinating community clean-up days, and organizing other local projects. Crime prevention offices are a part of Vancouver's new strategy of community-based policing. The premise behind the strategy is that police need to do more than respond to incidents. They can be more effective if they spend more time on public awareness, partnerships with citizens, and local problem solving. In Vancouver, community crime prevention offices operate in Collingwood at 5157 Joyce Street, in Mount Pleasant at 672 East Broadway, in Grandview at 1661 Napier Street, in Gastown at 12 Water Street, and in Riley Park at 3998 Main Street. Regular crime prevention offices are located in Strathcona at 601 Keefer, in the West End at 200 Burrard, in the Downtown Eastside at 312 Main Street, and in Chinatown at 18 East Pender. Other neighbourhoods are in the process of opening their own offices. For more information call: Chris Talu, Joyce-Vanness Community Crime Prevention Office at 665-3406. For a broad view of crime prevention call Patti Pearcey, BC Coalition for Safer Communities at 669-2986, or fax 688-2566. ---------- Block Parties Block parties give neighbours a chance to meet one another in a relaxed setting. To hold a successful block party you need to do some advance planning. A couple of months ahead you should start thinking about dates, activities, and supplies. And you should start enlisting the help of neighbours. Find out how they can help, and what they can supply. Try to involve as many people as possible, and make sure everyone stays in touch with one another. Block parties can be held in backyards, neighbourhood parks or on the street. If you close the street, you must take out liability insurance ($75.00), and obtain the approval of affected neighbours. You may also be required to obtain traffic barricades ($250.00) from the city's Special Events Co-ordinator. If you hold your party at a local park, you should inform the Park Board by calling the number listed below. You can make your block party just about any shape or size. A block in Grandview-Woodlands held a very successful block party several years ago, and invited the whole neighbourhood. They had live music, helium balloons, face painting and lots of food. Some people came in response to local ads, others in response to the sounds, smells and colour of the event itself. Block parties can come at the end of a block cleanup, a block garage sale, or a day of tree-planting. They can also have a theme such as a harvest festival or Canada Day celebration. Whatever the nature of your first party, the next will be much easier to organize. On some blocks it becomes an important annual event. The Park Board is currently looking at simplifying the process of organizing block parties. They hope to provide information kits, and barriers at no cost through community centres. For more information call: Special Events at 873-7337 Susan Gordon at the Park Board at 257-8495. ---------- Block Cleanups Fed up with the mattresses rotting in the alley? Tired of litter on your street? Why not organize a block cleanup? A cleanup can get rid of the mess and prevent it from reoccurring by making residents more conscious of the appearance of their block. Just as important, a cleanup can provide an opportunity for everyone on a block to get to know one another. In many small towns, one-day neighbourhood cleanups involving adults, kids, and a variety of civic officials have become a recognized way of building community and instilling pride in place. Cleanups can range from a simple litter pick-up, to an operation requiring more planning. One recent block cleanup in east Mount Pleasant began with a few residents calling two quick meetings to decide on a date and plan of attack. After distributing fliers to the neighbours, they contacted the city. Because group members were willing to do the work themselves, the city provided a truck and two men for loading. On cleanup day, residents not only collected the debris that filled their alley, but went door-to-door collecting large items such as old mattresses, water heaters and other junk. They also helped load the city truck. Cleaning up your block can extend to graffiti removal, weeding, fence-painting, and hedge-trimming. It can also extend to helping those on your block who lack the strength or resources to maintain their own property. For more information call : David Murphy, Mount Pleasant Area Network, at 874-0823; John McLewin, Sanitation Superintendent, City of Vancouver, at 327-5823. For information on disposing of refrigerators, toxics, paints and solvents call: Engineering Department at 327-8121. For recycling information call 327-7573. ---------- Parades and Festivals The lower mainland is home to a myriad of parades and festivals. Some focus on culture, like the Powell Street Festival (Japanese), others focus on religion, like the Vaisakhi (celebrating the birth of Khalsa), or sport, like the Dragon Boat Festival. Many celebrate some aspect of the performing arts, such as the Fringe Festival, the Folk Festival, the Women in View Festival, the Fool's Parade or the Children's Festival. It is hard to find a weekend in the spring or summer without a celebration. One well-attended community celebration is Illuminaries, held on a summer evening at Trout Lake. It features stilt walkers, floating pyrotechnics and a moving procession of light created by hundreds of candle-lit lanterns. During the months of preparation, the Public Dreams Society organizes events and lantern building workshops for artists, children, and local residents. This makes the Illuminaries an event at which the community is not only the audience, but also the players, designers, and stage hands. Many neighbourhoods have local festivals. Kits Days, with its famous Soap Box Car Derby, Cedar Cottage Community Carnival, and the Clinton Park Festival all provide excellent opportunities for neighbours to get together to celebrate their neighbourhood. Grandview, where festivals seem to be second nature, has spawned a community orchestra that injects life into all kinds of public events. For more information call : FEST at 873-7337; For community-based performance art, call Public Dreams at 879-8611; For community orchestras, call Carol Buchanan at 253-1667. ---------- Guerrilla Gardening Residents of neighbourhoods across the city have been quietly adding flowers and other plants to lanes, boulevards and traffic circles. Along the boulevards of 100 block West 10th they have added planters, bicycle baskets, wheelbarrows and flower beds. Residents near McLean and Grant, 8th and Sasamat, 16th and Trimble and 20th and Fleming have also planted their boulevards with flowers. One east-side resident plants her boulevard with beans