Welcome to the May 2010 postings from the Communities in Transition (CIT) Information Resource

An initiative of the Real Estate Foundation of BC
When Tim Pringle pulled together the people who are involved in CITinfoResource he had a vision: to create a vehicle for "stimulating and supporting the conversation about land use, conservation, and sustainability amongst BC land use practitioners." Since the fall of 2008 we think we've been doing that. And as we get more people responding – see some of the comments to recent posts, or Charnal Macfie's "letter to Mark Holland" in this issue, not to mention the many verbal and email comments we get – this conversation is becoming more vital.


This energy reflects the intention of the Foundation Governors, when establishing the CIT initiative in 2004, to respect and support the needs of non-metro communities as they address challenges related to settlement change in their regions. The CITinfoResource offers wider engagement to locate and discuss issues and solutions.


Online communications can't replace what happens face to face. They may, however, be a way to bridge and foster communities of interest – including the many non-profit organizations and local government bodies who are stewards of the land across BC's rural and small city landscape. 


The Real Estate Foundation has invested in over 1500 projects across BC in its 22 years of grant-making. More than half of these have gone to communities outside the Lower Mainland and Victoria. CITinfoResource is one way that the Foundation is extending the reach of these projects, recirculating it through CITinfoResource via our blog, Facebook, and Twitter posts. Let us know if we're having an impact on the conversation about land, conversation, and sustainability in your region or organization. 


We encourage you to reproduce our materials for educational and non-profit purposes. Please let us know if you're using our materials. And please, tell us if we can be doing things differently. We look forward to hearing from you.


The May 2010 Issue
As mentioned in March, we've moved to a posting schedule that allows us to be more responsive and active. We will continue to provide a 6-times-a-year summary and editorial wrapper, but posts will now happen on an almost weekly basis. For example, in early April we posted an interview (audio) with Tim Pringle about "performance" and "prescriptive" approaches to sustainable land use policies. This is part of a series of conversations about local government approaches to sustainability that started in February when we talked to Kim Fowler (Director of Sustainability, City of Victoria). 


Later in April George Penfold (Regional Innovation Chair in Regional Economic Development, Selkirk College) wrote about "6 questionable assumptions" he is seeing in the current discussion about food and sustainability. This adds another piece to the ongoing, and lively, discussion about food production and community that has been a regular feature at CITinfoResource (see September 2009, November 2009, February, and March 2009 posts). Also in April, Maureen LeBourdais (Manager of Smart Planning BC [we did an overview of this initiative here, in May 2009], Fraser Basin Council) talks about the BC Rural Summit and outcomes of its March 2010 meeting in Port Hardy. This is part of a series of interviews on rural development that stretch back to the Reversing the Tide conference of October 2008. Since then CITinfoResource has talked to Victor Cumming (in March 2009 and again in May 2009), and in June 2010 will feature a brief report from George Penfold and Tim Pringle, as well as an audio interview with George about new rural development initiatives that the Foundation continues to be involved in.


CIT is about communities and change. It is also about organizations and change, as non-profit groups and local governments look for innovative ways to respond to a host of challenges and opportunities related to the land base. More communities are looking to sustainability strategies to answer longer term questions about future prosperity and well-being. Dialogue within communities is an important part of this process. CITinfoResource editor hanspetermeyer challenges citizens and elected leaders alike to consider new approaches when engaging in these increasingly important "sustainability conversations."


The Real Estate Foundation of BC, as an organization, is also responsive to changing circumstances. In 2008 and 2009, a number of events took place that will have long term consequences for the Foundation and its various activities, including the Communities in Transition program and the CITinfoResource. First, Tim Pringle stepped down from his position as the Foundation's Executive Director and took on his current role as Director of Special Programs; second, the Board of Governors selected Karin Kirkpatrick as new Executive Director; third, financial and real estate markets fell (and with them, income – and hence grants); fourth, the Governors initiated a strategic planning process to address these changes. In late April and early May, approximately a year and a half after these events, CITinfoResource interviewed Karin Kirkpatrick and Board of Governors' Chair Jack Hall about their respective perspectives on changes taking shape within the organization. 


hanspetermeyer
Editor,
CITinfoResource




©Real Estate Foundation of BC / 2010. We encourage the reproduction of articles on this website for non-profit educational purposes. Please notify the Foundation and the author of all reproductions, including in-house uses.