Making Place: Sustainability and Small Communities in the 21st Century | Community Forum

Over this next year in school I will be working to put together a directory of programs, resources, grants, and strategies that communi<es can reference and use in order to help them sustain their communi<es into the next genera<on. Using Coggon as an example, I would like to share with you some of my work as it has progressed so far.

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Birds are excellent place‐makers, they use found objects to create elaborate nests, that are meant to aDract a mate and provide a sanctuary for their offspring. So let’s take a quick lesson from them, and see how this corresponds to our lives.

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Good nests are built upon reliable economies. A nest can only be built and maintained based upon the capital of its surroundings. We’ve all heard “It takes a village….?” By inves<ng and building from a villages many parts, its economic base is strengthened, and those many parts benefit.

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Good nests reflect their environment. They embrace and grow from regional ameni<es and resources.

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A house is not the same as a home. A good nest encourages interac<on and par<cipa<on.

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So lets start with economics. We can begin to explore the history of American small town form through two typical imaginary communi<es. Lineartown, illustrated above, established their seDlement upon the river. It provided the town’s reason for existence. It provided for river traffic and supported a number of small industries.

The linear character of Main Street and the loca<on of its central district are physical responses to the river.

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When the railroad came in 1910, it followed the natural transporta<on route of the river and thereby met up with the small industries of other river towns. Because of the train, came added industries and jobs, and popula<on grew, but the town form for the most part remained the same.

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As more and more people began driving cars a new highway was eventually built that connected vehicular traffic more efficiently to nearby towns than the railroad or river could offer. This meant that fewer and fewer people drove through Lineartown.

Businesses on Main Street began to close and along the highway popped up a car dealership, a McDonald’s, a branch bank, and a couple mini‐mall complexes.

Currently there is struggle between Lineartown’s historic Main Street and the newer highway based businesses.

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Squaretown is our second make believe town. It has historically been an agricultural town. Squaretown grew based on good soils, good markets, and healthy livestock.

The town was planned to have a civic square as its central focus.

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Squaretown experienced troubled <mes as a result of drought and a weak market. In an aDempt to s<mulate their economy, Squaretown was successful in nego<a<ng that the new railroad line pass by the edge of their town. This second major economic and social force did as much to shape the towns form as they did when the town was ini<ally established.

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As with other towns, the highway was an exci<ng addi<on for motorists. Suddenly residents were not dependent on the resources in the town, but could drive to neighboring communi<es for jobs and shopping. Today there is liDle physical and social ac<vity in the town square. Most people drive to highway businesses when they need something. People s<ll speak to one another, but it may be just a wave as two cars stop at a red light or it may be just a nod while passing a neighbor in the parking lot.

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In 2000, it seemed that Squaretown had struck it big. A large technology company decided to buy out the town square to establish their order processing headquarters there. Although American wages were higher than what they would have to pay employees overseas, the low property value in declining Squaretown seemed like a good real estate investment. The company decided to buy the town square and start purchasing nearby homes that employees would then have to rent or buy from them.

For the technology company, this was a more economical approach, and had the promise of sustained income, than star<ng from scratch and building a brand new corporate campus. This meant jobs and new businesses, but Squaretown was so excited at the prospect that they did not stop to ask if they were the right kinds of jobs and the right kinds of businesses.

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If you have a sharp eye and know your local history, you may have guessed by now, that all of the black and white photos we just looked at are, in fact, Coggon. The maps are not. They are pretend communi<es, but the historic photos are of Coggon.

Like many of our rural communi<es, Coggon’s town form is some varia<on of Lineartown and Squaretown, and that means that there are inherent proper<es to those forms that are cri<cal to keeping communi<es alive and healthy.

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Pure data describes Coggon as being located: 42°16′45″N 91°31′47″ W. Coggon has a Popula<on of: 714, and it ’s nearest urban popula<on is Cedar Rapids, IA, about 28 miles away, with a popula<on of 128,182.

But is this Coggon’s complete story? Are these tools enough to fully describe any of our communi<es?

A researcher once stated that “If we heard that two planes had flown into 40.46 degrees N, 73.58 degrees W, it would not have quite the same impact as hearing that they had flown into New York, into ManhaDan, into the Twin Towers.”