and other vegetables for public picking. The city usually plants low junipers in the traffic circles that act as traffic calmers in some neighbourhoods. Citizens have taken it upon themselves to brighten these up by adding self-seeding annuals and long-blooming perennials. Some people have planted sunflowers, for a folksy but dramatic effect. Not all plants are happy in traffic circles; some have difficulty because of the shallow soil layer over the asphalt; others dry out during the summer months; some are disturbed by city crews "excavating" buried manholes. Back lanes are a great place for guerrilla gardening. Unpaved lanes seem to work best. Some people have been re-introducing native plants, others have been planting food and flowers. One Kerrisdale woman takes the seed heads from her large pink poppies and sprinkles them up and down the alley, to great effect the following year. Some of the easiest flowers to grow are (in decreasing size) buddleia, various bush roses, cosmos, flox, wallflowers, yarrow, perennial asters, daisies, tiger lilies, irises, purple sage, california poppies, red valerian, campanula, perennial sweet peas, forget-me-nots, pinks. Prickly berry bushes planted on the sides of alleys provide food, and make better, less expensive barriers than fences. Although gardening is not really allowed on public property, there are signs the authorities may be in tune with guerilla gardeners. The city recently gave Mount Pleasant residents permission to begin "adopting" traffic circles, boulevards and other pieces of public property, in a project overseen by the Mount Pleasant Community Association. The city's Engineering Department also gave Cedar Cottage residents permission to plant an ornamental garden and a community herb garden on a vacant city-owned lot at 19th Avenue and Fleming. Members of the local neighbourhood association, along with other residents of the area, communally designed, planted and tend the garden. They hope to organize work parties for the spring and fall cleanups. Those unable to join in will help prepare meals so everyone can eat together at the end of the day. For more information: See the Neighbourhood Matching Fund in " Local Programs " in this Handbook. ---------- Community Image Making Distinct architectural and decorative characteristics help to define neighbourhoods. Gastown is known for its large brick heritage buildings; Chinatown for its bedragoned lamp posts, open air markets, ornate buildings and distinctive signage. Across the city, communities have tried to highlight their special personalities with banners, signs, flags, clocks, and gates. Local business improvement groups initiate some projects, residents initiate others. Residents of the block-long Rose Street in Grandview have hand-painted "cat" signs that identify the street and ask motorists to slow down. Residents in Seattle name their neighbourhoods, and then help design colourful street signs to mark the boundaries. The Community Fence project engaged two hundred children, adults and groups in creating four hundred highly individual pickets to enclose the community garden at 8th and Fraser Street. In the late 1980's, artist Richard Tetrault, along with members of his Strathcona community, were fed up with the speed of traffic along Prior Street. They decided to take action by designing and painting cutout figures to "post" along the roadside, with messages in four languages. Their protest art drew the attention of the media and the city which undertook new traffic control measures. In another Strathcona project, residents seeking a linear park on Jackson Street, painted a mural showing their ideas on the street surface. The mural changed the street from a conduit for cars into a forum for public discussion. For more information call: Susan Gordon, the Park Board at 257-8495; or Bryan Newson, Office of Cultural Affairs, Vancouver City Hall at 871-6000. For info on Arts in Action, call Richard Tetrault at 251-1622. For info on art in public places (including bus benches) call the Vancouver Association for Noncommercial Culture at 872-5377. For the names and phone numbers of local business associations see the "Inventory of Community Organizations". ---------- Intergenerational Activities Activities that bring young and old together revive a social arrangement that was taken for granted in the past, and still is in many traditional cultures. It is an arrangement that promotes mutual care, transmits cultural values, and enriches the lives of everyone involved. The Volunteer Grandparents Society of B has just celebrated their 20th year in operation. Children ages 3-12 who have no grandparent living nearby are matched with volunteer grandparents. At present 500 individuals making up 130 "extended families" see each other regularly, as well as participate in group events and outings. Though at present the society caters only to the Lower Mainland, organizers hope to expand across the province in the next year. Oral history projects are a wonderful way of bringing seniors and young people together. Recently, twenty-five Grade 12 students at Lord Byng Secondary participated in a life review project with seniors at Yaletown House. Together they created the book "Snapshots of a Generation". Several years ago, students at Lord Selkirk Elementary participated in a similar project, producing "Happy to Live in Cedar Cottage." The Generation Connection Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of intergenerational communication. The Society has developed a "Computer Literacy Program" for seniors. As part of the project SeniorLink, an on-line network, was established to allow seniors to communicate electronically with people of all ages. The Generation Connection Society has also undertaken projects in which people of different ages come together to focus on specific community concerns. In one project high school students and seniors shared their experience of alcohol and substance abuse. Starting the third Sunday in May, the B Council for the Family sponsors an Intergenerational Week. To promote the week, it spotlights organizations which are active intergenerationally, but unrecognized. Because the Council serves as a clearing house for information on such projects, a call to them will get you a package on activities and resources, as well as posters, buttons and balloons. For more information call: Volunteer Grandparents Society of BC, at 736-8271 The Generation Connection, at 731-5399. Rae Marie MacAuley, Volunteers for Seniors, Burrard Health Unit, at 736-9844. Seniors Centres: 411 Seniors Centre, at 684-8171 Brock House, at 228-1461 Maureen Ashfield, B Council for the Family, at 660-0675. ---------- Environmental Activities Painted yellow salmon