Sixty Years of Community Problem SolvingThe 2009 All-America CitiesTo say that 2009 was a challenging year forAmerican communities would be quite an under-statement. The economic downturn creates a doublewhammy effect for local government. As publicresources dwindle, public needs continue to grow.Successful communities are able to weather thesedifficult times by finding innovative ways of doingmore with less and by effectively engaging the pub-lic in discussion, planning, and problem solving.

When eight hundred community leaders andactivists met in Tampa last June for the sixtiethanniversary All-America City Awards, the fulleffects of the economic crisis had not been felt.Experts suggest that there is usually a lag time of atleast eighteen months between the trough of a reces-sion and the true fiscal impact on city coffers. It wasclear from the descriptions of the award-winningprojects, however, that these communities werealready learning to innovate, pool resources, coordi-nate with other groups and agencies, and engage thepublic in planning and problem solving.

Much has changed since the civic award programwas founded in 1949. In the early years, the winningcommunity projects were described in the pages ofLook magazine. This year, for the first time a localnewspaper columnist used Twitter to post regularreports on the event. In the early years, the winningcities were often those that demonstrated local gov-ernment reform and efficiency, as well as improve-ments in the city’s infrastructure, including housing,public works, and education. More recently, thefocus has shifted to broader community initiativessuch as economic development, health and socialservice projects, diversity and inclusion, and youthcivic engagement. Yet the original notion of recog-nizing civic achievements that benefit entire com-munities is still the idea. “There’s wonderful work going on around the country in communitiessmall and large,” noted NCL Board Chair SandraFreedman when the ten winners were announced inJune. “It’s uplifting to find that out because wealways hear the bad, and these are great stories. Thisis the good.”

In 2009, All-America Cities described their inno-vative solutions for challenges such as housing forseniors, neighborhood revitalization, improvingpublic health, engaging young people, and expand-ing the economic base to create more jobs. This arti-cle presents some of the award-winning innovationsof the 2009 All-America Cities.

Creating Jobs and Promoting Economic Development

Until recently, the economic base of Phoenix,Arizona, was heavily reliant on the real estate andtourism industries, but after a series of lacklusterdowntown revitalization efforts city governmentbegan working with neighborhoods, industry, andnonprofit leaders to develop a new strategy: to workwith universities and research institutions to giveinner-city students better access to higher educationand to nurture the city’s knowledge base and work-force.

Urban EducationPhoenix invested nearly half a billion dollars inurban education, creating new research partner-ships, a downtown renaissance, and a steady flow ofcreative ideas, not to mention economic activity

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© 2010 Wi ley Per iodicals , Inc .Publ ished onl ine in Wi ley InterScience (www.interscience.wi ley.com)

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The 2009 All-America Cities

Phoenix, Arizona

Inglewood, California

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Richmond, Indiana

Wichita, Kansas

Somerville, Massachusetts

Albany, New York

Kinston, North Carolina

Statesville, North Carolina

Caroline County, Virginia

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exceeding $4 billion. Funding came from the city’s2006 Citizens Bond Program, organized by morethan seven hundred residents and supported over-whelmingly by voters. Two academic campuses, thePhoenix Biomedical Campus and the new ArizonaState University Downtown Phoenix campus, areblossoming, where educational opportunities wereonce limited. It is estimated that communities’investment and partnerships for research and educa-tion eventually will create twenty-six thousand jobs,educate eighteen thousand students, and spur aneconomic impact of $2.6 billion annually.

Capitalize AlbanyIn the early 1990s, Albany was in need of a strategyto revitalize and redevelop a stagnant downtownarea, a decaying waterfront, and neighborhoods.First unveiled in 1996, the Capitalize Albany planwas a blueprint for action based on a long-term,broad vision for attracting investment, residents,development, and new job opportunities. The rec-ommendations outlined in the strategy were derivedfrom input from community and business leadersand other stakeholders. Over the past thirteen yearsmore than $6 billion in new investment has beenmade in development and infrastructure projectsthroughout the city. In downtown alone, millionshave been invested in new streetscapes, infrastruc-ture, and a pedestrian bridge to reconnect the city toits waterfront. The city has attracted new businessesand experienced a growing pedestrian presence andcommercial activity downtown.

