Completely revised and updated, the second edition of Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future further examines the seven "leverage points" for decision making introduced by Suzanne Morse in the widely acclaimed first edition, originally published in 2004. Advances in technology, a massive recession, natural disasters, and changes in mainstream culture have been part of the enormous social and technological changes of the past decade. But while much has changed, much also remains the same with respect to poverty and economic issues.

Morse's proven system is as relevant today as it was a decade ago. To date, it has been adopted by thousands of community leaders from around the globe to enable them to build successful communities through informed decision making, cooperation, identification of strengths, and smart strategies. This edition has been updated to reflect our world as it exists today, including completely rewritten case studies that include more detailed information about the application of the seven leverage points, and a more extensive discussion of the entire process as a whole.

Suzanne W. Morse is an authority on building smart communities, speaking regularly for large audiences on urban and environmental planning. She has incorporated all of the most up-to-date knowledge and current research into this edition, and has gone further in depth to discuss the evolution of societal problems and how the leverage points can be applied to produce a specific outcome. The secret, she says, is not only having an implementation strategy for the long-run, but also working with precise community priorities to affect real and lasting change.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xxi

The Author xxiii

1 Building the Foundation for Community Change 1

2 Investing Right the First Time 27

3 Working Together 55

4 Building on Community Strengths 79

5 Practicing Democracy 101

6 Preserving the Past 121

7 Growing New Leaders 149

8 Inventing the Future 167

References 183

Index 199

SUZANNE W. MORSE, Ph.D., is associate professor of Urban and Environmental Planning in the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia and president of the internationally known Civic Change, Inc. (formerly Pew Partnership for Civic Change). As president of Civic Change, Inc., for 17 years, Morse has become a national expert on civic leadership and engagement. She is a regular keynote speaker both nationally and internationally, and her articles and opinion pieces have appeared in national journals as well as leading newspapers and trade publications. Morse is currently chairman of the board of trustees of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, and former chair of Piedmont Virginia Community College. She has served on state and national boards including Campfire, Inc., LBJ School Advisory Board, University of Texas, LEAD Virginia, and the Montpelier Foundation's Center on the Constitution. She had fellowships at the Center for Organizational & Technological Advancement (COTA) at Virginia Tech (2006?2009), and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (1991).