Center for Community Stewardship

Residents' Collective Wisdom
as Community Asset

The Center for Community Stewardship serves as a catalyst for organizing large groups of community members as they envision how they want their neighborhood, city, county or region to develop, often in response to proposals from developers and government officials.

The community stewardship process teaches neighborhoods how to work better with city government and with developers.

To address changes in agriculture, historic preservation, urban renewal, neighborhood scale and open space, residents must have the opportunity to share their collective wisdom about a place and the people who frequent it.

Too many times, an “agenda-driven” sponsorship and forum hamper public discussion. Community engagement brings together residents, developers, business owners and government officials into a process that gives each stakeholder equal status. Community stewardship facilitates the creation of a common language for residents, developers, government officials and others as they work toward a common vision for managing change in their community.

In many cases residents may lack the knowledge and skills they need to ensure their concerns and ideas are communicated to other stakeholders. Through community engagement, the Center for Community Stewardship creates opportunities for residents to respond to situations, and to aid the development of initiatives and projects. The Center helps residents develop and use the tools necessary to turn their vision into a reality that enhances community life for all parties.

The tools the Center for Community Stewardship can help the public develop include how to

run better meetings

work with city employees

plan strategically

follow up to ensure government employees carry out and adhere to long-range plans

Residents' Collective Wisdom as Community Asset

Residents' Collective Wisdom
as Community Asset