A usable neighborhood park can be created by coordinating the planning and design of an affordable housing project, a school, a senior citizen's center, a library, and a daycare center or group home. People can learn to look at their towns with new eyes, to apply time-tested design principles, and to work together to make change. The workshops have been just as useful to elected officials and public servants as for neighborhood residents. It's all connected. Looking at communities, economies, and natural systems as a complex interconnected whole makes it much harder to talk about any one project or issue.
Questions always lead somewhere else.
Fortunately, sometimes that complexity can include better solutions, a new funding source, or more allies. It's not just about the money. Appropriate design does not usually cost more, and can often save money in the long run. You can make a difference. That's an age-old truth, and central to this work.