Tract 3: Understanding and Deploying Neighborhood Assets

Understanding Community Assets and Neighborhood Potential
In this workshop will compare and contrast traditional community assessment and asset-based community assessment. Through hands-on exercises we’ll experience our tendency to focus on problem-solving, and identify tools and techniques to move away from understanding deficiencies to focus on strengths. We’ll work on understanding the one indispensable element of any neighborhood improvement strategy, people organized and mobilized around shared hopes and aspirations.

Asset-based Strategies for Neighborhood Improvement
This workshop is a hands-on exploration of ways to use community assets to improve community life and neighborhood conditions. We’ll seek to identify win-win relationships among community members, the private sector, and public institutions. We’ll examine how to organize partnerships and build institutions of mutual accountability for mutual gain. Participants will prepare a 6-month action plan to mobilize community assets for the long run.