An Opportunities that encourage equal access are keys to happiness and success.
Labels and acronyms should not be placed on residents of a certain geographical
area of a community, whether they have a high or low-income, or by their
ethnicity, culture, religion or having another first-language other than English.
An impressive community plan I came across during my research is the “Eco-
Districts” in Portland, Oregon. Each “Eco-District” created a “green”
infrastructure, with a focus on grassroots and neighborhood leadership to
encourage networking within their very diverse population. Attractive clean
streets, landscapes, and playscapes were required within the districts. The work
was actually achieved by employing the local residents, and was funded by
private donations and partnerships, which initiated start-up non-profits.
Continuous upgrades in these districts provided both economic and health
benefits for the local residents, as well as having great pride in their
achievements, just knowing they held an important part in the enhancement of
their own neighborhoods.
Becoming “pro-active,” rather than “reactive” to change, will make or break a
community. We have our individual beliefs, but often “what is” sometimes cannot
be changed at the moment, whether we like it or not.
In the quite desirable community of the Santa Clarita Valley, we are extremely
lucky to have most of the services and amenities that are lacking elsewhere. In
contrast, the City of Detroit recently lost their bid with Amazon for a huge
corporate development, due to the lack of mass transit between the City and its
adjacent suburbs. The City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to the University of
Michigan, was ranked as having the 5th highest economic segregated population
in the Nation!
I hope you enjoyed reading this introduction to my series. Researching and
learning more about sustainability and innovative techniques is extremely
interesting for me, and I’ll enjoy sharing fascinating stories in forthcoming
articles. Please feel free to reach out by email regarding any topics you wish to
read about or unique stories that you would like to share.
[email protected].
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