Communities from the South Bronx to the Sierras are developing innovative processes to create collaborative visions of the future and to realize them through actions that have multiple benefits for the environment, the economy and society as a whole. In this shift to sustainability, communities are moving from competition to collaboration, independence to interdependence and from linear to whole systems and place-based planning. Over 700 initiatives in communities of place in the US are at work on one or more initiatives and they are rapidly becoming linked by meta networks through electronic communications. With communities of interest, they are part of an expanding global network analogous to the Internet and the Web.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

"I will act as if what I do makes a difference." William James

"The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust

The growth of sustainability projects and networks in the United States is unprecedented. They are multiplying at such a rapid rate that it is a challenge to track and connect them. Originating in communities, government, business, and in public private-partnerships they employ integrative, whole systems approaches and participatory, open processes. Meta networks link these initiatives, augment their replication, strengthen their effectiveness and make visible the relationships between them.

It is our nature to connect to each other, in community, for a higher purpose that supports and advances human evolution. Networks and conscious interaction make this possible. People organize because they are concerned that things are not working. They want to change systems for the better by working with others and have ideas about how to improve the situation. This yearning for connection and community represents a welcome evolution from the "me" of the 1980s to the "we" of the 1990s.

In sustainability enterprises and networks, everyone contributes through their knowledge base, their skills, perspective, experience, and vision. Irrespective of one’s background or issue area, participants work together to create a fertile climate for the generation and exchange of ideas and for establishing a solid foundation on which public and private institutions can be guided to and held accountable to sustainability principles.

Networks serve to connect, chronicle, communicate, catalyze and act as a living laboratory for experimentation and adaptation. Networks are entrepreneurial. Their flexibility allows them to experiment, reevaluate, reconfigure, assess, and adapt according to changing circumstances. A combination of trust, talent and time make networks work. Typically, networks are formed by those with shared values and goals, who come together to act on behalf of what they deem the "common good". Members of networks trust that they can do more collectively to attain their goals than they can individually. Indeed, networks provide access to information and institutions and enable diverse perspectives of participants to be represented in advocacy, policymaking, and strategic planning from the local to international levels.

"Communities are incubators of innovation and are where our can-do spirit resides. In communities lie hope and new opportunities for citizens to volunteer, celebrate, learn about their responsibilities, and take action together."

John W. Gardner Founding Chairman, Alliance for National Renewal

It is at the community level that there is the greatest and most encouraging resurgence of organizing for the collective good. Nontraditional coalitions are forming, interdisciplinary approaches are being undertaken, pioneering and experimental processes are being incubated and tested. This expression of possibility manifests itself in the inner cities, in rural communities, and in regions all across the country. Members of civil society are learning the importance of civility and respect as they cross boundaries whether cultural, geographic, generational, ethnic, racial or socio-economic.

What is remarkable is the explosion of bottom-up grassroots enterprises and, to a large extent, their relative lack of awareness of like-minded organizational efforts in other areas of the country. Networks such as the Sustainable Communities Network, the Smart Growth Network, and the U. S. Citizens Network for Sustainable Development help link these efforts institutionally, sectorally, and geographically. This bottom-up explosion is an example of the principle of emergence in complex, evolving systems.

In many communities, complacency and apathy are being replaced by conviction and commitment. Somewhere in the collective consciousness there is a stirring of new life, new ideas, and new dedication to making things happen. Place-based initiatives are evolving that reflect local culture and history and which lead to locally-relevant plans. There is an emerging expression of values and ethics that supersede materialism and excessive consumption patterns. Leadership, though coming from diverse sectors both private and public, is principally at the grassroots level. Those that are more successful depend on broad-based, diverse stakeholder processes nourished by the collective local wisdom and experience of the participants.

