 Partners' Community Technical Assistance program is designed to support public/private partnership in goal setting and visioning to help design action plans and to assist civic leaders in implementation.
For over 40 years, Partners has helped client communities improve their quality of life, and bring about better living conditions, economic expansion, and social growth. Partners believes that a high quality of life is the foundation for creating safe neighborhoods, satisfied residents, and business investment.
The Community Technical Assistance Program offers guidance on becoming more livable places. Partners comes to you and provides the training, stimulation, brainstorming, and the process of how to go from planning to action for your community problem solving. Partners works with a wide body of civic leadership, including local governments and elected officials, chambers of commerce, community developers, cultural organizations, and community-based organizations.
Download the Community Technical Assistance Guide to learn more.
 Mobilizing Arts and Cultural Resouces for Community Development, 2nd EditionWritten by Jessica ScheuermanForeword by Lyz Crane, Deputy Director of ArtPlace AmericaMobilizing Arts and Cultural Resources for Community Development, 2nd Edition was made possible by the collective reflections, experience and expertise of the many individuals who have contributed to the Culture Builds Communities program throughout its more than 20 years. This guide is a comprehensive, action-oriented resource for a broad range of arts and cultural advocates—from grassroots community organizers to elected officials— who are approaching the field from many backgrounds and agendas. It expands on Partners’ six gateways for mobilizing resources, which are demonstrated by more than 30 best practices that inspire local action and, in many cases, can be adapted within other communities. It also provides a practical framework, resources and worksheets for mounting a successful project in any community.
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As part of the City Leaders Institute, Partners developed a Community Report Card to help civic leaders and citizens think about their community’s strengths and weaknesses in Aging in Place. The report card assesses 11 components and grades the community on how well it is doing in each component of agelessness.
- Community Design and Planning
- Arts, Culture and Lifelong Learning
- Housing
- Workforce Development
- Transportation and Mobility
- Local Leadership
- Health and Wellness
- Civic Engagement and Volunteer Opportunities
- Sustainability
- Public Safety and Services
- Equity of Opportunity
Penn State University releases Intergenerational Contact Zones: A Compendium of Applications, which features "Culture as Animator of Intergenerational Gathering Places," a chapter written by Partners' President Robert McNulty.
One of the driving question behind the publication is: How do we create great settings for intergenerational engagement? The compendium draws attention to the concept of "intergenerational contact zones" and its significance for creating livable, inclusive, and relationship-focused community settings for people of generations.
The "Culture as Animator of Intergenerational Gathering Places" chapter highlights the value of arts and cultural institutions for intergenerational gathering places. Success depends not only on their specific design, but also on how they "animate" diverse gatherings of young and old to associate and mingle. Through this programming, they become "civic glue" and reward any location.
Each of the compendium's 13 chapters highlight a specific application of Intergenerational Contact Zones (ICZs). The focus is on creating community settings that welcome age- and generation- diverse populations, provide opportunities for meaningful intergenerational engagement, and, in some ways, enrich community life.
Click here to read or download Intergenerational Contact Zones: A Compendium of Applications.
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In our 37th year as an organization helping to empower communities with the tools to put them on the map as leaders in livability, Partners for Livable Communities is pleased to present this updated publication on cultural heritage tourism. As the tourism industry has boomed in the decades since Partners for Livable Communities began its cultural heritage tourism initiatives, communities have become increasingly eager to find ways attract tourists and capture the dollars they bring with them. However, when hard times come, it can be a challenge to persuade those among us of the benefits of preserving culture, heritage, and their artifacts from the past.
This guide represents the culmination of our experience and knowledge on an issue that has such a great potential for community development. Our hope is to demonstrate how cultural heritage is not just something to preserve for future generations, but is in fact an asset that can be leveraged to bring real economic benefits to the community.
Robert McNulty, president of Partners, can come to your community to speak about the necessity of developing a cultural heritage tourism strategy as well as share best practices and resources learned from Partners' decades of experience in this arena.
Download Cultural Heritage Tourism
Partners compiled a collection of best practices of traditional community institutions incorporating health and wellness into their agenda and programming to improve community health. The best practices focus on improving the health of at least one of three constituencies: distressed communities, at-risk youth, and the vulnerable elderly.
Examples of institutions include arts and culture organizations, botanical gardens, community development corporations (CDCs), faith-based organizations, libraries, museums, public markets, and zoos.
Click here to download Creating the Healthy Community - Using All Assets: Institutions as Fulcrums of Change
Terms:Aging, Community Building, Community Development, Community Engagement, Creating The Healthy Community, Cultural Institutions, Health & Wellness, Healthy Communities, Institutions as Fulcrums of Change , Intergenerational, Libraries, Program Areas, Public Health
With the mentorship and support of long-time Partners colleague William K. Reilly, Partners has developed the City Resilient Awards Program to embody a new civic movement: Prosperous, Sustainable, and Fair.
The awards program will replace Partners' once-a-decade recognition of America's Most Livable Community, last given in 2004. Partners defines resilience to encompass a diverse range of elements, including a strong economy with equal opportunity, high quality public education, affordable health services, accessible public transportation, and the capacity to persevere through environmental, economic, and social hardships. Furthermore, a resilient city is an inclusive one: all residents should be involved in the process of creating a more prosperous city, giving voice to the full range of ideas and perspectives of the population.
