Stories of Where It's Working - Abundant Community

Resident-Centered Community Building: What Makes It Different?

by The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, The Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change on April 22, 2013 ()

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

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

by Mark Andrew Boyer on April 9, 2013 ()

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

Why Unions Are Going Into the Co-op Business

by Amy Dean on March 26, 2013 ()

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

Downtown Vancouver to Get "Knee to Knee"

by Michelle Strutzenberger on March 25, 2013 ()

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

How to Use Local Assets to Make Your Community Effective

by Peter Block, Mary Nelson on March 6, 2013 ()

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

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

by Nancy Sleeth on March 4, 2013 ()

"Almost Amish" tips for supporting your local economy and building community with your neighbors.… read more »

The Neighbor Project

by Raechel Dawson on February 23, 2013 ()

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

Growing Global Divisiveness Gets Disrupted

by Michelle Strutzenberger on February 22, 2013 ()

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

Meet Mary Nelson

by Mary Nelson on February 22, 2013 ()

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

Three Steps to Building a Better Block

by Jason Roberts on February 4, 2013 ()

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

A Gift from a Taxi Driver

by Gerard Ee on January 31, 2013 ()

A young boy experiences community and the love that flows from it when a Singapore taxi driver sings "Jingle Bells."… read more »

The Neighborhood Effect

by Prucia Buscell on January 31, 2013 ()

The degree to which people trust and help each other may have more to do with a neighborhood's health and economic survival than indicators like income and foreclosure rates.… read more »

Building Government–Community Partnerships

by Jim Diers on January 8, 2013 ()

Video highlights from Jim Diers' 2012 Neighborhood Strengthening presentations in New Zealand.… read more »

Lessons in Community from Chicago's South Side

by Benedict Carey on January 7, 2013 ()

A murder in Chatham, a resilient pocket on Chicago’s battered South Side, tests a theory of social cohesion that a neighborhood’s character is a major factor in its economic success.… read more »

The Village Connectors Project

by April Doner on January 1, 2013 ()

How a group of "Village of the Arts" neighbors has been brainstorming and experimenting with ways to “grow what we already have.” Their first step was to start finding out about the gifts of their neighbors, especially neighbors they don’t already know and who might not think of themselves as even part of the Village.… read more »

A Community Creates Its Future

by Bob Stilger on December 10, 2012 ()

The people of Fukushima, Japan, are secure in their clarity of purpose after the March 2011 destruction of their community: The future we have is the one WE create together.… read more »

Memphis Sets the Table for Its Gifts

by Michelle Strutzenberger on November 9, 2012 ()

Reflections on how the institution-as-savior paradigm no longer works by Jay Van Groningen of Communities First Association.… read more »

When Helping Doesn't Help

by Leslie Stephen on October 12, 2012 ()

Maurice Lim Miller's Family Independence Initiative doesn't "help" families; it trusts them to be resourceful, recognize their strengths and "lead their own change."… read more »

The Neighbor Challenge Segue

by Valisha Reber on September 7, 2012 ()

The Neighbor Challenge never ends. There’s a transition that happens once we know our neighbors' names, learn more about the things they care about and change our habits so that we are a visible presence on our street. The ongoing work is to continue, and to encourage others to begin.… read more »

The Neighbor Challenge # 5

by Valisha Reber on August 28, 2012 ()

Where have all the neighbors gone? Have we forgotten how to be neighborly, or simply decided there’s just no time? Valisha Reber asked herself these questions as her family settled into a new neighborhood and she challenged herself to figure out what “neighbor” really means.… read more »

The Neighbor Challenge # 4

by Valisha Reber on August 20, 2012 ()

“If you care or long for a real neighborhood, or wonder at your own isolation, be inspired by Valisha,” Peter said when he read the first three installments of Valisha’s narrative. “Hers is every person’s story.”… read more »

The Neighbor Challenge # 3

by Valisha Reber on August 6, 2012 ()

Week three of Valisha Reber's challenge to find out what “neighbor” really means.… read more »

A Kid’s Perspective on Community Building

July 31, 2012 ()

In Sarasota County, FL it’s never too early to start learning about building community.… read more »

Building a Healthy and Just Community

by John McKnight and Peter Block on July 26, 2012 ()

When the Chief of Police brings restorative practice into the heart of the community, you know something is happening there. Transcribed highlights from John and Peter's conversation with Mike Butler show what's possible.… read more »

Do You Know Your Neighbors?

by Rachel Oscar on July 26, 2012 ()

A new VISTA Volunteer learns that neighbors know, more intimately than anyone else, what is best for their neighborhood.… read more »

A World That Welcomes People for Their Gifts

by April Doner on July 23, 2012 ()

