Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future, 2nd Edition

Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future, 2nd Edition

by Suzanne W. Morse
Released March 2014
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781118427002

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Book description

The new edition of the acclaimed guide to strategic decision-making in community planning, development, and collaboration

Based on the results of more than a decade of research by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, Smart Communities provides directions for strategic decision-making and outlines the key strategies used by thousands of leaders who have worked to create successful communities. Outlining seven "leverage points" for decision-making used by thousands of leaders who have worked to create successful communities, this new Second Edition offers leaders from both the public and private sectors the tools they need to build a civic infrastructure and create a better future for all the community's citizens.

  • Second Edition has been thoroughly updated with current knowledge and research

  • Covers new developments from current design thinking and strategy literature to innovation and invention in communities

  • Advises on how to create community readiness that will help avert problems before they begin

  • All case vignettes have been revised to include more detailed information about the process and application of the seven leverage points

  • Examples from communities around the country illustrate how these change agents' well-structured decision-making processes can be traced to their effective use of the seven key leverage points

    • Smart Communities offers hope to those who are striving to improve their communities and addresses vital issues such as poverty, race relations, and children's health and welfare.

    Table of contents

    1. Cover Page
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright
    4. Contents
    5. Preface
      1. The Ideas That Inform This Book
      2. Finding a Guide for Success: Process + Action
      3. Who Should Read This Book and Why
      4. Identifying the Cases
      5. Overview of Contents
    6. Acknowledgments
    7. The Author
    8. CHAPTER ONE: Building the Foundation for Community Change
      1. Knowing Where to Build the Road
      2. How We Got Where We Are
      3. What Is in a Name
      4. The Love-Hate Relationship with Cities
      5. Trends of Growth and Decline of Communities
      6. The Effects of Globalization on Communities
      7. The Mailboxes on Main Street
      8. Finding Community Solutions from Within
      9. New Ways of Working
      10. Community Fundamentals
    9. CHAPTER TWO: Investing Right the First Time
      1. The Wicked Problems
      2. Kinds of Community Capital
      3. How Decisions Are Made . . . Matters
      4. Setting Priorities on Community Investments
      5. More Than Just a Bottom Line
      6. Finding a Guide for Investment Success
      7. Choosing the Right Investment: Creating New Scenarios for Change
      8. Portland, Oregon: A Place That Is Getting It Right
      9. Seattle Still Soaring
    10. CHAPTER THREE: Working Together
      1. Problems Cannot Be Solved Alone
      2. Knowledge Holders
      3. Ripple-Effect Stakeholders
      4. What Is Working Together?
      5. How Joint Efforts Can Work Better
      6. Why Do Efforts Fail?
      7. Working Together Is a Necessity, Not a Luxury
      8. Working Together Is the Name of the Game in the New Economy
    11. CHAPTER FOUR: Building on Community Strengths
      1. Asset-Driven Approach to Community Development
      2. Developing a Community from Within
      3. Assets Come in All Sizes
      4. Assets Disguised as Liabilities
      5. Connect Clusters of Assets to Build Synergy
    12. CHAPTER FIVE: Practicing Democracy
      1. A Different Kind of Politics
      2. Recognizing That a Problem Is a Problem
      3. A Public Willing to Act
      4. The Changing Shape of Engagement
      5. The Digital Citizen
      6. Open Government
      7. Oregon Citizens' Initiative Review: More Informed Voters
      8. Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.: Deciding the Future
      9. Hampton: Local Government as Convenor and Listener
      10. Can We Talk?
    13. CHAPTER SIX: Preserving the Past
      1. Increased Property Values and Increased Tourism
      2. The Intersection of Place, History, and Demand
      3. Links to Our Community and to Our Past
      4. No More Just Knocking Down or Paving Over
      5. New Paradigms for Downtown
    14. CHAPTER SEVEN: Growing New Leaders
      1. A New Model for Leadership
      2. Moving from Hand-Wringing to Hand-Holding
      3. Potential Leaders Are All Around Us
      4. The Promise of Leadership
      5. Elected Leaders Can Lead
      6. Leaders Change the Conversation
      7. Leaders Believe It Can Be Done
      8. Organizations Taking the Long View
      9. More Leadership Is Better
    15. CHAPTER EIGHT: Inventing the Future
      1. Why Is Change So Important But So Hard to Manage?
      2. Innovation: Community Style
      3. Grand Rapids—A City That Makes Things and Opportunities
      4. Globalization Is Real . . . and Not a Surprise
      5. The Maps Change
      6. Sometimes You Have to Reboot
      7. Final Thoughts
    16. References
    17. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future, 2nd Edition
    • Author(s): Suzanne W. Morse
    • Release date: March 2014
    • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
    • ISBN: 9781118427002