Tool Box

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=200 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1278dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1e9b4af0.gif" border=0 width="180" height="175" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id34_m.htm#community_land_trusts___the_following" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Community land trusts</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34_m.htm#community_studies" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Community studies</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34_m.htm#discover_your_community__" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Discover Your Community. </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34_m.htm#family_support_center" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Family Support Center</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34_m.htm#neighborhood_realty_services" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Neighborhood Realty Services</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34_m.htm#study_circles" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c866330000.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Study Circles</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1288dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>New Directions CBRI</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Directions CBRI"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Institute"><U><B>The Institute</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Tool Box</B></div> <div> In order to carry out the community-based research mission, New Directions is developing a set of specialized tools and processes.  </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="discover_your_community__"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Discover Your Community.  </B>The first of these, and the one that coordinates the use of all the others, is the concept of a cyclical, highly participatory learning and doing process, illustrated in the diagram below.   The inner circle of project design and facilitation is what sets the outer circles in motion and keeps them turning.  And it moves the community-building process along from each of the outer circles to the next as shown by the clockwise arrows.  </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1d7436b0.gif" border=0 width="579" height="363" ALT="Microsoft Word Document" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="50" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="1d504090.gif" border=0 width="4" height="9" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="1d604090.gif" border=0 width="4" height="9" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Through its <I>Discover Your Community</I> program, New Directions prepares school district communities to set up local arrangements to deal with local problems in their own way.  These initiatives develop in a cycle of four stages, (1) building civic capacity by setting up new institutions, (2) community studies, (3) community-wide facilitated dialogues to find common ground, identify needs and set goals, (4) local design of improved services with existing government and nonprofit agencies and local businesses.   This cycle can be repeated year after year, forming an upward spiral of growing local knowledge and capabilities. </div> <div> As an example of how action flows from one stage to the next, consider the community land trust (CLT).  Experience has shown that the CLT is an essential tool for local planning and control of affordable housing.  Incorporation of the CLT and certain other components of civic organization should begin without delay. Meanwhile, in stage 2 there will be studies of available houses and land that might be suitable for use by the CLT.  These will be discussed in community circles in stage 3, and then negotiations can begin for acquisition of properties in stage 4.  By then the CLT will be ready to enter into partnerships and sign contracts. </div> <div> <B>     1.     Building Civic Capacity.  </B>Where existing agencies are unable to meet needs, such as the need for permanently affordable housing under local control, the community sets up its own organizations to do the job.  There are many possible local initiatives that can be undertaken.  New Directions recommends that the following be started right away:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A <B>community forum</B>, solidly connected to the residents of all neighborhoods.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A <B>community learning center </B>from which the program will operate. </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A <B>community foundation </B>to raise funds in support of civic activities.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">An <B>adult civic education </B>program in cooperation with the public schools.  A community land trusts introductory course would be offered ( 5 monthly sessions).</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A <B>community land trust.</B></div> <div> <B>2.     Community Studies  </B>bring out the basic information that will be needed in the search for answers to housing and other needs that make sense locally.  New Directions builds connections between the local school district and area universities for help with the research.  Community-based research lets students learn while serving the community, and lets the community grow in self-awareness.  The following are designed to occur during the first year.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Collection of <B>baseline community information</B>, </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A year-long <B>community study</B> within the adult civic education curriculum.  </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A development program to produce a <B>community & family support center</B>.     </div> <div> <B>3.     Marketing and dialogue.  </B>This stage begins with an advertising or marketing campaign to engage residents in the program.  In adult civic education, a pilot community circles project (5 sessions within 3 months) will acquaint a number of residents with the circles method and prepare them to be circles facilitators.  Later on, citizens from all geographic areas of the community will get together in circles of about 10 people each for four two-hour facilitated sessions on topics of local concern, find common ground and decide what actions need to be taken. Circles are conducted in a unique way, for which New Directions provides facilitation and training.  In summary, this stage involves the following:</div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Publicity campaign</B></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Civic education <B>circles course</B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Community circles</B> program for communitywide action planning dialogues</div> <div> <B>     4.     Partnering with Existing Agencies. </B>Can existing government agencies, nonprofits or businesses take care of a problem that has been identified?  If so, in the partnering stage, citizens learn enough about the workings of agencies to be able to sit down with them in a cooperative way to work out agreements for better services.  A civic education class on working with local government, business and nonprofits would help prepare leadership for this critical stage of community formation.  Stage four has two components:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Training in <B>how to deal with other groups</B> as partners.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Actual <B>negotiations for needed improvements</B> in services that were identified in the community studies and dialogue circles.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Spiral of Learning</B>.  The life of a community goes on perpetually from year to year.  The need for reassessment  and renewal is never ending, and rare indeed is the community that is willing to rest on its past achievements, disregarding higher goals.  One time around the cycle of <I>Circles of Hope</I> can produce constructive solutions to old problems but it is only a good beginning.  The process of grassroots planning and implementation is expected to go on through additional cycles, which can be thought of as an upward spiral of community diacovery and improvement.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="study_circles"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Study Circles</B>.  The Study Circles Resource Center of Pomfret, Connecticut has worked with 400 U.S. communities since 1989 to help promote citizen participation, strengthen democracy, and solve public problems.  