Neighbourhood Power, Public Lecture by Jim Diers

The Planning and Design Centre in partnership with United Way, is pleased to announce that we are hosting a public lecture by Renowned Author and Community Organizer, Jim Diers, focusing on Neighbourhood Power in Halifax. Come join us on Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 at 7pm in the McCain Arts and Social Sciences building at Dalhousie University to learn about how to spark community action in the HRM.

Jim Diers is an internationally recognized leader on neighbourhood action and participatory democracy. Jim founded and directed the Department of Neighbourhoods in Seattle for 14 years, introducing transformative community programs such as the neighbourhood matching fund, neighbourhood planning, and leading national community agriculture programs.

The foundation of Jim Diers lecture will relate to the importance of small-scale neighborhood planning. The focus on small-scale planning will allow a wider range of issues and ideas to be addressed at a neighborhood level, and can produce remarkable amounts of power when neighbours come together as a community. Together, neighborhoods can influence the actions of government, developers, and other external forces to improve local community development and achieve progressive action.

Following Jim Diers lecture, there will be a public panel focusing on potential small-scale neighbourhood movement connections with the HRM RP5 Centre Plan. Panelists participating include Waye Mason, Frank Palermo and Jim Diers.

We would like to extend a special thanks to the United States Consulate in Halifax and the Province of Nova Scotia for supporting the Jim Diers lecture.