2 ANOTHER HARWOOD FRAMEWORK REPORT - … ANOTHER HARWOOD FRAMEWORK REPORT ... America, making your...

A N O T H E R H A R W O O D F R A M E W O R K R E P O R T2

This report was prepared for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation by The Harwood Group:

Richard C. Harwood, PresidentKathleen FitzGerald, Project ManagerD. Neil Richardson, ResearcherJeff McCrehan, Editor

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, established in 1926, is a private philanthropy committedto supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. It supports non-profit programs throughout the United States and, on a limited geographic basis, internationally.Grantmaking is focused in the areas of civil society; environment; Flint, Michigan (its homecommunity); poverty and education. In 1998, the Foundation made 550 grants totaling $88million.

The Harwood Group is a public issues research and innovations firm that is a catalyst forcharting a different course for America’s public life and politics. The Harwood Group works infour major platform areas: improving politics and public life; restriking social covenants;reconnecting the news media and society; and growing community strength. Some of TheHarwood Group’s noted reports in the area of growing community strength include: A Work inProgress: Creating New Possibilities for Chattanooga (1999); Waiting for the Future: Creating NewPossibilities for Youngstown (1999); Back to Basics: Creating New Possibilities for Flint (1997); andPublic Capital: The Dynamic System that Makes Public Life Work (1996). Other noted reports byThe Harwood Group include: The Harwood Barometer for Political Conduct (1998);Money+Politics: People Change the Equation (1997); America’s Struggle Within: Citizens Talk aboutthe State of the Union (1996) and Citizens and Politics: A View From Main Street America (1991).

©1999 The Harwood Group and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

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I. Five Stages of Community Life ..................................4

II. The Harwood Index ..................................................11

III. Five Community Stories

Greenwood, MS — In Decline ..................................14

Youngstown, OH — the Waiting Place ....................17

Flint, MI — Impasse ..................................................20

“Extra”: Flint, MI — Catalytic ..........................23

Tupelo, MS — Growth ..............................................26

Chattanooga, TN — Growth ....................................29

The Harwood Public Capital Framework ..........................33

Table of Contents

I. Five Stages ofCommunity Life

5C O M M U N I T Y R H Y T H M S : F I V E S T A G E S O F C O M M U N I T Y L I F E

Sit back for just a momentand imagine yourselftraveling throughoutAmerica, making your wayfrom one community to the

next, listening intently to the people youmeet and watching carefully their efforts torejuvenate their communities, grow them andexpand them.

As you crisscross the nation, you willundoubtedly find different communitiespursuing different paths — some announcinga so-called visioning exercise, otherslaunching new downtown development plansor maybe a riverfront mall, and still otherspromoting a kind of civic boosterism,claiming that renewal “is here” on bus signsand from banners hanging from the streetlights, long before such signs of life evengenuinely appear.

Some of these initiatives will spark somethingimportant within a community. But too oftenyou will hear people say that such initiativescame to town with great fanfare and leftwithout leaving a lasting legacy. They willsay that far too many efforts undertaken inthe name of moving their community forwardsimply do not add up to anythingmeaningful. And they often will lament thefact that the direction and feel of thecommunity remains the same — despite, orin spite of, the actions — and that people arelosing faith and hope.

Five Stages ofCommunity LifeTM

The Harwood Group’s work in communitiesreveals that there are stages of a community’slife and that each stage has deep implicationsfor understanding your community and whatit means for moving forward. These stagesecho the development of all living things,such as a person or a plant or an ecosystem.

Only if you know and understand the stagein which your community rests, will you bebetter able to figure out what kinds of

approaches, strategies and timing best fit forseeking to move your community forward.Each stage brings its own set of challengesand opportunities. A community canaccelerate its movement through the stages,but it cannot violate, or simply pass over, thehard work that needs to be done.

The problem in many communities is thattoo often we do not think about stages ofcommunity life, or are even aware of them,much less approach them strategically interms of what they mean for our actions.

The Harwood Stages of Community LifeTM

emerges from over a decade of research andon-the-ground initiatives throughout theUnited States. Before these stages kick in, acommunity usually has been through aperiod of decline, lasting up to fifteen totwenty years (a topic we plan to say moreabout with greater precision and insight inthe future). Such periods of decline can beseen in the community stories in this report.

Here is a brief description of each of theHarwood Stages of Community Life. As youread them, think about this: We find in ourwork repeatedly that most people operate asif their community is in the “Growth stage”and then wonder aloud why so many of theircommunity initiatives seem to flounder oroutright fail. It is no secret, at least as oneunderstands the Stages of Community Life,that communities not yet in their Growthstage simply cannot support growthinitiatives and strategies. The communitydoes not have enough of what The HarwoodGroup calls Public CapitalTM, a framework wegenerated and which serves as a foundationfor the Stages of Community Life (see box).

The Waiting Place

In the Waiting Place, people in thecommunity often hold a deep sense that

“But too often youwill hear peoplesay that suchinitiatives came totown with greatfanfare and leftwithout leaving alasting legacy.”

6 A N O T H E R H A R W O O D F R A M E W O R K R E P O R T

things are not working right but cannot quiteput their finger on exactly what it is or whatto do about it; it is a kind of “felt unknown.”The situation has not reached an impasse, abreakpoint, at which people say, “enough isenough!”

Here in the Waiting Place, people in acommunity typically feel disconnected fromwho and how decisions are made on publicconcerns. The community finds itselffragmented into different groups or areas,with little interaction between them; thatwhich does occur tends to becounterproductive. Indeed, communitydiscussion about challenges is infrequent andoften highly divisive, discouraging manypeople from even venturing out into thecommunity to participate.

People in the Waiting Place believe that somekind of change is necessary, but negativenorms of public life keep them locked intoold patterns, such as finger-pointing andlooking for ways to place blame. Whentalking about change, the common refrainyou will hear from people in such acommunity is: “We can’t do it here,” or “I’lltake care of mine, you take care of yours.”

The result: a community that feels stuck, andone in which people often tell you that theyare waiting for someone or something tomake things right, to save them and theircommunity.

But to make strides forward, communities inthe Waiting Place must begin the process ofgrowing their internal strength — thefundamental structures, relationships, leaders,networks and norms essential for acommunity to work effectively. Growingpublic capital takes time and nurturing. Andwhile a community in the Waiting Place mustgrow its public capital, it must also move intosome form of the Impasse stage.

Impasse

Here a community hits rock bottom. Whenyou visit such a community, you can hearpeople saying such things as, “it can’t go onlike this anymore,” or “enough is enough!”While in the Waiting Place there is a sense ofsimply “waiting”... in Impasse there is anoticeable sense of urgency in people’s voices.Things have crystallized for people and theneed for action is clear. Often people areafraid that they are losing their future; theyare tired of “waiting.”

In Impasse, people fear for their economiclivelihood; feel isolated from others; mistrustruns deep; organizations are in an endlessbattle over money and who gets credit fordoing anything. When we go to Impasse

“We find in ourwork repeatedlythat most people

operate as if theircommunity is in

the ‘Growth stage’and then wonder

aloud why somany of their

communityinitiatives seem to

flounder oroutright fail.”

