Program Launched to Build Community Attachment, Boost Competitiveness
Fort Wayne, Ind. – Resolved to enhance city pride and competitiveness, Mayor Tom Henry today unveiled a broad-based initiative designed to help strengthen the ties that bind Fort Wayne residents to their hometown. The effort focuses on three drivers of attachment identified in the multiyear John S. and James. L. Knight Foundation’s “Soul of the Community” study, specifically openness, social offerings and aesthetics.
“Where we connect, we invest,” said Mayor Henry. “Our community story is one of pride and accomplishment. Our strengths and assets are many, our people exceptional, our achievements enormous. Where residents share a sense of belonging and a commitment to making their city the best it can be, opportunity grows. Whether new or native or somewhere in between, Discover Fort Wayne is about building and cementing those bonds of attachment, bonds that can become a bridge to economic growth and prosperity.”
The inspiration for Discover Fort Wayne was sparked as the Mayor contemplated what he could do to help residents connect to their community. Troubled by the number of people he encounter who had never explored or enjoyed their community or experienced the numerous opportunities readily accessible here, Mayor Henry made a list of all the interesting events someone could attend in a year. From ethnic festivals and arts and cultural offerings to neighborhood tours and attractions like the zoo, his list quickly grew to nearly 500 items, and he was on the trail of an idea worth sharing.
It turns out Mayor Henry had tapped into a premise that others were investigating nationwide. Beginning in 2008, the Knight Foundation and Gallup spent three years trying to discern exactly what successful communities have in common. Put directly, how does a community attract and retain people, spur growth, foster talent and create jobs, especially in these difficult times? What makes residents love where they live? What draws people to a place and keeps them there? The results in a nutshell: Attachment. And attachment is good for a community.
According to the survey, community attachment is an emotional connection to a place that is stronger than just being happy to live there or feeling loyal, satisfied or even passionate about a location. As detailed in report, “a community’s most attached residents have strong pride in it, a positive outlook on the community’s future, and a sense that it is a perfect place for them.”
Furthermore, the study found a significant relationship between attachment and a community’s economic success.
In almost every locality researched, the survey found that residents’ perceptions of their community are more strongly linked to their level of community attachment than to age, ethnicity or work status. The data also revealed that important issues as jobs, the economy and safety are not the primary drivers that create these emotional links.
After interviewing close to 43,000 people in 26 communities, including Fort Wayne, the study documented three main qualities that attach people to a place: social offerings, such as places to meet and socialize, along with the feeling that people care about one another; openness, namely, how welcoming a place is to all people; and the area’s aesthetics, its physical beauty and natural spaces. The survey noted that momentum was building and attachment increasing in Fort Wayne.
Mayor Henry’s determination to help connect residents with their community and with the myriad of positive opportunities in Fort Wayne has proven a happy merger with the Knight Foundation’s findings. It also presented a framework for Discover Fort Wayne.
Discover Fort Wayne will address each of the attachment criteria in various ways over the upcoming months, with the hope that each will stimulate a cascade of new ideas. The kickoff components are as follows:
Openness. My Fort Wayne is a campaign to engage residents in a personal way through stories told about what makes this community their own and what they like about this place. Honest, heartfelt and homemade, the narratives and images will form a shared community testament – a way for people to more richly connect and celebrate one another. It will also allow each resident to become an ambassador for Fort Wayne. Videos can be submitted via YouTube. A gallery of the videos will be on exhibit at www.YouTube.com/FortWayneInd, where several videos have already been posted.
Social Offerings. Keying off the Mayor’s original list of opportunities, Discover Fort Wayne, in concert with Visit Fort Wayne, will have special promotions and incentives available to residents encouraging them to join in Fort Wayne activities, events and attractions. Go to www.visitfortwayne.com/discoverfortwayne to find out more.
Aesthetics. Just in time for warmer weather, Fort Wayne’s and the area’s award-winning parks and trails await walkers, runners, bikers, idlers and ramblers of every sort. Find a spot to picnic. Linger awhile to appreciate our remarkable flowers and trees. Uncover a new vista, historical treasure or architectural delight. Recreate in one of the City’s 86 parks or set off to Trek the Trails. More importantly, stop and enjoy the beauty that is all around.
“In order for pride to grow and each of us to become a great ambassador, we’ve got to get to know one another and celebrate our city ourselves,” added Mayor Henry. “Before we can achieve it, we’ve got to believe it. Let’s shine the spotlight on our amazing quality of life and countless attractions. Let’s resolve to savor our community and then showcase it to the world. Let’s Discover Fort Wayne.”
In addition to the City’s partnerships with Visit Fort Wayne and many of the organizations and attractions in the community, the City is also collaborating with local media to involve residents and bring Discover Fort Wayne to life.
More information about the Knight Foundation’s “Soul of the Community” survey is obtainable at www.soulofthecommunity.org.
# # #