Categories
culture

Communities Are a Subset of Networks

Build Community
Photo by Niall Kennedy

I have long been interested in the need for and value of communities and the fact that we have lost the value and sense of communities to a large degree in our modern society. I have said many times in private and even in public that most of our problems in society would be improved if not altogether eliminated by a revival of community life. Prior to reading Communities vs Networks however, I had never really paid attention to the specific similarities between networks and communities. After pondering the post however I would suggest that rather than networks and communities being on different ends of a continuum the reality is that communities are networks by definition even if most networks don’t rise to the level of community. Allow me to support that claim by sharing tweaked versions of the statements from that post which contract networks and communities:

  • Networks May Be Artificial, Top-Down; Communities Are Organic, Bottom-Up (originally “Networks Are…”)
  • Networks Allow Passivity and Consumption; Communities Require Action and Contribution (originally “Networks Encourage…”)
  • Networks Can Be Location Independent; Communities Are Usually Attached to a Place (added “Usually”)
  • Networks Often Divide a Person Into Parts; Communities Nurture the Whole Person (added “Often”)

Based on those statements a community would be defined as a network that functions organically, requires action and contribution, and nurtures the whole person and that such groups are usually attached to a place. The question in distinguising communities then isn’t whether the group is more like a community or more like a network. Rather, it is how much the particular network fits the definition of community.

Categories
culture

A Holistic Approach to Building Families

Photo by SuziJane

I fully support the idea that the family is the fundamental unit of society and that societies can’t be stronger than the families within them. While agreeing with that sentiment I find it interesting that whether is is expressed by the First Lady of Uganda or published by the World Congress of Families (WCF) nobody seems to give a straightforward definition of what they consider to be the boundaries of the family unit. The closest I can find to a definition is from the Madrid Declaration of WCF:

We affirm the natural family to be the union of a man and a woman through marriage…

While I agree that the foundation of a whole and healthy family must be the union of a man and a woman through marriage I do not believe that fully encompasses the fundamental unit which defines the strength of societies and nations. I also strongly suspect that the WCF does not mean to limit the definition of family to that one statement.

Categories
culture

A Real Solution

For all the political talk about what ails our society and how our “leaders” in Washington can fix it, I think that Peter Lovenheim has identified one real solution that can put everything back into perspective – recapturing the meaning of “neighbor.” He asks this very important question that I’d like to take a stab at answering.

Why is it that in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?

My first guess is that this is a matter of scarce resources (time) becoming spread too thin. Because we can stay connected with our college buddies when they are spread around the country we spend less time getting to know the neighbors who may not share any interests with us. When it was more cost prohibitive to keep regular contact with our old friends we were more likely to reach out to the neighbors where we could afford to build the relationships. In fact, I think that we can safely say that prior to easy travel we had the added incentive to build neighbor relations because there was also a higher chance that we were staying closer to home and so our neighbors were likely to have history or family connections with us.

I would not argue that this is acceptable. In fact, I think that this tendency toward disconnection on the local level feeds into our growing propensity to seek solutions to all our problems on a large scale. The less we identify with our local neighborhood the less likely we are to think about concerns on a local level. The more we think in terms of national problems the more we insist and accept the erosion of liberty that almost universally follows when we try to address concerns (rightly or wrongly) on a national scale.

Does anyone else have perspectives to round out my thinking?

Categories
culture politics

Transit Oriented Development

The idea that we need more transit friendly ways to develop our urban and suburban areas is not new to me. I have long believed it. The idea that government restrictions hinder as often as they help is also easy for me to accept. That’s why I was interested to read about the ways that existing zoning laws often impede smart development.

Many of us will abandon our big gas-guzzling vehicles and forsake new land-guzzling, auto-dependent suburban developments in favor of commuter hubs and “new urbanism” communities clustered near mass-transit stations.