The Toronto Summer Institute on Inclusion offers new insights and relationships that lead to a world where people are valued and welcomed for their gifts.… read more »

The Neighbor Challenge # 2

by Valisha Reber on July 23, 2012 ()

Week two of Valisha Reber's challenge to find out what “neighbor” really means.… read more »

The Neighbor Challenge

by Valisha Reber on July 17, 2012 ()

Where have all the neighbors gone? Have we forgotten how to be neighborly, or simply decided there’s just no time? Valisha Reber is asking herself a lot of these questions as her family settles into a new neighborhood and she challenges herself (and you) to an honest assessment of ourselves as “neighbor.”… read more »

Strawberry Pie and Community Gatherings

by Zoe Alowan on July 6, 2012 ()

A story of community and the just-right fresh strawberry pie.… read more »

The Peterson Garden Project

July 3, 2012 ()

Chicago’s Pop-Up Victory Gardens this year will teach more than 2,000 people how to grow their own food and, more important, say the organizers, build community.… read more »

From Gangs to Gardens: How Community Agriculture Transformed Quesada Avenue

by Katherine Gustafson on July 2, 2012 ()

Ten years ago, the residents of the crime-ridden San Francisco neighborhood started planting gardens –– and everything changed.… read more »

Growing Power ~ Will Allen

July 2, 2012 ()

Will Allen and Growing Power have trained and inspired people all over the country to start growing food sustainably. What’s more, they offer a way for people to share knowledge, form relationships and develop alternatives to the industrial food system.… read more »

A Better Way

by Communities First Association on June 22, 2012 ()

See what happens in Muskegon, MI when neighbors "call out each other’s gifts and fill in for each other’s weaknesses.”… read more »

Break Time Bakery

by New City Neighbors on June 14, 2012 ()

BreakTime Bakery is a bakery that is run by kids during the summer where they learn responsibility, new skills and new recipes!… read more »

Abundant Community: Local Food Alliance in Placer County, California

by Jeffrey Bordelon on June 7, 2012 ()

A group grounded in Abundant Community principles is creating a strong local food and health culture, based on the belief that common interests are best served by building relationships, learning from one another and creative partnering.… read more »

Beyond Skate Parks: Transforming Communities with Teens

by Laura Fulton on May 2, 2012 ()

Five ways to harness the energy of teens in our communities.… read more »

Designing to Belong (Not Just to Be)

by Randy Ripley, AIA on April 11, 2012 ()

How a front-porch addition created a lot more community on architect Randy Ripley’s street and inspired him to ask: How can I design spaces to create an invitation to connect with others and provide an opportunity for people to engage one another?… read more »

Building Community with Portable Brick Ovens

April 10, 2012 ()

With their signature portable brick ovens, "People from all over a neighborhood can come and bake and share stories," says one of the oven builders. It’s all a lot more about building community than baking bread.… read more »

Stories from the Lathrup Village Time Bank

March 27, 2012 ()

It's fun and it's cheap . . . and a great way to use people's gifts and create a community of people helping each other.… read more »

Adelita’s Gift: The Value of Asking the Right Questions

by Mike Mather on March 14, 2012 ()

Pastor Mike Mather of Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis tells how one of his congregations discovered Adelita’s gift and got “a lotta great food” as a bonus.… read more »

Civic Action in Sarasota County, Florida

by Mike McGrath on March 14, 2012 ()

How citizens and activists in Sarasota County, FL changed the conversation from “The County should ….” to “How can I have the capacity to make a difference in my own neighborhood?"… read more »

Discovering Others’ Gifts: Re-humanizing Our Communities

by Rex Lai on February 28, 2012 ()

A report from one of the recorders for the historic February 17-19 Core Change Cincinnati Summit developed to address numerous aspects of urban living including housing, the economy, safety and education.… read more »

From Backyard Lettuce to “Learning Garden” Sweet Potatoes

January 30, 2012 ()

A unique school-community collaboration grew enough lettuce to feed 500 people at Ashlawn Elementary's harvest celebration lunch. There were also sweet potatoes the students harvested from a “learning garden” on a historic dairy farm.… read more »

Libraries Leading Community

by Laura Fulton on January 27, 2012 ()

Libraries are getting more and more creative in coming up with ways to build communities around them. Read about six innovative strategies that might work in your neighborhood.… read more »

Inspirations for 2012 Community

by Jan Bennett on January 20, 2012 ()

Dafna Michaelson quit her job, cashed in her 401(k), and set out on a year-long mission: To visit one state each week and interview people changing their communities, and then share their stories to inspire others.… read more »

The First Wednesday Conversation in Olympia, WA

by Steve Byers on January 9, 2012 ()

Since July 2007 Steve Byers has hosted a monthly conversation in his community where people have a chance to explore something new or share their perspective in a welcoming environment. One reason it works? He always shows up.… read more »

