In the early 1980s Chattanooga, Tennessee, was reeling from local
recession, deteriorating schools and housing stock, and rising
racial tensions. Several dozen citizens and the Lyndhurst Foundation
formed Chattanooga Venture, an on-going cross-class, multi-racial
organization that, over the next decade involved hundreds of people
in an inclusive effort to set and achieve community goals. Of
the 40 specific city-wide goals set in 1984, most were completed
by 1992, at which point Chattanooga Venture again convened hundreds
of citizens to create new community goals. Among the goals realized
through this process was the creation of a Neighborhood Network
which organized and linked up dozens of neighborhood associations
and encouraged neighborhood businesses.
Through this process, Chattanooga has revitalized its downtown,
now buzzing with electric shuttle busses carrying about a million
passengers a year. It has rennovated a grand old theater and other
historic buildings, as well as a once-decaying bridge that is
now the world's longest footbridge. It has created the world's
largest fresh-water aquarium, riverfront walks and model urban
parks and greenways that generated not only new stores and restaurants
for pedestrians, but also the first U.S. Presidential Award for
Sustainable Development, given to the city in 1996.
Projects undertaken by Chattanooga Venture created thousands of
jobs and brought in investments of nearly a billion dollars. Its
hundreds of projects included day care centers, a family violence
shelter, and arts programs. Schools were redesigned, the environment
was cleaned up and an innovative program for financing affordable
housing was instituted. Chattanooga citizens of all races and
classes worked together and began inviting each other to their
homes for dinner. A noticeable "can-do" spirit and sense
of civic pride has evolved. Businesses, civic groups, government
officials and others from around the country have for years been
visiting to see for themselves what Chattanooga is doing.
And now The Chattanooga Institute
has been formed to advance this process and spread the word. Their
vision centers on sustainability and balanced attention to economic
growth, social equity, stewardship of the environment and quality
of life. They are focusing on recycling energy and waste from
-- and back into -- local businesses. They are working with other
communities in the region to develop better statistical measures
of sustainability and regionally planning a high speed rail link
with Atlanta. And they're delivering an ongoing series of workshops
on sustainability for the public and visitors. How do they plan
to do all this? The same way they always have: "We will involve
all citizens in community processes and encourage the formation
of public/private partnerships. And we will support the education
and empowerment of people at the local level to enable effective
change."