now decorate some of the catch-basins across our city, to remind us that what we put into our storm sewers eventually ends up in our oceans. A program administered locally through the City's Environmental Protection Branch, it encourages people to paint the salmon by providing a kit containing a video, instruction manual, latex paint and template, and a reflective vest; as well as leaflets to distribute throughout the neighbourhood. The long term goal is to mark all 30,000 of Vancouver's catch-basins. Although geared to school age children, the project can be undertaken by any person or group. Many environmental groups, such as the Vancouver Salmon Streams Society, the False Creek South Access Committee, and the Environmental Youth Alliance, have been involved in projects to clean up and restore the eco-systems of our city's streams and shore lines. In 1994, a group of Collingwood residents began a project to rehabilitate the Still Creek ravine between East 24th and 29th Avenues. The "Creating Dynamic Communities" Committee hopes to bring the stream back to life with indigenous plant and wildlife, while building a sense of pride and control amongst residents. For more information call: Neil McCreedy, Environmental Protection Branch, at 873-7528 Mona Keffer, Institute for Urban Ecology, Douglas College, at 527-5522 Vickie Jo Morris, Creating Dynamic Communities, at 875-9910 Siobahn Ryan, the Vancouver Permaculture Network, at 873-4335 Steve Litke, the Eco-City Network, at 874-3907. For community eco-educational workshops, contact SPEC, at 736-7732. ---------- Organizing around Hot Issues People often organize around a single issue. They get together because they are annoyed or angry about street prostitution, extra taxes, or an ugly building scheme. Often the issue is a proposed change or addition to the neighbourhood that is seen as undesirable. Those in favour of changes or additions often describe this kind of activism as NIMBYism (Not-In-My-Back-Yard syndrome), a selfish attempt by residents to keep their part of town just as it is, in defiance of some larger public good. They rarely mention how the first towns arose out of the natural tendency for people to band together to oppose disruptive outside forces. A potential threat may be just what is needed to mobilize citizens. Neighbours in Hastings/Sunrise found strength and common purpose in the discussion surrounding the proposed redevelopment of Hastings Park. Oakridge had no neighbourhood organization until community planners began talking about redevelopment - when suddenly the need for a neighbourhood "voice" became clear. Kitsilano residents found the need to organize over proposed zoning changes that threatened older houses and low-cost rental accommodation. Glen Park Neighbours got together to deal with an unsatisfactory development proposal for an abandoned supermarket site. Sometimes an issue can serve to invigorate an existing organization. On one east-side block, neighbours decided to petition the city for paving and lighting in their lane. Their group grew as they contacted neighbours across the back lane to support their request. This in turn strengthened a Block Watch already in place. But organizing around a hot issue can be a waste of time if it leads to a hardening of positions. Too often, citizens have worn themselves out in fights that might have been resolved to everyone's satisfaction through collaborative problem solving that focused on interests rather than positions. Until recently, most of the books written about community organizing have taken a battlefield approach, because it used to be the only way to influence public decision-making. With the dawning of a new age of co-operation between government and citizens, let's hope that the roundtable will replace the battlefield. For more information see: "The Citizen's Library" and "Community Organizing" sections of the Handbook; and the Community Action Pack produced by Health Canada. ---------- Block by Block Organizing In the spring of 1993 a number of Mount Pleasant residents decided to create a community organization that included everyone. They wanted a democratic organization with authority vested in a large number of people rather than a small group of self-appointed individuals with a high tolerance for evening meetings. After some discussion they sketched out a model micro-democracy based on block-by-block representation. This is a block level micro-democracy works. Resident organizers find block reps for every block in the area. A block can either be a block of houses, an apartment block, co-op, or condominium complex. Block reps get to know everyone on their block, then introduce them to one another. When neighbours first meet, they are often surprised and delighted to discover how many interesting people live on their own block. Once residents know one another, they can elect a block rep. Block reps then elect neighbourhood reps, who get together to form a co-ordinating committee for the area. This simple organization can easily link many people over a large area; it can also help to form a much better link between citizens and government. In addition to linking people, block reps can promote mutual aid. At the block level, mutual aid can range from dealing with a noisy neighbour, to finding someone to look after your cat while you are on vacation. The side effect of these small exchanges is a sense of community, a commodity in short supply in the modern city. Here are some tips when organizing block-by-block. ~ First, make the task manageable by focusing on small neighbourhoods. What the City now calls neighbourhoods - Kerrisdale, Riley Park, Marpole, and so forth - are actually large areas that each contain many small neighbourhoods. ~ Secondly, encourage each block to act independently. Only when a problem is too large or difficult for a single block should people from other blocks become involved. ~ Thirdly, organize in twos, so each block has two block reps, and each neighbourhood has two neighbourhood reps. This provides friendly support, improves information exchange, and reduces workloads. ~ Finally, consider integrating with Block Watch. While the former works across a street, and the latter across the lane, they can support one another. For more information call: Charles Dobson, Mount Pleasant Area Network, at 877-0109. ---------- Kitchen Table Discussion Groups A Kitchen Table Discussion group is a small collection of people who get together in someone's home to talk, listen and share ideas on subjects of mutual interest. The host often begins by reminding everyone that there are no right or wrong ideas, and that everyone's contribution is valuable. The host also encourages people to listen, to ask clarifying