As Lineartown and Squaretown help illustrate, our towns are part of a greater na<onal tradi<on, and the numbers alone aren’t quite the whole story.

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Good nests are built upon reliable economies. A nest can only be built and maintained based upon the capital of its surroundings.

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The visual tools we used to examine Lineartown and Squaretown are called figure‐ ground maps. By elimina<ng certain bits of informa<on and focusing on others, we are able to more easily understand town form, what economies cause that form, and what built ameni<es are most important to our communi<es.

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In Coggon, we have the Buffalo Creek,

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We have the Railroad that follows the path of the river,

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We have our network of streets that speak to the orienta<on of that river,

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And we have the built environment we have constructed and inherited in which we live, work, and play.

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By using this visual tool we can easily find were the best place is for businesses by seeing were buildings have been built closest together and the most ac<vity occurs.

We can also see by the size of buildings, what is most important to the town. In short this helps us to discover the heart of a community.

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For Coggon, this is a founda<on in educa<on and agriculture, and it is Main Street that connects the two….This is the heart of the town, a combina<on of the hearts of Lineartown and Squaretown.

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Good nests reflect their environment. They embrace and grow from regional ameni<es and resources.

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Anyone who takes a walk, or goes for a drive, down Main Street, can see this, and in some way has a general knowledge of this fundamental truth.

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Without important aspects of that environment, we loose a focal point, we weaken or loose the nest.

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The purpose of focusing this much one par<cular town, in this case Coggon, is to help show everyone here and our neighboring communi<es what tools are out there to help us make the many difficult decisions we face as rural communi<es. These figure‐ ground‐maps and these before‐and‐aher renderings help us to think more cri<cally and evaluate whether op<on A or op<on B is the best for our towns before we rush into inves<ng in either op<on. And we’re going to look at some other examples, in Coggon, of how these visual tools help us make these decisions before looking at grants and revitaliza<on programs that are out there to help us. Now I understand that not everyone is computer savvy, and I understand that many of us are working class individuals and seniors, all with families, but that does not mean we do not have access to these resources.

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The first step is to start to organize as a community. Get your church groups together, reach out to your local Lion’s Club and Legion Halls, ask for help from Historical Socie<es, local business owners, and City Hall then CONTACT YOUR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES. I know Iowa State has an architecture program, and even though The University of Iowa does not, they do have a really good design program that u<lizes the same computer graphic skills as any architecture or design school. They can help!

Any graphic design department can help; anyone that can draw or sketch can help.

And it reflects greatly on the schools to reach out to their surrounding communi<es.

Give a student who is stuck in a classroom everyday, and barely sleeps, the chance to help real people and make a real difference with their educa<on, and they will do back flips for you. Trust me, I’m one of them. Even with these resources efforts like these s<ll need secretaries, accountants, grant writers…Remember, good design requires help from: residents, business owners, researchers, organizers, laborers, youth, seniors…..etc.

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If we look at the “Urban‐Rural Con<nuum Map of 2000” from the US Department of Agriculture, it indicates that this small‐town building tradi<on is a fundamental element to our American landscape heritage….Our towns, no maDer how small, are important.

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If can compare that to this “Popula<on Change Rate 2000‐2009 Map” we discover an unseDling trend. Our small communi<es and towns everywhere are disappearing.

This should just assure us that we are not alone. The challenges we face our na<on faces. Our small communi<es are sacred, and they are fragile. Important people have no<ced, and they have created resources and programs to help. But they will do no good if we do not first demonstrate ini<a<ve, show that we care, and prove that we can organize to effec<vely use those resources.

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In Iowa, the most recent census popula<on projec<ons indicate a loss of popula<on of around 60,000 for the state by 2030. We are currently at this <pping point. Now I am 28; the average life expectancy of an Iowa male is 78.3. Na<onally we rank 6th….which, is not too bad; apparently we’re doing something right here. That means that I have roughly 50.3 more years on this earth. By 2030, I will be 47 years old. It may be morbid, but more so it is honest and realis<c. Look around you and ask how many people sinng next you here tonight, will be around when Iowa looses 60,000 people from age and outward migra<on. How many people will be around to keep our churches going? How many people will be leh to keep what businesses we have open, or to shop there? More importantly, what will be leh to aDract new families to our communi<es to raise their children? Were will they get jobs?