The Village at CenturyFor more than twenty years, neighborhoods sur-rounding Inglewood’s Century Boulevard wereamong the most blighted areas of SouthernCalifornia. Commonly referred to as “the Bottoms,”Inglewood’s Century Boulevard was saddled withhigh crime, murder, drugs, prostitution, and ganggraffiti. With a high unemployment rate and limitedpurchasing power, Inglewood offered very little thatappealed to national retailers. Built in an area ofrun-down apartments and sky-high vacancy rates,

Inglewood’s The Village at Century features eightnational brand restaurants and retailers. It has cre-ated 350 new homes and approximately six hundrednew jobs. The project arose from a successful part-nership of local, regional, and federal governmententities; private developers; and, most important,the citizens of Inglewood.

Improving Infrastructure and Serving Unmet Needs

Paying for infrastructure improvements has becomea major challenge for communities suffering thecombined effects of an economic slowdown, declin-ing sources of revenues, and years of populationgrowth. Several All-America Cities were recognizedin 2009 for their innovative approaches to this chal-lenge. Caroline County (Virginia) experienced aperiod of explosive growth in the late 1990s. In a period of five years, the county went from a smallagrarian community to a growing area of more thantwenty-six thousand people. As a result of this rapidgrowth, county leaders initiated a community-oriented planning process with the goal of preserv-ing the county’s rural quality. At the same time, thecommunity has had to respond to the infrastructureneeds of rural, low-income residents.

Decentralized Wastewater SystemDawn, an underserved community in CarolineCounty, had an outdated and ineffective wastewatersystem. The county committed $1.8 million of localfunds to the project, and in late 2003 the board ofsupervisors approved the concept of using technol-ogy to create a decentralized wastewater system,which is less expensive and simpler to design andconstruct. Dawn’s community leaders took an activerole in working with county government to accom-plish this project, the first known system of this sizeand scale.

Somerville’s Green Line ExtensionA longstanding annoyance for residents is the factthat eight separate passenger rail lines run throughthe city of Somerville, Massachusetts, but only oneof those lines has a stop there. Highways also cutthrough the city, bringing in traffic to and fromBoston and surrounding areas. The work of resi-dents, community groups, and stakeholders in secur-ing the state’s commitment to extending theMassachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s Green Line

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Over the past thirteen years more than $6 billionin new investment has been made in developmentand infrastructure projects throughout Albany(New York).

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through Somerville has paid off. The governor haspledged that construction and implementation of theproject will be completed by 2014. Somerville hassecured the addition of seven Green Line passengertrain stops through Somerville and into Medford.

The Neuse Regional Water and Sewer Authority (WASA)A collaborative effort between the City of Kinston(North Carolina) and other regional water providersto support the current needs of the city and encour-age and support potential growth and jobs for theregion, WASA includes eight water systems. Its $144million water plant, constructed along the NeuseRiver, is the largest funded water project to date inthe history of the United States. Funds totaling $48million were committed from federal, state, local,and private sources. Since the authority was estab-lished, financing secured, and construction began,three major corporations have chosen to relocate toKinston, bringing more than three thousand jobsand millions of dollars in investment. The new waterplant increased the available water supply toKinston by three million gallons per day and region-ally by fifteen million gallons per day.

Mennonite HousingIn 2005, the block of 12th and Piatt in NortheastWichita, Kansas, was a hub for drugs, crime, prosti-tution, and gang activity. Through a community-based intervention strategy called “Weed and Seed,”Mennonite Housing partnered with other agenciesto address these issues and rebuild. Four dilapidatedhomes were torn down and six brand new high-quality homes were built. This development changedthe lives of six families and the makeup of an entireneighborhood. This block is just one of seven whereMennonite Housing built more than one hundrednew homes with partner funding from local munici-palities and banks. Mennonite builds a $100,000home and sells the home for a maximum of$85,700. Families receive additional financial assis-tance from partner agencies, lowering their loan costto less than $70,000. For many people and families,it is a dream deferred that has come true.

