Partners for Livable Communities is a leadership organization working to improve the livability of communities by promoting quality of life, economic development, and social equity.
Activities
Partners helps communities set a common vision for the future, discover and use new resources for community and economic development, and build public/private coalitions to further its goals. Partners promotes livable communities through technical assistance, leadership training, workshops, charettes, research and publications. More than 1,200 individuals and groups from local, state, national, international, public and private and media organizations make up Partners’ resource network and share innovative ideas on livability and community improvement. The organization also offers information sharing, community technical assistance, and international brokerage to communities for on-the-ground projects.
Relevant Project(s)
- Current national initiatives include The Creative City, Culture Builds Communities, and Aging in Place. Past programs include The Economics of Amenity, Shaping Growth in American Communities, and Community Futures.
- Livability Central is a national communications and researching center investigating strategies for improving community livability. The Center maintains an information database and assists communities with improving their character, openness, and vitality.
- The Cultivating Creative Communities Conference (Local Solutions – Global Success) was held in October 2006. Marketed to an international audience of community organizations, planners, elected officials, researchers, businesses, arts organizations, and local leaders. Addressing the four themes of Amenities, Equity, Sustainability, and Creativity, the conference focused on drawing connections between the needs and assets of communities, between diverse places and people, and on innovative strategies for change.
- The Culture Shapes Community Movement is a spin-off of previous work, focusing on culture as a tool for helping communities deal with change. Major themes include accommodating and using diversity; grassroots methods for engaging and reaching citizens; and sustaining neighborhood identity in the face of major architectural and demographic changes. The movement has a separate website, http://www.cultureshapescommunity.org.
- Neighborhood Identity Project examines the connections between art, culture and community character. The Neighborhood Identity “gateway” is a web resource assisting communities with identifying and retaining the character of neighborhoods. Projects include neighborhood art installations, oral histories, and neighborhood retreats.
Relevant Methodologies
Partners approaches community livability and revitalization with several key factors in mind: diversity, consensus-building, and creativity. The organization’s focus on creativity stems from research completed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Lester Thurow, who draws connections between creativity, e-commerce, technology, and assets—all of which contribute to a community’s ability to attract residents and increase vitality. The organization also sees diversity and partnerships as some of the primary assets in community improvement. Most of Partners’ projects have consensus-building and participatory strategies at their roots.
Region
National
More Information
1429 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-887-5990 (phone)
202-446-4845 (fax)