About Public Capital

The Harwood Group’s research and projects in communities across America suggeststhat for a community to work effectively, there is a set of fundamental structures,relationships, networks and norms that need to be in place. Public Capital is what wecall this rich, dynamic, complex system. There are mini factors that we have identifiedalong with the conditions and characteristics that make each one work. By uncoveringand gauging a community’s public capital, we can identify in which Stage ofCommunity Life a community sits. And we can begin to think strategically about howto grow a community and what it will take. (See The Harwood Framework on PublicCapital on page 34 of Community Rhythms for further background on public capital.)


communities, it is difficult for people toidentify leaders throughout the community,especially ones with much credibility andtrust. Often there is a profound feeling thatordinary people, and even trusted leaders,lack the power to make change.

A community in Impasse is at a decisionpoint. The old way of doing public businessis now in direct conflict with a yearningamong people to move in a differentdirection. One option is to continue downthe well-worn path of least resistance. It is apath that will probably lead to even deeperand wider gaps in a community alreadydivided, where the usual routine spellsgridlock, turf battles and people acting tofurther their own, not the community’s, bestinterests. As a result, the community mayfind itself facing the future with the same —probably with even more serious —challenges.

The other path is much more difficult, butpotentially much more rewarding to thecommunity. It is a path where people declarethat they want to break with the status quo:to move beyond Impasse and, in doing so,create a community where people build newways to work together to address issues ofcommon concern. This process of self-discovery in a community takes time. Butwhen it does eventually occur, when acommunity is ready to move beyond Impasse,that the building of public capital can trulybegin. Then it will become time for theCatalytic stage.

Catalytic

During this stage, a small group of peopleand organizations emerge to take risks andexperiment in ways that challenge existingnorms of how the community works. Inaddition, people within their communitybegin to discover that they share common

aspirations for their community and that theycan, in small ways, start to make a difference.

The group of catalysts that develops act as acommunity’s Centers of StrengthTM, sparkingaction in the community. The size of theiractions, for the most part, is not the vitalgauge for progress; rather, it is that theiractions produce some semblance of resultsthat give people a sense of faith and hopethat progress is possible and that thecommunity indeed has the capacity to act.

Many people in the community may not evenrecognize the emerging action at first. Butwhen they do, they may mistake it for “moreof the same” — reflexively reminding them ofprevious attempts, many of which may havefailed, in years past; they will need to seemuch more activity before gainingconfidence. Other people will declare thatthe community is on the verge of fullyturning itself around, and assume a falsesense that their work is done and their futureis set; at that point people tend to revert backto their old norms of doing public business.Progress is killed; the Catalytic stage petersout.

As the Catalytic stage unfolds, it is essentialthat the Centers of Strength gain depth andpurpose and that the number of them grow,but slowly. What is more, links and networksmust be built between and among theCenters of Strength; for it is through thesenetworks that new norms for how work getsdone spread in the community; that there isthe diffusing and linking of ideas and publicaction; and that new leaders throughout thecommunity are identified and nurtured.

Growth

Over the course of this stage, Centers ofStrength will be expanding; networksgrowing and spreading; a sense of common


purpose and direction taking deep root.People within the community now see clearand unmistakable signs of how thecommunity is moving forward and can seeand feel and experience much greaterleadership at all levels of the community —from the official level, to neighborhoods,within civic organizations and non-profits.

What is more, people also feel a differentspirit in the community; and they talk aboutit. More people are working together,something people cherish. People’sconfidence grows in themselves and in their

community to make good decisions and,importantly, to take risks; it is as if thecommunity in the Growth stage has givenitself permission to fail, expressing a strongfaith that such “failing” will lead to insightsinto better ways to move forward. Thecommunity has much greater confidence andhas generated a new story about itself.

But as the Growth stage nears its end, peoplewill start to tire; networks will not have fullyformed across and throughout the entirecommunity and those that have may befraying a bit; new groups will begin to form

Time and Community Rhythms

Somehow, it seems, we have created a stopwatch mentality in our society. I am sureyou all face this time crunch every day. You must get your project done — and now!Your grant expires when momentum is just getting started. Indeed, you have to “solve”the most vexing public dilemmas in shorter time than a new car is designed.

But wait. Society has a rhythm of its own. Our lives have a rhythm of their own. Yetwe keep being told by funders, by ourselves, by the colleges and graduate schools atwhich we are educated, that we as professionals should make communities fit our timelines, our grant schedules, our pronouncements of promised change that often serveonly to create outlandish expectations and dashed hopes.

You cannot change society like you can switch stations on your television. It is not asif there is a remote control that we can click effortlessly to alter the rhythms of society.We need to come to understand the rhythms of society so that our programs andinitiatives work with those rhythms, take advantage of them, even accelerate them.

For instance, when trying to develop a community’s public capital — how people talk,how they are connected to one another through informal networks, how differentlayers of community leadership form — we cannot expect significant change simply bycreating a program and then declaring our work done some handful of months later,because we have declared it is time to do something new.

The evolution of a community takes times. The question I believe we must askourselves is this: Are we going to use a stopwatch to govern our work in society, orwill we come to understand society’s natural rhythms and what they mean for ourwork? To be effective, we must catch these natural rhythms and understand them.

—Richard C. HarwoodExcerpt from a speech, Moving from a Flat World

to a Round World in Public Life.


to ensure their particular view is heard,possibly leading to a new round offragmentation. After years of enormous workand vigilance, many people’s energy andparticipation will begin to flag.

The challenge is how a community at thispoint in its development can move into itsnext stage of community life.

Sustain and Renew

A community in the Sustain and Renew stagemust find ways to bring along new Centers ofStrength, new leaders and a new cadre ofcitizens to be the spark plugs. Without them,the community will stagnate and possiblyenter a new stage of decline.

When a community does make thetransformation into the Sustain and Renewstage, it begins to take on especially deeply-rooted issues. It is not that these issues wereunimportant before, but they may not havebeen a community’s primary focus throughthe first four stages, or the community simplymay not have been ready to deal with them.Also, by now, new challenges are on thehorizon that need attention.

What’s more, in this stage, a community findsthat despite all its efforts, people and areaswithin the community may have been leftbehind. New emphasis on growing networksand links throughout the entire community,especially into poorer or “disconnected” orsurrounding regional areas. The same can betrue for developing and linking up leaders inthese areas too. And in the Sustain and Renew stage, acommunity seeks to ensure that the gains of acommunity’s growth is shared by all; that the

About Our Research

In Community Rhythms, five communities are profiled, each one serving as a casestudy for a particular stage of Community Life. Each profile illuminates what that stagelooks and feels like. Our research captures a particular moment in time in the life ofeach community. By now, for the most part, some of these communities have changed.