Promoting Health and Opportunities for Recreation

Fort Wayne, Indiana, has a tradition of turningproblems and challenges into new programs andinnovations. In 2003, for example, the Centers for

Disease Control identified Fort Wayne as one of thenation’s four fattest cities. Not only was this bad forthe community’s self-image, it was a statement thatmany citizens were not leading healthy lifestyles.Many of the city’s neighborhoods were built withoutthe needs of pedestrians in mind. There was no safemeans of travel from one neighborhood to anotherexcept by car.

Fort Wayne’s Big GiveOprah Winfrey’s Big Give initiative gave ABC’s localTV affiliate $10,000 to kick off a giving campaign inFort Wayne. The chosen recipient was Aboite NewTrails. Realizing the campaign’s potential, ANTchose to share the $10,000 equally with other areatrail groups and create a communitywide event. Theparticipating trails groups had five weeks to planfive fundraising events, each in a different geo-graphic region of the area. Fort Wayne’s Big Givehas been recognized as the most successful Big Give campaign in the country. Funds raised duringthis campaign were dedicated primarily for comple-tion of the Towpath Trail, a vital component in theFort Wayne Trails system.

Phoenix Parks and Land PreservationThe city mobilized a broad coalition of residents,nonprofits, user groups, elected officials, and stateand federal agencies to secure community supportand funding for preservation of desert land forrecreational use, development of new park spaces,and improvement of existing parks and facilities.Last year, voters renewed and expanded their com-mitment to the program, which has preserved thou-sands of desert acres, funded new traditional parks,and renovated older ones. Residents helped craft theinitiative, which directs 60 percent of the funding toparks and 40 percent to desert preserve land.

Albany’s “Living History” Project: Half Moon ReplicaShip and New Netherland MuseumThe Half Moon, a replica of explorer HenryHudson’s ship, is helping preserve an importantfacet of colonial history. It also helps educate youngpeople by inspiring a love of history and fosteringcommunity involvement. The ship is the centerpiecefor an annual curriculum for thousands of studentsand a hands-on sailing history lesson. At least twiceevery year, students man the ship on a “Voyage ofDiscovery” from Lower New York Harbor to

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Albany. Students spanning the entire region areinvolved, from city and rural school districts withincredibly diverse backgrounds.

Responding to Demographic and Cultural Change

In 2007, Statesville, North Carolina, revisited avision statement that had been drafted six years ear-lier. One of the points raised in the statement wasthe fact that a highway corridor built in the 1970s toencourage industrial development had divided thecity into two parts, the south side and the other side.Over the years, the south side was neglected. It wasthe part of town where you’d find crime, abandonedproperties, overgrown lots, absentee property own-ers, and dilapidated buildings. The south side wasalso the part of town where many of the commu-nity’s rapidly growing population of Spanish speak-ers lived. In revisiting this vision statement, thecommunity committed itself to redressing the grow-ing divide in the city. The new vision was dedicatedto the notion of building one community out ofmany cultures. Or, to quote Mayor Costi Kutteh:“We are only as strong as our willingness to worktogether.”

Mi Familia InstituteIn 2007, the Mi Familia Institute was established tohelp Statesville’s Hispanic community navigate thedifficult journey of assimilation by “building familystrength through education, promotion of respect,and advocacy for social justice.” A local church fur-nishes the space for Mi Familia Institute at no costand funds much of the nonprofit organization’soperational expenses. Mi Familia has a range of pro-grams, from domestic violence prevention to finan-cial planning. They rely heavily on volunteers andpartner with several local agencies to help increasetheir course offerings and community outreach.“First build trust” is the motto held by the orga-nization’s founder and executive director. As seenthrough Mi Familia, trust then builds a connectionthat strengthens families, quality of life, and self-dependency.