I would like to see a raise of hands: How many families in the audience have adult children? | And how many of those children s<ll live in the communi<es in which they were raised? | How many have moved to a different state for their jobs?

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So you see our inherited and built environments maDer….They maDer a lot! As human beings we need to be able to connect to both our physical environment, and our built environments, and both have meaning and important histories. A psychologist in England discovered that “inhabitants of a village who had been forcibly moved in order that the valley could be flooded for a reservoir were s<ll distressed 40 years later.” Imagine loosing all the natural and built parts of our environment, our communi<es, the things you wrote on that list, that we most iden<fy with.

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I would like right now to dispel any myths about this school. This school needs some work. That is undeniable, but it is a perfectly fine building and is built beDer than anything we build today. If you have a sound building shell, which we do, you can do anything you want to the interior. It can redesigned to be as modern or as original as you desire, and there are different avenues through The Na<onal Registrar of Historic Places that will help fund either approach. In fact 20 to 25 percent of the cost of new construc<on is for the building shell. Think of the building shell as an empty grain bin; you can empty it and fill it again with whatever you want be it grain, or an ADA ramp, or a new staircase that meats code, anything. The recommenda<ons from the Iowa Construc<on Advocacy Board, which was the sole source we used to jus<fy building a new school, not surprisingly advocated for new construc<on, but they did not consider any of these possible funding op<ons. And let it be known that this Coggon school has been evaluated by the State Historical Society of Iowa as being “Significant in it’s contribu<on to the district,” which means money is there to fix it and keep it if we work as community to get it on the Na<onal Registry of Historic Places and apply for the grants to fix it up. Through out this next year of my schooling I will also be looking at ways to adap<vely reuse this building. The main reason the building was closed in the first place was ADA accessibility and fire safety codes. Those are the easiest things to fix in any building. You put in a hydraulic elevator, which is 1/3 the cost of a cable elevator, you put in a sprinkler system, and you’ve preDy much taken care of all the issues. And there is not as much asbestos in there as one would think because it’s construc<on predates the use of asbestos. Even if the building were tore down we would have to pay for Haz‐Mat crews to properly dismantle and dispose of the asbestos.

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These same arguments apply to the Walker Elementary School as well as countless other historic Iowa schools that anchor our small towns.

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This exact issue of the future of historic schools in town is something receiving na<onal as well as state aDen<on. This is a recent ar<cle from the GazeDe from June 28th, 2011 that talks about Arlington, IA a town of only 480 that received a $50,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development Brownfield Program, to help with the asbestos in their building. They also received a $200,000 matching grant to help convert their building into a community center. If 480 people can work together to keep their sacred nests, our communi<es can do the same.

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So what can we do? If we use our figure‐ground map, we can look at all of our public ins<tu<ons highlighted here in red. Right now, the ins<tu<ons and organiza<ons are a bit scaDered, and even though they’re not that far apart it makes communica<on, coordina<on, and organiza<on a bit difficult especially as we age and mobility becomes more of an issue. Also having these groups separated means that each group needs their own printer, their own computers, their own copier, their own telephones, their own office equipment, etc. We can get more accomplished together. This is just one possibility, but if we were able to move these ins<tu<ons into a central loca<on, they would be able to work more coopera<vely, more efficiently, be more accessible to the community, and inevitably get more accomplished together. That would open up these smaller buildings for start up businesses and entrepreneurs whose business would help ac<vate our Main Street… for a bed and breakfast, for a butcher, for a bakery, for a coffee shop, for an an<ques store…even a candles<ck maker if we felt it a good fit. As I said, this is just one possibility. Let’s start the discussion now.

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Other possibili<es are a Community Crah Center that offers comprehensive arts programs for do‐it‐yourselfers of all ages that is both educa<onal and recrea<onal. It could encourage all levels of interest, from beginning hobbyist to serious ar<st, to tradesperson. Studios and facili<es could range from a public woodshop, to photography, jewelry/metalsmithing, ceramics, bicycle maintenance, small engine repair, fiber arts & weaving, graphics, and glass blowing. Iowa is full of talented and gihed people. An ins<tu<on such as this would aDract people and ar<sts from all over the region to get access to tools they otherwise could not afford and learn skills to help them build or decorate in their own homes. These are just possibili<es.

