Squire Park Residents Desire Cohesive Community, Note Cultural Richness
On Saturday, October 11, about two dozen neighborhood residents came together for the regular quarterly Squire Park Community Council meeting.
Much of the meeting’s work was a discussion led by a facilitator from City Club related to strengthening the ties that bind residents together as a community. Tracy Flynn facilitated conversations focusing on (1) neighborhood cohesion and public trust, (2) cultural richness, and (3) access to volunteering and voting.
In the discussion related to neighborhood cohesion, folks generally voiced a desire for more of it. A variety of reasons were cited for the perceived shortcomings in our current sense of community. The neighborhood is changing rapidly with many new homes and new residents. Strategies for including new residents and long-term residents in community-building activities need work. Community councils were seen as an important place for people to get together (not surprising, given the venue of the discussion). Almost all expressed a desire for more places for people to get together—both commercial (coffee shops, restaurants, and the like) and public gathering places like parks and community centers. Pastor Willis of the Truevine Church stated that secular spaces connected with churches could be important gathering places for meeting around non-religious issues.
The impact of large institutions and their developments on the neighborhood was another factor seen as making community cohesion more challenging.
The scarcity of families including school-age children was seen as a factor retarding community cohesion. Other things mentioned included architecture—new houses with attached garages and off-putting fences, and the Internet which might amount to one form of communication substituting for perhaps more “valuable” face-to-face contact. On the other hand, the Internet might have the capacity to increase communication. Scott (Central District News) encouraged members of CDN to post their pictures on their user account page. Another person suggested that all neighborhood residents wear, at all times, name tags with their e-mail addresses. Look for that.
The discussion focusing on cultural richness resulted in surprise by the group at the larger-than-expected number of places in the neighborhood contributing to the enjoyment and expression of culture. The question: Are we using and supporting these resources as much as we could?
There was found to be no shortage of volunteer opportunities, and the group discussed ways in which the community council could help facilitate participation by neighborhood residents in such opportunities.
SPCC board member Sunny Knott presented neighborhood maps and information to assist residents who want to petition for expansion of the Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) around the Swedish Medical Center. To learn more and get involved, send an e-mail to Sunny Knott at sundawai@gmail.com.
The group paused to remember our friend, John Jeannot, the absolute pillar of the community and the Squire Park Community Council. He is dearly missed.
—SPCC