Celebrating Your Success
By Charlie Hall, Texas A&M University; AIB Board President
As the judging season comes to a close for America in Bloom, I’d like to give a quick shout-out to the judges who make the entire awards program a major success! They put in a lot of long days assessing the beautification efforts of our participating cities and then skillfully put some amazing evaluations together that are jam-packed with kudos and suggestions for the communities. Thanks also to Jack Clasen who serves as chair of the national awards and contest committee for his untiring efforts on behalf of the AIB board of directors.
As the judging season comes to a close for America in Bloom, I’d like to give a quick shout-out to the judges who make the entire awards program a major success! They put in a lot of long days assessing the beautification efforts of our participating cities and then skillfully put some amazing evaluations together that are jam-packed with kudos and suggestions for the communities. Thanks also to Jack Clasen who serves as chair of the national awards and contest committee for his untiring efforts on behalf of the AIB board of directors.
I have personally
seen a few of the comments from the judges regarding some of the communities
that have been visited this year, and it makes me even more excited for our
symposium this year. I always come away from the symposium energized and full
of anticipation for the coming year! I hope to see many of you in Philadelphia
(Oct 2-4), particularly those who may not have been there before. Trust me, if
you remember the days of pep rallies in high school and how electric you felt afterward,
then THIS event is for you! It seems like my face is frozen in a smile for a few weeks
after!
Being an economist,
I am always struck by the economic development that goes along with the
beautification and cultural preservation activities that a community engages
while participating in AIB. But I am forced to admit that the economy is only
one of the reasons that people fall in love with their respective communities.
Gallup and the John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation launched the Knight Soul of the Community project a few years ago with these
questions in mind. After interviewing close to 43,000 people in 26 communities
over 3 the study has found that three main qualities attach people to the
places they choose to love: social offerings, such as entertainment venues and
places to meet, openness (how welcoming a place is) and the area’s aesthetics
(its physical beauty and green spaces). These three things reliably rated
highest among 10 drivers of resident attachment, which also included: civic
involvement, social capital, education, perception of the local economy,
leadership, safety, emotional well-being, and basic services.
This means that taking the time to look after
shared spaces within one's own neighborhood, as many AIB volunteers did this
year, is precisely the kind of action that can lead to community attachment.
When people feel attached to their home community, they are more likely to feel
connected and committed to the place in which they live. It is within
communities like these that neighbors share their skills for the sake of
personal and collective benefit, which ultimately contributes to the economic
thriving of the area, as well as other aspects of community well-being.
At a time when
traditional ways of generating growth, such as tax incentives for new business,
are no longer financially viable, this finding is important. Seeing the
potential of engaged and attached residents, cities are looking for affordable
ways to increase these feelings. But with foreclosures and vacant buildings and
the resulting loss of tax revenue, how do you create and pay for these public
spaces?
Ironically, the
interesting thing is that this is synergistic to economic growth, the very
thing an economist like me desires most for a community. The study also found that
the link between local GDP and residents’ emotional bonds to a place has
remained steady despite declines in the economy over the three years of the
study. Communities with residents who
are more attached to a place show stronger growth even in tough economic times.
Green spaces have shown to increase property values, yield increased revenue
streams, and significantly decrease infrastructure costs by aiding in storm
water and soil erosion.
Let me close with a
story I read recently. For the past five years, students at Midtown Academy, a
K-8 public charter school in Baltimore, MD that serves the Bolton Hill and
Reservoir Hill communities, have participated in tree planting, mulching in
Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park. Marie Quingert, who has taught second grade for
the past two years, originally got involved with these efforts seven years ago
when she connected with Anne Draddy, Baltimore’s TreeBaltimore Coordinator. Ms.
Quingert took a particular interest in the beautification project in the park
and has truly appreciated the effect that the environmental beautification has
on her students as well as the park’s welfare and sustainability.
Originally, the
work in the park was supplemented by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation. This grant was awarded to provide funding for environmentally based
educational endeavors and specifically to foster a better understanding of the
Chesapeake Bay watershed. This year, the students went to the park once a
season—mulching, weeding, planting trees by the reptile house, or simply
enjoying being outdoors and perhaps heightening their appreciation for the
environment.
Their participation
in park beatification was positive in so many ways; obviously the planting,
weeding and mulching enhanced the park, but Ms. Quingert has seen the park have
its own profound effect on the students as well. She expresses how much the
kids love the trip and how good it makes them feel, but also how it helps to
dash misconceptions they may have about the environment and the outdoors.
She aims to espouse
a mindset in which kids appreciate the environment and take pride in helping
make it a better place; trips to the park certainly complement her efforts.
During their most recent trip to the park, Ms. Quingert was surprised to find
one of her second-graders, Miles, sitting against a tree apart from the group.
The words he spoke, however, were apt and beautiful: “I’m in my sanctuary.”
Many of you have
also experienced your “sanctuary” in your own beautification efforts as part of
the AIB program. Now come to Philadelphia to celebrate and enjoy the “pep
rally!”
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