questions, and to avoid arguing or interrupting. Kitchen table discussion groups are similar to the salons of the past, once the prime vehicle for social change. Many of the two hundred "City Circles" that contributed to CityPlan were kitchen table discussion groups. The city supplied facilitators for many of these groups to help move the process forward, and ensure equal opportunities for input. City planners also used kitchen table discussion groups in the Downtown Eastside to provide a forum for residents of residential hotels to articulate their concerns about development in their neighbourhood. The West Point Grey Residents Association used the same approach to develop their own community plan. The B Council for the Family uses the kitchen table discussion process when they want to consult communities about strengthening families and creating healthier communities. Volunteers, family service providers, parents, grandparents, community elders, teens and professionals gather together to share their concerns and knowledge in this informal setting. The approach, says Carol Matusicky of the B Council For the Family, "helped facilitate a sense of shared ownership and a sense that change is possible, as well as a sense that problems, if not completely solvable, can become manageable." If you are interested in a broad-based discussion of health in your community, the Ministry of Health will provide you with a kitchen table discussion kit, plus a facilitator or interpreter. Get in touch with your local Health Council Planning Group, or the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board Office to find out how people in your community are tackling the large issue of health. For more information call: Gloria Demming Hall, West Point Grey Residents Association, 228-9890 Jon Munn, Community Design Consultant, 732-3999 ---------- Visioning Exercises Guided visioning exercises have become popular in many fields as a way of defining and achieving a desirable future. Recent studies have shown that we are more likely to reach an objective if we can see it, and can imagine the steps to reach it. Visioning has become a familiar technique in sports. High-jumpers, for instance, regularly take the time to imagine themselves going through the steps of jumping higher than they have ever jumped before. Citizens can use visioning to create images that can help to guide change in the city. In a typical visioning exercise a facilitator asks participants to close their eyes and imagine they are walking through their neighbourhood as it should be fifteen years into the future. What do they see? What do the buildings look like? Where do people gather? How do they make decisions? What are they eating? Where are they working? How are they travelling? What is happening on the street? Where is the centre of the neighbourhood? How does greenspace and water fit into the picture? What do you see when you walk around after dark? People record their visions in written or pictorial form; in diagrams, sketches, models, photographic montages, and in written briefs. Sometimes a professional illustrator helps turn mental images into drawings of the city that people can extend and modify. CityPlan used visioning techniques to arrive at a number of alternative futures for the city. Vancouverites were then asked to vote for their favourite. For more information call : Doug Soo, Britannia Community Centre, at 253-4391. ---------- Information Sharing Knock and drop How do you tell everyone in your neighbourhood about an event they should attend? The Kitsilano Residents Association does a "Knock and Drop." Block reps knock on doors to invite neighbours to attend; if no one is home they drop off a leaflet. Other groups put up posters. Some photocopy machines can turn a leaflet into an 11 x 17 poster suitable for advertising in laundries, community centres and libraries. If you want people to attend your event, the best approach is ask everyone to invite friends, family and neighbours. Newsletters A newsletter is one of the most common ways of staying in touch. Community newsletters range in frequency from two to twelve times a year. Most are 8 1/2 x 11 printed both sides or a folded 11 x 17 sheet printed both sides. Printing is either by high speed photocopying or "instant" offset printing. You may be able to defray printing costs by enlisting the support of local merchants, local government, or community organizations. The big job in putting out a newsletter is finding people who are willing and able to write articles that others are interested in reading. Take the time to search out people with the necessary skills to write and edit your newsletter. Other people should be available to deal with printing, funding and distribution. To make your newsletter appear worth reading you should also try to find someone with a computer, desktop publishing software and access to a laser printer. Engaging newsletters look like little newspapers with narrow columns, photographs and bold headlines. Try to deliver your newsletter by hand. If you have block reps, they can easily deliver to their own block. Local newspapers Local newspapers can also help with information sharing. Because newspapers thrive on conflict, you may find a neighbourhood solution gets much less attention than a problem. Fortunately, the small papers may be changing their idea of what should go into a newspaper. One of the best known said that it would publish, without charge, articles with a neighbourhood focus that were well written and worth reading. Telephone trees A telephone tree is a fast, person-to-person information sharing technique. It requires a co-ordinator, and a list of who-calls-whom. An outgoing message starts with the co-ordinator who calls a predetermined list of ten activators. The ten activators in turn each call another predetermined list of ten people, who in turn each call another ten. It is important to make sure those at the base of the tree are reliable. The co-ordinator should check by occasionally calling people at the outer tips. Computer networks A new electronic information-sharing network is now operating called the Vancouver Community Net. It provides free access to community information, community organizations, community discussions, expert advice and electronic mail through a 24 hour dial-up computer service. In the future, terminals in public libraries will also provide access. To reach the CommunityNet modem 257-8778, or (better) connect over the internet to www.vcn.bc.ca. A local computer bulletin board, known as Alternatives BBS (modem 430-8080), also has a grassroots focus. Another way of staying in touch with citizens locally and in other cities is through an internet connection. You can