STRIVE January 2018 | Page 41

Photo by RDTviews © 2018
in-person meetings or emails to confirm every step.
The application’s prototype testers are of the go-getter
variety already, but we’re pressing them to develop and deliver
projects that are manageable for new participants to support.
We’re also encouraging projects to deliver results cheaply,
creatively, and collaboratively, and usually in less than a year.
For example, simple solutions like artwork-covered trash
cans and utility boxes, painted alleys, functional and fun bike
racks, pop-up events, and outside dining – even in winter
cities – can have big impacts on downtown revitalization
efforts. Residential areas can regain a sense of walkability and
community with neighborhood gardens, inexpensive methods
for slowing traffic, outside games to invite play, or working to
daylight a creek and expand greenspace.
Creative short-term projects such as these convey some-
thing exciting is happening in a neighborhood or business
district. A virtuous cycle begins as more attention is attracted
to the area, and often following suit are the longer-term infra-
structure improvements so often sought from the beginning.
Taking ownership in one’s community is the backbone of
successful, vibrant communities. Courtesy of a little technol-
ogy, we will be able to harness and focus the energy of more
participants and accelerate completion of more projects than
presently possible. We know that mobilizing teams for cata-
lytic short-term projects in this way will be instrumental in
reorienting our communities for the future.
Community building is an all-hands-on-deck exercise.
It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the fulfilling thing to
do. While the AlaskaMovement app will be able to measure
success by number of project participants or projects complet-
ed, the ultimate measure of accomplishment will be hearing
someone describe what they do not only with their job title
but with their latest community project.
1
State of the Global Workplace. Gallup, Inc. 2017.
Meredith Noble is spearheading the AlaskaMovement initiative.
Her latest community endeavor is working with the local bike
community to build a new mountain bike for an 11-year old who
had his hard-earned bike stolen.
Meredith Noble
Co-Founder
AlaskaMovement
January 2018
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