In our 37th year as an organization helping to empower communities with the tools to put them on the map as leaders in livability, Partners for Livable Communities is pleased to present this updated publication on cultural heritage tourism. As the tourism industry has boomed in the decades since Partners for Livable Communities began its cultural heritage tourism initiatives, communities have become increasingly eager to find ways attract tourists and capture the dollars they bring with them. However, when hard times come, it can be a challenge to persuade those among us of the benefits of preserving culture, heritage, and their artifacts from the past.
This guide represents the culmination of our experience and knowledge on an issue that has such a great potential for community development. Our hope is to demonstrate how cultural heritage is not just something to preserve for future generations, but is in fact an asset that can be leveraged to bring real economic benefits to the community.
Robert McNulty, president of Partners, can come to your community to speak about the necessity of developing a cultural heritage tourism strategy as well as share best practices and resources learned from Partners' decades of experience in this arena.
Download Cultural Heritage Tourism
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Bridge Builders Award
YMCA of Central Florida & Lockheed Martin
The YMCA's Lockheed Martin Technology Centers The Lockheed Martin Technology Centers located within the South Orlando and Tangelo Park YMCAs represent the best of what happens when partners join together for the good of the community. In addition to providing fun, high-tech learning experiences for at-risk youth, volunteers from the YMCA, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft inspire students to become the future engineers and scientists of tomorrow. Like every YMCA Youth Development initiative, this program provides the after-school safety, values and mentoring kids need to thrive.
YMCA Links2Learning With a shared commitment to youth development and social responsibility, the Y and Lockheed Martin also team up to support the YMCA Links2Learning program. Through this partnership, the YMCA's Lockheed Martin Technology Centers at South Orlando and Tangelo Park enrich the minds and lives of Central Florida students, inspiring and encouraging them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). These enriching programs impact over 20,000 students every year. One example of the programs' successes was introducing inner-city youth to a new sport ─ golf. The young program participants learn about the STEM skills behind the sport while the project also instills in the youngsters the qualities of civility, sportsmanship and values.
Jonathan Gamble, a computer science major at the University of Central Florida and Lockheed Martin intern, credits his educational success to the value of the Technology Center. "Through the Lockheed Martin/YMCA Technology Center, I didn't only grow to want to be in the engineering community, I became a part of it," Jonathan said. "The technology center gave me a place to learn more about engineering in a nice, safe setting with people with interest just like me, and my internship with Lockheed Martin successfully kick-started my career as an engineer."
Jonathan started attending the Technology Center's after-school program at the beginning of his high school career. With education and the help of mentors at the YMCA, he secured an internship at Lockheed Martin the summer before he began his computer science studies at the University of Central Florida.
"Jonathan was one of three Lockheed Martin interns hired from the Central Florida Technology Centers last year," said Quality & Mission Success Vice President John Varley. "All three will return this year with additional interns as we continue to grow this STEM-focused program."
The technology center continues to build lasting relationships with students to inspire them to pursue a technical degree in college, helping support our local community, workforce and country. From science experiments that teach students how to build paper airplanes and digital bridges to college preparation courses and tours at local corporations like Lockheed Martin, the technology centers enhance the curricula local students learn in their classrooms.
"The YMCA Technology Centers are helping develop the next generation of scientists and engineers to meet the needs of the United States and global security," said Varley. "By engaging these students in extracurricular STEM activities, we show them the real-world relevance of the concepts they are learning in the classroom."
The Lockheed Martin/YMCA program prepares students like Jonathan to excel in the classroom and community, developing well-rounded leaders for the future.
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Founders Award for Civic Leadership
Anthony Catanese
Anthony James Catanese is the president of Florida Institute of Technology, a major research institution with more than 16,000 students. Florida Tech emphasizes academic and research programs in engineering, the sciences, liberal arts, business, psychology and aeronautics. It has a major distance learning program using advanced technology. Such groups as the Carnegie Foundation and U.S. News and World Report rate it amongst America's top universities. The Times Higher Education Rankings from London places it among the best universities in the world.
