In today’s digital age, cities face a unique challenge. They offer many community events and services. Yet, they struggle to connect effectively with residents. City leaders from Scottsdale and Carlsbad recently participated in a webinar hosted by CivStart and ‘with’. They discussed the role of cities in evolving their community engagement. They explored strengthening connections through centralized calendars.
Cities as Community Conveners
David Graham, Global Civic Innovation Fellow at Harvard and former Chief Innovation Officer at the City of Carlsbad emphasized the unique position of local government. “The interesting thing about local government and where it fits in the fabric of a community is that it really sees the whole picture. There’s no other institution or entity in a community that has so many touch points.”
Kelly Corsette, Communications and Public Affairs Director for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, reinforced this fundamental role: “I think the city is in many ways the community convener… we are sort of the one organization that caters and offers things to everyone in the community,” adding that cities provide “things like community festivals, library seminars, arts programming, history talks… We kind of do it all.”
Corsette further illustrated this unique position with a compelling analogy: “A city is like Amazon in the diversity of services it provides – but we don’t often offer a convenient place like the Amazon app for people to choose from all these offerings.”
The Challenge of Fragmented Communication
Moreover, cities host countless activities, from library seminars to arts programs. Consequently, the fragmentation of community information has become increasingly problematic. As Corsette explains, “There aren’t really single go-to sources of information in a community like there once was. Gone are the days when they could have an arts and culture reporter or even a city hall beat reporter.”
This fragmentation affects more than just information flow. Graham noted that while people are no longer picking up the local newspaper, they are instead “cluttered with a lot of noise from social media,” making it harder for cities to effectively reach their constituents. A centralized event calendar for local government could address this issue by creating a unified source for city-wide activities.
The Time for Change is Now
Several factors make this the perfect moment for cities to take charge of community engagement. Graham points to a critical insight: “Trust in government is at pretty close to an all-time low, while at the same time local government has one of the higher degrees of trust when compared to state and federal government.”
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of community connections. Graham believes that “building upon those connections that were built during COVID, taking advantage of technology platforms… can help cities cut through the noise and create one place where people can find connections.”
Centralized Calendar for Vibrant Communities
This one place would centralize all community events into one calendar, making it easier for residents to discover and participate in community activities. Corsette admits, “We and our subcontractors that do arts and culture and manage museums are guilty of having multiple websites, multiple calendars.” He notes that despite looking at this issue for “at least 15 years,” the challenges have been difficult to overcome until now.
By transforming community engagement with centralized calendars, cities can improve resident participation and create more vibrant, connected neighborhoods. A centralized approach to community events improves access and provides valuable insights that can help cities better serve their residents. Graham notes that communities are often made up of micro-communities, each with unique interests and needs. By understanding these patterns through data, cities can create more targeted and effective programming that serves all community members.
Building Stronger Communities Together
The path forward is clear: cities must embrace their role as community conveners and leverage technology to strengthen these connections. As Graham concludes, centralized community calendars offer “incredible opportunities both for combating things like loneliness and for being able to connect with the entire community.”
By taking charge of community engagement through centralized systems, cities can fulfill their unique role as community conveners and create stronger, more connected communities. The technology exists – what’s needed now is the vision and commitment to implement it effectively.
Improving city engagement with a unified community calendar is an achievable goal, especially with the right tools and commitment. The role of local governments in community engagement has never been more critical, and centralized event calendars are a vital step toward fulfilling this mission.
Watch the full on-demand webinar to learn how your city can create a more connected, engaged community through a centralized calendar. [Watch Now →]
