Digital Mainstreet

The heart and soul of a vibrant place is its people. A study or action plan intended as a catalyst for change is a soulless tool that needs to be brought to life in place by people. Often our process of supporting local change becomes an end in itself rather than a means to an end. In this context… What can we really deliver to regional places that aren’t thriving?

The catalyst for struggling localities often needs to come from the outside…the secret ingredient that is missing from the place and its people…if it wasn’t missing there wouldn’t be a “decline” problem.

Struggling communities do look to their local leaders to lead. They don’t individually have the capacity to effect the important structural changes required for their communities to become sustainable.

Are we missing the implementation strategy that can truly leverage the good work of regional frameworks and community plans?

Without this driving force of practical implementation are regional strategies and community action plans premature and guaranteed to disappoint?

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Is anyone going to mention that most regional communities are currently unsustainable and the very lifestyle the residents cherish is in decline?

We are dealing with low to negative growth communities with inherent demographic and skills problems. They are unsustainable. This is a crisis issue. It is not a growth management issue. It is a re-birthing issue in a rapidly changing world.

SIDE NOTE: Even those few communities in the resource hot spots are being crippled by the inability of traditional mainstreet businesses to cover the overheads of operating in a local economy where staff accommodation is impossible to access. The end of the resource boom will leave these towns and communities in a weaker condition then when they started.

The challenge is…

Will we be proactive to build stronger communities around our thriving regional centres or will we allow them to further decline?

…and by default inherit increasing service liabilities generated by unhealthy communities.

So, in this context…

What is the real purpose of Community Planning for Regional Communities?

Is it a plan to protect lifestyle or is it a catalyst to transition communities to a sustainable lifestyle? If the latter is more realistic then…

What is the transition process?

How can a community solve problems they are unaware of, such as the macro forces from outside their community?

Do local communities know the opportunistic trends of the future?

 If not, how does Community Planning facilitate this?

Are locally formulated community action plans just that …local (small scale) actions to deliver (small scale) improvements to local lifestyle.

How does this address their chronic underlying problems?

How will their identity and lifestyle need to change to become more sustainable?

These are the questions that reveal an unspoken truth that, once considered, makes one realise we have not yet started the serious task of transforming regional communities to ensure they have a future.