On December 3, RICH convened a Dialogue in Cranston. Many thanks to John Cory, Assistant Director of the Cranston Public Library system, for hosting us at the Sockanosset branch and for his assistance before and during the program. Thanks also to Liz Cimini and the Friends of the Library for the refreshments.
Right at the beginning of the Dialogue a lot of people said that their own neighborhoods are wonderful places to live, as is Cranston in general. Someone even said, "I live on the greatest street in Cranston—I love it here!" Among the city’s "quality of life" resources, participants listed the library system, the schools, and other public services as well as various restaurants, family-owned stores, and waterfront activities and sites. When development plans have threatened some neighborhoods’ integrity, people have rallied to protect them. With facilitator Marc Levitt’s prompting, individuals provided oral tours of various city areas: Rolfe Square, with Durfee's Hardware and the Park Cinema; Knightsville’s restaurants, festival, and mill areas; Garden City, both residential and shopping areas; and Edgewood and Pawtuxet Village. People were so eloquent, we didn’t have time to cover all of Cranston!
When asked about the current financial situation that’s facing Cranston, several participants spoke about their interactions with city officials in the past, while reserving comments about the city's future. In one person's case, she felt very positively about the municipal government because she had very quick action on a traffic light issue she brought directly to the mayor’s attention. Another resident has a multi-year file on the city’s non-response to sidewalk and public safety concerns because the city claims the problems are the state's to repair. The discussion turned to the relationship between Cranston’s citizens and elected officials at both city and state levels: Can individuals be heard, and can they make a difference in municipal decisions and events? In fact, what do city residents (and visitors) know about Cranston—what is its "flavor?" These ideas are on the table for January’s follow-up discussion about the Fund for Community Engagement grant.
On Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 6:00 p.m., Drake Patten is returning to the Sockanosset branch library to help participants shape Cranston’s Fund for Community Engagement project. Many people said they would "share the Dialogue experience," so please invite friends and neighbors to join this conversation. Together, the group will discuss how the $1000 Fund for Community Engagement grant can be used in a humanities-based, publicly accessible program.
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for Community Engagement After each of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns participates in the Dialogues Program, The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) offers it a one-time Fund for Community Engagement (FCE) award of up to $1,000. The Fund for Community Engagement grant gives each community an opportunity to address--through a public humanities project--issues raised during the Dialogue meeting. Please use the highlighted link here to access the guidelines for Fund for Community Engagement grants. |