Over a ten year period, The Harwood Group studied and explored the public capital(and refined our own frameworks) in a variety of communities. Community Rhythmslooks at five of those communities: Greenwood, Mississippi (1996); Youngstown, Ohio(1999); Flint, Michigan (1997); Tupelo, Mississippi (1996); and Chattanooga,Tennessee (1999). The Harwood Group will conduct a progress study in Flint,Michigan in January, 2000.

In each of these communities, The Harwood Group, using its public capital framework,conducted telephone interviews with a range of leaders and through living roomconversations with citizens to learn about how public life works in their community.We also conducted one to two mapping workshops in each community with leadersand citizens to ask them if the story we captured rang true and to fill any gaps. Tolearn more about the Harwood Public Capital Framework, see the last section of thisreport.

“Communitieshave rhythms tothem that we mustcome tounderstand so thatour approaches,programs andinitiatives — andthe building ofpublic capital —work with thoserhythms, takeadvantage ofthem, evenaccelerate them.”


gains are not simply economic, but that thecommunity is tending to its soul.

Rhythms ofCommunity Life

Communities have rhythms to them that wemust come to understand so that ourapproaches, programs and initiatives — andthe building of public capital — work withthose rhythms, take advantage of them, evenaccelerate them.

But while a community can accelerate itsmovement through the Stages of CommunityLife, it cannot violate, or simply pass over,the hard work that needs to be done in eachstage. For as Five Stages of Community Lifereveals, each stage has its own purpose;indeed, within each stage, differentapproaches must be taken to grow acommunity.

For example, Growth strategies for the mostpart will not work for a community inImpasse. Why? Because the communitysimply does not have the kind of support —structures, relationships, networks, norms,sense of purpose, in short the level of publiccapital — required to undertake and sustainsuch strategies.

We have come to believe through our work atThe Harwood Group that what starts change,and then helps a community move throughits stages of community life, is an ever-expanding core group of people andorganizations that generate a sense ofpossibility and demonstrate that real actioncan be taken. A community’s progress isbased first and foremost on this foundation ofsmaller actions that continually spread andconnect to one another.

Such actions represent the difference betweendropping a boulder in a lake, watching the

big splash and the concentric circles thatemerge, which ultimately disappear, with aprocess of continually dropping pebbles inthe lake and seeing the ripples start toconnect and then overlap; indeed theyenvelop one another.

Of course, large civic efforts such as politics,public relations campaigns and visioning arevital — but we find they must be undertakenat appropriate times, when there is a clearneed to coalesce community gains and sparka new and often different form of actionforward. The dilemma is that too often suchcivic initiatives are seen as the “fix-all” —done in isolation and with the notion thatundertaking them is all that is necessary.Such approaches then do more harm thangood.

For it is this very process of overlapping, theenveloping, that forms the links andnetworks through which norms and valuespass through a community and get shared;through which ideas spread; and from whichleaders are born and nurtured. It is in theseperiods of convergence, when the ripplesenvelop one another, that communities buildtheir public capital and can move forward.

All of this building and action and linkingand spreading takes time. We must be awareof a community’s rhythms and work withthem. But when we do, we can witnessgenuine progress and feel a true sense ofpossibility that a different direction is in theoffing and that communities can tap into andexpress their capacity to act.

Community Rhythms is about Five Stages ofCommunity Life. We must know these stages,and then identify where our community iswithin them, in order to better figure outhow we can grow our community.

— Richard C. Harwood

“A community’sprogress is based

on this foundationof smaller actions

that continuallyspread and

connect to oneanother.”

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II. The Harwood Index

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The HarF I V E S T A G E S

The Waiting Place ImpasseThe Harwood Index

The Harwood Index is a newfeature of our work on gradingcommunity strength.Communities can use the Indexas a tool to help determine where they are at in the Stages of Community Life, to figure outhow to move forward, and to plot their progress. (Seewww.theharwoodinstitute.org for more details.)

The Harwood Index plots fivecommunities going through theStages of Community Life. Othercommunities can use the Index asa tool to help determine wherethey are at in the Stages ofCommunity Life. It is notintended as a scorecard tomeasure a community’s success— instead, it is designed to be atouchstone for communities asthey make decisions about howto move forward.

Each of the five communitieswere plotted on the HarwoodIndex based on where they werein the Stages of Community Lifewhen we studied their publiccapital. While their placementon the Index may change overtime, each one is an example ofwhat a stage of community lifelooks like at a single point intime. They also offer insightsinto the implications forstrategies for moving forward.

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Catalytic Growth Sustain/Renew

III. Five

Community Stories

Greenwood,Mississippi

In Decline

“A lot of energy goesinto keeping thecommunity divided.”

This is a pre-Waiting Place stage — a period of

decline a community usually goes through,

which many last up to fifteen to twenty years. It

is a topic The Harwood Group plans to say

more about with greater precision and insight in

the future. Our experience tells us that we will

develop a series of community stages that

precedes those revealed in this report.


Greenwood,Mississippi — A Community inDecline

Residents describe Greenwood, Mississippi in amatter-of-fact tone as “a divided community.”The population of this small, primarilyagricultural town is deeply fragmented alongracial and economic lines. The community ismore than fifty percent African-American; anda significant portion of the town’s whitestudents are enrolled in private schools. Peopledescribe a “clash” between public and privateschools; there is little contact between the twosystems and little support from the communityfor its public education system.

Residents also say the town’s leadership ismired in turf battles, focusing on personalagendas instead of larger community needs likejobs and schools. The depth of the town’sdivisions, negative norms for public life andlack of hope for the future keep Greenwoodfrom developing its public capital and findingways to grow and move forward.

Greenwood is a community in a continuingstate of decline. Its residents seem resignedto the idea that the differences that separatethem cannot be bridged. Interactions inpublic life focus on protecting turf.Challenges are not dealt with until they are ata crisis point — keeping the communityfocused on basic survival in the here andnow.

Residents of Greenwood say they have nofeeling of belonging to a larger community.People told us it is a community of “twocommunities,” divided along economic andracial lines. And we heard about furtherdivisions that separate individuals from oneanother based on social status. “People judgeyou by ... where you come from, the side oftown you live on,” remarked one woman.

People are reluctant to do or to say anythingthat challenges these divisions. “A lot of

energy goes into keeping the communitydivided,” observed one man. We heard abouta compact of “silence” that keeps interactionlimited to a superficial level. One man toldus that people in Greenwood have “beenprogrammed over the years” not to talk tocertain people and not to bring up issues thatmay make others uncomfortable. Much istaboo in Greenwood.

So people and groups in Greenwood goabout their daily business with little focus onthe community as a whole. They say thatthey have no incentive to engage and “no rolemodels” to show them how or why theyshould do things differently. They appearresigned to the fact that “we’re just different”from each other.

People believe that it would take extrememeasures — a natural disaster, closing theprivate schools — for Greenwood residents tolook past their differences and come togetheras a community, even briefly. But peopleassert that coming together under duresswould not result in lasting changes in howpeople and groups interact in Greenwood.“Bringing people in the same room doesn’tmean bringing people together,” observedone man. Meanwhile, the communitycontinues to decline.