Dr. Catanese was previously president of Florida Atlantic University, which grew to 25,000 students on seven campuses during his leadership tenure. He was the provost of Pratt Institute in New York City, dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Florida, dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, associate dean of the School of Engineering and Environmental Design and James A. Ryder Professor at the University of Miami, and professor and director of the Center for Planning and Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Catanese also was a Senior Fulbright Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University, a master's degree from New York University and a doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A prolific writer, he has published 13 books, 18 chapters in books and more than 100 articles and monographs.
A member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Dr. Catanese previously maintained a private practice in design, planning and development. His consulting contracts numbered over 50 clients, including coastal zone planning and development in Hawaii and native land claims in Alaska. As a developer, he built several projects for the single- and multi-family markets in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Catanese has been a public servant as well. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National Urban Policy Task Force. He served as chair of the Milwaukee City Planning Board and the Gainesville City Planning Commission.
Dr. Catanese was president of the Park West Development Corporation, a not-for-profit group that planned and developed a major area in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the founding president of the Florida State University Presidents Association. He also served as president or chairman of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, Florida Association of Colleges and Universities, Florida Campus Compact, Atlantic Sun Athletics Conference, and Sunshine State Athletics Conference. He has served on numerous boards, including the National Collegiate Athletics Association, John Cabot University (Rome), Orange Bowl Committee, AvMed (South Florida), Wachovia Bank (Florida), Securit-E.com and Modus Operandi Inc.
Dr. Catanese was a past chairman of the board of the United Way of Brevard, as well as the 2006 campaign chair, and is on several local boards including the Maxwell C. King Center, Henegar Center, Leadership Brevard, and Central Florida Partnership.
He is the recipient of numerous awards, the most recent of which include the Chief Executive Leadership Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Trailblazer Award from Rotary International, Diversity Champion Award from the Urban League, Outstanding College President's Award from the All-American Football Foundation, Golden Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America, Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, and Space Coast Business Leader. He recently was inducted into the Florida Institute of Technology Sports Hall of Fame and the Eckerd Brevard Walk of Fame.
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San Francisco’s nationally recognized SPUR organization has some innovative solutions on how to make pricey San Francisco affordable again. These ideas (some tried & true and some out of the box) have the power to make the city even more of a success story!
- Protect the existing rent controlled housing stock.
- Reinvest in public housing.
- Double the amount of subsidized affordable housing.
- Make it much easier to add supply at all levels.
- Launch a wave of experiments to produce middle-income housing.
- Use new property taxes from growing neighborhoods to fund improvements to those Neighborhoods
- Reinvest in the transportation system, as a way to provide viable transit options and reduce household transportation costs
- Raise the minimum wage
Read SPUR’s full report here about their recommendations for improvement.
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An aging revolution is changing the world, demanding that we look at our older years in a fresh way. A new book edited by Paul Irving, member of the Partners Aging Advisory Body and president of the Milken Institute, moves beyond the stereotypes of dependency and decline to do just that.
Exploring the vast potential of longer lives, The Upside of Aging: How Long Life is Changing the World of Health, Work, Innovation, Policy, and Purpose reveals how we can meet the challenges that accompany later life with positive solutions for people of all ages.
Irving and a distinguished group of contributing authors reveal the remarkable upside for health, work and entrepreneurship, volunteerism, innovation and education, as longevity and declining birth rates create a mature population of unprecedented size and significance.
“In the past century, discovery and innovation have enabled longevity that would be unimaginable to our forebears,” says Irving. “Increased longevity has contributed to unprecedented global economic growth and new opportunities for personal fulfillment that previous generations could only dream of.”