Fort Wayne’s Refugee Resource CenterFort Wayne has become the home for more thanthree thousand refugees fleeing the repressive gov-ernment of Myanmar, giving it the largest popula-tion of Burmese in the United States. The center

provides services and educational classes that helprefugees find access to health care and employmentand to learn English and other skills. Currently, nineagencies offer onsite services, and two organizationsprovide off-site services as part of a RefugeeResource Coalition. Partners include Saint JosephCommunity Health Foundation, the BurmeseAdvocacy Center, the Allen County Lead andHealthy Homes Program, the Reclamation Project,Indiana Family and Social Services Agency,Advantage Health Solutions, Super Shot, East AllenCounty School Corporation, NeighborhoodChristian Legal Services, Catholic Charities, andIVY Tech Community College.

Fostering “Youth Friendly” Communities

In 1987–88, Richmond, Indiana, was selected as anAll-America City. Newspaper articles of that timesuggest it was an event celebrated by the whole city.However, adults drove the recognized projects. Thistime around Mayor Sally Hutton asked the AACcommittee to present their twentieth-anniversaryapplication from the perspective of young people.(See Curt Johnson’s article in this issue of theNational Civic Review.) Gathering a committee tolook honestly at the community through the eyes ofits youth meant engaging a large number of youngpeople, including elementary, middle and highschool, and college students. More than one hun-dred young people began this visioning process bysharing their dreams for themselves and their com-munity. They were asked to respond to the question,“What does a community look like if it is a placewhere children’s dreams come true?”

The Third Grade Reading AcademySetting out to address a 30 percent high schooldropout rate by raising the third-grade reading level,Richmond community members explored twoapproaches: one adult-centered, the other led byyoung people. Two local businesspeople, with thehelp of more than two hundred community contrib-utors and volunteers, raised $150,000 and con-ducted the first Third Grade Reading Academy.During the summer of 2008, a four-week readingprogram was developed to generate interest in andenthusiasm for reading and to involve key localinstitutions. Of the 145 eligible students who hadnot passed their ISTEP (the state’s) Language Arts

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test, 118 participated and raised their scores by 50percent. My Will is a weekly group meeting of up tothirty high school girls to address personal problemsand support each other. Stage One is RichmondCivic Theatre’s youth theater, involving 250 youthsin up to three productions each year.

Richmond’s Countywide Partnership for Youth (CPY)Creating a safety net for children from families with-out a lot of resources allows them to be more suc-cessful in school and have a chance for successbeyond school. The Countywide Partnership forYouth (CPY), a coalition of youth-serving agencies,educational institutions, governmental entities, andindividual citizens, came together to see how eachcould be more successful in meeting the needs of kidsand in helping focus the community’s efforts forgreater outcomes. Formed in 2004, the Partnership’sYouth Development Plan provided a vision forenhancing positive factors in a child’s life. As a resultof the collaborative work of this coalition,$8,594,000 in federal and state grants, including aSafe School Healthy Students grant, has been secured.

Library Spaces: Phoenix’s Focus on TeensPhoenix Public library staff, an architect, and agroup of teenagers spent a year designing a new teenspace in the central library. Now, every new or ren-ovated library in Phoenix has a teen space, and theprocess has become a national model. In the last fiveyears, nine of these spaces opened in Phoenixlibraries, with another to grace a new branch in afew months. All fifteen Phoenix libraries have theirown Teen Councils to design and name the spaces,and advise library staff. These councils plan fun andeducational programs, including learning the demo-cratic process and developing leadership skills, andthey also organize fundraising events.

Great KIDS Make Great Communities in Fort WayneThe Allen Superior Court Great KIDS project helpsorganizations and individuals join together in aneffort to nurture competent, caring, and responsiblechildren and adolescents. Great KIDS is unique inthat through community collaboration, adults aretrained to work more effectively with youths. Sinceits inception, Great KIDS has given forty Develop-mental Assets presentations to more than one thou-sand groups in the community, from churchcommittees and neighborhood associations to PTA

groups, foster care associations, civic organizations,tutoring programs, and many more. In recent years,Great KIDS has also partnered directly with youngpeople to produce the Allen County United YouthSummit, an event designed to engage youths incommunity issues and empower them to make adifference.