We’ll live sensibly for a change. . . We won’t go kicking and screaming, either. Just give it a little more time. Let the air pollution and traffic congestion and gas pumps that ring up $50, $60, $70 in a blur sink in, and we’ll embrace smart growth and new urbanism and commuter hubs like grandmas hug babies and babies hug puppies.

It’s already starting to happen . . . But there’s still one big obstacle . . . If commuter hubs and bus stop/train station developments are going to become the norm, if we’re going to change our wasteful ways and ease the burden on our environment and pocketbooks, local governments have to lead, or at least get out of the way.

“High density” can no longer be dirty words. Commercial and residential zones must be melded. Those tired old requirements of two parking spaces for every doorstep have to go.

My ideals for my family living situation include a large yard and I begin to wonder if that conflicts with my ideals for smarter growth and a more transit-centric lifestyle.

I think I’ll try to tackle that issue with some ideas of how to meld the two ideals – not just for me, but in general municipal planning. Any thoughts for me to consider?

Categories
culture

Stability

As I have been exploring the issues of an ideal living environment I have come to the conclusion that there is a factor which I had not noticed before which can probably exist in almost any of the categories of places (large city, suburban, rural, etc.) which seems to have more influence over desirability of the location than size or amenities. That factor is stability of the area. In a city there are likely to be areas which have it and areas which don’t which means that looking at a whole city might be virtually useless in this search for an illusive ideal.

When I talk about stability I do not equate a static community environment with a stable community environment. Static indicates a lack of change to me where stable indicates sustainability. The two are largely independent of each other. A stable community would be one where residents are invested in the whole community and not simply their own household. It is one where there is likely to be less turnover because of that investment. I believe that this is the reason that our government tends to promote homeownership – the assumption is that ownership would tend towards becoming invested in the community.

I recognize that stability is not nearly as important at some stages of life (single college student for example) as it is at others (when you are trying to raise kids). I am basing my search for an ideal on the child-rearing situation partly because that is the stage I am at, but mostly because I believe that strong homes where children are being raised form the foundation of a strong society.

In a future post I will be exploring how to get into a stable community considering that they tend to have lower turnover. I’m sure that there are a variety of ways. I’ll be looking for insights both before and after I write that post.

So, critique me. Is stability as important as I have suggested? Have I defined it correctly? Are there factors that I have failed to notice? Besides resident buy-in to the community, what else contributes to stability in a community?

Categories
life Local politics

Thwarted

I had planned on participating in last night’s caucus meetings, but life intervened and I was not able to. That being said, I am still interested to learn what happened in those caucus meetings for my precinct (Lehi-08). I would love to know the outcome of the Republican and Democratic caucuses, especially the Democratic caucus I planned to attend. If anyone was at one of those, or knows how to get information on who was elected to positions in either party in this precinct please let me know.

Categories
Local politics

Citizen Reactions

I would love to be able to contact Mike Wylie and Amiee Christensen and help them recognize why Lehi is doing things that make them feel “less desirable.” Their reactions to the idea of raising prices on non-residents for Lehi programs were published today in the Daily Herald. I’m not saying that their reactions were completely wrong, but they can’t honestly expect to have Lehi sit like a doormat while others take advantage of city programs.

“Lehi is now trying to push us out,” Wylie said of Lehi’s proposal. “It is one city trying to act like a grown-up and spank the child… I did not do anything wrong. Having lived in the South, and having lived in areas of prejudice, that is almost how I feel I am being treated now.”

Communities should work together to ensure children have access to sports and recreation programs, and when they don’t, it leaves children to roam the streets, and everyone pays a price, he said.

In an e-mail to the Daily Herald and Lehi Council members, Amiee Christensen said she grew up in Lehi but high home prices had forced her move to Eagle Mountain. She said that while she agreed with the sentiment that Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs need to “grow up, I am outraged that there is a proposal to even make it difficult for me to be buried with my family in Lehi. I am living in Eagle Mountain only because I cannot afford to live in Lehi. The low cost of living in Eagle Mountain has forced me and my family to move from the city that my family helped build.”