With a positive call to action, the book suggests new ways of thinking about aging. Among topics examined are:
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Partners compiled a collection of best practices of traditional community institutions incorporating health and wellness into their agenda and programming to improve community health. The best practices focus on improving the health of at least one of three constituencies: distressed communities, at-risk youth, and the vulnerable elderly.
Examples of institutions include arts and culture organizations, botanical gardens, community development corporations (CDCs), faith-based organizations, libraries, museums, public markets, and zoos.
Click here to download Creating the Healthy Community - Using All Assets: Institutions as Fulcrums of Change
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Terms:Aging, Community Building, Community Development, Community Engagement, Creating The Healthy Community, Cultural Institutions, Health & Wellness, Healthy Communities, Institutions as Fulcrums of Change , Intergenerational, Libraries, Program Areas, Public Health
 An article published in the Washington Post earlier this week highlights the dramatic decline of the United States Postal Service and the financial difficulty that it is facing today. Since the passing of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) in 2006, the postal service has started running massive deficits has been forced to lay off tens of thousands of workers. To remedy this financial mess, the USPS has increasingly started to sell historic Post Office buildings, often centrally located on valuable tracts of land, to raise money.
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Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have shown a dedication to extraordinary civic service with a commitment to improving livability for all.
Henry R. Richmond is being honored for his leadership as the cofounder of 1,000 Friends of Oregon. Richmond cofounded the organization in 1975, and his leadership and example incited the growth of 1,000 Friends across state-lines, creating a national network of 1,000 Friends organizations advocating for sustainable communities, the protection of farmland and forests, and the conservation of natural resources.
As a 32 year-old attorney, Henry R. Richmond founded 1,000 Friends of Oregon in 1975 with noted environmentalist and then-Governor Tom McCall to protect the state’s new land-use law and advocate for sustainable communities. With the grassroots financial support of 1,000 Oregon residents pledging $100 per year, 1,000 Friends won dozens of court rulings protecting the law and built a diverse coalition of homebuilders, farmers, timber companies, and high tech companies.
Richmond’s incredible foresight in creating this unique organization to protect Oregon’s progressive land-use laws was key to shifting the dialogue and ensuring the protection of the state’s natural beauty, productivity, and overall livability. The broad coalition he helped build was essential for continued legislative support and implementation in 36 counties and 241 cities. Forty years later, the law remains a success — each city has an urban growth boundary (UGB) and 25 million acres of farm and forest land are protected outside of UGBs.
Richmond has created one of the most effective leadership devices for land-use management in the country today. He is seen as a founder of “smart growth” policies across the country, improving the quality of life for countless communities throughout the nation.
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Entrepreneurial American Community Award
The Entrepreneurial American Community Award acknowledges the individuals, groups, and communities that have recognized the value of building a broad constituency among the public and private realms to improve the standing of all residents in their community.
City of Houston, Texas is being honored for successfully transforming itself from a city once reliant on the fossil fuel industry into one of the most economically and culturally dynamic American cities. With a strong economy and high level of diversity, Houston today has set an example for what American communities should aspire to become in the future.
Accepted by Gordon Quan on behalf of Mayor Annise Parker
In the 1980s, Houston was a city with an economy largely reliant on the fossil fuel industry. When oil prices started falling, the local economy suffered dramatically. The end of the oil boom slowed the city’s growth and sent Houston into a recession by the end of the decade.
Today, Houston has one of the fastest growing job markets in the country and is widely considered one of the most ethnically and economically diverse cities in the world. It is home to a flourishing arts and culture community and is quickly becoming a premier destination for foodies worldwide. Respected publications, such as Forbes and the Smithsonian Magazine, have called Houston the “Future of the Great American City.”
Smart policies and effective leadership have fueled Houston’s impressive transformation. It is clear that Houston policymakers understand what it takes to make a truly livable city. Investment in areas such as education, health, renewable energy, and technology have spurred this dramatic growth. Houston has set the precedent for America’s future cities, making it one of the most entrepreneurial communities in America today. Gordon Quan, former Mayor Pro-Tem, will accept the award on behalf of Mayor Anise Parker and the City of Houston.
