More than 1/3 of American households and almost ½ of all American males own guns. More than 2/3 of murders are committed using guns. A total of 32,514 Americans and 2,677 children die in this country every year from gun violence! These numbers are unacceptable – these are real human beings, someone’s children, parents, and… Continue reading Gun Violence in the United States
Those of you who have been following this blog might remember that on July 15, 2016, I published some information about our Community Engagement Plan for Boiling Springs and gave you the link to the Facebook page. I’d like to now share with you a maps showing some of the special features in Boiling Springs. … Continue reading Check out some features in Boiling Springs!
The City Beautiful Movement arrived in Harrisburg in 1900. During the nineteenth century, sewage and trash were dumped directly into the Susquehanna River. Water was then pumped out of the Susquehanna into people’s homes. Typhoid was wide-spread throughout the City. Through the City Beautiful Movement, Harrisburg issued bonds to create a riverfront park. Today the… Continue reading The Harrisburg City Beautiful Movement and the Capital Area Greenbelt
The Boiling Springs Historical Society wishes to develop and implement a plan to prioritize preservation projects in the Boiling Springs Historic District (BSHD). The BSHD includes the man-made Children’s Lake, the dam retaining the lake, the nineteenth century trail system (which is now part of the Appalachian Trail), the nineteenth century village that grew up… Continue reading Community Engagement Plan for Preserving the Boiling Springs Historic District
We’re interested in knowing how you think your community does or could benefit from parks. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources discusses the benefits of parks to sustainable communities. They note that community parks are correlated with better health, less crime, greater social connections, and even increased test scores for school children. In addition,… Continue reading The Importance of Parks in Sustainable Communities
During my experience working with the public during project planning over the past two decades, I have been impressed with the evolution of the culture of civic engagement. There is a much greater focus on actively obtaining feedback from the public with the goal of developing better plans that are supported by communities (Mandarano and… Continue reading Evolving Digital Civil Engagement Culture
The Friends of Port Richmond needs your input! We’re planning to redevelop the Brownsfield in Port Richmond for commercial and recreational use. Please come to a Community Design Charrette.
Technology is changing the way government involves the public. While this is generally a good thing, we need to be careful not to leave some segments of the population behind.
Barbara Shaffer 