This guide describes Community ChoiceWork, an approach to directly involving citizens in issues that affect them (in this case, HIV/AIDS). It is intended help citizens frame and deliberate on an issue of concern that has no clear solution. After explaining what Community ChoiceWork is, the guide discusses what it has to do with HIV/AIDS. Next, it…

Recent demands for community representation in planning raise basic questions as to the nature of the community. This article likens the community to theatrical fiction, maintained through variously-staged dramatic performances. (Author/LR)

A program initiated by Simpson College and assisted by a committee of representatives from Warren County, Iowa, to assist the population of the County to understand their community and its problems and set priorities in meeting these problems is reported. Two hundred key leaders, representative of the geographic, educational, economic, religious,…

This handbook presents guidelines and the rationale for creating a school violence committee. The committee is composed of Washington Education Association (WEA) members and addresses issues related to school safety. The committee defines the problem, sets goals for reaching solutions, and implements an action plan. Members may also review…

This kit, designed for leaders and participants, provides a model for organizing and taking part in Community Consultation Groups. The kit was designed to be used in connection with community concerns about growth in Boulder, Colorado. These groups build upon a previous survey to assist the Commission in determining specific growth concerns in the…

This article relates the history of a successful campaign waged by concerned citizens in a community against the local planning commission to preserve an endangered portion of woodland. (JD)

This model, developed and tested in Vermont, involved a two-day assembly using a technique concentrating on small-group dynamics to encourage productive community assessment and decision-making. Included are exhaustive documentation of an example assembly to consider options for integrating human and environmental requirements in Vermont as a…

Participants in the learning session described will become familiar with successful public participation strategies and learn about the role of advisory groups in developing public participation programs. The manual is designed to guide instructors who will facilitate the 65-minute session for citizen groups. A slide-tape program is available to…

This book describes the mindshift that is the key to successful community capacity building and to the development of social and economic structures that nurture local sustainability. Its focus is how the development of community, through community capacity building, connects, animates, and informs citizens. Chapter I introduces community building…

Described is the community-wide approach to a unified energy conservation plan for Davis, California. The plan has involved solar technology and use of bicycles as a major mode of transportation. Policy implementation in the form of energy conservation ordinances is reviewed. (RE)

Presented is an instructor's manual for conducting a learning session about public participation in water quality planning. Participants in the session learn about the purpose, organization, and activities of citizen advisory groups. The manual, a component of the Working for Clean Water Project, is designed for use in conjunction with a…

The systematic, practical ideas presented for improving the quality of life in a community are based on the belief that people, working together, sometimes with and through local government and sometimes through the vigorous efforts of voluntary organizations and associations, can help their communities increasingly become the kinds of places that…

The development of cable television (CATV) requires more decisionmaking by local communities than other relatively new technologies. The nature of CATV and its potential influence on the immediate community demands that local interests--business, government, community groups, and individuals--have a voice in shaping the terms of the community's…

A strong local economy which allows residents of a community to work and shop near their homes is perhaps the best safeguard against the threats of urban sprawl, economic stagnation, physical deterioration and loss of unique identity facing many small towns. Utilizing a six-phase process advocated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension,…

Asset mapping involves documenting tangible and intangible resources of a community viewed as a place with assets to be preserved and enhanced, not deficits to be remedied. Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) are credited with developing the concept of asset-based community development (ABCD) that draws on appreciative inquiry; recognition of social…