• Cultivating community: Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good

    Success is people consciously working together, putting differences aside in pursuit of higher quality of life, and getting something done.
    Community fascinates me. Not just the idea of it, but the dynamics, and how those dynamics end up stoking or choking our collective efforts to be together. Having worked in a lot of different places, I’ve had opportunity to study community in action, at both its strongest and weakest, in all...Read more

  • Guiding neighborhood change with place attachment

    Focusing on what connects people to community is one way to navigate the treacherous waters between gentrification and disinvestment.
    Gentrification gets a lot of attention these days, and rightfully so. Particularly as it relates to issues of displacement. No one (or at least no one of heart) wants to see anyone forced from their home and from the community they care for and that, oftentimes, cares for them. The dangled carrot...Read more

  • The new urban Christian connection: A Detroit networking invitation

    CNU has a vital toolkit that Christian community workers badly need to provide solutions to the problems they face in cities and neighborhoods.
    I’m not ashamed to admit it. I love CNU, warts and all—the people, the charter, the commitment, the restless pushing of intellectual and professional boundaries as we square up to changing realities and new challenges. We’re a scrappy bunch. I like that. But we have heart too. Real places have a...Read more
  • Beijing Bell Tower moonlight

    Urban adventure in China

    Chance encounters with strangers, random humane acts of kindness, and the experience of discovering new places make travel and urban life memorable. And they may possibly influence future behavior. On my first trip to China in 2013, I arrived in Beijing and settled in at the Red Wall Jingshan...Read more