use the internet to put questions to interested people, simultaneously all over world. Their replies will help you understand what works in other cities. Many schools and businesses have an internet connection. Those who do not have free access can use a dial-up service provider. Many internet service providers advertise in the Computer Paper, free in many corner stores and branch libraries. Fax networks A fax network operates by everyone faxing messages into a central node. They are then sorted and faxed out automatically to a list of subscribers. Until the fax machine (or its equivalent) becomes more common, subscribers will have to use traditional methods to relay information to those who do not have the necessary hardware. Autodialer networks A new idea for involving large numbers of people lightly is an autodialer which sends short messages to answering machines. Subscribers receive messages on topics they designate, when they are not at home. The system uses a computer and database directory to digitize voice messages then send them out automatically. Operating on one line, during week days, it can deliver a 1 minute message to 5000 people per week. Evenings and weekends, people can dial back to get further information automatically through a touch tone system. Besides being an effective local broadcasting system that guarantees message delivery, an autodialer network can also be used for neighbourhood polling and elections. One supplier of the inexpensive PhoneTree autodialer is Noseworthy Telecommunications located near Seattle, phone 204-745-6222. ---------- All Sorts of Other Activities The preceding list of community building activities only hints at the possibilities for community building at the local level. Other possibilities are limited only by your imagination. They might include joining or creating: * a garden club that exchanges cuttings and advice; * a local traffic committee to promote traffic calming; * a parks committee; * a car co-operative that allows people who do not own cars to access one inexpensively; * a community cafe, or local hangout; * a local barter or currency system; * a neighbourhood brewing circle to batch brew beer; * a local baseball, volleyball, road hockey, boccie ball team; * a seniors' club that arranges excursions; * a local historical society that unearths local history and tries to preserve local buildings; * a supper club that eats its way around a circuit of local restaurants; * a kids' sports group; * a local jogging, exercise, or tai-chi club; * a local food co-op that provides inexpensive food in exchange for a small contribution of time; * a volunteer group providing after-hour services to those in need; * a local theatre group; * a local singing group; * a neighbourhood design panel that comments on new development; * a local earthquake preparedness group; * a local welcoming committee for new residents. The City of Vancouver also provides many opportunities for public involvement in creating a more liveable city. ---------- The Citizen's Library Books on Building Local Democracy The Rebirth of Urban Democracy Jeff Berry, Kent Portney, Ken Thomson; Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, 1993. Critics of participatory democracy will have a hard time dismissing this detailed study of five U.S. cities - Birmingham, Dayton, Portland, St. Paul, and San Antonio. The five were chosen because they actively involve citizens (as members of neighbourhood associations) in local policy and decision-making. The authors see the ability of citizens to affect local affairs as a way of strengthening the weak democracies of both Canada and the U.S., where the voice of citizens is limited to voting. In strong democracies citizens take part in civic affairs between elections. The Rebirth of Urban Democracy is partly textbook, partly academic study, with numerous tables that look like Greek to those who have forgotten the meaning of chi square. Still, the authors' conclusions are clear. Formalizing regular citizen involvement in the city works for everybody. It builds community as well as democracy, improves liveability, reduces conflict between competing interest groups in the neighbourhood, and improves citizens' opinions of city hall. Fears that local opposition would block developments beneficial to the whole city did not materialize in any of the cities studied. The authors include a section on the reasons for the failures of citizen involvement programs of the seventies. They also identify what it takes to nudge a city government into partnerships with neighbourhood associations. To avoid lengthy delays order The Rebirth of Urban Democracy directly from Brookings Books, 202-797-6258. The Quickening of America Frances Moore Lappe and Paul Martin DuBois, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1994. This up-beat book for anyone interested in empowering citizens is flawed only by a tendency to refer to people as Americans. The authors, who run the Centre for a Living Democracy, believe that democracy is developing from something we have, into something we do, with excitement and satisfaction. Section headings include: Claiming Our Self Interest (It's not Selfishness), Discovering Power (Its not a Dirty Word), Making the Media Our Voice, Governing "By the People", and Mastering the Arts of Democracy: One-on-One and Group Skills. Reinventing Government David Osborne & Ted Gaebler, Penguin Paperbacks, 1993. Reinventing Government changed the way politicians and bureaucrats look at government. The authors provide many inspiring examples that contrast with the expensive and clumsy efforts we've come to expect of public institutions. They recommend government shift toward: * Empowering rather than serving citizens * Steering (deciding on policy) rather than rowing (providing services) * Injecting competition into service delivery * Funding outputs rather than inputs * Becoming mission-oriented rather than rule-driven * Turning hierarchies into cross-disciplinary team Osborne and Gaebler make it clear that citizen empowerment is an attractive alternative for both the right and the left of the political spectrum. A super-short, city-oriented version of the book can be had in the article, "Ten Ways to Turn DC Around", by David Osborne, reprinted in the book Internal Markets by William Halal. DC refers to the City of Washington, DC. Busting Bureaucracy: How to Conquer Your Organization's Worst Enemy Kenneth Johnston, Business One Irwin, 1993. Johnston puts the experience of twenty years of fixing organizations into this book. He shows how most organizations suffer from the immobilizing symptoms of bureaucratic form devised to promote control, consistency and accountability during the early part of this