Discussion on the Creation of Community

 

The following was a short discussion on Linked In

"The creation of community --fundamentally based on the relations between people -- is largely beyond the reach of government...

and the sooner we understand that the better. Otherwise we'll wait a long time for government (or any other large organization, for that matter) to build urban villages, and then they may be named Potemkin."--David Sucher in "City Comforts. How To Build An Urban Village"

A fine book, full of great photos and suggestions. I've found that illustrations are some of the greatest tools in working with clients to see possibilities and consider options beyond their current experience...and they often work far better than the regulatory hammer

Pete Pointner FAICP, ALA, ITE • Jim,
Government controls land use; the type, pattern, density, quality and timing of development. Not all governments want to exercise their authority or do so badly, agreed. But are you saying that the physical environment does not influence the development of a sense of community?

Jim Canter, AICP • Pete, I hope I understand your question correctly. (The quote is not mine, but David Sucher's--I happen to agree with it.) I DO believe the physical environment influences a sense of community. I concur with Sucher that it's primarily individual land owners that do the deed. The role of the government is to create a level playing field and reasonable ground rules. (from "City Comforts, p12.).

It's the government imposed, "if we build it, they will come" mentality taken to levels larger than a community can absorb that leads to taxpayers subsidizing developments to make them financially viable. This results in government supported businesses with whom ordinary landowners and businessmen can not compete.

My goal, especially as a private sector planner is to inspire, not control. The town where I grew up in Tennessee took the inspiration approach and simply created some nice streetscapes on the square and vicinity where the County Courthouse stood. As a result, surrounding landowners caught the vision and are making improvements to their properties in order to keep up.

The "Potemkin" illustration is an interesting one. There's an article on that here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village

Pete Pointner FAICP, ALA, ITE • Thanks for the response Jim,
My experience is both private and public sector. Though I agree that government doesn't create a sense of community, both government and the private sector can foster a sense of community by how they plan, design, build and service the built environment. A case in point about how the built environment can influence a sense of identity is the historic Pullman district in Chicago, designated as one of America's Great Neighborhoods by APA last October. Anyone interested can get a copy of an article I wrote in the STaR newsletter by contacting me via njp@petepointner.com.