I attended a session led by Ed Everett (who is the city manager responsible for the awesomeness that is downtown Redwood City). In groups of 4-5, Ed asked us to think of all the ways that community is built, from the ground up. My small group had a really great brainstorm.  We talked about ways to force people to see each other; the importance of sidewalks and public meetings spaces, we discussed how one could implement a social gateway, we debated how one convinces community members to have a commitment to the community, we liked the idea of having food and culture centered celebrations. Interestingly enough, as we went around the room to the different groups, we found that everyone had a lot of the same type of ideas.

What can one do to build a community where none currently exists? We all seemed to realize that the best way to build community is to connect early and often, and to make connection easy.

How can you do this in your community?

*Create spaces where people can connect- Are there public meeting rooms, quads, town squares, gazebos, picnic tables, park benches, fountains, shade trees, church fellowship halls, rotary halls, sidewalks, front porches.

*Create events where people can connect- Festivals, block parties, cook-outs, community gardens, public movie showings, concerts, book readings, small dinner parties, sleepovers for children, vacation bible school, open houses, neighborhood meetings.

*Create community buy-in- Make sure everyone is invested in the success of the community, and wants to be a part of an active connected community. This creates a snowball where the community expects a level of interaction from the members.

“Should we move towards the aesthetic austerity that comes with increased economic responsibility, or can we still encourage the unfettered, platinum-kissed extravagance of boom times?”

My answer: Uh. No.

Let me explain.

The heart of the article asks the question: Should designers design for designs sake or should form really be about function?

 In my opinion, form follows function.

I want everything I own, sit on, drive in, drive on, drive through, play with, touch – use in any way-to be well and thoughtfully designed.  That doesn’t mean I need 18k gold chairs.  It means that I want the things I buy and use to be purposeful and pretty.

This is one of the reasons that the high rise housing projects of the 1960′s were such a failure.  Communities needed to house large numbers of people, inexpensively.  Instead of thinking about form and function, the “project” was born, and many aspects of well-designed communities (eyes on the street, yards for kids to play, increased social networks, beauty i.e. the people) were not even considered.

Form and function matter to community and economic development in other ways. If a project isn’t well-designed and built with the end user in mind, all the glitz, glamour and promotion that your department can throw at it won’t convince residents and visitors to spend their time and money utilizing your mess.

Success depends on thinking about the who, what, when, where, why of design.

• Who: Who is our target customer? Are we targeting more than one group of people? (Hopefully, yes)
• What: What does our target customer want to see and do? What is our niche?
• When: Are we redeveloping in phases? Can residents and visitors enjoy our redevelopment even if it isn’t completely finished? Are we planning on day, evening, and weekend traffic in our project?
• Where: Where do we want people to go? How long do we want them to stay? Are they walking or driving?
• Why: What is our purpose? Building community? Economic development?

Answering these questions causes you to think with the end project in mind. It makes you answer the question: What does success look like for us?

Government and non-profits that undertake economic and community development projects must balance design with economic responsibility.  These entities do not have the flexibility to take risks in the same ways as private companies.   However, they still cannot afford to skimp on design. Without proper design, you will likely find yourself explaining to the “powers that be” why your community and economic development efforts are failures.