century. Today it has become the chief cause of demoralized employees and poor corporate performance. Bureaucracy is despaired by everyone, including senior management. It remains, nevertheless, entrenched in many organizations, the residue of old assumptions about human nature and ways of doing work. Everyone will recognize the common traits of bureaucratic form: a hierarchial structure; management by rules or policies; and an emphasis on consistency. Others include an "in-focus" (concentrating on the needs of the organization) or an "up-focus" (concentrating on a board) rather than a focus on the needs of customers; a tendency to grow in staff "above the line" regardless of the amount of work to be done; and the compartmentalization of work according to special knowledge. Johnston shows how to bust bureaucracy by creating front line teams, systems that ensure continuous feedback, and a shadow organization to guide the change to a mission-driven organization capable of continuous improvement. ---------- The Citizen's Library Books on Grassroots Action Organizing Helping Seniors Mobilize Beth Mairs, Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre Press, Toronto, 1993. Helping Seniors Mobilize is a short manual on general organizing woven together with the story of how a paid community development worker (Mairs) pulled together an isolated and alienated group of seniors in Lawrence Heights, a Metro Toronto neighbourhood consisting solely of subsidized public housing units. Recommended. Every Voice Counts Penny Kome, Canadian Council on the Status of Women, Ottawa, 1989. Kome's condensed guide on organizing and small "p" political action takes the novice from researching an issue to lobbying and legal action. Most examples focus on women. Better than many similar books three times the length. Available free of charge from the Canadian Council on the Status of Women, Box 1541, Station B, Ottawa, K1A 5R3; by quoting No 89-L-156. Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing Lee Staples, Praeger, New York, 1984. Roots to Power is a good text on nuts and bolts organizing. It is especially good on recruiting, strategies and action plans, and dealing with counter-tactics. Top practitioners have contributed special sections on meetings, memberships, coalitions, public relations, negotiating, action ideas, and carrying-out action plans. Taking Action: Working Together for Positive Change in Your Community Elizabeth Amer, Self Counsel Press, 1992. Taking Action is the most useful book on grassroots organizing in Canada. It is written by a woman with all the necessary credentials; Amer worked for Pollution Probe; organized the battle to save her Toronto Island neighbourhood from the bulldozer, and went on to become a member of Toronto City council. Taking Action is easy to read, full of examples, and sprinkled with how-to advice not to be found in other books. Like most Self Counsel books, it is usually in stock in most Vancouver book stores. Organizing: a Guide for Grassroots Leaders Si Kahn, McGraw Hill, New York, 1981, Revised 1991. Kahn's book is easy to read. Chapters are broken into many subsections each of which addresses a particular question such as What makes a good issue? or How do you get people to come to a meeting? You don't need to plow through the whole book to find material relevant to your situation. Organizing is available from the Vancouver Public Library, as are most of the books on our list. ---------- The Citizen's Library Books on Publicity & Media Advocacy Guerrilla P.R.: How You Can Wage an Effective Publicity Campaign without Going Broke Michael Levine, Harper Business, NY, 1993. This is not P.R. for guerrillas, but P.R. for people with no money. Citizen and public interest groups can benefit from this chatty but thorough book. Levine shows how to get publicity by coming up with ideas that engage the press. The first of his Ten Commandments for Dealing With Media is, "Never be boring. Never!" Promoting Issues and Ideas: A Guide to Public Relations for Non-profit Organizations Public Interest Public Relations, A Division of M. Booth and Associates, The Foundation Center, New York, 1987. Too many worthwhile efforts go unnoticed because citizens fear the media, or fail to grasp what makes news. Promoting Issues & Ideas can help overcome this problem. You would be wise to compliment this book with a do-it-yourself manual published in Canada, such as Michael Ura's Making the News, A Guide to Using the Media, published by the West Coast Environmental Law Foundation. You can purchase Promoting Issues and Ideas from Volunteer Vancouver, Heritage Hall, 2102 Main Street, 875-9144. Volunteer Vancouver carries other books helpful to non-profits; it also operates a 4000 item resource library. Media Advocacy and Public Health Lawrence Wallack et al, Sage Publications, New York, 1993. Easily the most sophisticated book on tapping the media. Wallach and his co-authors show how citizens' groups can take action through the media that will nudge governments into "doing the right thing". If you're serious about achieving public policy objectives, get this book. Five Stars. Let the World Know: Make Your Cause News Jason Salzman, Rocky Mountain Media Watch, Box 18858, Denver, CO, 80218, Phone 303-832-7558. Cost US $10 + $3.50 postage, handling and tax. A pithy, easy-to-use handbook on working the media. Salzman based the book on interviews with media-savvy activists and 25 professional journalists. ---------- The Citizen's Library Books on Working with Others When Everyone's a Volunteer - The Effective Functioning of All-Volunteer Groups Ivan Sheier, Energize Inc, Philadelphia, PA, 1992. Here is a booklet for those who have become queasy riding the roller-coaster of an all-volunteer group. It is written by an expert on building organizations with volunteer support. Sheier covers goal setting, distributing work, getting members, working with no money, and co-operating with others. He also details a collection of group exercises, and networking schemes. