Speaker
– Dr. Suzanne Morse
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITIES
NAMED AS "SMART" FOR COMMUNITY-BUILDING EFFORTS
Revitalization Efforts in Asheville
Cited as National Example of Preservation and
Citizenship
Asheville Downtown Association members and the
public are invited to hear special guest speaker, Dr. Suzanne
Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Diana Wortham Theatre - Downtown Asheville
Her message: “Smart Communities: What America Can Learn
From Western North Carolina” is based on research for her
recently released book Smart Communities which examines innovative
approaches to civic change across America. Places like Asheville
and Chimney Rock, North Carolina are among 23 case studies used
in the book to illustrate how seven key elements can serve as
the basis for lasting community change. The seven key strategies
include: investing right the first time, working together, building
on existing assets, exercising democratic virtues, preserving
the past, growing new leaders and inventing the future.
Asheville, North Carolina was deemed a ‘smart community’
for the long-term commitment of its citizens to the revitalization
of its downtown area. “The city of Asheville is a top-flight
example of how communities across this country can, and should,
approach community change and civic responsibility in our country,”
said Dr. Morse. “Change was realized through a coalition
of interested and organized citizens, preservationists, and business
owners who were committed to saving downtown. Their story is one
of citizen empowerment, civic preservation, and old-fashioned
tenacity.” This effort twenty-five years ago has yielded
what seems to be a lasting solution to problems Asheville faced
after the Depression; as a result it has strengthened its claim
to being one of the creative and cultural centers of the South.
Asheville’s experience is unique but many of the same
elements that made Asheville successful are found in other areas
of Western North Carolina. In Chimney Rock, for instance, “the
community used collaborative leadership and an asset approach
to their past and their future to provide an environment where
local resources were identified and deployed to provide solutions,”
said Dr. Morse. “As a result, Asheville and its neighbors
in small towns to the west have preserved their heritage and created
a creative economy that is sustainable and authentic.
Suzanne Morse is a national expert on successful community strategies.
With over two decades of experience working with places of all
sizes, Morse knows what works and uses Smart Communities to spell
it out in practical terms. Communities which apply her seven strategies
of change may find their results going from marginal to exemplary.
This free program is made possible through sponsorship of the
Asheville Downtown Association, HandMade in America, the Asheville
Citizen-Times, Quality Forward, Waynesville Book Company and NC
Division of community Assistance.
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