A Lack of Attachment

Intense divisions, mistrust and pessimismseem to keep Greenwood from forming anyof the social and informal links that are theseedbed of a community’s public capital. Bygetting to know others in informal settings,people start to build trust with others andexpand their contacts in the community.

People talk about different social gatheringplaces throughout Greenwood but they speakof them with little enthusiasm — indeed,sometimes with great contempt. “Theballoon festival is just about someone makingmoney,” asserted one woman. Anotheradded, “The spirit [of the community] is onthe surface, but not at the core.” We did nothear any of the personal attachment or

People believe thatit would take

extreme measures— a natural

disaster, closingthe private schools— for Greenwood

residents to lookpast their

differences andcome together as a

community, evenbriefly.


affection for the community that we hear inthe other communities.

In Greenwood, people tend to stick to smallcircles — socializing in private homes,individual churches or their Rotary Club.Our research suggests that there are few, ifany, connections between people and groupsin these smaller settings. And while thesesmaller settings do allow people to carve outa sense of some connection to others, peoplesaid that they still do not feel part of thelarger community. What is more, they add,they are not interested taking the next stepinto the community. They do not want to getcaught in the negative “politics,” anger,mistrust and personal agendas that dominateGreenwood’s public life. Even for those whodo want to take that risk, there are no clearpathways. “If someone wanted to volunteer,”one person told us, “there’s no place for themto go.”

There is little support for any efforts toaddress challenges in the community; indeed,there is an attitude of not letting anyone orany group get out too far ahead of others.“We’re like crabs in a bucket,” explained oneman. “If someone is in a position to make it,people try to pull you down, shift you back.”These norms further fuel people’s distrust ofone another.

Residents of Greenwood also feel that theirleadership does not focus on the genuineneeds of the community — jobs andeducation — and instead see people andorganizations fighting turf wars over personalagendas. “The present leadership is abouthate and anger,” said one man. As a result,people feel that there is no one or no groupthat is truly trying to work for the good ofthe whole community. “I can’t think ofanyone people could go to,” said one woman.They are deeply suspicious of the motivesbehind any new efforts or organizations.

The sense of purpose that exists inGreenwood is a negative one. People and

groups dig in their heels and declare, “Ourway or no way.” And decline continues.

Greenwood’s Future

Overall, people see Greenwood’s ability tochange the nature of public life and buildpublic capital as a huge and overwhelmingundertaking. Many people seem to hold littleor no interest in attempting such anendeavor.

A number of people point to the Chamber ofCommerce as one of the only examples of aninstitution in Greenwood that is trying tochange how it does public business. TheChamber is urging others to focus on thetown’s positive aspects and it is reaching outto people across the community in efforts tostrengthen public life. But while people weresomewhat hopeful about this work, there wasstill skepticism about its ability to succeedand fear that it could be quickly derailed byprevailing negative norms.

To make progress, people said thatcommunity efforts must start on anindividual level — with parents and teacherssetting examples for their children andstudents. They also talked about theimportance of building what The HarwoodGroup calls a new “public story” forGreenwood, not focusing solely on negativestereotypes. They mentioned the newspaperas an important vehicle for doing this.

It is important for people and organizationsin Greenwood to find some points ofcommon ground so that can start to connectpeople, especially on a one-to-one and smallgroup basis. It is from these individual,social contacts that a community can startslowly to build the networks and norms thatstrengthen its public capital and help move acommunity ahead.

But for now, Greenwood remains acommunity in decline.

Youngstown,Ohio

The WaitingPlace

“We’re stuck.”


Youngstown, Ohioin the Waiting Place

People talk with great nostalgia aboutYoungstown, Ohio’s prosperous past, when thesteel mills offered lifelong employment anddowntown was home to a vibrant cultural life.But the Youngstown of today looks verydifferent. The mills have closed. Abandonedproperty is a serious problem. The city’spopulation has been in steady decline for thelast twenty years. People say that politicalcorruption and organized crime are the norm.And as the city has declined, people see thesuburbs around them flourishing. Years ofgrowing frustration and mistrust have causedpeople to retreat from public life and to waitfor someone or something else to come alongand save the city.

People in Youngstown have a deep affectionfor the city and its family way of life. “I lovethis town tremendously,” declared one manechoing the sentiments of others. But aspeople look around, they assert, as onewoman did, that “it’s not like it used to be.”Some say the community’s tendency to lookbackwards keeps it mired in the past, butthere is at least a sense that it was not alwaysthis way in Youngstown.

While Youngstown shares much of thepessimism and fragmentation of a city indecline, there is a palpable sense offrustration. There is what might be called a“felt unknown” — people can sense thatthings are not working right, but they cannotput their finger on why. Many people feelthat the city is “stuck.”

In Youngstown, we heard people questionwhy the city has not been able to turn aroundmore quickly. “We should be changing,”lamented one woman. They compareYoungstown to Cleveland and Pittsburgh,cities that also lost much of their industrialbase, and say, as one woman did, “we shouldhave rebounded.”

People suggest that the city is not bereft ofresources — they point to the university, thecity’s central location between Cleveland andPittsburgh and its strong arts and culturalinstitutions — but they do not see muchhappening. “Simple things could happen ...but change isn’t happening,” said one man ina bewildered tone. Several people talkedabout feeling like there was a “plan” or a“conspiracy” to keep Youngstown frommaking progress. Others wonder whatbecame of plans and initiatives to improvethe city that were announced but never heardabout again.

Youngstown is in a Waiting Place — wantingto move forward but unable to break its owninternal gridlock. “I don’t see a whole lot ofhope,” said one woman. Another saideveryone is “waiting for the next man to do[something].” There is apprehension aboutfuture changes facing the city. Theimpending decision about whether theLordstown General Motors plant will remainopen hangs like a pall over the city. “We’llhave to wait and see what happens,” said oneman.

“We Play Up the Differences”

A deep sense of mistrust and negative normsfor engaging in public life pervadeYoungstown. People say there is awidespread assumption that individuals andgroups operate on their own agenda and fortheir own benefit. People constantly questionwho is really behind decision-making in thecommunity, often assuming it is in the handsof a small group of self-interested people.

What is more, people say that there are nocatalytic organizations or leaders that havethe credibility and trust to convene a widerange of people. Public meetings quicklydegenerate into bitter exchanges, focused onpersonal concerns, not the community as awhole. As a result, people said, few peopleare willing to take a risk and challenge thestatus quo.

While Youngstownshares much of thepessimism andfragmentation of acity in decline,there is a palpablesense offrustration.


There is also deep fragmentation alongethnic, economic and racial lines. People usethe word “parochialism” over and over todescribe the situation. “We have no historyof looking for similarities,” said one man, “weplay up the differences.”

As in Greenwood and Flint, people inYoungstown carve out a sense of communityfor themselves from a small circle of familyand friends. They identify closely with theirneighborhood or ethnic group and say theyare more likely to describe themselves as a“northsider” or “from the south side” than assomeone from Youngstown. While this is asign of neighborhood pride, it also can be abarrier to creating networks — formal andinformal — that span the community. Peoplefeel that they have little in common withfolks from different groups or neighborhoods.One block watch captain talked about thedifficulties in getting his neighbors to attendblock watch meetings in other parts of thecity: “People from different sides of towndon’t want to meet — I don’t know why,” hesaid.