If Lehi is angry about traffic, the city “should punish the one that is making the problem, the state,” she said. “They are the one that is slow to act and quick to point fingers. I am sad to say that I am from a city that will throw temper tantrums that rival a 2-year-old to get their way… Maybe we should realize that the people of the cities west of Lehi are good people who are sometimes not completely in control of their destiny and they just might need a helping hand from the closest big brother — Lehi.”

Ms. Christensen appears to be unaware of the fact that the mayor of Saratoga Springs has just finished opposing Lehi’s position on the traffic problem, which was directed at the state, in a very public manner. I have a hard time believing that she would expect “a helping hand from the closest big brother” while they are poking big brother in the eye.

I agree with her that the people west of Lehi are generally good people, just as the people of Lehi are generally good people. What needs to happen right now between these cities is a conference of residents and city officials between the cities to talk about their different perspectives on problems such as overcrowding in Lehi programs and Lehi streets and the problems with the solutions proposed by UDOT and now endorsed by Saratoga Springs. If the cities want to cooperate on one issue they should be cooperating on all of them. Lehi want’s to cooperation on the traffic/MVC issue and I think they would be very willing to cooperate on the community programs issue if they felt that they would not be ignored on the traffic issue.

So let’s all stop acting like children (as each side has accused the other of acting) and sit down like adults to discuss our different perspectives and find solutions that are mutually beneficial.

Categories
Local politics State

Biting the Subsidizing Hand

A local example of the negative effect of subsidies is playing out right now. Lehi citizens have been paying taxes to support services that benefit people in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain. The result is that the people in those cities are unaware of the real costs of the services that many of them take for granted in Lehi. It sounds like they are about to find out what those costs really are.

Saratoga Springs’s commitment to a proposed freeway through Lehi appears to have cost its residents access to Lehi community programs.

Call it retaliation or tough love, Lehi is moving to make it expensive and harder for Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs residents to join community programs, or even be buried, in Lehi.

Lehi Councilman Johnny Barnes gave a letter to Lehi Council members on Tuesday asking that beginning Jan. 1, participation in all community programs “be restricted to Lehi citizens first.”

Residents from nearby communities may be invited to participate if there is space, but “the costs to those participants will reflect the actual cost of the programs,” said Barnes.

Council members instructed staff to begin figuring new fees and participation rules for the council to consider.

Councilman Stephen Holbrook said the day has come for Lehi to make recreation fees for nonresidents “extremely higher, so our citizens can have first choice” and that increase should extend not only to sports programs but library use, senior citizen programs, park rentals, the literacy center, and burial fees.

“Two weeks ago in a pre-council meeting there were comments made concerning a letter sent out by Mayor Tim Parker of Saratoga Springs indicating their strong support of UDOT’s (freeway) plan for 2100 North,” Barnes wrote in his letter to council members. “I stated that in my opinion, this was a clear demonstration of Saratoga coming of age as a city, and felt that if they want to be a city, they need to act like a city.

“In making this statement, I hold firmly to the opinion that along with having the right to take a strong aggressive position comes the right and obligation to provide services to their citizens. This would include all services, not just the ones that are convenient to them or are able to be funded.”

How did this all come about?

Well Lehi has been very accommodating of the burgeoning cities to the west and now that because of that our city council is very aware of the costs of the services that they are virtually giving away. Though this act may be seen as retaliation by some, it makes sense that we should not be too concerned about the costs of restricting access to our programs for people who are apparently uninterested in the costs we will suffer as a result of their preferred freeway.

It’s all a matter of perspective but Saratoga Springs does not appear to care about the Lehi perspective on this project. I recognize that there are aspects of the Mountain View Corridor project that Saratoga would have a perspective that would be lacking in Lehi, but if those cities want to leech off of the programs that have matured here in Lehi then they should be willing to work with us.