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Roger Fisher & William Ury, Penguin, 1983. Fisher and Ury's best-seller on conflict resolution has been translated into eighteen languages. The authors show how conflict can be quite healthy if you can separate the people from the problem, and focus on interests rather than on positions. When unexpressed interests are identified, the parties involved can usually create options that will benefit everyone. If you prefer a workshop to a book, the Justice Institute runs a highly-rated 3 day course based on Getting to Yes. They offer the course, "Dealing with Interpersonal Conflict", several times per month. For more information call the Justice Institute at 222-7111. Working Collectively Women's Self Help Network, 1990. Six British Columbia womens' collectives contributed material to this condensed spiral-bound booklet on performing daily work in an atmosphere of democracy and co-operation. In simple language, it covers decision-making and overcoming common problems, and provides seventeen tools for ensuring a happy productive group. It is available from the Comox Valley Women's Resource Centre, PO Box 3292, Courtenay, BC, V9N 5N4, 1-338 1133, and occasionally from the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board Office, 1285 West Broadway, Vancouver, Phone 775-1866. The Different Drum M.Scott Peck, Simon & Schuster, NY, 1987. Peck provides an explanation of the nature of real community and how it is created. He draws on his own youthful encounters with community, and subsequent experience running workshops for the non-profit Institute for Community Encouragement. The workshops aim at creating a deep level of connectedness between participants without any prior connection. Peck argues any group can form itself into a community if it goes through three stages. In two day workshops, Institute trainers take groups through these stages. In the first stage, Pseudocommunity, everyone tries to be extremely pleasant and avoid disagreement. In the second stage, Chaos, people argue and struggle in various ways to heal or convert one another. In the third stage, Emptiness, people stop acting like they had it all together and begin to share their own defeats, failures, sins and inadequacies. According to Peck, if a group can move through Emptiness, it can achieve community. Community is characterized by realism, humility, self-awareness, and the inclusiveness of people who are different. Once a group achieves community the most frequent comment is, "I feel safe here". Peck notes that the usual way out of Chaos is organization. He argues that excessive organization and strong leaders are a threat to community. In a real community, everyone is a leader. The second half of the book applies community building to enhancing the international peace movement. Peck, a psychiatrist, overlays The Different Drum with a New Age therapy-is-healthy outlook that may put off some readers. Anyone so inclined should at least consider chapter five, "Stages of Community-Making" and chapter six, "Further Dynamics of Community". Building Communities from the Inside Out John Kretzmann & John McKnight, Centre for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Neighbourhoods Innovation Network, Northwestern University, Evaston, Illinois, 1993. The authors argue we can bring communities back to life if we focus on local assets rather than on local needs. By beginning every community development process with a needs assessment, we unwittingly make people needy and dependent. Kretzmann and McKnight say we have to stop seeing the glass as half empty and begin to see it as half full. We need to identify, then build on, strengths latent in the community. Originally written for U.S. cities suffering from economic decline, most of the book easily applies to less troubled Canadian communities. The first part covers explicit techniques for identifying a community's resources: local individuals, institutions, and associations. This process usually turns up far more active groups and individuals in an area than anyone ever imagined. In one 24 block neighbourhood in Chicago housing 85,000 people, researchers found 230 associations of various kinds - artistic, business, charitable, church, collectors, elderly, ethnic, health, interest, mens, self-help, neighbourhood, outdoors, political, school, service, social cause, sports, study, veterans, women, and youth. Most of the book consists of hundreds of one-sentence examples of what happens when these and other fragments of community begin working in partnership with one another. Each story has a contact name and phone number, to help the reader move from reading to acting. The stories show how local seniors, disabled persons, welfare recipients, and local artists can work with institutions, the private sector and associations. They also show how institutions such as schools, parks, libraries, community colleges, police, and hospitals can work in partnership with one another. McKnight's work is probably the most sophisticated community development material around. Thankfully it is amongst the most down-to-earth. For a copy of Building Communities form the Inside Out call the Center for Urban Affairs at 708-491-3518. ---------- The Citizen's Library Other Books, Local Task Force Reports Books on cities? Books on Vancouver? We don't have the space to review books on cities in general or Vancouver in particular. But in case you're wondering where to start, here are a few suggestions. On cities: City: Rediscovering the Center by William Whyte; The New Urbanism, Toward an Architecture of Community by Peter Katz; Collaborative Communities by Dorit Fromm (on co-housing), Reclaiming Our Cities & Towns, Better Living With Less Traffic by David Engwicht; The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs; City Form and Natural Process by Michael Hough. On this city: Vancouver, a Visual History by Bruce Macdonald, Vancouver's Many Faces by Kevin Griffin (on Vancouver's ethnic communities), Heritage Walks Around Vancouver by Michael Kluckner and John Atkin. If you are interested in a complete summary of all the government agencies and non-profits operating in the city and what they do, check out the Red Book published by Information Services and available in the reference section of your local public library. If you are interested in how developers view the city look at Back to the Future: Redesigning Our Landscapes with Form, Place and Density published by the Urban Development Institute, Pacific Region. Models of Neighbourhood Participation In Local Government Vickie Jo Morris, Social Planning Department, City of Vancouver, 1993. Morris has created a little gem for citizens active in any city. Her twenty-two page paper summarizes how the cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Jacksonville, Dayton, Jerusalem, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, and Roanoke, Virginia work in partnership with neighbourhoods. For those seeking more information, it contains the names and phone numbers of key neighbourhood liaison people in each city. Models of Neighbourhood Participation shows how many cities view citizens not as a nuisance but as a resource. This publication was so popular, all printed copies soon disappeared. Now you can get a copy from our new internet site: Frisky Democracy SPARC Publications The Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia has published