This parochialism extends to governmentagencies, non-profits and civic groups. Thereis a reluctance to working together, withmany groups duplicating the actions ofothers. People interviewed had very littleawareness of actions or leaders outside oftheir immediate neighborhood or professionalcircle.

But there are some isolated efforts to engagepeople in public life in Youngstown and somelinks are starting to emerge amongorganizations. There is an identifiable, smallgroup of people who are more hopeful aboutthe community, sensing that things arestarting to turn around and that “Youngstownis a city that can be worked with.”

Churches, block watch groups andneighborhood associations engage people ona limited basis. The two most prominentcommunity efforts on housing are the resultof several churches coming together.Ministers and church members from the

different congregations have started prayermeetings to get to know one another andform connections. Block watches arescattered across the city and each side oftown has a neighborhood association.

But this small group of folks quickly say thatthis feeling is not, as one said, “recognizedgenerally yet ... people think there is nothingthey can do about the way things are done.”

And leaders say that they have a difficult timemotivating their neighbors to participate incommunity life — they say they are afraid togo out at night, others do not want to getnear anything that involves politics and manysimply do not think they can make adifference. So despite efforts to create newways for people to get involved incommunity life, many folks are still reluctantto pursue them.

But it is this core group of people, whoseoptimism could almost be described as wildlyout of sync with the general mood of thecity’s residents, that start to movecommunities through the stages ofcommunity life. You will hear more aboutthe role of core groups in the Flint “Extra”story and especially in Chattanooga’s story.

Youngstown’s Future

While a city in decline like Greenwood canonly focus on the here and now — andlargely the past — people in Youngstown talkabout the need to address concerns that willimpact the future of their community.

But they do not know how to get there.“We’re waiting for a knight in shining armor”to come and solve the city’s problems,declared one man. Indeed, Youngstownseems to be waiting for an intervention ofsome sort to help pull everyone together andpush ahead. People define interventiondifferently — an infusion of governmentmoney, a community plan, a strong leader.But there is a sense that the city is justwaiting.

1997

Flint, Michigan

Impasse

“Enough is enough!”


Flint, Michigan atImpasse

Until the 1970s, Flint, Michigan was a growingand prosperous city. The area’s economy wasbuoyed by an abundance of well-paying jobs atGeneral Motors. People remember a city withwell-maintained parks and nice homes, wherethe public schools provided a focal point forneighborhoods and everybody knew theirneighbors.

Since that time, Flint has been shaken to itscore by the loss of thousands of jobs and afrightening increase in crime. LikeYoungstown, Flint has consistently lostpopulation and growth opportunities to itssuburbs. Race relations are strained.Residents express fear and anxiety about thecity and its future.

We heard people in Youngstown talk aboutfeeling “stuck” and sensing that something isnot working, but they are not able to puttheir finger on it. In Flint, the challengeshave crystallized and people see a clear needfor action. We hear them talk with a greatsense of urgency that they need to move pastthis point.

The Flint area is at an Impasse. People aresaying, “Enough is enough!”

“We have to come together — forget aboutthose lines, those barriers — and bond ... Weneed to pull together and become one strongvoice in order to bring about change,” saidone Flint resident emphatically.

One of the turning points in Flint is thatpeople now believe that the role andresponsibility of citizens in creating change isparamount. This is very different from whatwe hear in Greenwood and Youngstown,where people are waiting for someone else, “aknight in shining armor.”

Mired in feelings of helplessness andnegativity for a long time, people are alsostarting to see that they need to look at theFlint area through a new lens if they want to

move forward. One woman described anenormous shift in how she viewed Flint overthe course of several conversations with TheHarwood Group. “The last time I was at thegroup meeting, I said, ‘No way would I stayin Flint. I would not buy the house I’verented for six years.’” But after talking topeople in the group conversations and in herneighborhood, she began to see that othersshared her concerns and aspirations. Shedeveloped a renewed sense of hope aboutFlint and its future. She concluded bysaying, “Well, I just bought [the house] ... I’vealways been a fighter and I’m not going tostop now.”

People also believe that they need to set adifferent economic course for the community.They are starting to ask, like one woman didin a conversation with us, “People are goingbelly up in this town. Now why? What’sgoing on here?” One man said, echoingothers, “Flint can no longer … depend onGeneral Motors. This basically is not aGeneral Motors town anymore. We’ll neversee those days again.”

“It didn’t used to be thisway”

But make no mistake: as people want thecommunity to break with its recent past, theyare still deeply mired in it — frustrated andangry.

Instead, in Flint you can still hear the deeppessimism similar to what we heard inYoungstown and Greenwood; it pervades thecommunity. “Each year it’s getting worse. It’snoticeably getting worse,” observed onewoman. Another went still further: “I’ddescribe it as bleak, dark, black — anythingthat has to do with negativity.” As inYoungstown, people in Flint can remember atime when things were better — when peopletook care of their property, when they werenot afraid to let their kids play outside. “Itdidn’t used to be this way,” said one woman.

A universal sense of isolation, divisivenessand disconnection permeates Flint. Thisdisconnect makes it difficult for the


community to create and sustain the publiccapital it needs to address its challenges. Asone woman pointed out, “If you don’t feellike you belong in your own littleneighborhood, how on earth can you feel likeyou can go to a town meeting and feelcomfortable?”

When asked to name leaders in theircommunity, at any level, people found itdifficult to do so. “There’s very few peopletrying to make Flint a better place,” one manconcluded. Throughout our conversations,people were skeptical of leaders’ motives andsay that most — especially elected leaders —do not act in the community’s best interests.The divisiveness of Flint’s leaders, who weheard rarely join forces to work together oncommunity issues, further fuels people’smistrust and skepticism.

In fact, we heard that not only do leaders actin isolation from one another, so too doFlint’s various civic, non-profit and othercommunity organizations. People say thattoo many Flint area organizations andinstitutions preoccupy themselves with theirown agendas and interests. They rarely reachout to try to learn what is important to thosein the community. Instead of combiningtheir strengths to respond to challenges,organizations are viewed as working againsteach other.

One man described it this way: “It would belike if you unwind the rope, each strand isnot all that strong. That’s basically what youhave when you have a bunch of differentorganizations all trying to do the same thing.But they end up coming down to all trying todo it their own way.” The result is continuedgridlock, which further splinters thecommunity. People suggest that too manycivic groups and institutions have not“changed with the times.”

But one thing that The Harwood Groupheard loud and clear is that despite theirfeelings of isolation and disconnection,residents of Flint do not excuse themselves

from the equation. They say that fear andfrustration are keeping them from engagingin public life. They bemoan the failure ofindividuals to take responsibility to act. Andthey feel that their lack of participation iscontributing to the area’s overall challenges.