The mayor of Saratoga could not be ignorant of Lehi’s vocal concern over the 2100 North alignment preferred by UDOT. If he cared about them then he should have made a better case for why Lehi’s 4800 North proposal was inferior. Everything I have seen suggests that 2100 North is marginally better for anyone who is just passing through Lehi than the plan proposed by Lehi, but it is substantially worse for residents of Lehi.

Categories
Local politics

Endorsements for Lehi City Council

The Daily Herald had an editorial today on what to look for in a candidate. I liked the criteria they listed:

Candidates to be wary of:

    • Have that “deer in the headlights look”
    • Spout too many cliches
    • Have too much experience – What worked in 1987 or even 1997 might be as outmoded as a Betamax video tape player today.
    • Have no backbone
    • Worry you now

They gave a good example of the “no backbone” criteria:

One test we find interesting is Referendum 1. School vouchers are not a municipal issue, of course, but at one forum recently, city council aspirants were asked to stand or sit to show where they stood on vouchers. A couple of candidates responded by neither standing or sitting, but by going into a sort of crouch. That sort of response worries us.

Look for hopefuls who:

    • Know their stuff
    • Acknowledge difficulties
    • Plan for progress
    • Work well with others
    • Accept change

I would add one more criteria for those who are interested enough to get involved in the political process early. A candidate should be responsive to voters.

I have been meaning to list my endorsements for Lehi City Council and I think that fits well at the end of this criteria. We have 3 incumbents and 3 new candidates for city council. They are largely campaigning as two groups. To a certain extent the groups are fitting. The incumbents have been largely unresponsive to individual questions outside of the few candidate forums while the new candidates have been more anxious to answer questions on their positions. As groups, both seem to have grasp of the issues comparable to the other. Some individual candidates have demonstrated a better grasp of the issues than others. Sadly, the incumbents were more likely to campaign on “I love this town.” (In one case that seems to be the entire platform.) If I had to vote for one group or the other I would vote for the new candidates. For information on each candidate visit Utah-Candidates.com.

Thankfully I get to vote for individual candidates. I know two candidates that I really want to vote for. Selecting my third choice was a bit harder. I am supporting Jeff Ray, Craig Laurence, and Mark Johnson for Lehi City Council. Overall, these three candidates each have a grasp of the issues and seem prepared to work for the city rather than working for a special interest or simply enjoying their position on the city council.

Categories
culture politics

Speak Up

I loved seeing How to Get Involved in Political Process at KSL. It talks about how to go beyond voting and pontificating to actually making a difference politically. There are many ways to be involved between the voting and serving in an elected capacity. If you really want to make things happen you can look into being a delegate or a lobbyist. (I know – lobbyists have a bad reputation among some groups.)

Other than primary elections, political analysts say it’s one of the simplest ways to effect politics on the ground level, where anyone can help determine who gets a party’s nomination for president.”Anybody can file to become a delegate,” said Craig Axford, Democratic National Committee party organization director for Utah.

. . . To become a delegate that goes to the national convention, first you have be chosen as a county delegate at party caucus meetings or neighborhood precincts, then get elected as a state delegate. . .

Both parties will hold their caucus meetings March 25. The only difference between the two parties is the Republicans will pick county and state delegates at the same time.

If a particular bill is more important to you than a specific candidate, then maybe becoming a lobbyist is more for you.

I also learned a lot from a presentation at the American Solutions conference by Stephen Goldsmith titled Citizenship and Local Government: You Can (and Must) Make a Difference. (download his presentation and the transcript of the Q&A portion of the session.)

The overall lesson from these seems to be that we have to speak up to affect change. Anyone who tells you to pipe down does not trust democracy. Just remember that speaking up does not mean shouting down those who disagree with you. People should express their diverse opinions. If you think the prevailing message is not accurate then track down the facts and learn how to make yourself heard. If after you do that people vote differently than you, they are only exercising the very freedom that made this country great.