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The Abundant Community
Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods
John McKnight,
Peter Block
Published by Berret-Koehler & APA Planners Press, 2010 Hardcover ISBN 978-1-60509-584-4 Quick order code: R95844
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Description
The Abundant Community reveals the invisible but immense impact that consumerism has had on the fabric of our families and communities, and recommends how we can create richer, more fulfilling lives and break our dependency on the consumer economy.
Right in our neighborhood we have the capacity to address our human needs in ways that systems, which see us only as interchangeable units, as problems to be solved, never can. We all have gifts to offer, even the most seemingly marginal among us. It does not matter how rich or poor the neighborhood is. McKnight and Block suggest how to nurture voluntary, self-organizing structures that will reveal these gifts and allow them to be shared to the greatest mutual benefit. They recommend roles we can assume and actions we can take to reweave the social fabric that has been unraveled by consumerism and its belief that however much we have, it is not enough.
Each neighborhood has people with the gifts and talents needed to provide for our prosperity and peace of mind; this book offers practical ways to discover them. It gives voice to the ideal of an abundant community. It reminds us of our power to create a hope-filled life. It assures us that when we join together with our neighbors, we are the architects of the future where we want to live.
“Block and McKnight offer a hopeful direction to those who seek to build authentic, sustainable communities in today+s uncertain economic times. They describe the +Abundant Community+ that is built on strong networks of engaged citizens. They focus on the inherent strengths of America+s neighborhoods and offer a realistic alternative to an impersonal economy of debt-driven consumption that is in disarray. Both professional and citizen planners will find their thoughtful approach to community building and the tools they recommend of great value.“
-Hunter Morrison, Director of Campus Planning and Community Partnerships, Youngstown State University