How might we tell stories differently so that instead of deepening the grooves of a fragmented society, we shift the way we have conversations?One of the joys of my life as a writer is that I get to meet and hear firsthand so many stories. Yet, as a communicator by profession, I have a profound…
Tag Archive for community
Commentary
How we create boundaries
Can we create a place where anyone—regardless of age, race, gender identity, religion—can walk into a city, be welcomed and find the footing they need to succeed?When Bill Remmer left his home in Melvin, Iowa, in his mid-30s, to walk 230 miles to Minneapolis to find a better source of income for his growing family, his…
Commentary
Loving our community to failure
If we start with the notion that our community/ world/ universe is connected, then maybe the ways we divide ourselves up politically, economically and socially will no longer make sense to us and we’ll get about the business of repairing it.A few years ago, Roy Scranton, an opinion blogger for The New York Times, wrote…
Commentary
A nuanced story about consumption
One of the home designers I’ve gotten acquainted with as I work toward a book about Minneapolis and sustainability is Michael Anschel of otogawa-anschel design+build. At my December “Sustainable We” forum he was not afraid to speak his mind about the limitations of energy efficiency as a concept, despite being on a panel of efficiency-minded…