Resources
Healthy neighborhoods are the key to healthy communities, but they’re as dependent on the community as a whole as the community is on its neighborhoods. Many things that benefit neighborhoods can be done only on a larger community level. Here are some resources that discuss communities.
Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age
[book]
Author: Michael Shuman
Creating self-reliant communities in a global age.
Center for Livable Communities
www.lgc.org/center
From the Local Government Commission. Extensive information and resources.
City Repair
www.cityrepair.org
Portland, Oregon group that helps residents transform the places where they live.
Citizens Handbook
www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook
A guide to building community. Very highly recommended.
Collaborative Consumption
www.collaborativeconsumption.com
"Collaborative Consumption describes the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before"
Global Ideas Bank
www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/category.php?catId=12
Hundreds of ideas from people all over the world on how we can improve neighborhoods and communities.
The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices
[book]
Author: Sarah James
How cities and towns can change to sustainable practices.
Rebar
www.rebargroup.org
San Francisco art and design collective devoted to making parking spaces more fun.
Stop Sprawl
www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community
Sierra Club on livable communities. Lots of information and resources.
Bowling Alone
www.bowlingalone.com
Based on Robert Putnam’s book on declining social capital.
Better Together
www.bettertogether.org
Tools and strategies to connect with others.
150 Things you can do to build social capital
www.bettertogether.org/150ways.htm
From Dan Chiras, author of “Superbia”.
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series)
[book]
Author: Christopher Alexander
Architect Christopher Alexander’s almost legendary opus on the elements that make a building or an entire town truly human.
Pattern Language
www.patternlanguage.com
Alexander’s website is also highly recommended. You’ll find lots of information and resources.
Shareable
www.shareable.net/
"A nonprofit online magazine that tells the story of sharing. We cover the people and projects bringing a shareable world to life. And share how-tos so you can make a sharing real in your life. "
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream
[book]
Author: Andre Duany
The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream.
The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape
[book]
Author: James Howard Kunstler
The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape.
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
[book]
Author: James Howard Kunstler
Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century.
Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age
[book]
Author: Michael Shuman
Creating self-reliant communities in a global age.
Center for Livable Communities
www.lgc.org/center
From the Local Government Commission. Extensive information and resources.
City Repair
www.cityrepair.org
Portland, Oregon group that helps residents transform the places where they live.
Citizens Handbook
www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook
A guide to building community. Very highly recommended.
Collaborative Consumption
www.collaborativeconsumption.com
"Collaborative Consumption describes the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before"
Global Ideas Bank
www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/category.php?catId=12
Hundreds of ideas from people all over the world on how we can improve neighborhoods and communities.
The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices
[book]
Author: Sarah James
How cities and towns can change to sustainable practices.
Rebar
www.rebargroup.org
San Francisco art and design collective devoted to making parking spaces more fun.
Stop Sprawl
www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community
Sierra Club on livable communities. Lots of information and resources.
Bowling Alone
www.bowlingalone.com
Based on Robert Putnam’s book on declining social capital.
Better Together
www.bettertogether.org
Tools and strategies to connect with others.
150 Things you can do to build social capital
www.bettertogether.org/150ways.htm
From Dan Chiras, author of “Superbia”.
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series)
[book]
Author: Christopher Alexander
Architect Christopher Alexander’s almost legendary opus on the elements that make a building or an entire town truly human.
Pattern Language
www.patternlanguage.com
Alexander’s website is also highly recommended. You’ll find lots of information and resources.
Shareable
www.shareable.net/
"A nonprofit online magazine that tells the story of sharing. We cover the people and projects bringing a shareable world to life. And share how-tos so you can make a sharing real in your life. "
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream
[book]
Author: Andre Duany
The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream.
The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape
[book]
Author: James Howard Kunstler
The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape.
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
[book]
Author: James Howard Kunstler
Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century.