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| Inflexible boomers turn off 40
Below Published in Syracuse Post-Standard August 28, 2005 (not otherwise available online) By Maureen A. Harding, AICP Urban Planning Consultant Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today (TNT) has been under fire over the past few months for various reasons. During the height of all this rigmarole, the noticeable absence of young people at TNT meetings is frequently mentioned by some of the older folks, meaning those of us older than forty. After all, who is going to take over the helm? And so I thought, “Why doesn’t the 40 and below participate in larger numbers?” I am not below 40, but I used to be. In fact, I was one of those 21,554 residents who fled Syracuse in the mid-1990s at aged 36 to obtain a Master’s in Urban Planning. I came back to help stem the tide. I actively participate in TNT a citizen based planning method which is modeled on the success of Rochester’s Neighbors Building Neighborhoods (NBN) program. How does one rally 40 Belowers around the idea of grass-roots planning for one to two hours a month? I became convinced that a 60s consciousness-raising method, the type that inspired us boomers, is not going to work. In fact, after giving it extensive thought, I can’t say as if I blame 40 Belowers for not wanting to get more involved in TNT or for wanting to leave Syracuse for that matter. Moreover, I don’t think that 40 Belowers have to change; we boomers have to! Leading from top down part of TNT’s problem First of all, I grew rather cynical after having attended the MDA’s 40 Below Summit last year. At the Summit, I conducted an informal survey of young people randomly and facilitators who led the sessions that I attended. Out of four sessions, only one facilitator had read both Richard Florida’s “The Rise of the Creative Class” and “The Essential New York Initiative.” One other young panel member claimed that after having “glanced” through it, he “already knew everything”. Therefore, he didn’t have to read the whole book! Needless to say, out of every 10 under-40s that I surveyed, only one had ever heard of Richard Florida or actually read either of his publications. Here; however, was the defining moment. A local manufacturing human resource representative gave a sadly humorous Summit presentation. She stated that her company wanted a workforce that responded to the obey, command and control ethic that Richard Florida fundamentally denounces in his book as being the kind of logic that will pretty much drive your work force to the South and West. This work ethic is an industrial era remnant. Central New York is still painfully transitioning out of that former paradigm. In fact, as I think of it, the city’s TNT program is duplicating a similar obsolete industrial era model. Lord, forgive them; they know not what they do. Here it is. While the CEO a.k.a. Mayor is promoting TNT as bottom-up planning, in reality planning and capital funding allocation is decided by the city with input from the neighborhoods at the minimum level required. In fact, it occurs to me that the County Emperor is wearing no clothes too. Systemic gaps and tokenism are pervasive in CNY organizations and corporations. Unfortunately, nobody told Richard Florida or the MDA. The purpose of tokenism marketing is to attract 40 Belowers to work at corporations for pitifully low wages. Wait! Isn’t that the feudal system? In any case, anyone who has studied organizational structure knows that where tradition is entrenched, innovation that nearly always comes in the form of the energy and brilliance of those below 40 is difficult if not impossible. Top-down style industrial era structures are renowned for squashing “enthusiastic” individuals promoting change. Therefore, I am convinced that there will be no stemming the tide of brain drain out of Syracuse by recruiting 40 Belowers for involvement in TNT. The Moral? Why give your pearls away Tomorrow when you can get paid Today for them elsewhere? By Maureen A. Harding, AICP Urban Planning Consultant 2211 Grant Blvd. Syracuse, NY 13208 315-424-1241 mhardingassoc@earthlink.net |
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