Former City Manager Leon Churchill: Trends For 2015

By Author: Casey Carpenter
Total Articles: 9
Comment this article

As populations continue to rise in urban communities, city professionals are now grappling with how to develop a sustainable design that will benefit both the residents and the environment. Opinions of ordinary citizens are now being welcomed in city meetings with the imminent danger of congestion gradually affecting every household.

Street fund beautification, constructing green parks and organizing fun runs are common crowd resourcing activities that foster social interaction while raising money for a cause. This approach in urban development is an old but effective practice that former city managers like Leon Churchill believe will create a huge impact a few steps at a time. With enough cooperation between leaders and followers, crowd resourcing will enable local officials to develop a plan based on specific goals of each member of the community.

Just as a clean sweep inside your house will help you determine which fixtures require fixing, a tour of the city should tell you what areas need improvement. Before renovating the city hall, for example, it is important to deal with the basic necessities of the city ...
... first, from garbage collection to clean streets. A fundamental component of urbanity, the streets have to be as healthy and versatile as its dwellers for this will eventually transform entire neighborhoods for the better.

Several complete streets in the city will then constitute a living infrastructure, a combined concept of green infrastructure and nature’s provisions. This form of urbanism weaves the natural environment with the landscape of modern communities for a functional interaction of all living things. For this to happen, local officials have to be open to the great minds of their people because most remarkable ideas of a society may not be able to speak up on its own.

Furthermore, a new approach for battling drought called storm water management is gaining recognition in many states, wherein storm waters or floodwaters are utilized and filtered to become sources of water in the city. This may even be accomplished in one’s own backyard with simple water-catching techniques like rain barrels or bottles.

Similar to what veteran city planner Leon Churchill had done, a little creativity and cooperation for any city can go a long way. If all sides listen and collaborate, any city may be able to have a sustainable life that will last for years.