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This brings us to a current issue facing Coggon and a demonstra<on as to how visual tools can help illustrate alterna<ve futures with planning issues. Currently by 2014 Coggon is mandated by the DNR to have a new sewage plant built and in opera<on.

Due to the value of surrounding land, Coggon is unable to acquire any outlying agricultural land to build this new plant. The only foreseeable op<on is on the grounds of the exis<ng Coggon School, in the heart of town. Now to be fair, I am not a specialist in sewage treatment facili<es, and the city is looking at the eastern edge of the property, but the following images are poten<al scenarios….From this worst case scenario,

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To this scenario,

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To this scenario were the treatment plant is less obvious, not visible from main street, land would be bought and used for residen<al development, but there s<ll would be a standard sewage plant in their backyards. Who would want to live here, and what happens to the rest of the town when the heart of it is compromised? I am not a realty expert, but if I were living in this loca<on, I would A) feel like my privacy was constantly being invaded, and B) the health of my family and neighbors constantly threatened.

I simply would not buy this house; and I think it would be very hard to find anyone interested.

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This is the actual proposed loca<on for the new sewage treatment plant.

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Even with the school there, a standard treatment plant, is a dangerous idea in this sacred site. What about the property owners around this site? Don’t their property values maDer?

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If we look at this site from a satellite view…..

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We can see the effects of loosing the site as a park. According to a report from the Na<onal Parks Service we can see how property values are affected the further they are located away from a public park or greenway. I understand that there are a mul<tude of issues that affect property values, but this study has taken mul<ple samples from across the United States, including Iowa, and found an average. That’s just good research. There is a lot to learn from precedents elsewhere. So, for the sake of argument, if all proper<es in these colored zones were the exact same: The proper<es values in the red zone decrease between $2,100‐$5,100 as you move further away from the park. Proper<es in the orange zone decrease $4,200‐$10,200 as that distance increases.

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The report also states that if the park has nuisance features such as being very crowded or being very loud, these property value sta<s<cs are reversed meaning the closer you are to that nuisance, the less the value is of your property even if it is a park. If that is the affect on property values with an exis<ng park, imagine what would happen if we lost the school, lost the site as a park, and put in a standard sewage treatment plant?

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The affects are frightening.

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Luckily, there are op<ons, and again this is were reaching out to universi<es proves helpful. I had never heard of Living Machines before I aDended The University of Oregon. The fact is that students in school, are the most up to date popula<on group that exist. They know what technology is out there, and more importantly they know how to use it. Even my younger brothers can throw out a text message at faster than lightning speed compared to me. That is how fast things change, and a testament to how fast technology advances.

Living machines are not innova<ve technology, they are innova<ve applica<ons that u<lize a prehistoric natural technology. Wetlands are natural treatment plants. This picture may look like a swamp, but a lot of work is going on here. Micro‐organisms and bacteria are breaking down pollutants and purifying an influx of soupy‐gook more effec<vely than anything we could ever create.

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So it just makes sense that we should learn to use u<lize this natural‐technology.

Here’s how it works: 1. Wastewater is collected from sinks, showers, and toilets, and flows into the primary tank like a normal sewage system, 2. In the primary tank, course solids are retained and bacteria begin the treatment process as wastewater is filtered.

3. Filtered wastewater is pumped and further filtered through Stage 1 Wetlands and back into a Recircula<on tank.

4. Tidal Flow wetlands are alterna<vely filled and drained as microorganisms below the surface convert pollutants to harmless and odorless carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen.

5. Stage 2 Wetlands filter out any remaining pollutants.

6. At this stage wastewater is purified and can be reused for irriga<on, toilet flushing, non‐potable uses, or safely sent back into rivers and streams.

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Applica<ons range from residen<al….

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To commercial….

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To semi‐urban popula<ons such as ours….

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If these gentlemen trust the technology and found it a worthwhile investment, why wouldn’t we?

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You want to get the DNR and the EPA excited, and you want them to throw money at you…..show them pictures like this. SHOW THEM! Don’t tell them. One thing that will always hold true no maDer what grants or resources you are applying for is that a leDer of intent is a weak proposal. It is necessary, don’t get me wrong, but you state the problem, you state your intent, and you accompany your grant proposal applica<on with visual tools such as this and your proposal will not only stand out…it will leap out among all the other applicants. A picture is worth a thousand words.

