Simon Nielsen 6/16/21 Simon Nielsen 6/16/21

The Invisible Partnership

Millions of cities are facing the same challenge: How can we make this place more attractive? In the Scottish town of Dunfermline, we met a Community Planning Partnership, that caught our attention. To our surprise, the leader of it told us that “the more invisible, the partnership and I can be, the better.”

By The Empty Square

Millions of cities are facing the same challenge: How can we make this place more attractive?

Public-private partnerships seem to be one of the good answers. When local stakeholders agree to invest in their own neighborhood and create a common vision, things happen, and places improve. Dozens of variations on Business Improvement Districts and Town Center Management have long proven that.

In the Scottish town of Dunfermline (pop. 50.000), 20 kilometers from Edinburgh, we met a Community Planning Partnership that caught our attention because of its organic and voluntary, yet very strong, structure. A structure based, not on rules and regulations, but on the individual freedom that lies in contributing voluntarily to the whole. In other words, a structure based on culture.

The art of creating such a partnership lies not in formalizing, much less forcing, but in coordinating.

A strong bottom-up involvement has grown due to the leader’s understanding of the fact that most people really want to do an effort when it comes to things that occupies them on a personal level. By fanning the flames of existing passions and combining related people and interests – all within the same overall framework – lots of ideas have grown into projects that together shape a more prosperous and sustainable future for the city.

The culture of involvement builds on relations and trust. Positive changes happen simultaneously on both a personal and a place level while people take small steps towards a joint venture.

Is a non-formalized partnership fragile? Nobody signed a contract and nobody gets paid.

It could be fragile. On the other hand, nothing is stronger than culture. When people are inspired to contribute to the whole, knowing that what they do matters and makes a difference, something very resilient is taking shape. Results inevitably follow.

The art of nurturing such a partnership lies in listening, combining, coordinating, and letting all involved share the honor.

As the leader said: The more invisible, the partnership and I can be, the better.

While all other partnerships fight for visibility, this one dresses in an invisibility cloak.

Simon Nielsen 6/15/21 Simon Nielsen 6/15/21

The Essence Of Strong Communities

It’s not geography. It’s not history. It’s neither great leadership nor economic advantage. Though it is all connected, the single most important thing is social capital: The quality of the relations and the cohesion that exists among citizens.

It’s not geography. It’s not history. It’s not great leadership, fine programs, or economic advantage. Though it is all connected, the single most important thing is social capital: The quality of the relations and the cohesion that exists among citizens.

By The Empty Square

It’s not geography. It’s not history. It’s not great leadership, fine programs, or economic advantage. Though it is all connected, the single most important thing is social capital: The quality of the relations and the cohesion that exists among citizens.

“Social capital is about acting on and valuing our interdependence and sense of belonging. It is measured by how much we trust each other and how much we cooperate to make a place better. It is the extent to which we extend hospitality and affection to one another.”*

In order to improve the common measures of community health (economy, education, health, safety, the environment), we need to create communities where all citizens have the experience of being connected to those around them. Where everybody knows that their own safety and success are dependent on the success of all others.

Strong communities are built on strong social infrastructure, which constitutes all the formal and informal public and semi-public meeting places: Wide sidewalks, shops, parks, playgrounds, libraries, eateries, beaches, markets etc. Not just ‘public space’ but places that invite people in. These, therefore, might be the most important thing to consider when planning for a new neighborhood or reinventing an old one.

How can we prioritize the planning of meeting places (type, location, people in charge) much more than we do?

Did you know that places with a strong social infrastructure turn out to be 5-10 times more resilient than others?**

* Peter Block: Community – the Structure of Belonging (Berett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2018, first ed.2008)

**Eric Klinenberg: Palaces for the People – How to Build a More Equal and United Society, Penguin Random House, UK, 2018) in which he investigates the essential role of social infrastructure.

See also Robert D. Putnam: Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Simon & Schuster, 2000).