Photo Description: The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located just a few hours’ sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. The port is ranked first in the United States in foreign waterborne commerce and second in total tonnage.
Photo credit: Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Bridge Builders Award
The Bridge Builders Award honors civic leaders who have formed partnerships across racial, social, economic, and geographic barriers for the betterment of their communities.
The Inter-American Foundation is being honored for more than 40 years of work helping to fund development projects undertaken by grassroots groups and non-governmental organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on the inclusion of the society’s most marginalized communities. Since 1972, the IAF has awarded over $680 million in grants that have benefited hundreds of thousands of families. Robert N. Kaplan, president and CEO, will accept the award.
The Inter-American Foundation, created in 1972 by the Foreign Assistance Act, supports development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IAF is unique in that it exclusively funds grassroots, nongovernmental organizations, thereby elevating the role of communities and their residents in development and aid initiatives. The IAF remains an integral component of American foreign policy, fostering good relations with our Latin American neighbors.
Robert N. Kaplan is the current president of the organization. Prior to joining the IAF, Kaplan was the head of the Inter-American Development Bank, where he was responsible for aid projects in Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Central America. Kaplan has a distinguished career in international development and has manned the helm of one of the most important organizations bringing goodwill to the Western Hemisphere today, and we are pleased to present him with the Bridge Builders Award.
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Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award
The Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award acknowledges the civic capacity building, commitment, vision and entrepreneurial spirit of an individual.
Sheena Wright is being honored for her extensive work towards improving community livability for New York City’s most underserved populations. Wright has spearheaded efforts to revitalize New York’s marginalized communities and helped build the first new high school building in Harlem in 50 years. She was recently appointed the first female president of the United Way of New York City.
Inspired by her mother’s commitment to education, Wright enrolled at Columbia University at 16 years of age and earned both her bachelor’s and law degrees from the esteemed university. After working for various law firms, she changed her focus to community empowerment and became the vice president of the start-up Crave Technologies.
Wright then moved on to become the president and CEO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a community development organization founded by the distinguished Reverend Calvin O. Butts, III. There, she led a number of far-reaching community initiatives, including projects that helped create over 1,000 new jobs, build 785 units of affordable housing, and improve the quality of life of New York City’s most vulnerable residents.
In October 2012, Wright became the first woman to be named the president and CEO of the United Way of New York, where she will continue her important work empowering underserved communities and promoting equity in this time of need.
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On Thursday, the National League of Cities released The 10 Critical Imperatives Facing Cities in 2014, its annual report highlighting ten of the most pressing issues facing cities across the United States. Partners board member and incoming NLC President, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker explained during the report's unveiling, "This is not a wish list just of cities. This is a wish list of the people who live in America. That’s 80 percent of the population of America that’s being represented through us."
The ten items on the list were:
- Fragile Fiscal Health
- Deteriorating Transportation Infrastructure
- The Shrinking Middle Class
- Inadequate Access to Higher Education
- The Need for Affordable Housing
- A Less-Than-Welcoming Return for Veterans
- Gang Violence
- A Broken Immigration System
- Climate Change and Extreme Weather
- Lack of Public Trust
Click here to read the full report from NLC, which includes an overview of initiatives being taken by cities in their own efforts to tackle these ten challenges and create more livable communities for their residents.
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Terms:Community Building, Community Development, Downtown Development, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health & Wellness, Housing, Immigration, Neighborhood Revitalization, Other Reports/Publications, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships, Transportation, Urban
Longtime Partners board member Jay Williams will face the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works next Tuesday (12/17) as he seeks Senate confirmation to head the Economic Development Administration (EDA), a federal agency institutionally housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The EDA is tasked with leading the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and collaboration and by helping communities build the foundation for long-term growth.
