Ubuntuworks Community

The following opinion piece was published in the Merwin Rural Services Institute’s newsletter, North Country Local Government Newsletter 9/98(Part I) & 12/98(Part II). 

The Ubuntuworks Resource Hub provides organizations and individuals with data, stories, studies and support for a more connected and compassionate world.

Community Leaders

As community leaders we tend to spend a great deal of time “putting out the fires” and very little time “planning” for the future of the community. …we are treating the symptoms rather than the root causes of a number of community ailments. A more troubling byproduct of this approach is the haphazard, patchwork process of planning and development that results.

There may be self contained issues, however, more likely than not there will be multi-layered and multi-dimensional issues that cross and connect multiple issue areas. Understanding these linkages allows for the development of holistic plans that allow communities to address the systemic root causes of problems rather than just the surface level symptoms.

Citation: Originally published in https://stlawco.gov/Departments/Planning/Articles_02