Alternatively called sustainable, healthy, or livable communities these movements share many common characteristics. They are participatory, inclusive, transparent, interconnected, interrelated, cross-disciplinary, and consensus-based. They are also flexible, adaptive, and non-prescriptive. ‘Out-of-the-box’ creative thinking is commonplace. There is a shared comfort and confidence that there is more to gain from trying out new processes than by sticking with the old ones. Although there are long-range goals (e.g., Chattanooga’s slogan - It takes all of us and it takes forever), some early visible results are important.

In these processes there is more accommodation of differences and more openness to understanding other perspectives. Confrontation gives way to collaboration and competition to partnership. Everyone participates in creating a new language of sustainability, and adapting and experimenting with processes that may or may not work. What is so encouraging is that so many in this movement are generously sharing their lessons learned so that others may profit from their experience in terms of what has and has not worked.

Unlike most organizations, these networks are defined more by a web of relationships than an organizational chart of responsibilities. They are typically democratic, non-bureaucratic, and have a horizontal or flat organizational structure. Members share a mission with individuals and working groups or task forces taking responsibility for particular outcomes. Some networks are actual, others virtual. They celebrate diversity, promote inclusion, and facilitate connection and action.

The U. S. Citizens Network for Sustainable Development (CitNet) is an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1970. It brings together U.S.-based organizations, communities, and individuals to strengthen the sustainable development movement across the United States and to stimulate, organize and facilitate civil society’s knowledge of, connection to and participation in local, regional, national, and global movements for sustainable development. CitNet links with other nongovernmental organizations, provides access to local, national and international information, government agencies, networks and resources, and is represented at United Nations conferences such as the annual Commission on Sustainable Development.

Membership in CitNet is open to all individuals and institutions. CitNet tends to attract dynamic individuals who are passionate about their field of interest and who are team players. They are principally from the nongovernmental sector and represent many other networks in their respective fields.

CitNet has a small secretariat, an administrative committee and a national steering committee. Communications are open and transparent and decisions are consensus-based. CitNet also has a number of issue-oriented working groups that address international, national, and local issues ranging from the Sustainable Production and Consumption Committee, to the Sustainable Communities Working Group which connects the global to the local (glocal). These working groups, in turn, connect more broadly with other action networks globally to focus on specific problems (e.g., the Energy Working Group with the Climate Action Network, and Food Systems with the Global Food Summit and in developing the U.S. National Food Security Plan.) Thus as a network, CitNet provides access to information and resources that local efforts or sectoral-based initiatives might not have otherwise.

Representatives at the local levels, or Regioners, act as regional nodes for the collection and distribution of information leading to local action. They also form broader geographical units, e.g. two Regioners in Appalachia are forming a regional network of Appalachian community activists and organizations. CitNet has either directly or indirectly served as an impetus for spawning CitNet-type networks in Central America and the United Kingdom.

Members are typically conversant on particular issues and some have served on U. S. delegations to the Commission on Sustainable Development at the United Nations to advise on specific issues such as freshwater, energy, production and consumption, sustainable food systems, and other agenda items. The Internet has facilitated network communications around the world. During the global warming meetings in Kyoto for instance, energy activists alerted CitNet members and others about key actions that would move the negotiations further, and CitNet members responded immediately, contributing to some very concrete results. CitNet has an electronic listserve that offers participants an opportunity to learn about upcoming events, projects, alerts and other valuable information. Those wishing to subscribe may send an email to citnet-list@igc.org.

CitNet also partners with other international networks that represent broad and diverse nongovernmental constituencies such as ANPED (the Northern Alliance for Sustainability) and the Global EcoVillage Network (GEN) Through electronic communications they share information, build relationships and define those processes, policies and projects that are of mutual interest and which will guide and strengthen sustainable community development. In 1997 they co-sponsored the first International Sustainable Communities Forum in New York City.

Established in 1996, the mission of the SCN is to link individuals and institutions with the resources they need to help communities become more sustainable - environmentally, socially and economically. The idea for the SCN originated from the growing realization that many organizations cataloguing sustainability-oriented initiatives could pool this information and share it electronically with a wider audience. As initiatives spring up simultaneously all across the country it is a challenge to track, document, and disseminate information about them. This is a service the SCN provides.

