2006

Only 46 percent of American communities have begun planning to address the needs of the exploding population of aging Baby Boomers. The Baby Boom generation - born between 1948 and 1964—is rapidly approaching retirement age. When this trend hits its peak in 2030, the number of people over age 65 in the United States will soar to 71.5 million—twice their number in the year 2000—or one in every five Americans.

What ARE communities doing to prepare for this?

William H. Whyte Award

Principal at the Townscape Institute, Urban Planner and Designer, Preservation Advocate, Environmental Educator and Critic, for his visionary discussions of visual literacy and place making in the American community.

Entrepreneurial American Community Award

For the community partnership that went into the creation of the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Center.

Entrepreneurial American Community Award

For having one of the most remarkable city center transformations in the nation.

Entrepreneurial American Community Award

For its successful affordable housing programs.

Written by Tom Borrup with Partners for Livable Communities, this book features best practices and technical assistance how-to's on using culture as a fundamental tool for transformative community development. The book is a tool of broad scope covering topics such as: Asset Mapping; Funding and Policy; Effective Partnerships; Assessment and Evaluation. The book follows up on Partners ground-breaking Culture Builds Communities work.

Borrup writes, “In 1993 PLC began an extensive developmental program called Culture Builds Community, which aims to systematically place cultural assets within the portfolio of community development efforts…Nationwide in scope, the program gave rise to a publication, Culture Builds Communities, that inspired this book.”

Published by Fieldstone Alliance, Saint Paul, MN, 2006, 261 pages ($25)

(This Report/Book is only available for purchase. Partners does not have an electronic version available)