Welcoming Schools: ABCD in Action

by Jim Welling on December 13, 2011 ()

A veteran educator shows how a simple shift in thinking from deficiencies to gifts can produce big results.… read more »

Sweet Potatoes Newest Star of Lawns 2 Lettuce 4 Lunch

December 6, 2011 ()

Sweet potato soup, salad and dessert are the latest lesson in growing and eating healthy foods and developing new relationships between Ashlawn Elementary School and its neighbors,… read more »

Bring & Fix

November 30, 2011 ()

Philippe Granger of Lewisham in the Greater London area came up with a simple and brilliant idea for building community that anyone anywhere can put into action. It’s called Bring & Fix, and it’s like a “gifts fair” where people share their knowledge and skills with their neighbors.… read more »

Elementz: A Place for Hip Hop and Respect

November 30, 2011 ()

Elementz is "a place for hip hop and respect" where Cincinnati teens learn creativity by telling their stories in the various forms provided by hip hop culture: audio, music, poetry/rap, dance and graffiti/visual art. Take a look at their Fall 2011 digital newsletter to learn how it's working.… read more »

Small Steps to Creating Community

November 22, 2011 ()

Two examples of small steps people can make to create community where they live, encouraging interaction and building trust.… read more »

Little Free Library

November 18, 2011 ()

The simple phrase "take a book, return a book" has made Little Free Library a movement with huge implications for building community, one little box at a time.… read more »

Leading from the Back and Front...Can It Be Done?

by April Doner on November 16, 2011 ()

The questions confronting volunteer leaders in building organizations characterized by strong internal commitment, a spirit of mutual support, integrity and inclusiveness, and constant creativity and adaptation.… read more »

Actions Speak Louder…

by Joe Erpenbeck on November 7, 2011 ()

Think of Cincinnati's Westwood Works more as a way of looking at things than as your typical "civic group"… read more »

How Do You Change the World?

by Susan Fleetwood, William Sparks on October 24, 2011 ()

In creating a powerful and engaging experience for their last alumni event, the organizers of the Pepperdine University Master of Science in Organization Development alumni "un-conference" came up with six design principles to help stay focused on community as a place where gifts are recognized and shared with one another.… read more »

The San Diego Social Innovation Trust

by Meredith McNair on October 13, 2011 ()

The San Diego Social Innovation Trust is building a "culture of collaboration and creativity" in which businesses, foundations and non-profit organizations work together to become more efficient, effective and innovative. They want to show that each sector can meet its own goals while sharing a wider agenda.… read more »

Pie Day at the Hardware Store

by Melissa Lee on October 7, 2011 ()

Insight into what some people in a small town in Washington State are doing to keep their community going.… read more »

PlacerSustain: One Community’s Exploration of the Possibility of a Sustainable Future

by Jeffrey Bordelon on September 20, 2011 ()

Learn how PlacerSustain fulfills its mission of "connecting people and inspiring collaboration to build healthy communities and thriving local economies" in Placer County, CA by building relationships, sharing information and learning, and supporting collaborative actions based on sustainability principles.… read more »

Third Place Commons: The Heart of Community

by Anne Stadler on September 16, 2011 ()

An unusual partnership in Lake Forest Park, WA makes Third Place Commons a place for true community.… read more »

The Neighborhood Café and Other Hospitable Places

by Joe Erpenbeck on September 9, 2011 ()

A warm welcome and a focus on the gifts of those who are present in the hospitable places in Joe Erpenbeck’s neighborhood make more associations, joyous hospitality and a stronger neighborhood full of even more gifts possible.… read more »

Wiser Together: Partnering Across Generations

by Juanita Brown, Ashley Cooper on August 30, 2011 ()

In western North Carolina World Cafe pioneer Juanita Brown is co-creating with young leaders as well as her 90 year-old mother a gathering place nurturing multi-generational partnerships for community resilience… read more »

Milwaukee: Transformation in Process

by Meredith McNair on August 25, 2011 ()

The Milwaukee Community Transformation Project is uniting Milwaukee citizens and institutions in collaborating on asset-based approaches to the community's future… read more »

The Golden Girls 2.0

by Jan Bennett on August 22, 2011 ()

The people of the Glacier Circle Community in Davis, CA are senior-only co-housing pioneers with a unique take on independence, commitment and community… read more »

What Is Enough?

August 19, 2011 ()

The key question for citizens today, Alachua County Manager Randall Reid says, is: What is enough? Gainesville, FL-area citizens answered that question over the several months of of “Courageous Conversations” citizen engagement workshops.… read more »

Growing Community I: What, Why & How?

by Laura Fulton on August 17, 2011 ()

Background and useful links for families and neighborhoods interested in creating community gardens as a way to come together and learn about one another… read more »

Library? Or Welcome Wagon, Day Care, Counseling and Job Center?

