New Year's Wishes for Our Community

• Paper: Chapel Hill Herald (NC)
• Author: BERNADETTE PELISSIER Columnist
• December 29, 2007
• Section: Editorial Page: 2

Many of us are now formulating New Year's resolutions. My wish is that all of us have resolutions to help improve the quality of life in our community.

Recently, several Orange County Planning Board members met to discuss ideas about community-building. We want to suggest including community-building as an element in the revised Orange County Comprehensive Plan. Community-building was one of the two overall themes in the 2000 Shaping Orange County Future (SOCF) Task Force report. I see many opportunities for community-building that can help improve our quality of life.

What is a community? One definition refers to community as a social group whose members reside in a specific locality, share government and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. This definition focuses upon territory. Another definition refers to community as a social, religious, occupational or other group sharing common characteristics or interests. The group, such as a professional organization or religious group, perceives itself as distinct from the larger society.

These definitions do not describe the underlying characteristics of a community. To me, the term "sense of community" is a term which better evokes these characteristics.

When we have a sense of community, we acknowledge our interdependence with others. This interdependence has us do for others what we expect from them. A sense of community results in feeling social bonds. It involves a sense of purpose and civic contribution.

Many times I hear individuals talk about neighborhoods when the topic of conversation turns to community-building. I have heard town residents disclaim interest in Orange County issues because they don't feel that is a concern of their town. Yet the towns are part of Orange County, and all its residents pay county taxes.

Sharing a sense of identity with one's neighborhood or town is a start for community-building in Orange County. But it is only the beginning. If limited to this realm, we will have enclaves of communities which are not integrated to create a better quality of life for all.

Wouldn't it be great if citizens understood that protesting the increased traffic from a proposed development near their neighborhood was only a small part of ensuring their quality of life? What about traffic patterns elsewhere in their community?

Wouldn't it be great if town residents recognized their interdependence with rural residents? Town residents enjoy shopping at the farmer's markets in Carrboro and Hillsborough. The food and other products sold there come from the rural section of Orange and neighboring counties.

Wouldn't it be great if rural residents recognized their interdependence with the towns? They need the services and amenities provided by the towns. Libraries, grocery stores, schools and restaurants are a just a few examples.

Wouldn't it be great if those without children could understand that they need good schools to ensure that the next generation is well trained to provide them with needed services such as plumbing, medical care and accounting services among others?

I would love it if each sector of the community cared about the other sectors because each needs the other.

I have heard members of community boards voice concern about the lack of community participation in public hearings. Some note that a small percentage of citizens vote in town and county elections. Is this because many of our residents do not have a sense of belonging to the Orange County community?

Where is the sense of emotional connection to the well-being of Orange County that leads someone to participate in contributing to their community's well-being? The crucial ingredient which needs fostering is a sense of interdependence with underlying trust.

I wish for more personal interactions between various sectors of the community. When individuals get to know one another, it is easier to have conversations with an element of trust.

Can local government help foster a sense of community throughout Orange County? I think so. Those already active in various community boards and civic organizations could set the tone by getting to know each other. This could help us further understand, for example, how our social issues are interlinked with economic issues.

Perhaps we could introduce new venues for public conversations about our community.

A common venue is the public hearing process. This system is likely to be intimidating for many community members. Furthermore, the pro and con presentations in public hearings do not lend themselves to using the greater wisdom of community members to solve community problems. Perhaps elected officials could go out into the community and hold more informal discussions with various groups and in different areas of the county.

 My New Year's wish is that the collective community wisdom of Orange County residents be drawn out to create a better sense of connection and belonging. We can create an excellent quality of life for all of us.

Bernadette Pelissier is a retired social scientist who lives in Orange County and serves on several community boards. Readers can contact her at bpelissier@juno.com or c/o The Chapel Hill Herald, 106 Mallette St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516.