"Few people in this country know as much about community building as Jim Diers. The case studies and ideas in this book are extremely powerful evidence that real communities are knit together by the public places they share, and show how small ideas from ordinary citizens can make an entire city thriving and beautiful." - Fred Kent, President, Project for Public Spaces
"Dozens of towns, cities, and suburbs are replicating the outstanding community building programs pioneered by Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods. Neighbor Power supplies the inspiration and the techniques for building strong neighborhood communities from the ground up." - Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Sacramento Local Government Commission
"Jim Diers's approach to neighborhood empowerment is gaining popularity in Japan. Thanks to Neighbor Power, we can now put Seattle's programs into action." - Yuko Nishimura, Komazawa University, Tokyo
"Finally, a book sharing the 'how we did it' of Seattle's neighborhoods. Neighbor Power bursts with inspirational ideas, proven in practice, for building community. It is a must read for all students of planning and community development, local government managers and elected officials, and neighborhood leaders-in fact, anyone who cares about how we live together and create community." - Linda Campbell, Manager for City Council, Shellharbour, Australia
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Valuing Community: The Department of Neighborhoods' Origins
- 2. Organizing Community: Involving All Neighbors and Other Programs
- 3. Connecting Community: Neighborhood Service Centers and District Councils
- 4. Building Community: The Neighborhood Matching Fund
- 5. Cultivating Community: The P-Patch Program
- 6. Sustaining Communities: The Neighborhood Planning Program
- 7. Celebrating Community: Neighbor Appreciation Day
- 8. Modeling Community: Columbia City
- 9. Replicating Neighborhood Programs
- 10. Conclusion
