{"id":9926,"date":"2016-10-26T03:02:44","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T03:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=9926&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-06-26T18:27:51","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T18:27:51","slug":"orlando-community-audubon-park","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/orlando-community-audubon-park\/","title":{"rendered":"The Place Maker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2016 | By Eric Michael \u201996\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

[photo id=”10044″ title=”ucf_58744820_cropped_JenniferMarvelcircle2″ alt=”ucf_58744820_cropped_JenniferMarvelcircle2″ position=”left” width=”121px”][\/photo][lead]Marvel has a passion for placemaking. Her work in the eclectic Audubon Park Garden District<\/a> neighborhood northeast of downtown combines public engagement with new business development and forward-thinking urban planning to inspire economic, environmental and social sustainability. As a result, the district was recognized with a 2016 Great American Main Street Award from the National Main Street Center. But what does it really take to build a strong community?[\/lead]<\/p>\n

1. Start at Home<\/h2>\n

My husband and I bought a house in Audubon Park in 1990. I believe in supporting local businesses, so one day I was shopping at Park Ave CDs and by the register there were hand-cut flyers that read, \u201cDo you want to make a better community?\u201d I wish I had saved it because it was really life-changing. I was at that first meeting [of the Audubon Park Garden District] and at every one since. Then our director gave notice, and she recommended me for the job, [which] I\u2019ve been doing since September 2012. If you\u2019re willing to do the work, you can create the kind of community you want to be a part of.<\/p>\n

2. Nurture Homegrown Businesses<\/h2>\n

I think a great neighborhood is built on [the] backbone of its independent businesses. Really great communities have great local businesses with a lot of community involvement, and that\u2019s reflected in [Audubon Park]. I think of some of the vibrant neighborhoods in New York City \u2014 they have great one-off restaurants, caf\u00e9s and bookstores. If there are only big chain [stores], it\u2019s really not an interesting place to live.<\/p>\n

3. Embrace the Decision-makers<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s enormously beneficial to involve your community\u2019s decision-makers. For us, it\u2019s critical to have the kinds of partnerships where there\u2019s someone in [a local] store, restaurant or church who can tell you, \u201cYes, you can hold an event here,\u201d or \u201cWe\u2019ll participate in this.\u201d We try to do projects that draw people in based on what they\u2019re passionate about, as long as it fits under our mission. It just so happened that [in Audubon Park], there was an interest in sustainability, environmentalism and supporting local businesses.<\/p>\n

4. Set a Reasonable Scale<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s better to start small and manageable, and then build \u2014 whether it\u2019s an event, a class or promoting what someone else in the community is doing. We tried to identify things that were unique about Audubon Park that we could wrap our arms around with our limited resources \u2014 and then we began experimenting. Today we’re partnering with other organizations, either for-profit or nonprofit, where we have a shared interest. And I think it\u2019s so important to set a three-month maximum window for projects. Anything longer than that and it doesn\u2019t feel real, which allows you to drag your feet.<\/p>\n

5. Create Popular Programming<\/h2>\n

I can\u2019t overemphasize how important programming is to the building of a community. Programming is anything planned that brings people out into the community and engages them with one another and local businesses. It can involve anything that reflects the culture of your community and reinforces who you are and who you would like to be. It doesn\u2019t require a multimilliondollar investment. We\u2019ve held gardening classes, wine tastings, cooking classes. We rely on partnerships. By teaming with local merchants in conjunction with local nonprofits and groups, you can do a ton of community building. It\u2019s a huge placemaking plus.<\/p>\n

6. Spread the Word<\/h2>\n

People love being connected [and] knowing what\u2019s going on. We\u2019re very active on social media, and we have an email newsletter that highlights what we have coming up in our programming and what\u2019s happening with the local schools, public arts, news. I try to make it as useful and compelling as possible so people feel invested in our community. And I always include a personal note so that people know there\u2019s a real person on the other end of the line.<\/p>\n

Illustration by Ethan Long<\/span>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10019,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9926","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issues-881","issues-fall-2016"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity building with Jennifer Marvel of Orlando's Audubon Park<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Six ways to build a better community according to Jennifer Marvel \u201912, executive director of Orlando\u2019s Audubon Park Garden District.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/orlando-community-audubon-park\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Place Maker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Six ways to build a better 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