Hello. I'm so glad you are here.
I'm also delighted you are wherever you are.
I have spent the last several years watching the placemaking and community development space evolve into something that has made me wholly uncomfortable. It is filled with folks who are painting a picture that you aren't doing enough to make your community better. It's shame-based marketing. And people eat it up. They look around and think, "yeah, they should be doing a better job," They feel superior because they are pointing it out.
Good grief.
No one chooses to live in a place they ultimately feel ashamed of, and they don't move to where they feel embarrassed. So, why is this the current snake oil of consultants nationwide - because we LOVE feeling superior and thinking we know best? It's a win-win for them. They come in and tell you that your town has all the problems and people should be fixing them - they can play the tough guy - and whatever is wrong with our internal compass and the negativity bias we all have, we look at them like they are true north for telling us we should feel bad about where we live.
This isn't a new concept in marketing.
If we look at the weight loss sector, we know that style of marketing works. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that didn't get there by telling you good things about yourself. It slowly and craftily created a system for people to feel bad enough about their bodies to buy the green juice, take the drug, go on the fast or purchase the app.
The same thing is happening in placemaking. Instead of helping people remember what they love about where they have chosen to live, they consistently grind people down with what might be wrong. And folks are paying them to tell them this. It's mind-boggling.
And in case you were concerned that I've just turned into some Pollyanna hippie over here spouting peace, love, and sunshine - I'm not. Our places do have real problems.
But think about your longest friendship or your marriage. Those relationships probably also have some problems. They aren't perfect, yet you will look at the good stuff longer than the stuff that drives you nuts. Not only that, you are willing to do the work to improve them because the good stuff is worth it. You aren't fixing a mess of a relationship because it is crappy... if you can't find, see or uncover the good, you just don't bother.
Remember when you were a teenager and had your first crush? Do you remember doodling their name, feeling a gush of warmth when someone mentioned their name, or feeling joy when you were around them? Your first love is a rush of emotions (and probably hormones, but we won't get into that). Could you conjure up those feelings for the town you call home? Is there a cute cafe where you like to get your coffee? Is there a particular park or trail that is your favorite place to walk? Do the views get you? Are you proud of the policies that your city has for the environment? You may not have those gushy feelings of a thirteen-year-old crushing hard for a boy band, but maybe there is something about where you live that elicits the same kind of smile.
I'm not expecting everyone to instantly this mad crush on where they choose to love, but I do hope to bring about a sense of place for you throughout this year. I want to get you excited to rekindle your feelings, to dig a little deeper, and to discover your why for living where you do. What would it look like, though, if you did develop a mad crush? Can you be crazy in love with your place? Can you be the cheerleader instead of the critic?
To me, it’s worth it to invest deeply into our places because if we can't refall in love with the places we live, we won't spend time protecting them and making the complex changes that need to be made.
All year, I want to explore ways that you can dive deeper into the community that you call home -wherever that is. We won't avoid the challenges - because loving something isn't just about the shiny stuff - but we will come at it with a place of care and commitment.
Each month I will invite you to try a new practice to remember why you live where you live and to see if we can make you believers in your town - maybe just move the needle a little.
Let's Try This
This month let's start really small with an exercise I asked my Main Street board to do at our yearly retreat, and the moment was amazing. People love all kinds of things about where they live. They love the built environment, the history, the spiritual community, nature, and the opportunities they have had.
You don’t have to think too hard or long about what you love to do in this exercise. Find an object that symbolizes something that you love about where you live.
If you are inclined, you can send me an email with a photo of what your thing is and what it signifies, share it in the comments on Substack, or post it on Instagram with the hashtag #lovewhereyoulive and tag me @jackiewolven, and I'll see it there. One object. One thing you love. Let's start there. After you have found your object, place it somewhere you can see it regularly throughout the month to remind you why you love where you live.
I'm looking forward to this year as we dive into our complex relationships with the places we live. Send me a note if you live somewhere you love and would like to be interviewed. I'd love to gather stories about people's relationships with their chosen places.
Again, thank you for being here and being where you are, too. - Jackie