In 2003, they welcomed New Directions' invitation to collaborate with the South Country Central School District and its Family Support Center to establish community-wide dialogues.  For more information, see Study Circles under <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Internet Links"><U>Internet Links</U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> Study Circles are groups of 8-10 people who meet four or five times to discuss a community issue.  They listen to one another and share experiences, concerns and insights on this issue, guided by a facilitator.  Communities have organized as many as 400 people in these small groups, meeting concurrently on the same issue.  In such a round of Circles, a community can illuminate public problems and find solutions.  In so doing, people change, form new relationships and networks, create new working collaborations, redesign institutions or set up new ones, and change public policy.  Over time, they improve and strengthen their community in this collaborative process.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="community_land_trusts___the_following"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Community land trusts.  </B>The following is quoted from Susan Witt and Robert Swann, "Land:  Challenge and Opportunity,"  (Great Barrington, MA:  E. F. Schumacher Society, 1995.)  For more information, see land trusts under <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Internet Links"><U>Internet Links</U></A>.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="6" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="91" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCCB2 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 WIDTH="67"><div> <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Land Trust Q A"><U>Land Trust Q&A</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> "A Community Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization with membership open to any resident of the geographical region or bioregion where it is located.  The purpose of a CLT is to create a democratic institution to hold land and to retain the use-value of the land for the benefit of the community.  The <I>effect</I> of a CLT is to provide affordable access to land for housing, farming, small businesses and civic projects.  This effect can be achieved when a significant portion of the land in an area is held by a CLT."</div> <bR> <div> The Mount Sinai Heritage Trust, established with the aid of New Directions in 2000, is the first community land trust organized to serve a Long Island suburban hamlet.  It's original mission was to work in partnership with local government to develop a park and community center.  The South Country CLT, incorporated in 2004, has its emphasis on affordable housing.  The Farmingdale CLT, expected to be incorporated early in 2009, will have a variety of types of projects, as will the Long Beach CLT, initiated in the fall of 2008.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="6" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="124" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 128 WIDTH="100"><div>  <A HREF="id89.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shared Equity Housing"><U>Advantages of Shared Equity Housing</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> CLT housing is a proven way to provide permanently affordable housing designed to meed the unique needs of the local community.    CLT's keep community ownership and control of the land.  Subsidies stay with the land and can't be cashed out upon resale.  CLT's support a flexible approach to community development.  They easily accommodate a variety of land uses and a diversity of building tenures and types.  CLT's around the country construct (or acquire, rehabilitate and resell) housing of many kinds: single-family homes, duplexes, condos and co-ops.  They provide land for neighborhood businesses, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, open spaces and parks.  </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="community_studies"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Community studies.</B>  The product of the community studies cycle is seen as an open and growing loose-leaf binder of chapters that are added as they develop.  As an example, the chapters written for the Lowell Avenue Neighborhood of Central Islip are:</div> <div> Population and Housing, 1940-1990</div> <div> Physical Survey, 1998</div> <div> Opinion Survey, 1998</div> <div> Central Islip Local History</div> <div>  Participatory Neighborhood Improvement Plan, 2000</div> <div> The following is an outline of the scope of work for Discover Farmingdale, without any indication of priorities, time order or how long each item might take.</div> <div> The Basic Profile:  text, tables, graphs and maps to present information about</div> <div> Population</div> <div> Geography</div> <div> Housing</div> <div> Transportation</div> <div> Opinion Surveys</div> <div> Local History</div> <div> Health and Human Service Profile of existing and needed resources.  <I>(This is a priority area since it would greatly support the introduction of a Family Support Center.)</I></div> <div> Economic model and discussion of an import replacement strategy for the community that would result in collective savings that could be redirected to address currently unmet needs.  <I>(In building new civic institutions, it is critical that some means of sustainable financing be found for them.)</I></div> <div> Business Development Profile of existing small business.  <I>(Possibly with a look at trends over the years.)</I></div> <div> Civil Society assessment, including an inventory of activities, a list of existing institutions, a geographical mapping of their concentration, and an evaluation of quality of life.</div> <div> Local Government and Politics.  This topic is of special interest in Farmingdale because of its division between two towns in two counties and with a village in its center.  The school district is the only tax-supported agency with a board elected by the entire community.</div> <div> Land Management and Natural Resources.</div> <div> Inventory of undeveloped land, ownership inventory, mapping of this information by neighborhood</div> <div> Environmental Profiles</div> <div> Inventory of natural resources</div> <div> Open space possibilities</div> <div> Wild life</div> <div> (The above outline was prepared by Bob Mulvey, Andy Collver and Chuck Gosline, 3/23/06).</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="neighborhood_realty_services"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Neighborhood Realty Services</B>, first proposed for the Lowell Avenue Neighborhood of Central Islip in 1999-2000, would bring local real estate brokerage, mortgage banking and small-scale construction capacities to local civic associations working with local development corporations.  It would allow a civic association to (1) become conversant with its housing market and the design possibilities of its housing stock, (2) be a partner with an REO foreclosure broker to acquire homes and pre-qualify first-time home buyers, (3) work with a local nonprofit development corporation which would receive a minimum development fee for each property, which would be funded by a low interest line of credit supplied by a regional lending consortium, and (4) work with a mortgage broker to secure fairly priced FHA or other take-out credit for qualified, credit counseled new home buyers.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="family_support_center"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Family Support Center</B>.    Introduced to Long Island by Supt. Michael C. LaFever of South Country Central School District in 2003, the Family Support Center promises to be the most appropriate way to connect and coordinate outside agencies with the public schools.  It is by means of a partnership with the FSC that New Directions' work in that community was made a legitimate extension of the district's services to the community.  The Center is a major district initiative designed (1) to improve the quality of life for the students and families of the district by coordinating existing health and human services to support home environments that are more conducive to learning, and (2) to engage citizens in actively planning and improving their neighborhoods and the larger community. The Center was a place for willing citizens and students to learn about their community and how they could take an active role in shaping its future, while improving the school system.</div> <div> The South Country Family Support Center eventually was abandoned because of lack of funding and lack of support from the Board of Education, but it remains as an idea whose yet may come.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>