Creating Community by 13 Ways

We aren't talking about people who believe the Earth is flat, or that windmills cause cancer, but that doesn't mean there aren't some crazy things that municipal and community leaders don't say and believe that sounds pretty crazy. After so many years of working with communities we talk about some of those crazy things with moments of levity, frustration, confusion, and sometimes commiseration. Join us as we discuss the Crazy Things Municipalities Say. 

Are we asking the right question when it comes to the recovery of downtowns and main streets? 

Join Heather and guests, Puneeta McBryan (Executive Director of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association) and Alex Hryciw (Chair of the Edmonton Downtown Recovery Coalition) for a conversation about how communities can create a place where people want to BE. It isn't about 'return to work' or mandating consumer behaviour to solve an economic crisis, it is about creating an ecosystem where humans want to participate and experience life. 

Marketing is easy, right? Just buy a billboard or a magazine ad and people will flock to your community. Or at least that's how it works in theory. In reality, you need to know who your community really is and what it is selling, then identify who would be interested (businesses and people) in what you have to offer. If you get that far, you know who you are marketing to, where to find them, and what to say. Only then do you have a value proposition work spending marketing dollars on. In this episode we talk to one community with a cool hook. 

We have long argued that the lack of collaboration and cooperation between, and within, communities is the plague of the 21st century. Communities that work together thrive, and those that fight and compete die. Even when we want to work together, we don't know how, and we don't know what to do. This episode dives into one example of a partnership that includes revenue sharing . . . yes, REVENUE SHARING. The best part is that this isn't new. These communities have been doing this, and growing their communities together, for over 20 years.

This episode is about childcare; how it is evolving, what parents need these days, how important it is to the community, and how important it is to the economy. We ignored that last point until the pandemic confirmed when childcare was suddenly shut down and half the workforce couldn't come to work. Childcare is an economic issue, not just a social one. As well, we are going to talk about the need for QUALITY childcare, not just care. These places are not just there to 'watch' the children we leave with them, but to teach them too. I am joined by my favorite guest host, Heather Thomson.

Ever think about what a suburb can do to your community? Kalen Anderson and Julian Faid joined Heather Thomson and Doug Griffiths to discuss the future of housing and communities.

The world is changing, and so too must the way in which we attract residents and businesses to our communities. Tulsa Remote is an innovative recruitment initiative that's embracing creative ways to attract new people and professionals while at the same time building vibrancy in the community. The results are now speaking for themselves. Listen in as Doug chats with Justin Harlan, Tulsa Remote's Managing Director, about the program's success so far.

Guest: Justin Harlan, Managing Director, Tulsa Remote

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, artists including musicians lost the ability to present their work and perform in a live setting. But it also created new digital opportunities for them to get their music out to a much larger audience. Find out how one community builder is using innovative ways of supporting music and the local arts scene — and how it's benefitting the community as a result.

Guest: Mitch Biggar

The City of Wetaskiwin in Alberta, Canada, is leading by example when it comes to defining and working toward long-term prosperity and success. In the first Community Revival episode of 2022, members of the municipality’s leadership team discuss a recent communitywide effort to establish a 50-Year Community Vision. Listen in as they chat with Doug about the robust stakeholder engagement that informed the vision’s development — and the key influence of diversity and inclusion on it all.

Guests: Tyler Gandam, Sue Howard, Candace Coughlan, Ren Goode

On the Community Revival podcast, we regularly talk about community building, innovation, and some of the actions and initiatives communities are undertaking to adjust and adapt to a quickly changing world. In this episode, however, instead of speaking with a particular community and its solution to a specific challenge, we chat with an expert in the robotics industry who discusses some of the ways in which our communities are being disrupted by ongoing changes in technology — and the many opportunities those changes present. Listen in as Yarek Niedbala, VP of Sales for KUKA Robotics Canada, discusses with Doug how the robotics industry has grown and continues to play an increasingly important role in shaping and modernizing our communities.