Build Local Government and Civic Capacity

STRATEGY

Build Local Government and Civic Capacity

Work across silos to expand and align capacity and to strengthen municipal finances
Civic capacity—the ability of a community to identify and confront shared challenges—is one of the most important ingredients for revitalization but has been weakened in many legacy cities. Committed and collaborative local leadership is critical for shepherding legacy cities through the difficult process of revitalization. Rebuilding civic capacity and a pipeline for talent is a long-term process, but one that will help communities address both current and future challenges.
Tools

Asset-Based Community Development Toolkit

Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a model for community change that is focused on leveraging the existing strengths of a neighborhood instead of focusing on its deficiencies. The Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University has assembled a series of resources for people interested in using the ABCD model in their communities.

Community Organizing Handbook

This handbook from the University of Denver Center for Community Engagement to Advance Scholarship and Learning (formerly the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning) explains the process of community organizing and outlines tools and terms to help those new to the field understand the basics.

Network Mapping Tool

Network maps help users identify the leaders in a community, illustrate how they connect to each other, and pinpoint where additional representation is needed. Kumu’s online network mapping tool allows users to create straightforward network maps that lay out connections between stakeholders.

Initiative Profiles

Initiative Profiles

St. Louis, MO

Measuring racial disparities across 72 indicators to inform data-driven policy making in the City of St. Louis

Gary, IN

An urban revitalization initiative that uses a real-time parcel-level survey and mapping platform to guide its strategic demolition and neighborhood stabilization efforts

Akron, OH

Promoting economic and urban development in neighborhood business districts through comprehensive corridor planning, incentive programs, and public management reforms

Rochester, NY

Promotional and branding program to strengthen the housing market in the Triangle neighborhood of North Winton Village, a target middle neighborhood in Rochester

Cleveland, OH

A one-year fellowship with a strong professional development component that places recent college graduates in a Cuyahoga County public agency

Rochester, NY

Supporting long-term residency by providing free architectural designs for owner-occupants seeking to add a half-bathroom to the ground floor of single-bathroom homes

Resources

Regenerating America’s Legacy Cities

Alan Mallach and Lavea Brachman, 2013
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Revitalizing America’s Smaller Legacy Cities: Strategies for Postindustrial Success from Gary to Lowell

Torey Hollingsworth and Alison Goebel, 2017
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Toni Griffin et al., 2015
J. Rosie Tighe and Stephanie Ryberg-Webster (Eds.), 2019

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