Community. We all have our own idea about what that is. For some of us, it’s the GPS location our car steers towards at the end of the workday. For others, it’s the people who make up that place.
Whatever your view, communities happen because a collective of people choose to live in close proximity to amenities that meet their needs, and because they desire interaction with others on a deeper level than Facebook friendships and annual Christmas letters can provide.
Many facets comprise a great community, not the least of which is attractive surroundings. We all want an attractive home on an attractive street near attractive greenspaces. Realtors know this. They call it “curb appeal.” It will sell a house faster than anything else. We’re also more likely to shop in stores with attractive storefronts and tidy displays than those with low prices and low visual appeal. We’re more likely to dine in restaurants with a lovely ambience than one with just an extensive menu.
In the book 13 Ways to Kill Your Community, author and rural development strategist Doug Griffiths, along with co-author Kelly Clemmer, says that people judge most everything by first impressions. It’s not vain or shallow to do so. According to Griffiths and Clemmer, we are “genetically encoded” this way.
Though the book carries a facetious title, the authors’ goal is to offer a reverse-psychology approach to pinpointing the shortcomings of one’s community. One of the chapters is called “Don’t Paint,” and it specifically addresses a community’s aesthetic appeal.
Griffiths and Clemmer say that the appearance of a community’s main street, the hub of any town centre, can drive visitors and tourists away or it can draw them in. A lack of aesthetic appeal usually evokes negative emotions in visitors, preventing them from wanting to live, shop, or visit there.
The authors’ honest analysis begs several questions. What do first-time visitors think when they visit your town? Have you lived in a community for so many years that you’ve begun to overlook the fading paint, the broken signage, the sad storefronts, and the crumbling sidewalks? Do these same negative emotions begin to take hold of you as a resident of your community?
There’s a reason that travel blogs and magazines host competitions for the most attractive main streets across North America. A beautiful main street not only pulls you in but keeps you there to enjoy the hustle and bustle, browse through shops and cafes, and spend your money. The first attraction built at Disney World in Florida was called Main Street USA. Walt Disney knew that people feel at home and welcome when they walk down a beautiful street. It evokes a sense of community pride.
Before we start pointing fingers at our local government for not spending money to spruce up Main Street, Griffiths and Clemmer say we need to look at the larger community for success. Municipal councils are given the enormous task of taxing but not overtaxing, spending but not overspending, and trying to wade through the priorities of thousands of residents. Stimulus for change often begins with our leaders, but the onus also falls on the community at large to plan, organize, and carry out a town’s beautification.
“Any government could ride into a community on a white horse with a generic plan and some money to execute that plan, and there might be some short-term success within the community,” write Griffths and Clemmer. “However, if the community members themselves don’t write their own plan for success, then they won’t truly believe in it as a community and there won’t be the commitment to follow through with the plan.”
Communities in Bloom (CIB) is a good example of a forward-thinking volunteer organization. Their efforts have brought improvements to communities across Canada and around the world. But it will take the combined efforts of businesses, individuals, and other volunteer groups to pitch in and help.
Mayor Myron Dyck of Niverville says his council has been working alongside the local chapter of CIB as well as the Chamber of Commerce. In December 2014, council spearheaded an information session with local businesspeople to get a feel for what was important to them in terms of Main Street revitalization. Among those suggestions were improvements to business facades, a facelift for the cemetery, improved sidewalks, flags or festive décor, a town square, upgrades to light standards, heritage buildings, and more trees, park benches, and decorative accessories.
Due to the original planning of Niverville’s main street, some of these are outside council’s control or too costly to consider, such as changing the location of the cemetery, school, feed mill, and homes that still front the street. But some things have already been done to improve the aesthetics, like assisting the Remembrance Day committee in improving the cenotaph and cleaning up the grounds at the cemetery. Council also requested that the Hanover School Division build a better-looking fence along Main Street. In 2015, council began the process of replacing the sidewalks, and in 2016 they installed new signage that points visitors to Niverville’s parks and sports facilities.
Mayor Dyck says that the town will see new bike racks along Main Street in 2017. Council is also considering hiring an arborist for tree care and will be working with Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation to look at the feasibility of roundabouts at both Sixth Avenue and Krahn Road.
Councils can bring to bear other tools to initiate a community’s creative participation in the process.
“[We] know of one community that developed tax incentives for businesses that invested to beautify their main street business assets,” write Griffiths and Clemmer. “The program was a smashing success as most every business took advantage of the offer. They painted and built planters and otherwise improved the aesthetic of the street level and front space that greeted customers. The result was that throughout an entire summer there was an incredible increase in traffic of people from other towns who wanted to see what had been dubbed the prettiest main street in North America.”
Shirley Hoult, chairperson for Niverville’s chapter of CIB, says that their mandate is to foster civic pride, environmental responsibility, and beautification through community involvement with a focus on enhancing greenspaces in the community. The local committee makes efforts to include as many community organizations as possible.
“In 2016, we worked with and received support from the Remembrance Day committee, both the elementary and high school, the Niverville Heritage Centre and personal care home, the Growing Minds daycare, Main Street businesses, and the Niverville Chamber of Commerce,” says Hoult. “I like to think we are inspiring positive changes in the community.”
Since Niverville’s CIB chapter began in 2015, the town has received two annual visits from judges, and each year it received three points out of five for its efforts. In both years, the judges recommended that “the town should consider developing a long-term downtown improvement and development plan.” Hoult and her co-chair, Annette Fast, have since approached council with ideas that their committee would like to move forward with in respect to Main Street beautification.
“We believe improvement of Main Street is key to enhancing the quality of life for residents, the sustainability of town growth, and creation of a more welcoming community, while helping to create a destination place,” says Hoult. “The town’s intent to replace the cobblestones with concrete [sidewalks] and add bicycle racks is a good start. Much could be done to create some uniqueness with improvement of businesses, through various signage perhaps reflecting on our agricultural history, building improvements, lighting, and the creation of outdoor meeting areas, historical signage and designations.”
The CIB committee has already prepared a list of ideas they are hoping council will assist them in implementing in 2017. Those include the creation of a Main Street improvement master plan, a complete restoration of the cemetery, installation of historical plaques on Main Street businesses, mural paintings on buildings along the railway tracks, increased participation in weed control and tree-planting by Main Street businesses, and the creation of a welcome area at the town’s entrances, incorporating signage, heritage perennials, and plant displays that reflect the community’s agricultural importance.
“The only way ever to ensure the success of any community is for the community itself to decide it wants to be successful,” say Griffiths and Clemmer. “Regardless of the situation, a community’s future rests primarily within its own populace and their desire to achieve success.”
