“Go local or die.”
That is the resounding message of a group of Tacoma residents who are aiming to promote discussion on localizing life. In other words, they want to develop communities where individuals can live and work, and spend their daily lives almost exclusively in that community.
“Historically in Tacoma we’ve seen a number of occasions where economic decisions were made or social decisions were made by outside influences, whether it was by corporate sources or social services, and that’s not necessarily what’s best for our neighborhoods,” said Paul Sparks, a spokesperson for Local Life Tacoma, one of three organizations promoting this view. “We need our neighborhoods to come together and figure out what’s best for those areas.”
The other two organizations involved in this project are Go Local Tacoma and the Downtown Merchants Group. These three groups began the community discussion in earnest last month at the first of two local panel discussions on the subject.
The first discussion, held Feb. 26, focused on local investment and its benefits in the community. The next discussion will be held March 25 and will focus on working together to promote business, arts and urban living.
“What’s unique about these forums is that even if you don’t have an action agenda…they (the participants) have a chance to see each other and hear about what they’re doing, and collaborations start to evolve out of that in a pretty organic and natural way,” Sparks said. “We look at the goals that we have and say ‘what are our common ones and how can we work together to achieve those.”
Because of the success of the first panel - about 50 people packed the small room - the organizers plan to hold action-oriented programs in the fall, which will actually promote specific goals and projects in the community.
Helping them with their efforts is Jim Diers, an international consultant on community mobilization. He worked in the 1990s to empower Seattle neighborhoods, and facilitates dialogues around the world. Diers hosted the first panel discussion and is set to hold the second, as well.
While the groups’ work focuses on the downtown area, Sparks and his partners are also asking representatives of other neighborhoods to develop their own communities and identities.
“The goal is to tease out all the interested parties and start to say ‘we’re here,’” Sparks said.
The second panel will be held March 25 at 6 p.m. at Veritas Mortgage Group, at 762 Broadway. Admission is free, but space is limited. RSVP by e-mailing locallifetacoma@aol.com. For more information, visit www.golocaltacoma.com.