A number of founding partners with varied expertise helped conceive and develop it. Two organizations co-direct it -- CONCERN, Inc. and the Community Sustainability Resource Institute (CSRI). The principal vehicle for information exchange is the SCN website (www.sustainable.org) which serves as a vast clearinghouse of information on issues ranging from sustainable economic development to living sustainably. It contains resources in each of six areas: Living Sustainably, Creating Community, Growing a Sustainable Economy, Protecting Natural Resources, Smart Growth, and Governing Sustainably. Regular additions of the latest sustainability resources as well as case studies, funding sources, job opportunities, links to other sites, and a calendar of events keep it robust and interesting for users.

Visitors and colleagues in the field propose additions to the content based on their knowledge and experience, and all content is reviewed before posting. There is liberal opportunity for visitors to comment and make recommendations. It is intended to be interactive and participatory and since launching it the diversity of its offerings has been enriched by this process.

Since its inception its audience and users have grown exponentially as have the issues it covers. One of its most important contributions to stimulating community action has been its collection of profiles or case studies and examples of the dimensions of innovative work all across the country. For example, the SCN Small Grants Program solicited proposals for innovative projects and received a number of outstanding proposals some of which were funded. They, in turn, have provided additional resources and lessons learned which they are sharing through the network.

Other electronic networks have sprung up as well. The Minnesota Sustainable Communities Network (MN SCN) and the Florida Sustainable Communities Center have large and growing audiences. The periodic MN SCN email update produced by the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) reaches over 1,400 people with timely information on upcoming events, resources, funding sources and employment opportunities. The Florida Sustainable Communities Center communicates late-breaking information on a number of sustainability topics through its website, http://sustainable.state.fl.us. Other networks can be found in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.

The SGN is rapidly becoming a ‘brain trust’ of knowledge about best practices, approaches, and tools for smart growth. An historic composite of interrelated interests is reflected in its partners representing diverse organizations, agencies and associations. The SGN was created by the Urban and Economic Development Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1996 and its membership services are directed by the International City/County Management Association. Other partners include the Sustainable Communities Network, the American Farmland Trust, the State of Maryland, the Urban Land Institute, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Surface Transportation Policy Project.

Each organization provides an essential element which complements the others. Collectively they address issues of sprawl, land use, transportation, farmland preservation, and other quality of life issues, from different perspectives but shared interests. Partner organizations work together on outreach programs, technical assistance, research, publications, tools for smart growth and in many other ways to move smart growth from theory to practice. The SGN will continue to include new groups as the movement grows.

The SGN through its partners, members and communications, including its website (www.smartgrowth.org) has advanced understanding about and collaboration for significant progress in smart growth initiatives. Those that benefit from of this type of alliance include everyone - citizens, government officials, businesses and other financial institutions, farmers and many others.

Who are the beneficiaries of and what are the outcomes from pioneering networks? First, there is the multiplier effect. As the exchange of information increases, through electronic communications, conferences, workshops and other face-to-face gatherings, there is an accelerated learning curve about what others are doing, what the results are and what opportunities exist to adapt those initiatives within their own neighborhoods, towns, cities, regions, sectors and institutions.

Ideas that previously may have taken years to communicate are now instantaneous whether they be revitalization through comprehensive smart growth approaches or job generation and economic improvement associated with brownfields redevelopment. Perhaps the most important outcome is the realization that by better understanding each others sectoral issues, there is an increasing capacity to see that everything is connected to everything else and how we can strategically adopt and promote solutions that have multiple benefits in key sectors. Building this capacity is one of the keys to continued progress towards sustainability.

Transplanted ideas can be adapted with culturally appropriate plans that are collectively created by local citizens working with government officials and business representatives. Because of diverse stakeholder involvement, there is a broader commitment to effective results. Both networks and communities then become incubators for experimentation and change.

