Grand Rapids will become the most recent city to participate in the I Will Stay If… campaign, through the efforts of Rapid Growth Media, and partnership with the Grand Rapids Young Professionals and the Michigan State Housing Authority.  Rapid Growth is hosting a “not your average speaker series” on Wednesday, May 19, constructed around some of the ideas the IWSI… campaign is built on.  In a great twist, a panel of young leaders will be asked not to expound on what they want, but to help brainstorm how to turn ideas generated by the audience into reality.

I’m excited to be heading over to GR to attend, and look forward to hearing the ideas of Grand Rapidians!

Details:

• Wednesday, May 19, 2010
• Wealthy Theater, 1130 Wealthy St. SE
• Doors at 4:45, formal event starts at 5:30
•  More info here!

The folks at updayton were good enough last month to include an I Will Stay If… photo booth as part of their 2010 summit, and the results won’t surprise anyone who’s been following the campaign.  Like many of us, Dayton residents expressed a desire to live in a place with a strong sense of community, where they can make a living, and with amenities like walkable neighborhoods and access to the outdoors.  As a refresher, GLUE’s IWSI… campaign is our effort to elevate the voices of our city’s residents about what they want their city to be.  Especially in this time when visioning and new land use planning efforts seem to be current in all of our cities, this is one small part of collecting what YOU feel is important, and telling many one-sentence stories about what can make our cities thrive.

Check out Dayton’s photos–and browse photos from Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit–here.  You can get involved by sending your photos, or finding out how to throw an IWSI… event in your city, by emailing iwillstayif@gluespace.org.

In addition, participants in the updayton summit also crafted a vision and action plan around four priorities of young people: community, diversity, entertainment and entrepreneurship.  You can read more about the projects they selected here.  Congrats to updayton for their good work, and thanks for including GLUE!

The I Will Stay If… party in Buffalo was a great success last Thursday, and with some unusually quick turnaround on the part of the photographer, you can already browse Buffalonians’ dreams for a better Buffalo.  The photos are up on the IWSI site, so check them out HERE.

The event also garnered some local press, including this piece in the Buffalo News and a slot on the 10:00 news that night!

Thanks again to photographer Douglas Levere to who took the photos on this post and over on the IWSI Buffalo page.

The I Will Stay If… campaign was embraced by Clevelanders on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the party.  While we don’t have the photos up yet (we’re working on it!), I want to share a quick summary the night.

Cleveland organizer Genna Petrolla lined up three remarkable speakers who also happen to be doing remarkable things for the City.  They didn’t give long, boring speeches that condescended to young people (as occasionally happens): rather, they demonstrated vision, engagement, and a deep understanding of the community where they work.  Councilman Matt Zone talked about his work revitalizing the business and community of Ward 17, where he has placed a special focus on the support of local small businesses, prioritized good design, and engaged the community.  Randall McShepard, who, among other things, is the Board Chairman of Policy Bridge, urged Clevelanders to take the city’s future into their own hands and to unite around powerful ideas.  He also exhorted attendees to become eloquent ambassadors for the assets of Cleveland.  Finally, Lillian Kuri of the Cleveland Foundation talked about the Greater University Circle Initiative, including the effort to launch a series of cooperative, employee-owned businesses.

After hearing the speakers, I was able to have some great talks with people in the crowd (which probably topped 100) about what we’re trying to do with this campaign, why they love Cleveland, and what all of our Rust Belt cities share.  I was so impressed with the attendees–if we really are drawing “future leaders” to these parties, I remain infinitely hopeful about where our cities could be in 15 years.

Can’t wait to see the photos, and am looking forward to hearing reports from the Buffalo party this Thursday!

The I Will Stay If… campaign lands in Cleveland on November 18.  Thanks to the Cleveland team for planning!  Details here…

There’s so much to share via our weekly HQ update today.  First, I had a great trip to St. Louis (thanks again Next American City and our St. Louis hosts) and learned even more about a city I love.  From the top of the arch to the doll houses of the north side to the dense brick neighborhoods to the graffiti wall along the Mississippi, it was an exciting exploration.  NAC plans to share reactions to the trip on its blog, and I’ll share my reflections once posted over there.

Second, Clevelander Kevin Leeson served as GLUE’s eyes and ears at the Bridge Project this weekend.  It sounds like an amazing event, and tomorrow I’ll be sharing some audio highlights–which evidences the enthusiasm that Clevelanders have for imagining their city’s future.  Thanks Kevin!

But the rest of this post has to be dedicated to sharing a few teaser photos from the Why Pittsburgh?! party, the second major event in the I Will Stay If… campaign, which took place in the East Liberty neighborhood on 9/17 (you can browse the rest of the photos over at the new Pittsburgh page of the IWSI site).  Thanks again to our PGH team, and to photographers Anna Lee-Fields and Laura Petrilla (misslphotography).  And thanks most of all to the Pittsburghers who came out and demonstrated the incredible creativity and dedication to sustainable development that make Pittsburgh such a great city.

Every week, GLUE brings you an update from the GLUE HQ.  What we’re thinking about and working on this week, and how you can be involved.  This is Week #22 of telling GLUE’s own story.

I’m having a tough time writing weekly updates when most of our work right now is the behind-the-scenes type: the foundation appeals and strategic planning that keep GLUE going doesn’t really make for interesting reading!  But I am excited to reveal that the Pittsburgh I Will Stay If… party is just one month away, and the planning team is looking for additional supporters.  I’m sharing their appeal letter here.  If you, your business, or your organization might be able to offer some assistance, please contact iwsipgh@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Dear Pittsburgher,

It seems like everybody has something great to say about Pittsburgh these days - turn around and someone else has pegged the burgh as “livable,” “resurgent,” or “transformed” on a national platform.  While steel facilities house tech start-ups, former warehouses become live/work havens and vacant neighborhoods find new life, we struggle with two simple realities: first, that there is plenty more to be done and second, that population loss in Pittsburgh and cities like it has dramatically outpaced growth in the last several decades.