In the City Resilient program prospectus, Partners outlines this vision:
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 Partners for Livable Communities (Partners), in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and with funding from Lumina Foundation, releases Business at the Table: The Employer Drive for Higher Education Attainment. This collection of case studies was created during the Business at the Table initiative to develop strategies for improving U.S. higher education attainment (degrees and credentials) through chamber of commerce and business involvement.
This compendium of case studies provides business and chamber leaders the perspective to further Lumina’s Goal 2025: to increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. Included are programs led by chambers of commerce, two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and national and local higher education achievement programs. Interviews were conducted with the CEO or director of each program, providing personal accounts of trials and victories on the road to success. Case studies explore the history of the program or organization, key players, geographic context, specific place-based economic challenges that were overcome, and the short and long-term goals that have been achieved.
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Partners for Livable Communities (Partners) releases Arts Organizations and Public Health, a guide to creating partnerships between art and health organizations. This primer was designed for the arts organization that wishes to initiate programming focused on local health issues, or create partnerships with health groups in order to best meet the needs of the community. Arts Organizations and Public Health identifies best practices of diverse arts organizations from around the United States to inform this work. The best practices can be used as references, and are cited throughout the publication to correlate with text.
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A Report from Partners for Livable Communities
Funded by MetLife Foundation
Stories for Change, a report by Partners for Livable Communities funded by MetLife Foundation, offers leadership examples that expand the arts to new audiences. This compendium of nearly 50 best practices showcases the notable strategies that increase access to arts and culture for older adult and immigrant populations.
Change, which describes the innovative programs of arts organizations in six major American cities. It shows that arts and culture are as essential to sustaining communities as bricks and mortar.
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More than a decade since the release the innovative original, Partners for Livable Communities announces the release of the second edition of its Community Empowerment Manual. Expanded and reorganized by former staff member, Carly Grimm, the new edition builds on the tried-and-true approaches to community development showcased in the original, and invigorates the document with new case studies and a new section that helps readers better understand the challenges to livability—aging population, deteriorating infrastructure, and declining local economies—that exist in American communities.
The first edition of the manual was published in 1999, and was the culmination of four years of work and collaboration with communities across the United States and Europe, with support from Bank of America, the Healy foundation, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was met with great success and featured in Governing Magazine.
The new edition could not come at a better time, as more communities are facing fiscal constraints. To maximize assets over the next decade, communities will need to be more self-sufficient, and the Community Empowerment Manual, with its focus on making the most of community resources, is a valuable tool for pursing livability from a local level.
More than just a primer on livability, the Community Empowerment Manual is a workbook for community development that educates readers about leadership strategies, effective collaboration, creating regional partnerships, and developing and realizing a vision. The Community Empowerment Manual is a valuable guide for:
- Citizens—both those currently engaged and those frustrated by lack of action
- Local government officials
- Community organizers
- Civic leaders
- Non-profits and NGOs
- Business organizations
- Social agencies
- Educational and cultural institutions
Download the Community Empowerment Manual, 2nd Ed
The Maturing of America—Communities Moving Forward for an Aging Population was co-released in June 2011 by: National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, MetLife Foundation, International City/County Management Association, American Planning Association, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and Partners for Livable Communities.
Due to the financial consequences from the Great Recession, many US communities have been unable to make significant progress in preparing to meet the needs of the country’s rapidly aging population. The Maturing of America—Communities Moving Forward for an Aging Population, a follow-up to an extensive survey conducted in 2005, reveals that at best, communities have managed to maintain the status quo for the past six years due to the decline in the overall economy and local government budgets. This report, funded by MetLife Foundation, also reveals that, despite the challenges, important advances have been made including increase in specialized training for emergency and public safety staff in dealing with older adults; growth of in-home supportive services; greater support for advanced education for the workforce; and expanded volunteer opportunities. Even so, with millions of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, these advancements are nowhere near the level of progress needed to ensure that communities are livable for people of all ages.
Click Here for the Maturing of America II Executive Summary
Click Here for the Maturing of America II Full Report
Culture Connects All, a benchmark report by Partners for Livable communities funded by MetLife Foundation, offers new audience-building opportunities for arts and cultural organizations to engage two of America’s fastest growing populations: immigrant and older adult populations.
The 2010 census confirms what many have observed over the past decade—the population is growing older, and in many areas more diverse. And this change is happening across the face of the nation. Two rapidly expanding population groups present a timely opportunity for communities and their arts and cultural institutions to rethink and retool their outreach.
Click Here to Download the Publication
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"Livable Communities for All Ages" is a thoughtful brochure  that reflects years of expertise and findings, as well as resources and case studies, on how all facets of the community can contribute to a more “older adult –friendly” environment. Download hereWith the goal of promoting safer and affordable communities, "Livable Communities for All Ages" features a specific guide on which aspects of civic life—whether the local Chamber of Commerce or an individual— can respond to the maturing of America with instructive measures on the benefits of older adult livability adaptations in four areas:
Terms:2010, Aging in Place, AIP Report/Publication, Arizona, Cultural Institutions, Housing, Life-Long Learning, Partners Reports/Publications, Santa Cruz, CA, Tampa, FL, Transportation, Wichita, KS, Workforce Development
More than 35 million Americans are over 65, and that population is rising at an unprecedented rate. The MetLife Mature Market Institute recently responded to this shift with “The MetLife Report on Aging in Place 2.0: Rethinking Solutions to the Home Care Challenge.” The report serves as a “blueprint” for helping our growing population of older adults stay in their homes, or, “age in place”, through adjustments to residential design, health care, and other services. Click here to read the full news release (PDF). Or Download the Report here.
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