many works on citizen participation at the local level such as A Citizen's Guide to Community Social Planning; Planning Ourselves In: Women and the Community Planning Process; Community Economic Development in B; and Creating Housing For Healthy Communities. In addition, SPARC publishes a newsletter on community affairs in B, which is free with a membership. SPARC has also created a Community Development Institute; its publications and workshops compliment the material in this Handbook. For more information, contact SPARC at 106-2182 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, phone 736-8118, fax 736-8697. . CityPlan, Directions for the Future Planning Department, City of Vancouver, 1995. CityPlan, Directions for the Future came from an initiative to develop a long range, comprehensive plan for the City of Vancouver by consulting with people who live and work in the City. Launched in 1992, CityPlan proceeded through three initial steps in which people created ideas, discussed ideas, and then considered issues and choices. Based on the results, staff created a draft plan for public discussion in the fall of 1994. The favoured future, a "City of Neighbourhood Centres", would emphasize distinctive focal points in the city with a variety of shops, jobs, services, public places, and some new higher density housing. It would also discourage car use in favour of walking and transit. And it would see more occasions for residents and city staff to work together at the neighbourhood level to deal with local problems. For more detail, obtain a copy of The Draft City Plan and copies of the Ideas Books (ideas submitted to CityPlan by the general public) and the results of various surveys and questionnaires from the Planning Department, Third Floor, East Wing, City Hall. For more information on CityPlan call 873-7526 or review the latest CityPlan material on the city's internet site. Safer City Task Force Report City Clerk's Office, City of Vancouver, 1993. This hefty 360 page report examines safety and urban design, domestic violence and violence in schools. It stresses the importance of involving citizens in efforts to improve safety and reduce crime. It also suggests ways of designing safer environments through simple measures that ensure informal surveillance. Community Profiles Planning Department, City of Vancouver. Community Profiles provide an up to date overview of each of Vancouver's twenty-three local areas based on the most recent (1991) census data. They contain information on history and heritage; social and economic characteristics; transportation features; parks, recreation and leisure opportunities; planning and development activity; community facilities and services. You can find copies of the profiles in public libraries, community centres, schools, and various community and government organizations. You can also see the profiles on the city's internet site, or purchase copies for a small fee from the Reception Desk, Planning Department, 3rd Floor, East Wing, City Hall. When the Bough Breaks United Way, 4543 Canada Way, Burnaby, 1993. A consultant group prepared When the Bough Breaks as a local report on how to plan and co-ordinate services to children and their families. The main focus of the report is on the need to develop neighbourhood government with the power to plan and manage an integrated service delivery system. Greenways/Publicways Final Report Urban Landscape Task Force, City of Vancouver, 1992. The Report is a clear and easy to read document that spells out how to improve the quality of spaces used by pedestrians and bicyclists to move through the city. It includes fifteen essential actions such as "Reclaim Local Streets for Bicycles", "Promote the Urban Forest", and "Reinforce a City of Urban Villages". It also includes a nifty section called Gifts and Tools comprised of twenty-seven items with titles like "City Nights", "Chalk Talk", "Civic and Sacred Places", "The Litigation Landscape", and "Linking Vancouver to the Sea and Sky". Clouds of Change Task Force on Atmospheric Change, Vancouver Health Department, 1990. The task force suggested actions the City could take to address the local, regional and global problems of air pollution and climate change. City Council adopted 34 of the report's recommendations. State of the Environment Report Special Office for the Environment, City of Vancouver, 1993. This is a report card on how well we are taking care of our natural environment in and around the city. It looks at air quality, contaminated sites, environmental assessment, water quality, environmental protection and solid waste. ---------- The Citizen's Library Magazines National Civic Review National Civic Review, 300,1445 Market St; Denver, Colorado, 80202, phone 303-571-4343. The National Civic Review is the monthly publication of the National Civic League, founded in 1894 by a bunch of rabble rousing civic reformers. They had two purposes: end local corruption, and promote active citizen involvement in the governance of their community. The Review provides articles and case studies of citizen involvement in local planning, education, health care, and environmental protection. The National Civic League also publishes material from organizations with similar goals such as the Program for Community Problem-Solving in Washington, DC and the Institute for the Arts of Democracy in Larkspur, California. Canada has no organization comparable to the National Civic League. Utne Reader Utne Reader; 1624 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403. The Utne Reader backs up its own articles with reprints from the alternative press. The editorial group that assembles the magazine has a wide range of interests, including social action, and community building. In September 1994, the cover story was "Saving Our Cities from the Experts"; in March 1995, "Cyberhood vs Neighbourhood, Are Computer Networks Real Communities?". In March 1991, it was "Salons, How to Revive the Endangered Art of Conversation and Start a Revolution in Your Living Room". That story blossomed into a national "Neighbourhood Salons" program, with an unofficial motto from Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Utne Reader is available on many newsstands. ---------- Models of Neighbourhood Participation in Local Government by Vickie Jo Morris Prepared for The City of Vancouver, Social Planning Department READY OR NOT! Project, May 1993 Survey Introduction and Method Edmonton, Alberta Calgary, Alberta Montreal, Quebec Portland, Oregon Roanoke, Virginia Seattle, Washington Minneapolis, Minnesota Dayton, Ohio Jacksonville, Florida Jerusalem ---------- Vancouver Projects This section samples a selection of community building projects from around Va