The work of community cultural development lies in creating the conditions for which as many community members as possible, or are feasible for the project, can discover the potential within themselves and their community to be moved to gather and combine their cultural resources to solve community concerns and advance...
Joan Leary Matthews blog on the Governor’s signing of the Lead Pipes Right to Know Act
Read Joan Leary Matthews's blog on the Governor’s signing of the Lead Pipes Right to Know Act. The Lead Pipe Right to Know Act is the first step toward replacing all of the lead service lines in the state. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/joan-leary-matthews/new-law-will-show-location-lead-drinking-water-pipes-new-york
Community Cultural Development – What is it? – Part 1
2022 Mural, City of Glens Falls, by Hannah Williams. Photo by Jon Crouch. You’ve probably noticed it when visiting a new place, especially in larger cities with distinctive neighborhoods. Think of New Orleans, for example. Even if you’ve never been there you’ve likely heard of the French Quarter, Bourbon Street,...
We Have Opinions: Provoking Thought
The turn of each New Year is often a good time for reflection, and commitment to new goals. What are your goals for your community in the coming year? Are your wells of creativity running dry? I’ve got some resources for you to consider during the coming cold months. Lest...
We Have Opinions On: Unusual Community Amenities
Many communities that are working very hard to revitalize their downtown neighborhoods wrestle with the issue of what makes sense for the future of dilapidated white elephant buildings that dominate their streetscapes. Often, these buildings are vacant movie theaters and vaudeville houses that are very expensive to rehabilitate, and difficult...
We Have Opinions On: Staying Off My Lawn
I had the great good fortune last evening to attend a talk by Temple Grandin, a professor at Colorado State, and a leading advocate for persons with autism. I was fascinated during the question and answer period by the number of young people who asked intelligent questions about autism, in...
We Have Opinions On: Popsicles and Perceptions
Sometimes, the process of creating change in your neighborhood starts with meeting your neighbors and engaging them in the conversation about how your community looks, how it works, and which of your neighbors struggle and why. It is extremely difficult to make a community-wide change on your own. In...