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Building 21st Century Communities

At the turn of this century, Robert Putnam wrote the most depressing book for those of us who believe that there is no substitute for community. Putnam cited all sorts of indicators of the breakdown of social capital over the previous fifty years – closed pubs, fewer voters, less families eating together, and declining membership in Rotary, League of Women Voters, NAACP and other associations. The book was titled Bowling Alone because Putnam documented a dramatic loss in the number of bowling leagues.

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Linking Community to System Change

I had expected the Tamarack Conference would offer me specific actionable items to further Synapcity’s work in neighbourhoods. What I hadn’t expected was the provocative challenges put forward to me as a person and as a professional. I imagined my takeaways to centre around the community level of change, but I was surprised to leave with a deeply personal reflection: if I intend to act as a meaningful contributor to my community, both the system and my role within the system require reimagining.

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Why Citizens Should Prepare for Emergencies and How to Do It

Most Canadian Municipalities have emergency preparedness plans in place that detail how various departments and staff will work together to respond in the event of a natural disaster or extreme weather event.  

Citizens and neighbours can always be relied on to help one another during these times as well, however, this capacity could be significantly enhanced if neighbours -- like municipalities -- created opportunities to know one another and proactively develop plans.

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4 Tool Kits To Help Get Your Neighbourhood Strategy Started

Are you looking to get your neighbourhood more engaged with each other? Other individuals across Canada have wanted the same. While this may seem like an intimidating task, it is possible!  Some of the biggest neighbourhood strategies in Canada started with one person and an idea. 

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#MontrealMondays - Centraide of Greater Montreal

#MontrealMondays – A blog series about the inspiring Neighbourhood and Community work being done in Montréal.

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A New Partner in Deepening Communities

Tamarack is thrilled that the Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF) has invested in the work of Deepening Community. In introducing our new partner, we want to give Kim Nordbye, Manager of Community Investment at SEF, the opportunity to tell us more about Suncor’s support for community engagement. Here’s our Q & A with Kim.

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