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During the 1960s, Washington, DC and its surrounding communities experienced an urban renewal that saw a rebuilding of infrastructure and consequently required the destruction of a number of older buildings in the area. In Alexandria, an independent city a short distance from DC, the destruction of the old buildings uncovered an abundance of historical artifacts that shed light on the history of the area. Realizing that there was a plethora of previously undiscovered, culturally-important artifacts right beneath their feet, the city’s leadership created the Office of Historic Alexandria to try to cultivate and make sense of this new information.
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Terms:Community Building, Community Engagement, Creative Economy, Cultural Institutions, Heritage, Historic Preservation, IFC Best Practice, Museums, Public-Private Partnerships, Tourism, Washington, DC
Across America state and local governments are figuring out how to deal with aging populations as modern medicine and technology are starting to ensure that people, on average, live longer. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, Florida possesses one of the oldest populations in the United States, as more than 18% of Florida residents are over the age of 65, almost 5 percentage points higher than the national average. To help their aging population remain healthy and lead productive lives, local governments and community organizations are finding creative ways to encourage active lifestyles for older adults. The Good Life Games of Pinellas County Florida has proven to be a very successful way to encourage fitness among older residents of the county, and their model is being replicated throughout the country.
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New York City is widely considered to be one of the most diverse places on the planet, with residents from hundreds of different countries living within close proximity of each other. Queens in particular has a broad mix of ethnic populations, which have lead some to consider it the most culturally diverse area in the world. Yet, when Susan Lacerte became the Executive Director of the Queens Botanical Garden, she noticed that the diversity of the borough was not reflected in the Botanical Garden’s attendance. To challenge that, Lacerte started The Ambassador Program to reach out to ethnic communities and find out what they wanted in their public garden.
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Terms:Arts & Culture, Community Building, Community Engagement, Cultural Institutions, Diversity, Healthy Communities, Heritage, IFC Best Practice, Multicultural, New York City, NY, Parks, Playgrounds & Gardens, Urban
For many counties throughout the United States, the public library system plays an important role in the community, serving as a center for social, cultural, and educational activity. These institutions have become especially important to the homeless and low-income families who may not be able to afford the amenities provided by the library. Pima County, Arizona’s public library system, however, began a program in 2010 that strives to serve another growing need that many communities throughout the country face – access to healthcare.
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Last month the nonprofit group America Achieves released a report titled Geek Cities: How Smarter Use of Data and Evidence Can Improve Lives through their Results for America initiative with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The report dissects how leaders in six major cities throughout the United States (and one initiative in London) are using data and technology to improve the lives of their residents. Rapidly improving technology and the digitalization of information has made mass data collection easier than ever, and cities are using this data to find effective programs and measures to combat social, economic, and physical challenges that many face today.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report last week, titled Health Disparities and Inequalities Report - United States, 2013, examining the key factors that affect health across the population and lead to health disparities throughout the United States. The report is the second of a series looking at health disparities and inequalities, the first of which was published in 2011 (click here to download the 2011 report). The CDC looks at health disparities across a range of groups, including racial, ethnic, sex, geographic, and socioeconomic. In the pursuit of health equity, the CDC works with its partners to both identify and address the factors that propagate health disparities across these groups with the ultimate aim of improving the health of all.
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For residents of Chicago’s northern suburbs, the Chicago Botanic Garden is much more than just a collection of colorful plants and flowers. Since it opened more than 40 years ago, the 385 acre grounds have served as an important center for community activity and education. The Garden is home to 26 separate gardens and four natural areas, as well as a conservation science education center and a library with one of the country’s largest collections of botanical books. The grounds are also host to numerous community events and educational courses throughout the year.
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Terms:Arts & Culture, Chicago, IL, Community Development, Creative Economy, Cultural Institutions, Design, Environment, IFC Best Practice, Institutions as Fulcrums of Change , Parks, Playgrounds & Gardens
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