August 1, 2011 ()

How a public library can become a hub of community life -- on an annual budget of $300… read more »

Slow Down and Stay Awhile – Roads and Community

by Brenton Crozier on July 28, 2011 ()

How Willow Creek, CA slowed things down and created a downtown community… read more »

Q & A

July 26, 2011 ()

We asked, "If it takes a village to raise a child, what do you think this would look like?" New answers from our neighbors and friends… read more »

Why You Should Bring Community to the Table

by Paul Born on July 22, 2011 ()

Tamarack president and co-founder Paul Born on the power of community-wide collaboration and engagement… read more »

Cup Mail

by Ron Dwyer-Voss on July 14, 2011 ()

The Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore in Munising, Michigan is cooking up community along with coffee and cupcakes.… read more »

Welcome Vashon

by Bruce Anderson on July 11, 2011 ()

"Welcome Vashon" is a hub for projects and activities that strengthen belonging for everyone on Vashon Island, WA… read more »

Blessings Revealed

by Puanani Burgess on June 21, 2011 ()

A story of the power of discovering your gift, told by community organizer, mediator, poet and Zen priest Pua Burgess… read more »

The Art of Neighboring ... Continued

by John McKnight on June 14, 2011 ()

Don and Terry Vande Krol came up with a simple initiative to build community in the neighborhood around them… read more »

Together We Grow Healthy Food, Family and Friends

May 24, 2011 ()

"Together we grow healthy food, family, and friends" is the motto of Shalom Farms, a regional food security and community building project in Richmond, Virginia.… read more »

Guest Blog: Our Second Community Meeting

by Jennifer Sommerness on May 12, 2011 ()

When Jennifer mentioned her goal of becoming a community connector in her review of The Abundant Community, we asked her to write a guest blog so others could share and learn from her experiences.… read more »

The Last Shot in DC

by Susan Doherty on May 6, 2011 ()

How a series of conversations in a tough Cincinnati neighborhood turned into a compelling film project that explores the dreams, dangers, hopes and hard choices of a group of streetwise teenagers.… read more »

Growing Food, Knowledge and Community

by John McKnight on May 5, 2011 ()

From dairy farm to "learning garden," Joan Horwitt promotes healthy eating and, in the process, community.… read more »

ABCD in Action

by John McKnight on April 14, 2011 ()

Check out ABCD in Action for a look at current practice in Asset Based Community Development… read more »

Guest Blog: Becoming a Community Connector

by Jennifer Sommerness on March 28, 2011 ()

When Jennifer mentioned her goal of becoming a community connector in her review of The Abundant Community, we asked her to write a guest blog so others could share and learn from her experiences.… read more »

Deep Connections

by Tim Vogt on March 14, 2011 ()

Bellevue KY community connectors Tim and Bridget Vogt on the joys and sorrows of neighborliness… read more »

Leveraging Capacity for Change

by John McKnight on March 14, 2011 ()

From a recent newsletter from the New Economics Institute, models of neighborhood initiatives then and now.… read more »

Uhuru Child and Fountain of Hope Youth Initiative Honored by Community Tool Box

by Bill Berkowitz, Ph.D. on February 16, 2011 ()

Uhuru Child and Fountain of Hope Youth, both located in Kenya, received the Community Tool Box “Out of the Box” prize for 2010; the award was created to recognize and honor the most promising grassroots initiatives that strengthen community development and community health worldwide.… read more »

Four Questions, Twenty-Five Neighbors, and a Community Garden

by Margaret Rahn on January 11, 2011 ()

From baking cookies for new neighbors Tim Vogt, of Bellevue, KY, developed an intentional practice of being a neighborhood connector.… read more »

The Art of Neighboring

by John McKnight on July 26, 2010 ()

In North Port, FL, a relatively new community, Don Vande Krol felt he needed to know his neighbors.… read more »

Share Some Sugar Community Website

by John McKnight on July 14, 2010 ()

Why buy when you can borrow?… read more »

Share Tompkins

by Shira Golding on July 12, 2010 ()

We've been working on ways to better share resources in Tompkins County, NY. A few months ago we started organizing Community Swap Meets where people can give away, share or barter goods, services and labor with a focus on being as local and sustainable as possible. We are also working on creating coops for housing, child care and more.… read more »

Mead Street Manifesto

by Mikala Woodward on July 6, 2010 ()

People all over the country lament the loss of community, neighborhoods, local culture. "Nobody knows their neighbors anymore," they say. . . . Here on Mead Street we're not buying it.… read more »

Al Etmanski

by Peter Block on June 21, 2010 ()

Al Etmanski is one of North America's best social inventors.… read more »