And don’t only find the grants that apply to your project. Find every grant and explain how your project meets and fulfills their goals.

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A healthy environment is what aDracts families to move into our communi<es, and a healthy environment is what aDracts small businesses to start and grow. The majority of entrepreneurs can’t afford the costs of big ci<es for start ups. Their ideal loca<on is in the heart of our communi<es if the environment is right, but there is another component…..

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No one wants to move to ghost town, and no one is foolish enough to try and start a business were there is not life to support it. A house is not the same as a home. A good nest encourages interac<on and par<cipa<on.

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Our physical environment may not have changed much. These buildings are s<ll here, but those highlighted in yellow are vacant or recently closed businesses, and this does have an impact.

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I would like to share with you were I got this last photo: This is a website called Flickr, and since everything is digital these days photographers can upload their photos to share and promote their work for free. This is the <tle of this photographers album: The Geography of Nowhere, where Coggon and Central City are featured……Are we the geography of nowhere, or is there more to our story?

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A professor of poli<cal science at Harvard University, has aDempted to map this gradual loss of civic engagement through recording na<onal voter turnout, daily newspaper subscrip<on, group membership, and levels of trust. His research has shown a steady decrease in all categories since the end of WWII.

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There are many arguments as to what might be causing this trend. Some argue the television, others an increasing number of single parent households. I think that there is a much simpler answer: Our environments no longer support Civic engagement: Where would you rather shop, here?

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Or here…? Which place do you see yourself bumping into a familiar face and having a meaningful conversa<on?

Communi<es and businesses alike are realizing this through‐out America. The economies of these communi<es have experienced change, but they have been able to u<lize their unique characteris<cs and histories for preserva<on based economic development. Simply put, our towns can offer something that big box stores cannot AND they are realizing this. Technology and online shopping means that we no longer have to miss out on the goods and services that larger retailers can offer. Those days are over.

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Then there is the gas issue. Folks, $5 gas is not that far away. What’s that going to mean for the family budget when that happens?

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We cannot afford to go here any longer. We have bills to pay and families to support.

Our children want to go to college. That’s were our money should be going, not the gas pump. Give people a beDer op<on, and they will take it.

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This is a Home Depot I toured last spring as part of a study abroad in Vancouver, B.C. They have limited underground and street parking, 3 of the 4 sides of the store have small specialty shops facing the street, up top on the roof are condos and apartments with an inner courtyard, and you know what: they deliver!

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I know we’ve covered some big examples that are probably beyond the scope of our rural communi<es, but the lessons learned from them is applicable everywhere. We can choose to either sustain life and barely scrape by, or we can choose to promote life and thrive. One reality of small towns is that we’re excellent at seeing and sta<ng what’s wrong, but there’s a big difference between complaining and senng things right. We can start today to work together, to organize across church groups and ci<zen organiza<ons to apply for grants, help city hall, help our businesses, help our school boards, and focus all our many resources around a common cause to truly make the future we want to see. No one is going to get 100% of what they want, and if that is our goal we fail…but if we hit 60 or 70% we’re doing preDy dang well. The willingness to work together and compromise is essen<al. The op<ons if we don’t, look preDy bleak. So remember what quali<es you wrote on that list when we began, think of the photos you matched up as desirable or describing your ideal town. In Coggon, we know the future of this community lies in educa<on. There has been great debate over the bond issue that was passed on February 1st. Regardless of its long term effects, or where you stand on the issue, we do know for certain that at least 3 <mes a day, 5 days a week, for 180 days of the standard Iowa school year this will be leaving our town. Please close your eyes and listen…….

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You see, the nature of great tales is neither that they are <meless or even that they are all that great in and of themselves. The truth about great tales is that through the lives of others we can see ourselves alive in another <me and place, and somehow that holds meaning for the flee<ng <me we share on this earth. It is much more rare, and all in all less significant, the big events, the warp threads, which we use to weave <me together. It is the secondary threads, the wehs, that makes the cloth, and gives it substance. It is the people whose lives and stories are flee<ng, and extraordinarily ordinary that has put the meat on our bones. It is through their trials and sacrifices that we find ourselves here today living with their remnants and memories.

My final ques<on to everyone is, WHAT FUTURE DO YOU CHOOSE? And WHEN?

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