Little by Little in KinstonIn 2007, a local financial institution, the “littlebank,” joined with Partnership for Children, LenoirCounty, and Southeast Elementary School to meetthe challenge of supplying a long-term mentoringprogram for elementary school children. Each stu-dent is partnered with a mentor, or buddy, from thecommunity who nurtures the child’s education andencourages him to dream big. Every nine weeks, thestudents are given specific goals. If the student meetsher goal, $50 is put aside for her college tuition.Students are also awarded a $50 end-of-year bonusif all four nine-week goals are met throughout theyear. This money will build over time, and if stu-dents continue to work hard, excel, and meet theirgoals, they could have up to $3,000 to use for col-lege tuition or books. The intention of the programis to work with these children until they have fin-ished high school.

Wichita Opportunity DriveCommunity and business leaders in the area joinedtogether to discuss what could be done to improvethe prospects for youths in a high-crime, low-incomearea of the city. They engaged the community on avision and created a public-private partnership thattransformed the area into a multifacility campus,attracted national media, and became a learning andrecreation destination for young people. The neigh-borhood is experiencing a rebirth, and opportunitiesfor young people are being created.

Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP)In 1998, the community-based coalition SCAP wasformed with the mission of bringing together andmobilizing this diverse community to address issues

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Every new or renovated library in Phoenix has ateen space, and the process has become a national model.

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associated with substance abuse while also promot-ing positive mental, spiritual, and physical health,especially among youth. SCAP has organized andimplemented more than ten successful antidrug andalcohol campaigns in and around Somerville. Inaddition, the Suicide and Mental Health Taskforcewas convened in March 2004 via SCAP to respondto a local epidemic of youth suicides and overdoses.The taskforce works with and through such organi-zations as the Somerville Youth Workers Network,Teen Empowerment, and SCAP to research anddevelop youth activities with and for residents; thecommitment and dedication of the taskforce hasresulted in an ongoing support network for youthdevelopment.

Albany Youth ServicesIn 1998, Albany received national recognition for itsKids Improvement District (K.I.D.) initiative, ayouth-oriented inner-city redevelopment and anti-crime program that began three years earlier. As aresult of the success of this program, the entire cityhas become a Kids Improvement District. Borrowingfrom the program’s success, Albany has developedcitywide collaborations to meet the needs of its mostvulnerable citizens. In collaboration with commu-nity and faith-based organizations, neighborhoodassociations, concerned citizens, the City SchoolDistrict of Albany, and local government servingagencies, local government has developed myriadyouth development, education, and recreationopportunities for Albany’s young people.

The GateThe Gate is a nonprofit, collaborative, faith-basedinitiative that brings together Kinston, federal, and

state agencies; Lenoir County; private investors;local churches; and dozens of private citizens to cre-ate a community development center to teach gangawareness and gang prevention by offering pro-grams and activities to keep kids off the streets. Onegoal of the program is to offer direction to at-riskyouth in the community and help them view policeas their advocates rather than enemies. Approxi-mately fifty to seventy young people attend variousfunctions and activities, including career develop-ment, preparing for GED exams, and building char-acter traits such as respect and honesty.

Caroline’s Promise Dental ProgramLike many rural counties, Caroline County hasstruggled with issues brought about by the shortageof medical professionals in the county and the re-sulting lack of access to care. In response, thecounty developed an innovative rural dental pro-gram that has received numerous national awards.A number of things have made this program suc-cessful. One is having the dentist located in a mod-ern and permanent surrounding and not a mobileunit, which gives assurance to the children and parents of the quality of care they are receiving.Another is involvement of the county school systemthrough the school nurses and its transportationsystem. The success of the program in CarolineCounty is now looked on as the model for futureprograms in the region.

Michael McGrath is editor of the National Civic Review.

Kristin Seavey is the All-America City Awards program coordinator.

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