Other essential outcomes of effective networking include increased social capital or capacity building. Robert Putnam in his landmark work, Bowling Alone, chronicled the participation in civil sectors in northern Italy and then documented trends in community participation in the United States. What this research revealed was that community involvement had dwindled during the last few decades and that this unraveling of the social fabric was contributing to everything from crime, to unemployment, illiteracy, and the breakup the family. Networks provide connection, continuity and support. An individual in Florida can be bolstered by information from someone in Washington state. A Wisconsin sustainability advocate and activist can feel part of the "tribe" or "family" by participating in a forum in New York. It is all a matter of connecting those who have woken up to the promise and possibility of sustainability.

"Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized.
In the first, it is ridiculed.
In the second, it is opposed.
In the third, it is regarded as self-evident."

-- Arthur Schopenhauer

For these networks to survive, grow and flourish they need regional resource and civic learning centers, financial support, and strong infrastructures such as umbrella organizations to coordinate, communicate, and convene.

A nationwide network of regional resource/learning centers could provide many support services. Some would include: technical assistance, facilitation/mediation services and instruction, ecological economics courses, indicators trainings, instruction and support services for Geographical Information Systems, Global Positioning systems as applied to creating sustainable communities; actual and virtual libraries of resources - books, audio/video tapes, cd-roms, case studies, computers, software; meeting spaces to convene participants for community asset mapping, problem solving, charettes, and strategic long-term planning; job training, remanufacturing, deconstruction, recycling and other career-forming enterprises that provide a sustainable income for programs and people alike. These facilities could be located in major metropolitan areas where they would also serve as demonstration centers. These would enable citizens to "try out" and "model" the future and see possible scenarios played out.

These resource centers could be civic education centers. Most sustainability activists have very little preparation other than a moral commitment to making their communities and institutions more livable and equitable. We need as many educational institutions for social entrepreneurs who want to engage in civic activism as we have now for business, law and public policy.

The facilities themselves would be ‘imagined’ by the intergenerational networks of individuals within the community and designed with natural principles in mind through a series of public design charettes. Constructed of environmentally sound (and recyclable, recovered, and nontoxic) materials, powered by renewable energy, and equipped with living systems wastewater treatment technology, these centers could attract ecologically-friendly businesses and training facilities to create jobs. They might also serve as community and lifelong learning centers for all ages. From construction through resale or reuse the whole life-cycle of the building would be designed for learning and demonstration. As such it would build community and create civil and business networks far beyond its physical location. Resource use would be monitored, thereby acting as a living laboratory. On the grounds would be day care, senior and wellness centers, edible landscapes, organic gardens, and other examples of healthful practices that could be adopted more broadly.

An umbrella organization might consist of community members, professionals, business and government networks for sustainability, and many others who share a common vision for our country’s future. This critical mass of people would be dedicated to working within their respective fields and with each other on an integrative national agenda based on sustainability principles.

In sum, meta networks connect communities of interest and geographical locations; are inclusive, representative, transparent and democratic; provide a means for small organizations to be involved in a larger agenda; facilitate "glocal" information exchange; offer a laboratory for capacity building; and connect and collaborate with other sectoral and global networks.

Meta networks serve to inform, communicate, catalyze and effect change. They are creating pathways to the future that impact leadership, policy, institutional agendas, and individual choices in immeasurable ways. We must nurture them, for they represent the vision of our Founding Fathers, the dynamism and vitality of our citizens, and the unlimited potential for our collective future.

Susan Boyd is the Executive Director of CONCERN, Inc., a 29-year old national, nonprofit environmental education organization with a focus on building sustainable communities. She serves as the co-director of the Sustainable Communities Network (SCN) (http://www.sustainable.org) and represents the SCN as a partner in the Smart Growth Network (http://www.smartgrowth.org). She is a member of the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Citizens Network for Sustainable Development and chairs its Sustainable Communities Working Group. In Washington, DC she co-chairs the Sustainable Washington Alliance, serves on the Mayor’s Brownfields Redevelopment Action Team and is a member of the steering committee of Sustainable DC.