Creative Communication Training for Government and Non-Profit Professionals

Registration Now Open for Seattle Pomegranate Trainings

Do you believe that connected, strong communities are essential to creating successful public spaces and public policy? 

Are you tired of public processes that get bogged down because they are unwieldy, ineffective, or meaningless?

If you answered Yes! or know someone who works with communities then these 2-day introductions to the Pomegranate Center Approach, CREATIVE COLLABORATION:  MAXIMIZING COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP are the perfect fit. CLICK HERE to learn more about these dynamic, interactive sessions taught by Milenko and Katya Matanvic. 

Check out Milenko's book "Multiple Victories" on lulu. 

I receive no compensation for this referral - just doing my part to share good information.

Best, 

Mari 

Moving Forward : What's a Woonerf got to do with it?

Woonerf is the Dutch name for a “living street” in which the needs of car drivers are secondary to the needs of users of the street as a whole. It is a shared space designed to be used by pedestrians, playing children, bicyclists, and low-speed motor vehicles; becoming a public place for people instead of single-purpose conduits for automobiles. In a woonerf, vehicles may not impede pedestrians, who in turn may not unreasonably hinder the progress of drivers.
This self-reading street has its roots in design principles that emerged in the 1970s. By dynamically blurring the boundary between the street and sidewalks, woonerfs combine innovative paving, landscaping and other urban designs to allow for the integration of multiple functions in a single street—the neighborhood shares the road with slow-moving cars.
This two-way interaction of people and cars becomes a virtuous circle as the busier the streets are, the safer they become; it seems that when you drive people off the street, that they become less safe.

Evergreen Avenue WAS a woonerf. All we needed to do is slow down the occasional speeding car. 
Instead, thanks to funding available for sidewalks through Safe Routes to Schools, and despite the protests of Homestead residents, County built a sidewalk, took some pedestrians off the street, leaving drivers to increase speed. 
This has created a more dangerous street for pedestrians as we cross the road. 
Now - we need to slow down the cars. 
How? 

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20060417/streetless-in-seattle 
http://www.knowledgejump.com/woonerf/woonerf.html