In fact, the future of our infrastructure, our tax base, and the urban core itself rely on our ability to respond to population decline. The Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) was founded two years ago by a Pittsburgher and a Detroiter to catalyze conversations among young people in similarly storied older industrial cities about, among other things, the loss of population and sustainable economic activity. For more information about GLUE’s work, visit www.gluespace.org.

After two years of hosting multi-state conferences, building networks online, and creating opportunities for urbanists across the region to connect with a variety of policy and organizing experts, GLUE launched its I Will Stay If… (IWSI) campaign in Detroit earlier this summer.  IWSI parties bring together a diverse crowd of young people in a GLUE city to answer a simple question:  What will make you stay?  The answers, from “reliable public transportation” to “leaders that lead” have run the gamut, and we are collecting photographs of them online.  Eventually, GLUE will use the photographs as a non-traditional data set to share with policymakers about what matters to a key urban demographic: young people. In the meantime, IWSI parties are an opportunity to celebrate everything that makes our city special, and the reasons people live here.

In addition to IWSI parties in the planning stages in Buffalo, Cleveland, and St. Louis, Pittsburgh’s I Will Stay If… party will take place at the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty on Thursday, September 17th from 6:00 – 9:00 PM and we hope you will attend.  As we prepare and publicize, may we list you as a community supporter of this event?  We would be honored.

Thank you in advance for supporting GLUE’s work, and for your daily contribution to making the City of Pittsburgh a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous place for all its residents! For questions about the Pittsburgh party, please email any member of the Host Committee at iwsipgh@gmail.com.

Warm Regards,
The IWSI Planning Committee

Every week, GLUE brings you an update from the GLUE HQ.  What we’re thinking about and working on this week, and how you can be involved.  This is Week #16 of telling GLUE’s own story.

As we did last week, we’re mixing up the “Who’s GLUE?” weekly post today.  Usually, on Thursdays, we feature a profile of an active GLUEster.  But I love the I Will Stay If… photos so much that I want to feature a few more and get your creative juices flowing.

Remember, there are lots of ways to participate.  Take a few photos of your friends.  Hit the streets with a camera.  Host an IWSI house party.  Join a planning committee for a larger party in your city.  To get involved, email iwillstayif@gluespace.org.

And in the meantime, enjoy the photos we’ve already collected!

Visit www.iwillstayif.org for more.

Usually, on Thursdays, GLUE brings you a profile of an active GLUEster.  Like Courtney Patterson, of Pittsburgh, who we featured last week, or Melissa Kovach, from Milwaukee, the week before.  This week, though, we’re doing something just a bit different, because GLUE is PEOPLE!

You all know about the I Will Stay If… campaign, which collects data about what residents want out of their cities in a powerful visual format. 

One part brilliant idea, one part deep commitment, and one part reality check about what we lack, these photos seem like the perfect way to both involve a huge number of residents in our conversation, and to give those residents an unfiltered, uncensored voice.

And the idea is spreading–the conversation is starting!  Earlier this week, Model D posted an awesome video from the Detroit May 14 kick-off event, put together by Marvin Shaouni and Chris McCarus.

My google-alert pointed me to some blog chatter debating the idea at SuperSpade, and an inspired effort over at the Quicken Loans blog (I know!) recreating the idea in their office.  I love it.

Maybe you feel like following Quicken’s lead and bringing a camera in to your office tomorrow (whether you’re in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo–or in NYC and have some thoughts about what would make you go home!).  Send me your photos at iwillstayif@gluespace.org, and we’ll include them on the project website.  In the meantime, be sure you check out the 80+ good ideas already up there for Detroit.  This week, GLUE is YOU!

GLUE can’t wait to meet some young leaders who want to commit part of their summer to helping GLUE change the conversation about what our cities are already doing, and what they need.  We’re pleased to offer the internships briefly described below (full job descriptions can be downloaded).  Please note, there is a preference that Interns live in SE Michigan this summer, for appropriate supervision and interaction with GLUE HQ, but for very qualified individuals, we’ll consider remote internships.  We regret that these Internships are unpaid, but think that working with GLUE would be an invaluable experience for anyone who doesn’t want to go into, say, finance.  Without further ado…

Policy Intern.  The Policy Intern will work primarily on the “Innovations Guidebook,” a publication of 10 transformative initiatives or projects that are emerging from the cities of the Great Lakes region.  Intern will perform research and analysis, work with policy partner organizations to evaluate initiatives, and create dynamic, engaging reports about the initiatives selected.  Download the full Policy Intern Posting.

Communications Intern.  The Communications Intern will primarily work closely with the GLUE Director to develop a strategic communications plan for the remainder of 2009 and early 2010.  This includes a long-term plan for website growth, newsletter writing and planning, new media outreach, Fall “membership drive,” and other activities.  The Intern would secondarily participate in planning to mass-disseminate the results of the I Will Stay If… campaign.  Download the full Communications Intern Posting.

Campaign and Events Intern.  The Campaign and Events Intern will work primarily on the I Will Stay If… campaign, an effort to elevate the ideas and visions of city residents to decision-making realms (see www.iwillstayif.org).  Work will include coordinating and supporting volunteers in multiple cities to assist them in hosting successful IWSI launch and house parties; building a campaign “kit” that will encourage volunteers to host parties; press outreach; and the assemblage of campaign results to ensure that they receive wide attention from city leaders.   Download the full Campaign & Events Intern Posting.