Susanka and her colleagues on the panel at the annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference were discussing ways to take the “Not So Big” concept for homes to the next level by thinking about and planning for the “Not So Big” community.  Like with re-scaling homes that have grown in size over the past few decades, Susanka and colleagues shared ideas and experiences where demand for neighborhoods and communities sized to a human scale are beginning to take root.  One example came from panelist and architect Ross Chapin about designing pocket neighborhoods, where walkability, compact design, and sustainable land use come together.

I’ve been following Susanka and many of these concepts for several years after being turned onto the work of Christopher Alexander in his seminal work A Pattern Language.  The concepts are fairly simple and smack of common sense–e.g. creating places, designing for people not cars, utilizing natural assets, etc.  Many of LISC’s community development partners and their architects and development teams have been putting these concepts to work.  The most prevalent being design principles that reduce crime and improve public safety.

All of these concepts are timely as we look toward future challenges on the horizon, in particular demographic shifts and persistent energy issues.  The good news is that examples for how to put the concept of “Not So Big communities” are growing, both locally and across the country.  We can increase the pace of this change by sharing our own concepts with our friends, colleagues and neighbors to create more livable and sustainable communities.

I thought applying to college was difficult.

I can appreciate the challenges school districts state and country-wide are facing.  St. Paul Superintendent Valeria Silva and her colleagues have tough choices ahead as well: constrained budgets, heightened standards, persistent achievement gaps, and changing demographics (aging, empty-nesting voter base included).  At the same time, there will be ongoing competition from private options and charter schools and even home schooling.

Opportunities to innovate in education also abound.  For example, the St. Paul Public Schools were one of 21 successful applications to the Obama Administration’s Promise Neighborhoods initiative at the Department of Education.  Two St. Paul elementary schools, Jackson and Maxfield, and their surrounding communities are the target of concentrated and collaborative planning efforts to improve educational achievement for students attending these schools.  (Full disclosure: I participate on the Advisory Board for the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood).

As I look at the choices ahead of me with respect to education for my own family and for the community where I live and work, I can’t help but think there has got to be some fundamental shifting in the ways we educate our children if we are going to truly innovate and meet the challenges of achievement across the board.  I know I’m not alone in this thinking and there are countless resources and brain-cells currently (and historically) devoted to this question.  Yet, I’m reminded every day of the many community and personal assets to draw from to transform educational experiences and outcomes for kids and adults, but we have to manage our way out of the “silos” to effectively utilize those assets.

I’m encouraged that the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood planning process is one step toward greater collaboration among the schools and community and breaking down those silos.  As for making a choice for kindergarten…like winter in Minnesota, I’ll attempt to enjoy the season.

Stories like the the recent opening of Kindred Kitchen on Minneapolis’ north side.  It’s a new food business incubator where people who have a knack for cooking and a passion for operating their own small business can go to utilize a state of the art commercial kitchen.  My Aunt Polly, who for years baked baklava for a restaurant out of her own kitchen, would have loved to have a place like this and it’s already being put to use by local entreprenuers.

And if you like supporting other local entrepreneurs, there’s no other place quite like the Midtown Global Market. Food products, cooking classes, gifts for the holidays…what could be better?

Homegrown Minneapolis has been gaining interest and support in a few short years.  This effort by the City of Minneapolis is focused on building a local food system that encourages community gardening and mini-markets among other strategies to improve access to healthy food.  Gardening Matters is another community-based effort to help neighborhood residents engage in more locally produced, fresh food.

Intrigued by canning or backyard chickens?  Egg/Plant Urban Farm Supply in St. Paul might just have the answers you need.

I’m sure there are many, many more examples of how the locavore movement is really taking shape across the region.  At the same time, these efforts are also reconnecting us to our local community in familiar, albeit somewhat historical, ways.  I love seeing how these new developments for food access and security also present new opportunities for how we can strengthen our local communities.

I welcome your thoughts and more examples for how local food production is advancing in your neighborhood, or your own backyard.

Five years ago, we moved into our first home and had our first child. Over the years, we met a handful of our neighbors and waved at many. However, this past summer, we lost the use of our backyard and spent an unusual amount of time on our front-step. And something magical happened. We met and fell in love with our neighbors—nearly all of them! As more and more informal gatherings began to happen on a regular basis, a small group of parents and grandparents decided a block party once a summer wasn’t enough. We then started shopping around for a bouncehouse to rent for the kids. Three times this summer, we had block parties and began to further the sense of belonging to the block and the neighborhood. When you spend your summer nights watching a group of kids sled down a three foot hill in a kiddie swimming pool, your defenses and resistance wither away and you get to know people.

Relationships were forged on the front-steps and “stroller highway sidewalks” that line our block, but cemented when needs have arisen. When a neighbor had a ruptured appendix, a group of families banded together to watch their three kids and provide as normal a week as was possible. And as we put our summer clothes away, I am struck by the transition that has occurred on our block. It is nearly impossible to go outside and not catch up with a neighbor or two and taking our recycling out is now a thirty minute exercise.

As I have experienced these changes this summer, I am struck by a book called “The Power of Clan” written by a sociologist and a physician (Wolf and Bruhn). They analyzed communities from 1935-1984 and found an Outlier, which became a story in Malcolm Gladwell’s book of the same name. They found a town in Pennsylvania that was nearly immune to heart disease. For men over 65, the local death rate was half the national average. In addition, they had 0% crime rate and no usage of public assistance. Researchers looked for logical solutions and couldn’t link it to diet, exercise or genetics. Rather, the role of place or community shaped the physical wellness of Rosetto residents.

“People are nourished by other people,” said Wolf, noting that the characteristics of tight-knit community are better predictors of healthy hearts than are low levels of serum cholesterol or tobacco use. He explained that an isolated individual may be overwhelmed by the problems of everyday life. Such a person internalized that feeling as stress which, in turn, can adversely affect everything from blood pressure to kidney function. That, however, is much less likely to be the outcome when a person is surrounded by caring friends, neighbors and relatives. The sense of being supported reduces stress and the disease stress engenders.”

Who would have thought than an $80 bouncehouse rental split 8 ways would do so much? Cheers to the Dora Bouncehouse and the importance of neighborhoods!