Something special and exciting is underway in Decatur, Alabama. Last week marked the launch of One Decatur, an effort to create an inclusive and community-driven comprehensive plan for the city. Through four Listening & Learning Workshops, nearly 350 people came together to share ideas and identify opportunities for making Decatur better in the future. But it is more than strong attendance that has us excited. The spirit in these meetings was incredibly positive and revealed that, despite having some big challenges to overcome, there is a strong sense of pride and passion in the community. It is those two qualities that, if strengthened, could make One Decatur into a movement that is larger than the plan itself.
Most of the credit for One Decatur’s early success goes to the citizen Steering Committee – who are among the best we’ve ever worked with. This extremely passionate and diverse group of 40 volunteers (put together through an open application process) executed a robust communication and outreach effort in four weeks leading up to the workshops. Committee members were out in community talking about One Decatur, distributing flyers, and meeting with local press. Other members organized a
significant social media campaign including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even Snapchat. The very active One Decatur Facebook page built over 1,350 followers in four weeks! Some highlights from the communications effort include:
We are One Decatur Editorial, Decatur Daily
“It’s increasingly common these days to view government as an entity separate from the people. The trend makes it easy for citizens to avoid responsibility for perceived problems in our city, state or nation. Officials are at fault for everything that goes wrong. While the mindset is convenient for citizens, it fails to acknowledge the responsibilities that come with self-governance…”
Love Where You Live. by committee member Dan Durbin via Facebook Live
Decatur Teen Keilee Terry Encourages Youth to Influence Comprehensive Plan!
News Coverage:
- Decatur Daily (November 2, 2016): ‘One Decatur’ session: Residents focus on city appearance, poverty, use of river
- Decatur Daily (November 3, 2016): Growth possibilities highlight discussions at Burningtree ‘One Decatur’ workshop
In addition to the week’s workshops, community input is being collected on the project website. Beyond that, through their commitment to hearing from all segments of the Decatur community, the Steering Committee will be conducting several targeted focus groups with young people and certain minorities who may be underrepresented in the process so far.
We’re proud to be part of this important journey in Decatur.