Flint’s Future

Flint is at a decision point. One option is tocontinue down the well-worn path of leastresistance. A path that might lead to evendeeper and wider gaps in a communityalready divided, where the usual routinespells gridlock, competitiveness and peopleacting to further their own, not thecommunity’s, best interests. As a result, Flintmay find itself facing in the future the same— and even more serious — challenges thanit does today.

The other path will be much more difficult,but potentially much more rewarding. Manypeople say the status quo is not working andthey are ready to break the impasse: to createa community where people build new waysto work together to address issues ofcommon concern. In choosing this direction,the Flint community has a genuineopportunity to move forward.

Like Youngstown, people in Flint want totackle issues and concerns that will helpthem build a better quality of life and a futurefor their community. In addition to jobcreation, they talk passionately aboutchildren and youth-related problems. “I likehelping the youth, because that’s going to beour future,” pointed out one woman. Andwhile people in Greenwood lament that theirpolitical leaders are not creating the changesthey want to see, people in the Flint area aretalking about what each individual needs todo to move the community forward.

“Flint’s not dead yet … the lights are still on,”claimed one young man. And there are smallchanges starting to happen across thecommunity as individuals strive to do publicbusiness in a new way.

But one thing thatThe HarwoodGroup heard loudand clear is thatdespite theirfeelings ofisolation anddisconnection,residents of Flintdo not excusethemselves fromthe equation.

Flint, Michigan

Catalytic

“I am more active.”

EXTR

A

1999


“Extra”: Flint, Michigan —Entering TheCatalytic Stage

Today, the Flint area finds itself at thebeginning of the catalytic stage. Here is a briefupdate on the progress of Flint — a sense ofhow the catalytic stage of community life canstart to play out.

In 1997, we heard the urgency in the voicesof Flint residents when the city reachedImpasse. People were ready, at least in theirminds, to put aside some of their differencesand start to come together as a community.

Now in 1999, there is a nascent and growingsense in Flint that ‘at least we are starting tofeel some movement.’ From the feeling ofimpasse, there are new signs of action. Someactions happening are on an individual leveland others are more formal as organizationsstart to connect with each other. Thesedifferent actions across the community arenot necessarily “coordinated”; but they areworking in complementary ways, sharing acommon sense of purpose and direction.And as new links and connections start toform between people and groups, the actionsand new norms will be strengthened andspread further into the community.

Here are some of the types of actions takingroot in the Flint today:

People are taking responsibility forcreating a sense of community in theirneighborhoods. During the Impasse stage,people in Flint said that it was vital forindividuals to step up to the plate. We arestarting to see people re-engage in Flint’scommunity life in the Catalytic stage. Wehave heard about numerous communitygarden, clean-up and beautification efforts inneighborhoods. There are lawn lightingprojects where folks raise money so eachhome gets same the yard lights. People areorganizing picnics and festivals so neighbors

can get to know each other. The city-sponsored Community Pride Day is in itsthird successful year. There is high demandfor T-shirts that say “I am taking a step forFlint and Genesee County.”

People are seeing the importance oftalking with each other about theircommunity. People in Flint have repeatedlytold us that folks need to ‘get together’ andhave productive conversations about wherethey want to go as a community. With theTake A Step tool, created by The HarwoodInstitute for Public Innovation and funded bythe Mott Foundation, people in the Flint areaare starting to talk to each other. One churchdistributed Take A Step to every parishioner, ahousing organization is using Take A Step aspart of its new homeowner class curriculum.Over fifty block club leaders andrepresentatives attend monthly meetings of anetworking group called The NeighborhoodRoundtable.

Citizen leaders are feeling re-energizedand re-engaged in public life. We heardabout one woman who got involved in herblock club after a long period of non-involvement and is now president. A groupof over thirty citizens that had been trainedas “technical assistants” to help block clubsget grant money were not particularly activebut now they are eager to lend their servicesin new ways such as helping groups use Let’sStep It Up, an action tool that builds off ofTake a Step.

Citizen leaders are also trying to workthrough long-held grudges anddisagreements. We heard about two feudingblock clubs that got into the same roomtogether and had a conversation about whateach was up to. People who have clashed inthe past are willing to participate in the sameclass of The Place for Public Ideas, a growingnetwork of leaders and organizations,committed to Flint’s future. They told us thatwhen they came together at The Place, theydiscovered that they share commonaspirations for their community. And theseleaders learned that even when they disagree,

Now in 1999,there is a nascentand growing sensein Flint that ‘atleast we arestarting to feelsome movement.’From the feelingof impasse, thereare new signs ofaction.


they can stay at the table and keep movingforward.

Institutional and agency leaders areshowing more interest in working withother groups and tapping into thecommunity. There are more requests toparticipate in The Place for Public Ideas thanthere are available spaces. Leaders fromdifferent cultural organizations are trying toorganize a unified millennium celebration.Leaders are showing more interest in learningfrom citizens to help them in their decisionmaking. Many are organizing “focus groups”on their own or requesting access tocommunity conversations led by TheHarwood Institute for Public Innovation.

Flint’s Civic Brigade

The different people and organizationsstarting to take action are the beginning of,what we call, a Civic BrigadeTM for Flint thatwill grow over time. As more and morepeople start to see and hear what ishappening, they will become engaged andstart to create new connections across thecommunity.

Challenges still exist in Flint. Many residentsstill have little hope for the future and see thecity as continuing to decline. The recentclosure of General Motor’s Buick City has leftsome wondering if this is the final nail in thecity’s coffin. The public schools and crime insome neighborhoods continue to be a greatchallenge.

But as The Harwood Group has heard fromcitizens across the country, people do notexpect change to happen overnight. If it tookyears to go into decline, people say, it is goingto take time to get out of it. We have foundthat a community’s Catalytic stage dependson the small steps taken by a small group ofpeople that start a ripple effect into thecommunity.

Tupelo,Mississippi

Growth

“Will you become partof our community?”


Tupelo, Mississippiin Growth Stage

During the 1940s - 1960s, Tupelo, Mississippiand the surrounding area went through a longprocess of transition from an agricultural to anindustrial base. Today, Tupelo has a strongeconomy, low unemployment and is regardedas a model of economic development. It pridesitself on being a “welcoming place.” It has wonthe National Civic League’s All-America CityAward three times. Race relations, people say,are generally good. Residents are proud of thetown’s long “heritage” of active citizenengagement, community leadership and sharedgoals. The goals and norms that leaders put inplace in the past have laid the groundwork forthe development of the community’s strongpublic capital today.

Today, Tupelo is in the Growth stage. Tupeloresidents express a sense of optimism andenergy that we do not hear in cities in earlierstages of community life.

When we asked people in Tupelo to describetheir community, they were quick to say thatit is “welcoming,” “inclusive” and“progressive.” They talk with pride about allthat the city has to offer — both business andcultural opportunities. Their enthusiasm isinfectious. Newcomers told us that they havenever received such a warm welcome as theydid upon moving to Tupelo. They talk aboutchurches and civic groups extendinginvitations to new members, asking “Will youbecome part of our community?”

There is a buzz of talk and action across thecommunity. Soccer games, organized pot-lucks and festivals are just some of the placesthat bring people together from acrossTupelo. People take advantage of theseopportunities to meet new folks andintroduce people to one another. And talkoften turns to community concerns. Peopletold us that they feel free to express theiropinions in these conversations. The town’snumerous luncheon and civic clubs andchurch groups are also places where people

come together to talk and learn about what isgoing on in the community. The number andvariety of places for people in Tupelo to cometogether, which are missing fromcommunities like Youngstown and Flint,serve a crucial role in creating networks andmoving information throughout thecommunity.

Over and over, people told us that publicschools are the “hub” of community life. It isa widely held assumption that residents andleaders will engage each other on decisionspertaining to schools. In fact, we heardabout how the superintendent recently lefthis job because the community felt that hewas making decisions and taking actionwithout giving citizens the opportunity toprovide input and make sure the changeswere for the good of the community.

People and organizations in Tupelo bring apositive and proactive attitude to communitychallenges. It is expected, people explained,that everyone will find a way to play a role incommunity life. And it is also expected thatthe “positive will win out.” As a community,people say, Tupelo strives to be inclusive andput family and children first. The focus is onfinding solutions that benefit the communityas a whole, not fighting turf wars.

But we also heard a growing sense of concernamong people about whether (and how)Tupelo will be able to sustain its “communityspirit” as the town grows and new people andnew leaders come into the community.People talk about the community becomingincreasingly diverse and new people “withideas of their own” moving into town. Somedescribe Tupelo as experiencing “growingpains” as it struggles to deepen its publiccapital and engage new people in communitylife.

“A Work Together Attitude”

Strong norms for engaging in public life andwide-ranging community networks thatspread and reinforce these norms are at thecore of Tupelo’s strong public capital. People


describe a “peer pressure” from all sides thatdoes not just encourage but sets anexpectation for people and groups to findways to be engaged in community life. Thesenorms have developed over a long period oftime. Said one man who grew up in Tupelo,“As someone who spent my formative years here, I can’t fathom not beinginvolved.”

We also heard about a growing number ofindividuals who have connections to peopleand groups across the community. TheseConnective LeadersTM help create linksbetween organizations and spread news andideas across the community. These folks arealso role models for others, reinforcing theexpectation of community involvement.They talk about feeling a responsibility to“teach by example.”

People told us repeatedly that “a work-together attitude” was key to moving Tupeloto where it is today. They point not only toindividuals working together, butorganizations and leaders putting asidepersonal concerns to think about thecommunity as a whole.

Tupelo has a strong network of catalyticorganizations. People point to CDF, the localeconomic development foundation, CREATE,the community foundation, and thenewspaper, The Northeast Mississippi DailyJournal as encouraging engagement in publiclife and promoting the efforts of other groups.CDF and CREATE not only play a vital rolein the community by providing seed moneyfor initiatives, but also by working, alongwith the newspaper, to bring together diversegroups of community leaders to take actionon challenges. People told us that thesecatalytic organizations have credibility intheir eyes, in large part, by seeking to engagea broad range of folks; then followingthrough and helping the community succeed;and finally, promoting the community’ssuccesses.

The newspaper also plays a vital role, weheard, as a “community messenger.” People

say that the paper has gone a long way tohelping establish strong, positive norms inTupelo — emphasizing that “what’s good forthe community is good for you.” The Journalalso helps highlight important issues orconcerns in the community, spurringdiscussion on them. “If a [community issue]is in the newspaper,” one woman explained,“people know it’s important.”

Tupelo’s Future

But as Tupelo looks to the immediate future,people expressed concern about how tomaintain and strengthen the community’spublic capital. “As we grow as a city, we needto grow as a community,” observed oneresident.

People in Tupelo told us that they want to godeeper — both in terms of the challengesthey focus on and the levels of thecommunity they engage. Tupelo has workedon economic development and social issuesthat focused on a more narrow aspect ofcommunity life. Now, they say they want toturn their attention to challenges that affectthe community’s overall health, such ashousing and single-parent families.

We discovered the same challenges inChattanooga in the Growth stage. And as inChattanooga, people in Tupelo are starting tosee in this stage of community life that whilethey have strong norms and a large numberof engaged citizens, there are still those thatfeel left behind, not listened to, or truly apart of the community’s progress. Residentsof Tupelo are also starting to sense that theywill need to develop new tools and strategiesfor achieving these goals. They told us theywant to see the informal networks andleadership push deeper into the communityand bring more diverse voices to the table.

But people in Tupelo are hopeful that if thecan tackle these tough issues, “we’ll be leapsand bounds ahead of other communities.”

People in Tupelotold us that theywant to go deeper— both in termsof the challengesthey focus on andthe levels of thecommunity theyengage.

Chattanooga,Tennessee

Growth

“A work in progress.”


Chattanooga,Tennessee — End ofthe Growth Stage

People recall Chattanooga, Tennessee’s downtownas a “ghost town” in the 1970s and 1980s. Thecity that had once aspired to be the “Pittsburgh ofthe South” went into slow decline starting in the1960s. Years of industrial pollution began to taketheir toll on the environment. Jobs in thefoundries and textile mills started to disappear.Racial tensions heightened.

Today, the modern Tennessee Aquarium andbustling Riverwalk anchor Chattanooga’srejuvenated downtown. Tourism, not industry,drives the economy. The city is seen as a modelfor effective public-private partnerships andsustainable development. An abundance ofcatalysts, leaders and opportunities forcommunity discussion are hallmarks of public lifein Chattanooga; but citizens and civic leaders arenow wondering how to sustain and renew theircommunity.

Chattanoogans are clearly proud of theturnaround the city has made in the last twentyyears. And like Tupelo, there is a sense ofoptimism and confidence in the voices ofChattanoogans as they talk about their city.They describe the city as a “vibrant” and“friendly” community; the area’s natural beautyand the revitalized downtown areas are frequenttouchstones as people talk about Chattanooga’s“unique” qualities. And Chattanoogans’ pridedoes not rest solely on tangibleaccomplishments like the Tennessee Aquariumor Riverwalk. It is rooted also in the hard work,“the spirit of cooperation” and the community’sability to come together and set a direction thatmade those things happen.

Unprompted, many people told us thatChattanooga has a “very different feel today”than it did in the 1970s. “We finally got a goodattitude about ourselves,” said one man with ameasure of relief.

Today, residents say, there is a greater sense ofpossibility about the future and faith that peoplein Chattanooga have the capacities and

resources for tackling challenges. Community-wide discussion about challenges and how totake action on them is the norm, they say.People expect to have the opportunity to voicetheir opinion or offer an idea on communitydecisions and challenges. Everyone we talkedto was able to reel off a list of people andorganizations that play leadership roles in thecommunity.

Chattanooga moved quickly through itsCatalytic and Growth stages. People talk abouta flurry of talk and action in Chattanooga in the1980s and 1990s. Revitalizing the downtownand re-creating the city as a tourist destinationwere the primary goals. And the city has seentangible results from its efforts.

But as in Tupelo, we could hear in Chattanoogaa quiet sense of concern from some folks abouthow the community will continue to moveforward from this point.

But today, Chattanooga is at the end of theGrowth stage. As a community, it has hitanother Waiting Place as it struggles with howto sustain and renew the progress it has made.As in Tupelo, many in the community believethat some people and groups were left behindas a core group of active citizens led the citythrough the Catalytic and Growth stages. Now,the challenge is how to broaden and deepen thenetworks and public capital of Chattanooga.

A Community That ComesTogether

“We’ve become a community that believes incoming together and setting new visions,” oneman told us. And indeed, the “work together”ethic that we discovered in Tupelo alsoundergirds Chattanooga’s public capital. Inboth communities, one of the key contrasts tocities in earlier stages of community life is theability of people and organizations to look atthe community as a whole.

Both Chattanooga and Tupelo have been able toovercome some of the fragmentation thatprompts mistrust and turf wars and keeps othercommunities at a standstill. By recognizing theinterdependence of both their resources andchallenges, people and organizations in these

During theGrowth stage,Chattanooga’scivic leaders andengaged citizensworked to developand spread new,positive norms forpublic life.


two cities find points of common ground aswell as an imperative for coming together.

During the Growth stage, Chattanooga’s civicleaders and engaged citizens worked to developand spread new positive norms for public life.As a community, people say that they are“future-oriented” and look for ways to worktoward their aspirations. This is in sharpcontrast to the 1970s when, as one persondescribed it, the city was “stuck in time” andpeople expected “someone else” — the millowners, the wealthy elite, the politicians — tosolve problems. The norm now, people say, isto look to each other first and ask — What dowe want? What can we do?

We heard that there is now an expectation thatorganizations and leaders will engage withcitizens in conscious community discussion. Infact, people describe public debate anddiscussion as a “way of life” in Chattanooga.But civic leaders note that establishing andspreading these new norms is a continualprocess. They talk about how lingeringperceptions that the city is run by a small groupof wealthy elites still crops up, revivingquestions and feelings of mistrust.

Chattanoogans also point with pride to theirstrong network of catalytic leaders andorganizations. Over and over again, people cite,among others, businessman Jack Lupton, theLyndhurst Foundation, the Chamber ofCommerce and “old money families” as aninvaluable resource for making things happenin Chattanooga. These organizations providemore than just funds, they help identifyproblems and find innovative solutions. Theybegan playing this role early in the community’sCatalytic stage.

Chattanooga is also working to create an“inclusive” leadership at all levels of thecommunity. People say that the communityresponse to the environmental crisis in the1970s, the Moccasin Bend Task Force, and theVision 2000 planning process were startingpoints for bringing a more diverse group to thetable, giving people an opportunity to get toknow each other, exchange ideas and takeaction on challenges facing the wholecommunity.

One of the reasons that Chattanooga has madeprogress as a community, people explain, is thefact that its leaders are willing to take risks.These leaders are not afraid of “getting beatenup a little,” observed one woman. Leaders andorganizations state quickly that there are alwaysa few dissenters, but that it is important not tolet them hold up the whole process.

Chattanooga’s Future

Chattanooga is now struggling with how tosustain and renew its work. Like Tupelo, weheard that Chattanoogans want to tackle deeperissues — race relations, education andeconomic diversification. And they also want toreach deeper into the community. Civic leadersalso stress the importance of reaching out to theAfrican-American community and working ininner city neighborhoods where people have feltleft out of the city’s sweeping progress.

But in Chattanooga there are no clear decisionson when or how to move forward. “Aconsensus is building,” said one man, “but we’renot there yet.” Some are anxious about the lackof urgency and wonder aloud how to spark it.We heard about how some communityorganizations routinely list diversity or racerelations as a top concern in their annualplanning, but then fail to make it a true priority.One person wondered aloud, “We’ve never hada crisis to help rally people quickly ... perhapswe need a crisis of economic development tospur people to take action.”

Chattanoogans are also questioning whetherthey have the tools to take their work further.Civic leaders are beginning to sense that thestrategies and tactics that worked during thecatalytic stage to get the ball rolling and engagea smaller group of people will not continue tobring them forward.

But, looking to past successes, people areoptimistic about Chattanooga’s future and itscapacity to deal with new challenges. To do so,Chattanooga must figure out how to move to astage of Sustain and Renew. For now, it hasdiscovered a temporary Waiting Place.

The Harwood Public Capital

Framework

The Harwood P

The Tangible Dimensions of Public CapitalAn Abundance of Social Gatherings — that enable people to learn about what ishappening in the community and begin to develop a sense of mutual trust. Thesegatherings form the seedbed for public capital. (sporting events, organized potlucks,community festivals)

Organized Spaces for Interaction — where people can come together to learn about,discuss and often act on community challenges. These spaces help a community begin toidentify and tap existing resources— and at times, new resources— to address concerns.(churches, neighborhood associations, recreation centers, schools)

Catalytic Organizations — that help engage people in public life, spur discussion oncommunity challenges and marshall a community’s resources to move ahead. Theseorganizations help lay the foundation for community action, but do not act as the drivingforce. (the newspaper, chamber of commerce, community foundations, non-profitorganizations)

Safe Havens for Decision Makers — where a community’s leaders can deliberate andwork through community concerns in “unofficial,” candid discussions. (chamber ofcommerce, civic clubs, non-profit organizations)

The Links Between the Tangible Dimensions Strong, Diverse Leadership — that extends at all layers of a community, understandsthe concerns of the community as a whole and serves as a connector among individualsand organizations throughout the community. (Range: elected officials, ministers,teachers, neighborhood association members)

Informal Networks and Links — that connect various individuals, groups, organizationsand institutions together to create a cross-fertilization effect of experiences, knowledgeand resources. People carry and spread ideas, messages and community norms fromplace to place. (teachers talk education at church; bring insights from church to schools,business people raise issues at civic clubs, one group gives a presentation to members ofanother group)

Conscious Community Discussion — where a community has ample opportunity tothink about and sort through its public concerns before taking action. People play anactive role in helping decide how the community should act. (Discussions about:development of new housing project, business or economic development, changes inschool curriculum)

The Underlying Conditions of Public Capital Community Norms for Public Life — that help guide how people act individually,interact and work together. These norms set the standards and tone for civic engagement.(put family and children first, take personal responsibility, connect self-interest to largercommunity interest, the positive tends to win out)

A Shared Purpose for the Community — that sends an explicit message about thecommunity’s aspirations and helps reinforce that everyone is headed toward a commongoal. “We’re all in it together”; “We want to grow as a community”; “We want our publicinstitutions to thrive”

By looking at a community’s “PublicCapital,” we are able to identifywhere the community is in theStages of Community Life.Developed by The Harwood Group,Public Capital is a framework forlooking at the fundamentalstructures, relationships, networksand norms that need to be in placefor a community to work effectively.There are nine factors of PublicCapital. Each factor on its ownseems simplistic. But, as the factorsinteract — which they must sincethey are interdependent — a rich,complex system emerges.

ublic Capital Framework

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